The Man behind Uncaged

There is the man I used to be and the man I am now.  With that said, there are good things and bad things about that.  Either way, when I first started this blog I posted a couple personal entries and various business entries but it's been some time since I've written anything personal and so I've decided to change that.

I started up Uncaged Motorsports with the help of a friend back in September 2008 and went from a life of living as someone doing what was needed to survive to a man with a passion focused on the passion regardless of the cost.  I lost a lot since then and may continue to lose more in the pursuit of doing what I want and enjoy doing.  For the most part, people around me have no idea of my challenges due to the fact that I smile and am happy and today I thought about that a bit.

It came across my mind that I don't spend much time with friends and how much I don't like that.  Curious why my brain focused on that fact at the million miles a second it normally runs and it spotted that my stresses and maintenance of a positive attitude causes my "free" time to be consumed trying to escape my world and very little gets done.  I really really want Uncaged Motorsports to succeed and that focus has essentially put me in divorce (obviously, under the circumstances, she didn't "Love" me because Love does not fail) breaking up my family (3 amazing children), lost me my awesome truck (2005 Ford F150 Lariat Crew Cab), my house and much of my sanity.

After less than a year of opening the wife left due to stress because finances were extremely tight due to spending all money on the shop to get it going and grow it.  I lost everything else not because she took it but because my source of income was my own business and I was now spending so much of my time trying to save my marriage including flying to Alaska (where she ran off to and hooked up with an old friend) to get her to come back.  Roughly a year after that all started, I had to give up on the business just to keep my head above water (plus I didn't have a place to run the business anymore since I lost the house to the bank).

I went to work as a Waiter at Wingers restaurant and lived off the tips primarily, because child support took 50% of my paycheck.  Then a man, whom I feel I now owe way more than I could ever pay back, contacted me about working on his Benelli motorcycle because of several people recommending me and made me an offer of working to get the business going out of his shop free of rent.  This was an opportunity I could not pass up because getting the shop going is definitely something I wanted and even though I felt I wasn't financially ready, a free shop was offered and so it started.  The downfall is that I really wasn't ready financially and still had too many debts that I accrued through the past and now I'm back to running the shop which some months cost me to do even with free rent.  Now I'm working nights at Roosters Steak and Chop house (Wingers fired me due to complications in scheduling and Roosters is only open at nights) and some of that money earned goes towards growing Uncaged, the kids spending time with me, paying debts and current bills.

Now, the time has come that I have to find a shop of my own and I'm having a hard time finding the financial means to make that happen but I also do not want to give up on Uncaged.  I truly feel I can make this work and that it would already be doing fairly well if I had the funds to have a sign made, do a little local advertising and so forth.  So I am at a crossroads of decisions and I feel like I'm falling apart due to the type of stress it is causing me.  I am currently homeless and have been since a great guy was helping me out by allowing me to live with him until he found a special someone and is now married to that person.  So I've been sleeping in my car, the shop, and with my cousin.  And I feel like I could possibly, with lots of hard work and little to no play, afford to pay rent but I cannot come up with deposit and such in the time frame that I have.

Homeless and a bit battered up I still manage to keep my self positive but at the cost of not having a best friend or many friends at all that I can manage the time to hang out with and stay connected with.  So often I have to deal with my brain telling me how much of a failure I am and that I can't accomplish anything and that I don't deserve anyone special in my life.  I expend lots of time and energy in staving off those thoughts that it's taking away from more important things that I could accomplish.

In conclusion, I need to make a decision, possibly a very difficult one for me and one that could create a stronger sense of failure, in order to save myself financially and mentally.

Well, time to get back to it.  Thanks for listening to me vent some very substantial information out of my own necessity.

Another Step Towards Success

The accessory that I am currently developing for motorcycles has been consuming my time and thoughts much of  the day and if I previously made it seem like something that was going to be simple and not take much time, I didn't mean to.  Today was another step towards completion after a "problem" was causing my brain to overheat.  However, today that problem currently has a solution that I hope will a successful one.  It's one that has got me very excited for the design process (since I have to design a part to be built to accomplish the "fix").  The design will be finished tomorrow.

The great part about this project is just how much my excitement increases the more I think about it.  It really feels like this is going to be something that you all will appreciate and desire to have.  It will make riding more enjoyable and comfortable for you, and me as well for that matter.  And the fact that it could be a great start to my success in this "dream business" of mine makes it that much more exciting.

Along with the "problem fix" today, an additional benefit to this products arose and it's pretty cool.  Not as great of a benefit as the main aspect of the product but cool none-the-less.  I really hope that with the next few months I can get to the point where I will have the idea "protected" and I can begin to share with you the details so that you can be as excited as I am. 

Thank you soooo much for following my blog and listening to all my jibbering.  I never did well in English class because I'm not much of a writer, so the idea of a blog really didn't feel like something I could do.  Now, it is a great project for me because I know that I have people "listening" to me which feels really good.  So, THANKS.  I will keep you up to date on this new product and also the normal things that I discuss on here.

