A Thousand Little Things

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The Team celebrates the successful Road America Round (Photo courtesy of Royal Enfield, Build. Train. Race.)

My friend, Willy Porter, a professional musician, has recently unveiled his latest masterpiece, titled “The Ravine.” This album is an extraordinary work of art, brimming with unparalleled talent. As I immerse myself in its melodies, I’m struck by the parallels between the creative process behind the music and the world of racing.

Much like the racers themselves, the musicians in this endeavor deserve every ounce of recognition for their unwavering dedication to their craft. However, behind the scenes, there exists an ensemble of equally indispensable individuals. These unsung heroes include the skilled technicians, the wizards behind the mixing boards, and the visionary artists who craft the album’s cover art. The producer, with their keen ear for what’s missing, plays a pivotal role in guiding the musicians toward perfection. And let’s not forget the instrument technicians who ensure that every note resonates with the utmost clarity and brilliance.

The journey doesn’t end there. Once the recording and mixing phases are complete, a whole new team springs into action. They bring the music to the masses, creating websites, launching promotions, crafting vinyl records, and ensuring the music reaches those eager to hear it. This process seems endless, like the tireless bunny from that iconic battery commercial, all because someone or something initially sparked the inspiration for the music.

In the grand scheme of things, there are undoubtedly big pieces in play, but the true enchantment lies in the thousands of small details. This realization struck me as I listened to the title track of the album. Having been fortunate enough to witness Willy and his band perform this song live on multiple occasions before the album’s release, I thought I knew what to expect. However, the magic unfolded in ways I could never have anticipated. There was this delicate pause in the first verse, nestled between the words “were” and “breathing” – a minuscule yet profound moment that represented just one of the countless fragments that collectively make this song, and the entire album, something truly special.

Shifting gears (pun intended) from melodies to engines, we delve into the world of racing. Much like in music, it’s a thousand little things that make each event and the entire season something special. In a previous column, I explored a slice of the Build. Train. Race. program with Royal Enfield, and today, we zoom in on one of those thousand little things that keep a racing weekend, and season, humming along smoothly.

For fans and spectators, the races are a thrilling spectacle, but many intricacies remain hidden from view. If you’ve ever watched a motorcycle race, you’ve seen each bike being scored, with lap times displayed every time they cross the start and finish line. In MotoAmerica, we get even more resolution with timing data for individual sectors of the lap, allowing fans to track a rider’s performance in intricate detail. But how does this wizardry happen? Enter the unsung heroes: The timing and scoring team, and the transponder.

The transponder, an unassuming device, just a small rectangular piece of plastic, broadcasts a radio signal with its unique serial number multiple times per second. The signals are short-range and directional, captured by antennae buried in the track surface. The strongest “ping” isolates an individual transponder’s signal, accurately timing the journey from the last sector to the present one, down to 1/1000th of a second. A team of skilled operators stationed in the timing and scoring building ensures this system operates flawlessly, a behind-the-scenes dance of perfection.

Transponders on charge (Photo: Scott Rybarik

Yet, within each of these thousand little things, there are more, even smaller things that must happen to make the racing season go smoothly. Take, for instance, the humble transponders. On the surface, it seems simple – charge them, assign them, and let them work their magic. But the devil, as they say, is in the details.

Our first race of the season was at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This was an important event for us, the first racing round of the season, a substantially new team, and we were in Royal Enfield’s back yard as their North American Headquarters is just 45 minutes away in Milwaukee, so we wanted it to go smoothly. On Thursday of each race weekend we move-in to the track, set-up our area, and perform any maintenance tasks we need to do to get ready for the weekend. One of the pre-race tasks is making sure that the transponders are charged, so I put them in my vehicle to charge them overnight Thursday before our first on-track session Friday morning. When I arrived where I was staying for the night I pulled the transponders out of their storage bin and discovered that these particular transponders required a subscription to function. Furthermore, all of the subscriptions had expired. Thankfully help was just a phone call away, thanks to the 24-hour technical support provided by AMB, the company that makes the transponders.

With a series of phone calls and multiple credit card transactions (cue the bank’s fraud department alarm bells), the subscriptions were renewed, and the transponders appeared to be back in-service. I awoke in the morning to the steady green lights illuminated on the devices that indicated they were fully charged. Sadly, the adventure didn’t end there. As the riders took to the track for their first practice, a phone call from timing and scoring, and visits from a stream of race officials, shattered my confidence – not a single blip was registered. We were more stealthy than an Air Force B2.

A race team is a blend of motivation, competition, and problem-solving prowess. A rapid red blinking light on each of the transponders indicated that they had a subscription, but hadn’t been registered – an unexpected twist in our tale, and a step that hadn’t been mentioned on the call with AMB the night before. Another call to technical support at AMB revealed that while the subscriptions had to be handled individually, registration could, thankfully, be done in bulk. Once completed, the transponders had to go back onto the chargers to receive the update through a cell phone application.

Transponder charged, check. Subscription purchased, check. Registration complete, check. The transponders now displayed the blinking green light that indicated they were working properly, but to be sure, during the lunch break, with no one on the track I walked each transponder across the start-finish line while a timing official confirmed they were visible. One by one, the transponders came to life, and our team was no longer stealth. After this false start, Build. Train. Race. became the only racing class in the series that went without any transponder issues for the rest of the season.

In retrospect, I appreciate that, in both music and racing, it’s the thousand little things, the tiny details, the unsung heroes, and the unexpected twists that create the magic. It’s what turns a simple race, or a collection of musical noises, into something special. So, as you enjoy the songs of Willy Porter’s “The Ravine”, cheer on your favorite Build, Train, Race. racers, or endeavor in your own adventures, remember that the real enchantment lies in the thousand little things that make each moment extraordinary.

-by Scott Rybarik