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My annual AX report

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Posted by: Jeff Gilbert

The time has come and passed yet again for my annual AX here in Waco TX. I missed last year's race and since I've done very little riding this year I can say I was a little more intimidated by the track this year but I did know what I was getting into.

I was busy Friday night so it would be after midnight before we pulled the land yauct on to the colliseum parking lot. It was about this time that it started to rain. Tigger says "there's water coming in my window and getting my bad wet" To late to worry about it now I said, "take my bed, I'll sleep on the couch." The rest of the night was peacfull untill about 6am when the water came pouring in over the couch. I had forgotten that I knocked the attenna loose on our last trip to cycleranch and patched it up with windshield caulk. On top of the rv I went with my trusty tube of 3-m for emergency repairs.

Sign up came and went and it was time for the riders meeting and race order. Practice started at noon and I was last practice. The clouds parted and Saturday turned into a beautiful day. 2pm rolled around and I hit the track for my 5 minutes of practice. Did I mention I forgot to stop and pick up a new plug? Well I did and my bike just didn't have the over rev like it should. Guess it was due to my trek through the woods on my last ride. I rolled everything in practice and went in search of a new plug to no avail. I couldn't believe that no one had a spare plug I could buy.

On to the heat race. Bike was running even worse now and to amplify matters, my back tire was not only not hooking up, it wouldn't slow me down either. I did try to pick up a tire Friday but out of the 4 mc shops in town, none had a 190-19 756 dunlop in stock. I stalled twice in the heat and had already planned to sell all my stuff if the main was anywhere near the outcome as my heat.

My luck starts to improve! I found a plug, softened my compression on the forks and waited for my main. (next to last race). Finally I'm called to the gate for last pick and I chose the outside line (the only one left). The gate drops and there is a pile up in the 1st turn, I make it out in 3rd spot. I rolled the 1st double and jumped the next one. Over the next double through the turn and through the whoops I went. The next turn was before a tabletop but the pro race before had kicked all the dirt in the turn out and it was slick bare concrete. I rode accross the ruts and squared off for a straight shot at the table then on to the catapult which I rolled. Down the straight and under the overhang I went, rounded the berm and gassed it toward the triple and that's when I saw it. A riderless big yellow bike cartwheeling down the track toward me. As I clamped the brakes is when I saw the rider of said bike fall from the sky. At first I thought the two distinct snaps I heard was his bike but after a second I realized that that wasn't it all. I suppose the screams I heard really told the story. The 47 year old rider, up from Houston by himself in an 18 wheeler no less, had fallen about 25 feet out of the air and snapped both legs. He had rolled the catapult and then his throttle hung sending him skyward off the landing ramp. I could hear the crowd gasp and then silence, that's when I heard his legs snap. I had no desire to do anything but roll the rest of the race as we were flagged around the carnage. I couldn't wait for this race to be over. I managed to finish in 4th but I know the other riders were in the same frame of mind that I was. After the race I immediately went to the ambulance to check on the guy. He was still screaming.

Overall the race this year was one of the more safer ones I've been in however you never know when something like this could happen. It has spooked me but I'm sure I'm reasonably sure I'll be back next year.

Be sure to check your bikes routinely for loose nuts, bolts and sticky cables.


Posted by: tx246

that sucks..........i really feel for the guy.


Posted by: ellandoh

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Gilbert
My luck starts to improve! I found a plug, softened my compression on the forks and waited for my main. (next to last race). Finally I'm called to the gate for last pick and I chose the outside line (the only one left). The gate drops and there is a pile up in the 1st turn, I make it out in 3rd spot. I rolled the 1st double and jumped the next one. Over the next double through the turn and through the whoops I went.



i thought this was gonna be a climactic finale. i was ready to get all worked up and start shakin my fist for ya til you got to the next couple sentences
i thought way to go JG without even getting much practice, nice 4th anyway


Posted by: Jeff Gilbert

Quote:
Originally Posted by ellandoh
i thought this was gonna be a climactic finale. i was ready to get all worked up and start shakin my fist for ya til you got to the next couple sentences
i thought way to go JG without even getting much practice, nice 4th anyway

I thought the way my start went that I was going to have a pretty good race in the main. I was getting all worked up for my first chance to actually race the track until this happened. I wanted so much to have a better ride than I did but a needless mishap like that one just seemed to take all the fun out of it. I'll be back next year and I'll be ready for it. The thoughts that kept running through my mind during the race was to just finish regardless of how much of a goon I looked like out there. I was really surprised that I came out of it with a 4th.



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