My brother and I got there really late Friday night (actually early Saturday am).
I've been fighting some type of respiratory infection all week. When I try to sleep I wake up with these gut wrenching coughing spells. I had hope the dust of East Fort Rock would heal the infection!
We woke up to a little frost Saturday around 7:00am. We whipped up some coffee, corn flakes and bananas for breakfast. Then headed out to find sign-up for the Poker Run.It turns out we were in the wrong staging area. Since the bikes were still loaded we took off in a cloud of dust and diesel smoke for the Road 25 Staging area.
Got there stood in a really long line for sign-up. Some guy comes along and tells us we need to do sound test first. So we go suit up, get the bikes, then stand in line for another 30 minutes or so to get signed-up.
Finally hit the trail. Boy, if you've nerver ridden at China Hat your missing the boat. The frost seems to draw the moisture to the surface so the dirt is moist, the corners are bermed and traction is ideal. The typical turn is downshift, tap a brake then throw the sucker down. Nice. We had a good ride of 47 miles but the Poker gods were not smiling on us. I had nothing, but brother had a pair of 2's. Not worth waiting around for 3 hours.
Got back to the pits, worked the bikes over, fueled up, programmed the computer(Pacemaker is setup for ISDE format) then impounded.
Visited with some other club members who drove down from WA. Fired up the stove for some Nalleys Beef Stew. I just love this stuff. I have no affiliation with Nalley but this is the supreme campout meal, next to hotdogs or better yet, chili dogs!!
Sunday morning had a little frost on the ground again. We headed over for the riders meeting, nothing special here, then went to get ready. We didn't start until 9:55 so we watched the first couple of rows take off.
We got suited up, then arrived at impound. We were able to get our bikes out of impound at 9:45am. Since we had done everything the day before there was nothing to do in the 10-minute work period. So the butterflies danced and the bladder started putting on some pressure.
Finally the minute ahead was waved off. I hit the 1 minute countdown on the Pacemaker and got a low battery warning. Oops! Must be time to replace them!
The course appeared to be the reverse of last year. So last years 2nd loop was this years first loop so I knew we were headed for some open fast whoop sections. Good to get that out of the way while I'm still fresh.
The first check was supposed to be at 5 miles. 5 miles came and went, 6 miles came and went and 7 miles came and went. Finally saw the check, it was at 8 miles. Hm. Must be the batteries throwing the mileage off. Nope, my brother had the same mileage. Oh well nothing we can do about it now.
Shortly after the first check we hit the first special test of the day. Boy was it fun, nice bermed corners, good traction, some whoops but not too bad and fast. I had a good time. Not sure how fast I was but it felt good.
After the special test I looked down at the Pacemaker to see if my programming was working. There weres some numbers displayed but I couldn't figure them out. The low battery warning was flashing so I shut the damn thing off.
Took off for the next check at 24 miles. The pace seemed faster than last year. We had to ride fairly fast (for us slow old farts) to get to the next check on time. We arrived with 3-4 minutes to spare. Shortly after that was special test number 2. Lots of deep 2-3 foot, soft sandy whoops as far as the eye could see. As soon as you finished one section and prayed for relief, you eased on into another section of the same type of terrain. It was open desert with a few rocks but mostly just big whoops. After several miles I noticed a large group of people in lawn chairs sitting next to the course looking alot like the end of the special test. I went by fairly fast and they all waved so I was thinking that was the end of the special test. I glanced back but my view was obscured by bushes and trees. So I slowed down some as I was getting a little winded.
Then I started thinking maybe that wasn't the check since I couldn't verify I'd seen red flags, so I decided to gas it up for a few miles, if I didn't see the check then everything must be OK. Yup, a few miles later here comes the red flags that marked the end. Oops!
Finished out the loop on time and had 10 minutes at gas. Gassed up the scooter, grabbed some fresh goggles I'd laid out, downed some Gatorade, refilled the camelback and headed for the check. One of our pit crew said I only had a minute to go. The check was at the far end of pit row. There was a 5 mph speed limit in the pits so I was trying to hurry and get through the traffic without getting into trouble. I made my minute with about 10 seconds to spare.
Took off on the start of the second loop which I thought might be similar to last years first loop. I didn't recall many whoops on the first loop last year so I was looking forward to some relief. The course headed into the trees for some fast twisty trails. Nice stuff. Handlebar dragging turns!!! Then we got into some open fast sections. Then we hit some whoops!!! Oh no, I don't think my legs can take many more of those. They pounded us for just a short while. Then we got to the first check then the special test. All of a sudden my hands started cramping. Cramping so hard I had to struggle to turn the throttle, grab the clutch or the brake. OH NO!! I slowed a bit, shook the hands, banged them on my leg, held them down one at a time and shook them. Then I focused on relaxing my grip. That seemed to work and the cramps went away.
I was starting to cramp a little in my thighs from the standing so I tried to sit a little more where I could. Finally the legs quit cramping. By this time we are starting to come up on some riders here and there. Finally hit the last special test. I think I did OK on that. I was feeling pretty good since I knew the end was getting near.
After that test the course got really tight winding through trees, stumps and logs, over rocks, around rocks, loose rocks and solid rocks. I was beginning to worry about losing route points at the last check. When the course finally opened up I gassed it up as best I could so I wouldn't be late. We finally arrived at the final check with a couple minutes to spare.
Wahoo!!! No broken bones and no broken bikes. The course seemed harder than last year with faster averages, but maybe my memory is slipping. Anyway the Lobos MC did an outstanding job with the course, the markings and the entire event.
