This week I’m going to start sharing some of the images I have taken at the BUB International Motorcycle Speed Trials. I have been attending this event since 2006; even going so far as to run my Harley Road Glide “Devilhog” in 2006 and 2007. After that experience I decided to become a volunteer course worker and help make sure that this event continues into the future. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the event, without them there couldn’t be land speed racing, and I’m proud to be part of the volunteer team. Unfortunately I won’t be able to go this year but I’ll be there in spirit. Hopefully I’ll be able to return in 2013.

For the past three years I have been privileged to be the one of the starters at the 3 Mile International Course Start Line. My task has been to organize the riders when they come to the starting gate and to brief them on the safety rules for making their Land Speed Record attempt. I am responsible for making sure that all safety equipment is present and that the rider and bike are cleared through tech inspection for racing. Every once in a while someone will show up at the start gate without proper equipment or other safety problems. I must make sure that these types of situations are corrected before I can allow the racer to enter the race course. It’s a great responsibility which I take very seriously because no one wants to see  something catastrophic happen which could lead to injury or death. Another aspect of our job is to monitor the radio channel and communicate with the timing tower which controls the race course. A rider can only be released to the start line after the timing tower has assured that the course is clear of the last racer.

Toady’s shot is of John Yeats riding out from the start gate to the starting line where the flagman will give him the green flag to go. John’s Dad, John Senior, built the bike and I chose this shot because this motorcycle epitomizes the level of craftsmanship and beauty that John, and the entire Land Speed Racing community, is known for. This engine in this motorcycle is over 3000 CCs which is nearly twice the displacement of most Harley-Davidson engines. John has been piloting Land Speed Racing bikes for many years but it still takes a lot of nerve to climb on a bike that will rocket down the course at well over 175 mph.

I took this image into Topaz Adjust 4 for initial processing and then returned it to Aperture 3 where I finished adjusting the color, vibrancy and sharpening. I especially like the negative space at the left side of the frame which for me accentuates the vastness of the Bonneville Salt Flats and the unknown.