* Buffalo Range Hare Scramble *

[Baked]

Buffalo Range Annual Hare Scramble
Sept 16, 2001

2 Hrs of racing on a well arrowed, 100% Rideable Course at Buffalo Range Riding Park

Ottawa, IL

All District 17 Hare Scramble Classes (no 4 wheelers)

12:00 start time
Sign up: 7 -11:30 am
Riders Meeting: 11:30 am
"C" Riders will ride a seperate course

Mini's: 50cc-80cc
10:00 am start time - 1 hr race on a seperate course

$25.00 Race Fee / $5.00 Gate Fee - Cash or Check
(Mini's $15.00 race fee) (Under 12yrs - no gate fee)
Spectator Fee $5.00

AMA Sanctioned / Valid AMA Card Required
District card Required for Points

Medical Insurance is the Responsibility of the rider

Riders under the age of 18 MUST have a Parent or Guardian present - NO EXCEPTIONS

Contingency & Door Prizes from Local & National Sponsors

Food & Drinks available in the pits

Questions: 815-433-2471 or 708-946-0987

From the corner of I-80 and Rt. 23, Ottawa, IL
-Rt 23 sourth to Rt. 6, then 4 miles west on Rt. 6

Follow Arrows

 

[Bob Brooks]

Separate class for C riders? Do they race simultaneously with the A and B classes?

 

[Baked]

Yeah... as far as I know... It will be a "barrel-split". A/B one way... "C" the other

 

[Bob Brooks]

Any info on the layout and course length?

 

[Baked]

No info on the length... it will most likely be similar to the national a couple years ago :eek: ... I don't know much more than that... the layout will be finished Saturday, and ready to go Sunday... that is if we're still around with all this stuff going on right now! :(

 

[korky37]

Baked

This "barrel split"...........does this mean two different courses or a split at different sections in the course.

In light of Tues. events I am home this weekend and would love to run a scramble to get my head away from this mess!

I am a "C" rider new to the area and would love to check this place out!

 

[AnneBrooks]

It should be a fun race. We'll be in a green Ford van with a KTM 300 and Honda XR250. Feel free to drop by and BS.

 

[Baked]

Scores?

FlyinRyan... how'd you end up finishing. I was marshalling, any problems on your end?

Everyone who went!
How'd you like it?

 

[2 B]

Baked , how was the turnout? How hard of a layout did you guys make it too be? How did Fredette do in the ISDE?

 

[FlyinRyan]

Had a lot of fun! Thought the course was great. All the up and downs were cool, didn't think there were that many of those in that place. Loved that big ravine that we went down into to, that was the coolest section. The only thing that was bad was the C class being in front of us at the end of the first lap. Think we scared some of the guys and I had a couple of scares coming up on people so fast. It was a good idea to split them though, because I think there would have been alot of bottlenecks if they would have ridden the whole course. Heard some of the A guys complaing that they had problems passing lappers but I never really had a problem, just had to be patient and get by when you could. There was some cheating going on, but Jeff and Dave Dupree caught the guys that were doing that and put an end to that.
Ending up in 2nd Little A and second overall. Joey A got me by 15 seconds. Thought it was cool that Tom Hofmaster (Sp) and Rusty Ott were there to try a HS. My dad heard some people saying that Tom would have no problem winning against us local HS guys. I think we showed him;) . I give Tom credit he did end up 5th overall I think. I say him on the MX track and he was awesome! Was really fast in the woods to, but he didn't have brush guards which hurt him alot. Talked to him after the race and he said he had fun and wouldn't mind doing some more for fun.
Once again it was alot of fun!

 

[Baked]

From what I understand, we had 153 riders. I'll have to let the people who raced it tell you about the course. Fredette got a Silver at the ISDE.

FlyinRyan, the "A" guys hit the "C" riders mid pack. I was helping some of them out of a small mud hole when you guys came by. Just out of curiosity, which way did you take on that split in the A/B loop (off camber or creek crossing). I asked a kid by the check in the sand section who was winning... he said "Oh Hofmaster is gonna win for sure"... I just kind of chuckled and said "well.... I don't know, there's some pretty fast guys in the woods." (I'd seen you come by me twice already) I'm sure they made some time up on the motox track though. From what I understand Hofmaster was clearing all the jumps wide-open.

Congratulations to anyone who finished! How'd you guys like them trophys?

Anyway, anyone going to Trumbo Farm?

 

[FlyinRyan]

I was taking the off-camber, I went that way every lap. I heard the other way was faster but never tried it.
I thought that was you at that little mud hole. I say all those bikes on the first lap and thought this is going to be fun, but then couldn't fgure out why everyone was stuck there. Guess some of them have never ridden on Ottawa "Ice" before.
Hofmaster was flying on the moto track. He led us into the woods and led us to the "waterfall", then Joey went over backwards trying to go up the vert wall, and Hofmaster just sat there so I went the easy route and got by them. I think with brush guards Hofmaster would have done alot better.

 

[Bob Brooks]

I thought the course was a lot of fun and that you guys did a great job with it yesterday. In my opinion, it was a very good use of the available land at Buffalo. The ravine section that Ryan referred to was very cool. It reminded me of the some of the ravines and gorges I saw last fall at Crawfordsville, Indiana.

I did have one problem that could've been avoided, however. About halfway through the race, I crossed the wooden bridge and if everyone noticed, there was chain link on that wooden bridge. As I was crossing the bridge, my front tire apparently kicked up the chain link and it tangled up in my rear brake pedal, locking my rear wheel up solid and high-siding me off the bridge. That wasn't any kind of fun. After I got out of the ditch and back on the bridge, I had to untangle the chain link from my rear brake lever and since I didn't have any wire cutters with me, I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. After several minutes of cussing and wrestling with it by hand, I was able to free my brake lever and continue with the race. It wasn't really anyone's fault, just a total, freak, dumb deal but after it happened I questioned why the chain link was there in the first place. It was an unnecessary hazard that bit me, but I completely understand that it's impossible to walk the entire course and eliminate all potential hazards. Hundreds of riders must've crossed that chain link during the day with no problems, but it just happened to get me, dumb luck.