James

PS  Click to Follow and when the product is available, if you are interested in it, I will give you "Best Pricing".

Laundry Day

Saturday I had to suck it up and get laundry done or go without clean clothes.  So, I just sat around and did nothing............   LOL   Just kidding.  My son, Anthony, had his friends birthday party to go to and Elizabeth and Hailey came to hang out with me.  So, we all went and did laundry together, every kids dream.  Of course we went and played around in Fred Meyers, got some food and drinks and made it fun.  Here are a couple pictures of the fun we had:

On the way back, walking to the shop (Uncaged), Hailey nearly ran the whole way.  Anytime we walk anywhere she is insisting on running.  She tries to get everyone running and of course I make sure to let her win the running races and get the kids to do the same except on occassion they get to win too.  :)

Before the trip to do laundry, Hailey wasn't feeling good and had thrown up so Elizabeth and I let her sleep while we played some games.  I sure hope they both enjoyed themselves.  A lot of the times that they spend with me, I'm at the shop and doing stuff "fun" isn't easy.  I'll have to do some more activity stuff with them.

James



Getting Re-Setup after Hardship

Most of us have had some difficult times over the last few years due in large part to the war in Afghanistan/September 11th. I for one am very proud of our country for stepping up and doing what needs to be done and the quality of life we are fighting for and like everyone else, I SUPPORT OUR TROOPS 100%. Having spent 4 years in the Navy on Submarines, I would love to be a part of the cause. However, it's very unfortunate that our country is in the current financial state that it is in. I believe that we as a people will either find a solution (preferrable) but if we don't, we will still hold our own and come out of this with our heads held high. I support and firmly agree with the statement recently made by Warren Buffet and have many opinions as to what needs to be done to fix things but I also know that it's never that easy when there are so many people involved. Regrdless of the hard times, this business venture is very important to me and I intend to fight to make it work and I will fight just as hard to make sure that 100% of those who support my cause are 100% satisfied. Give me a chance and I will show you just how important it is to me

Getting back :)

I'm working on getting back into business.  Have a new and awesome location and got it mostly setup and now I'm just waiting to be able to purchase my sign for out front.  My goal as far as making the business successful is to write down my ideas and then I will post up here the ideas in detail and if after all that I still feel it would be a great idea, implement it.  I feel I've had many great ideas over time but I don't usually remember when I get around to writing tools lol.

As for my personal satisfaction in the enjoyment of riding, I am going to be putting together some functions to raise money for me to be able to go to the track more and also I am hoping to do an "Open-Class Race" this year.  I will be sooooo thrilled to be able to accomplish that. 

That's about it for now but I will be adding more posts as much as I can manage with my very busy current schedule. 

In preparation of making my bike run better and last longer, I have tore it apart and cleaned the injectors/throttle bodies and also found 5 valves in need of slight adjustment.  Now, I just need to get enough funds together for just a few parts.  First of which is a set of "Sidewinder Sprockets" with their lifetime guarantee.  :)

Here are a few pictures I took of the current task at hand on my own bike:

Racing/Street Tires

Just a quick post for my favorite tires as of now!  I will be trying out some of the new tires available throughout this season and keep you updated.  However, for now, I have my favorite tire that will do an amazing job for anyone wanting to do some sporty riding!  The tires are the Bridgestone Battlax BT-003R  Racing/Street tires. 

My forms not great in this one but look at the lean angle these tires are capable of!

The tire size match up that I use is F:120/70-17 R:190/55-17 which if you get a set of that size from me is $285.  Rear size 190/50-17 $5 less and 180/55-17 $19 less!  If your ready to get your season started with some great tires for high performance fun just send me a message!  Uncaged Moto at googles mail will work.  Also, you can look for Uncaged Motorsports on Facebook.  I would truly appreciate the business.

James

More important than you may think, I do not order these in bulk and then have them sitting around trying to get rid of them like other stores.  That means you will not get old, expired, tires.  I have seen some come to me that someone purchased and then had me install that were scary. 

The Starting Line

Every race has a starting point and so does everything else in life.  So, this is my starting point for my blog.

Hmmmm.... What will I talk about?
Whatever I feel like!!!  :)  Alright fine, I will be focussed on the things that are my passion.  Photography, Family, and Motorcycles!  Especially motorcycles and the racing of them.  MotoGP will be a large part of my discussions I'm sure and also other motorcycle road racing venues (i.e. AMA, WorldSBK, Isle of Mann, etc...)  Also, I have had to put my pursuit of my own business aside for now but I will still be doing a few things with it until I can reopen big  :)  and those things will also be discussed.

How often will I post?
I will try to work up to the point where nearly every day I am posting something up but for now I will stick with a more reasonable goal of once per week.

So, now I have gotten my self to the starting point and the race is on.  Hope to see you on the track and even have you join me in carving a few corners.

Klamath Falls fast, James