I've been fighting some type of respiratory infection all week. When I try to sleep I wake up with these gut wrenching coughing spells. I had hope the dust of East Fort Rock would heal the infection!
We woke up to a little frost Saturday around 7:00am. We whipped up some coffee, corn flakes and bananas for breakfast. Then headed out to find sign-up for the Poker Run.It turns out we were in the wrong staging area. Since the bikes were still loaded we took off in a cloud of dust and diesel smoke for the Road 25 Staging area.
Got there stood in a really long line for sign-up. Some guy comes along and tells us we need to do sound test first. So we go suit up, get the bikes, then stand in line for another 30 minutes or so to get signed-up.
Finally hit the trail. Boy, if you've nerver ridden at China Hat your missing the boat. The frost seems to draw the moisture to the surface so the dirt is moist, the corners are bermed and traction is ideal. The typical turn is downshift, tap a brake then throw the sucker down. Nice. We had a good ride of 47 miles but the Poker gods were not smiling on us. I had nothing, but brother had a pair of 2's. Not worth waiting around for 3 hours.
Got back to the pits, worked the bikes over, fueled up, programmed the computer(Pacemaker is setup for ISDE format) then impounded.
Visited with some other club members who drove down from WA. Fired up the stove for some Nalleys Beef Stew. I just love this stuff. I have no affiliation with Nalley but this is the supreme campout meal, next to hotdogs or better yet, chili dogs!!
Sunday morning had a little frost on the ground again. We headed over for the riders meeting, nothing special here, then went to get ready. We didn't start until 9:55 so we watched the first couple of rows take off.
We got suited up, then arrived at impound. We were able to get our bikes out of impound at 9:45am. Since we had done everything the day before there was nothing to do in the 10-minute work period. So the butterflies danced and the bladder started putting on some pressure.
Finally the minute ahead was waved off. I hit the 1 minute countdown on the Pacemaker and got a low battery warning. Oops! Must be time to replace them!
The course appeared to be the reverse of last year. So last years 2nd loop was this years first loop so I knew we were headed for some open fast whoop sections. Good to get that out of the way while I'm still fresh.
The first check was supposed to be at 5 miles. 5 miles came and went, 6 miles came and went and 7 miles came and went. Finally saw the check, it was at 8 miles. Hm. Must be the batteries throwing the mileage off. Nope, my brother had the same mileage. Oh well nothing we can do about it now.
Shortly after the first check we hit the first special test of the day. Boy was it fun, nice bermed corners, good traction, some whoops but not too bad and fast. I had a good time. Not sure how fast I was but it felt good.
After the special test I looked down at the Pacemaker to see if my programming was working. There weres some numbers displayed but I couldn't figure them out. The low battery warning was flashing so I shut the damn thing off.
Took off for the next check at 24 miles. The pace seemed faster than last year. We had to ride fairly fast (for us slow old farts) to get to the next check on time. We arrived with 3-4 minutes to spare. Shortly after that was special test number 2. Lots of deep 2-3 foot, soft sandy whoops as far as the eye could see. As soon as you finished one section and prayed for relief, you eased on into another section of the same type of terrain. It was open desert with a few rocks but mostly just big whoops. After several miles I noticed a large group of people in lawn chairs sitting next to the course looking alot like the end of the special test. I went by fairly fast and they all waved so I was thinking that was the end of the special test. I glanced back but my view was obscured by bushes and trees. So I slowed down some as I was getting a little winded.
Then I started thinking maybe that wasn't the check since I couldn't verify I'd seen red flags, so I decided to gas it up for a few miles, if I didn't see the check then everything must be OK. Yup, a few miles later here comes the red flags that marked the end. Oops!
Finished out the loop on time and had 10 minutes at gas. Gassed up the scooter, grabbed some fresh goggles I'd laid out, downed some Gatorade, refilled the camelback and headed for the check. One of our pit crew said I only had a minute to go. The check was at the far end of pit row. There was a 5 mph speed limit in the pits so I was trying to hurry and get through the traffic without getting into trouble. I made my minute with about 10 seconds to spare.
Took off on the start of the second loop which I thought might be similar to last years first loop. I didn't recall many whoops on the first loop last year so I was looking forward to some relief. The course headed into the trees for some fast twisty trails. Nice stuff. Handlebar dragging turns!!! Then we got into some open fast sections. Then we hit some whoops!!! Oh no, I don't think my legs can take many more of those. They pounded us for just a short while. Then we got to the first check then the special test. All of a sudden my hands started cramping. Cramping so hard I had to struggle to turn the throttle, grab the clutch or the brake. OH NO!! I slowed a bit, shook the hands, banged them on my leg, held them down one at a time and shook them. Then I focused on relaxing my grip. That seemed to work and the cramps went away.
I was starting to cramp a little in my thighs from the standing so I tried to sit a little more where I could. Finally the legs quit cramping. By this time we are starting to come up on some riders here and there. Finally hit the last special test. I think I did OK on that. I was feeling pretty good since I knew the end was getting near.
After that test the course got really tight winding through trees, stumps and logs, over rocks, around rocks, loose rocks and solid rocks. I was beginning to worry about losing route points at the last check. When the course finally opened up I gassed it up as best I could so I wouldn't be late. We finally arrived at the final check with a couple minutes to spare.
Wahoo!!! No broken bones and no broken bikes. The course seemed harder than last year with faster averages, but maybe my memory is slipping. Anyway the Lobos MC did an outstanding job with the course, the markings and the entire event.