Bellville, IL harescramble

[Monkey Butt]

I am planning to compete in the March 10 harescramble at Bellville. I have never rode at Belleville or even seen the club riding grounds. I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on what to expect as far as the terrain goes. Is it very tight trails ( I hope so), rocky, big hills, etc. I am expecting it to be pretty muddy so hopefully they will take that into consideration when laying out the course. This will be my first race of the year and only the third race in about a year due to various reasons, so I am looking forward to it. I am still running on some wore out 756's from last year so this could be interesting. What the heck, I am just oiut to have a good time. Hopefully, this will just be the first of many races to come this year.

Thanks for the info,
Neal

 

[agitt73]

sounds like a snow run to me
unless the weather gets warm and stays warm until then

 

[Wolf]

Where is Bellville??

 

[Layton]

It is actually "Belleville" and it is by St. Louis.

The temps should be in the 50's during the week so snow shouldn't be a problem. The Weather Channel says rain by the weekend if you can believe them.:p

Try this link: http://www.betdirt.com/betwebsite2/indexx.html

Hope this helps.

 

[Matthew]

The race is run on an old strip mine. It is usually a short track with the length being about 4-5 miles. Fairly tight and alot of gullies that do not drain all that well. If I remember right there is some pretty steep hills that if it is wet will be fun to get up. There is also some rocks that stick up that the club useally paints orange . All in all it is a fun race.

I will be there riding a black and silver 300exc and my buddy has a 99 300 exc. Just look for a silver Dodge Ram pulling a 5x8 utility trailer with two KTM's.

Matt
00 300exc
00 65sx
01 TT-R250
02 Alpha Sports 4-wheeler

 

[Monkey Butt]

Thanks for the replies

I've been out of town all week for business, so I am just now getting to reply to the responses. I got home at about 4:00pm today and decided to see how muddy it was. I went for a little spin in the woods behind my house and I was surprised at how slick it was. Runing on wore out tires doesn't help! I sure hope it doesn't rain any more before Sunday!! I am not a 100% committed to the race yet but it could be a very very interesting race. It'll either be a total blast or a nightmare as slick as it is.:p

By the way I'll be driving a "99" black 4X4 step side GMC with a white 6'X10' trailer carrying a 200 exc and maybe a WR400.

Later,
Neal

 

[Matthew]

I have been out there in the fall before when it was wet and it wasn't that bad. Hills kind of ..... well you know. The main problem I think is the mud is clay and will stick to everythink. I will still go even if it does rain. It is supposed to rain tonight.


Matt

 

[Monkey Butt]

I am getting conflicting info regarding the start time for the bikes. The recording for the place says they start at 12:30 but a representative of the place emailed me and said they start at 10:30. Does anyone know for sure?

Neal

 

[BarkBuster]

Just wondering how conditions were besides cold?
Did anybody brave this race?

Bustr

 

[KaTooMer]

I braved the cool weather, although it wasn't as cool and windy as Burrr-Bone-Ass last weekend. Only problem I had was when my fingers got wet...fingertips were numb afterwards. It was a bit muddy, and the strip mine lakes were a couple feet higher than normal because of the recent rain. Had to ride through part of the lake and it got real deep real fast. The club guys actually built a trail around the worst of the mud/water holes, during the race, after a few guys dumped their bikes into the lake. Not sure who got the overall. I had fun, finished despite a flat tire on the last lap. Unloading the bike was not so fun, with about 30 pounds of mud attached to it. The nice part about Belleville is the clay packs down, so the ruts aren't bottomless like White City, Marietta, and other places in Illinois. A good race.

 

[BarkBuster]

Thanks for the info KaTooMer! Ill have to put that on my list to attend the next one. That must be nice to have a race that close to home!
Later,
Bustr

 

[WoodsRider]

Hey Bark, KaTooMer used to live around the corner from you. ;)

 

[Monkey Butt]

I made it and survived

All in all it was a fun race. As far as I am concerned the weather wasn't much of a factor. I wore a T shirt and three jerseys and worked up quite a sweat. It was a pretty hairy course for someone who hadn't ever rode there before. You would come over the top of a steep hill and go right back down it on the other side with about a two foot top section in some cases. I'm glad I decided to take it easy the first lap. Unfortunately, I ended up at the doctors office the next day. No I didn't have any wrecks its just my old wore out back catching up to me. It was killing me before I even started the race but that isn't necessarily uncommon. It definately slowed me down but I wasn't about to quit. I ended up with 5th in the 200B class. The next day I literally could not walk without assistance. When my wife wasn't around I was actually crawling around the house. Amazingly the rest of my body didn't even get sore enough to even mention. If it wasn't for my back I would have been ready to go again the next day. It looks like it may be time to consider surgery.

Back to the race!! Lots of hills, some very sticky mud but only one place you really had to worry about getting stuck in, very well marked course and plenty of rocks thrown into the mix. I especially enjoyed the rutted up grass section. There was a couple of times that I had an "A" rider pass just before that section and I stayed right on their butts and even picked up ground. Overall, I really felt like I was going slow most of the race. I wasn't really trying to push it, partially because of my back and partially because of a new strategy not to kill myself. I was surprised to find out that I got 5th place. Hopefully I can get enough strength in my back soon to race again. I'm sure going to do what ever it takes. What a blast!!

I would have responded sooner but I wasn't able to set at the computer Monday and Tuesday and I had to go to Chicago for work Wed. - Friday. It's amazing what good doctors can do. They gave me an epideral (sp) along with some other real good drugs so that I would be able to lecture in front of 50 students for 9 hours straight on Wed. and Thurs. but I still had to find someone to drive me there because there was no way I could drive three hours straight in that kind of pain. I could barely stand up before the shot in my back. Man I am glad to be home it took everything I had to get through those three days.

Neal

 

[BarkBuster]

Originally posted by WoodsRider
Hey Bark, KaTooMer used to live around the corner from you. ;)

Yes, and I usud to live in St. Louis, maybe around the corner!!??:think


Monkeybutt-sounds kinda serious! Hope you don't need surg.!! That would suck considering how much fun you had at the race and how well you did under circumstances....but do what you gotta do for the long-term!

 

[Monkey Butt]

I'm going to start working out again tomorrow

Hopefully surgery won't be necessary but I am willing to consider anything at this point. My first step is to try a new workout regimen and additional stretching. My sports doctor is against back surgery unless it is the last resort, but he thinks it is time for me to at least consult a surgeon again. By the way he is a very good doctor who also suffers from similar back problems as myself. I really think that with some diligence and hard work that I will be able to continue riding and avoid surgery for awhile. I hope to be racing again by the end of April. Thanks for the concern!

Neal