Other than that unfortunate incident, I had a great time. We ride at Buffalo quite a bit, and we were very impressed with the layout of the course and the use of the land. I wish we had more events like this.

We'll definitely be back next Sunday for the race at Trumbo's Farm. That should be a fun one too. Thanks again for putting on the Buffalo race and congratulations to Ryan on another fine ride. No offense to Hofmaster and the motocrossers who participated, but it was nice to see the woods guys prevail. I also heard a lot of rumbling prior to the race that Hofmaster was going to "smoke everyone." Well, he certainly smoked me, but I was glad to see Ryan and some of our local fast guys lead him to the finish. I believe Ryan is right though, with some handguards and a little more experience in the woods, I'm sure Hofmaster would be a bear. He was certainly a missle on the MX track and no slouch in the woods as it was.

 

[Baked]

Bob, we saw the chainlink. It was nailed down so it wouldn't do just that. The only reason that is there is for traction. If mud would have gotten on that bridge, there would have been a lot more people in the ditch. Sorry though, and I'll make sure we have that widened for next time.

Ryan, I believe the other way was a little faster... the only thing that we suspected would slow that side down was the mud in the creek. You know as well as I do that the mud at Buffalo is "unpredictable" and hard to recognize. You have to ride that place as if everything is gonna be slick. Well again... congratulations to everyone and anyone else who has comments please let me know.

 

[carnage]

Thought the course was great myself. This was my first Harascramble or any other motorcycle race for that matter, and loved it. Of course I rode the C loop and think I did pretty well considering this summer is my first on a dirt bike. Finished mid pack in the Big C class. There was one area that was confusing though. At the check point in the woods I asked where to go and was told to follow the A/B arrows. For the rest of that first lap I wasn't sure if I was on the right loop anymore. It would have been nice to have that mentioned in the drivers meeting. They said the motocross track would only have the A/B arrows but failed to mention that section of the woods was combined as well.

I think I had better work on gripping my bike with my legs more as at about the 1.5 hour mark my hands went numb and my shoulders were crying. Practice, practice and more practice... Look forward to the next one.

 

[Bob Brooks]

Baked, I suspected the chain link was there for traction purposes and you're absolutely right, if we had gotten much rain, or if mud had worked its way onto the bridge, it would've been a nightmare. I've ridden across wet wooden bridges before, and I don't think there's much more slippery than that, short of sheer ice. I'm not sure what the answer is with that chain link. I understand the need for it, but it would be a very tough thing to keep secured for the duration of a race. Luckily, other being sore today, I'm not hurt and neither is my motorcycle. At the time, I was highly irritated because the incident cost me several minutes of down time and killed any chance I had for a good finish in my class (Vet B). I'm not fast enough to make up that kind of deficit and it's always aggravating when you crash and lose time due to no fault of your own. I don't blame you guys, or anyone really. It's just one of those things, poor racing luck. We all have it happen.

It was a fantastic course and I enjoyed it immensely. I'd love to see a couple more on the schedule next year.

 

[WoodsRider]

Baked - Nice to see you getting involved. Working an event is definitely a new experience. Was all of H&G involved or just Jeff, Double D and a few others? All of H&G can be a truly unique experience. Great bunch of guys and I truly miss them.

FlyinRyan - Good job on a second place finish behind Ambrosini. If you're ever out this way look me up. We've got some riding up here that makes Buffalo look easy. ;)

Bob - As a former victim of a "man-made" hazzard (barbed wire around my rear hub) I've learned to carry wire-cutters in my tool pack. More events means more help. Try getting involved with one of the clubs in your area.

 

[Baked]

To be honest... this was a personally held race... Hill & Gully really had nothing to do with it. It was Fredette, Double D, Steve ?, Snedecor and Myself.... that's that... we spent 2 SOLID days getting the course ready, and there was still a bit we could have done. The arrowing was excellent in most areas and the course was made to be "un-cuttable" (unless you wanted to get caught) :) anyway... yeah, it was fun and it really let me see how things really work at the races... but that's another story! :)

 

[korky37]

Kudos to everyone who put on this race I found everyone to be very professional.

A friend and I got lost on the way and showed up very late but the ladies at the tower were nice enough to let us sign up anyway.Needless to say we got dressed started the bikes signed in and headed to the starting line.Wow close call!!!!!!!!!!!!

I to ran the C class and had a good time.This was my only 2nd race and really felt pretty comfortable out there.My first scramble was in the mid-south series and the course was 12 miles long 2 laps and that was it for me.It was nice to get familiar with the terrain as the race went along but buy the end was kinda wishin the laps would have been longer than 2.5 miles.

All in all I had a great time and am looking forward to goin back.I couldn't have found a better day way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

 

[Rich Gould]

I'd also like to compliment the organizers of the BR HS. The whole thing seemed well organized compared to some others I've been to. I rode Big C class and enjoyed the course. Managable but sometimes challenging terrain, but after about 5 laps I got tired and started crashing. First I lost the rear brake pedal - which makes everything a lot more interesting. Then, on the last lap, just before you came out of the woods and onto the MX track, I took a dive and got run over. Big bummer, broken fender, brused body. :-(

Overall, I had a great time. I hope the soreness in my body goes away enough for this weekend's Variety Riders HS! New bike parts are on the way too!

Thanks for the effort to those who organized the event. It is appreciated.