I arrived at the pits Saturday afternoon around 4:30 or so. I unloaded the bike, gassed it
up, installed a new plug then fired it up. I wanted to make sure it ran OK at the high
elevations and cold weather.
The weather was intermittent sun with a few passing hail/rain/snow showers passing through.
Fortunately while I was working on my bike it was nice.
After making sure the bike was running OK I went to tech inspection and impound. I love my
stock silencer. I think they said it was 84 db.
After that I hung around tech inpsection to see what kind of bikes there were. Mostly KTM's,
Yamahas and Hondas.
So around 6:00 I decided to head to town to check-in to the motel and grab some dinner. When
I was walking back to the truck this big ugly cloud came through, the temperature dropped
about 20 degrees and it started hailing. Wow!
Next morning I headed out to the pits around 7:00 or so. As I was driving out the sun
started to burn through the haze and it was shaping up to be a really nice day. But it was
cold. The last sign I saw in Bend said 26. I was hoping my bike would start OK.
The riders meeting was typical stuff not much new.
After the riders meeting I grabbed my camera then went to film some of the first few riders
working on their bikes then leaving.
I didn't have to leave until 9:53 so I got suited up around 9:15 or so. I didn't have
anything to do to my bike so the 10 minute work period was a little boring. I felt guilty
not having anything to do to my bike.
When my minute came up, I fired the bike up on the third kick. It was running good. I sat on
the line for 30 seconds or so to warm it up a little.
The first section was my introduction to the riding area. Wow! It was fun. Very fast and
loamy. I was in heaven! Of course the moisture the day before helped settle the dust.
Traction was awesome! The trails really made you feel like a good rider. I could just throw
the bike into the turns almost without braking. The berms were really good.
Got to the first check around 15 minutes early so I had a chance to relax my arms a little
(arm pump). There were probably 15 riders sitting there waiting for their minute. This one
guy must have been late. He pulls up to the end of the line and realizes he is late so he
blasts by the group of riders. For some reason he grabbed way too much front brake and
endo'ed towards the front of the line. His bike flopped over and knocked someone else down.
It didn't appear anyone was hurt or no damage was done so everybody started laughing. It was
great!!
Right after the first check there was a special test. It was really fast. I was hauling down
this fast section, when all of a sudden the course turned left and dropped down into a
wooded section. I was way too hot for the turn so I grabbed the brakes as hard as I could.
Unfortunately I grabbed too much front brake and endo'ed in the turn. Doh!! Fortunately
there was only one guy there who saw it. I figured that might hurt my special test time!!!!
The rest of the test was uneventful. I slowed the pace a bit to watch for those sudden
turns.
The rest of the first loop was nothing exciting. The second special test was more technical
and tight than the first one. But not too bad.
There was a guy laying by the side of the trail at mile 23. When I arrived there were 3
riders talking to him. He seemed pretty comfortable and relaxed. The riders said they would
let the next check crew no where he was. I couldn't tell what happended but there were a few
trees next to him missing some bark.
Got to the gas stop, gassed up, took some water and rested for a few minutes.
The second loop was supposed to be faster and less technical. It started off that way. Very
fast with some whoops but not many. What a blast!! Run the straightaways in 5th gear, tap
the brakes (not the front) for the turns, downshift to 4th lay it down and gas it!!! WAHOO!
After the fourth check we had another special test. Most of the special tests so far had
only been a couple miles at most. This test was long! And whooped out. My legs and arms were
starting to feel tired by now. I didn't get a mileage at the check out but it must have been
5 miles at least. It seemed to go on forever!
The rest of the course was nothing but whoops and soft dirt with some rocks thrown in for
fun. I was getting whipped by now so I was afraid I might be late to the last couple of
checks. My legs were cramping a little from all the whoops. I was slowing down to make it to
the finish. But at the fifth check I was still a few minutes early.
Then there was another special test. This one was not too bad though. It was kind of fun. I
was getting a little adrenaline knowing I was almost done. I was making more mistakes and I
almost missed a couple of turns. So I slowed a bit. I didn't want to crash this late in the
race.
Finally I saw the finish. I got there early but I knew I could come in 15 minutes early. I
tried calculating my time but the brain was fried. So I did a quick calculation and I think
I was less than 15 minutes early so I checked in.
I had a blast!! I will definitely do this event again next year if they have it. Thanks to
the Lobos MC for a fantastic day!
up, installed a new plug then fired it up. I wanted to make sure it ran OK at the high
elevations and cold weather.
The weather was intermittent sun with a few passing hail/rain/snow showers passing through.
Fortunately while I was working on my bike it was nice.
After making sure the bike was running OK I went to tech inspection and impound. I love my
stock silencer. I think they said it was 84 db.
After that I hung around tech inpsection to see what kind of bikes there were. Mostly KTM's,
Yamahas and Hondas.
So around 6:00 I decided to head to town to check-in to the motel and grab some dinner. When
I was walking back to the truck this big ugly cloud came through, the temperature dropped
about 20 degrees and it started hailing. Wow!
Next morning I headed out to the pits around 7:00 or so. As I was driving out the sun
started to burn through the haze and it was shaping up to be a really nice day. But it was
cold. The last sign I saw in Bend said 26. I was hoping my bike would start OK.
The riders meeting was typical stuff not much new.
After the riders meeting I grabbed my camera then went to film some of the first few riders
working on their bikes then leaving.
I didn't have to leave until 9:53 so I got suited up around 9:15 or so. I didn't have
anything to do to my bike so the 10 minute work period was a little boring. I felt guilty
not having anything to do to my bike.
When my minute came up, I fired the bike up on the third kick. It was running good. I sat on
the line for 30 seconds or so to warm it up a little.
The first section was my introduction to the riding area. Wow! It was fun. Very fast and
loamy. I was in heaven! Of course the moisture the day before helped settle the dust.
Traction was awesome! The trails really made you feel like a good rider. I could just throw
the bike into the turns almost without braking. The berms were really good.
Got to the first check around 15 minutes early so I had a chance to relax my arms a little
(arm pump). There were probably 15 riders sitting there waiting for their minute. This one
guy must have been late. He pulls up to the end of the line and realizes he is late so he
blasts by the group of riders. For some reason he grabbed way too much front brake and
endo'ed towards the front of the line. His bike flopped over and knocked someone else down.
It didn't appear anyone was hurt or no damage was done so everybody started laughing. It was
great!!
Right after the first check there was a special test. It was really fast. I was hauling down
this fast section, when all of a sudden the course turned left and dropped down into a
wooded section. I was way too hot for the turn so I grabbed the brakes as hard as I could.
Unfortunately I grabbed too much front brake and endo'ed in the turn. Doh!! Fortunately
there was only one guy there who saw it. I figured that might hurt my special test time!!!!
The rest of the test was uneventful. I slowed the pace a bit to watch for those sudden
turns.
The rest of the first loop was nothing exciting. The second special test was more technical
and tight than the first one. But not too bad.
There was a guy laying by the side of the trail at mile 23. When I arrived there were 3
riders talking to him. He seemed pretty comfortable and relaxed. The riders said they would
let the next check crew no where he was. I couldn't tell what happended but there were a few
trees next to him missing some bark.
Got to the gas stop, gassed up, took some water and rested for a few minutes.
The second loop was supposed to be faster and less technical. It started off that way. Very
fast with some whoops but not many. What a blast!! Run the straightaways in 5th gear, tap
the brakes (not the front) for the turns, downshift to 4th lay it down and gas it!!! WAHOO!
After the fourth check we had another special test. Most of the special tests so far had
only been a couple miles at most. This test was long! And whooped out. My legs and arms were
starting to feel tired by now. I didn't get a mileage at the check out but it must have been
5 miles at least. It seemed to go on forever!
The rest of the course was nothing but whoops and soft dirt with some rocks thrown in for
fun. I was getting whipped by now so I was afraid I might be late to the last couple of
checks. My legs were cramping a little from all the whoops. I was slowing down to make it to
the finish. But at the fifth check I was still a few minutes early.
Then there was another special test. This one was not too bad though. It was kind of fun. I
was getting a little adrenaline knowing I was almost done. I was making more mistakes and I
almost missed a couple of turns. So I slowed a bit. I didn't want to crash this late in the
race.
Finally I saw the finish. I got there early but I knew I could come in 15 minutes early. I
tried calculating my time but the brain was fried. So I did a quick calculation and I think
I was less than 15 minutes early so I checked in.
I had a blast!! I will definitely do this event again next year if they have it. Thanks to
the Lobos MC for a fantastic day!
