Any other DRNers go to this race?
I signed up late Friday night for the Support B class, and was sure to set the alarm for an early rising on Saturday. The weather was perfect, and a huge turnout was expected.
Practice went well, except that I was riding like a spode and got lapped by the A guys.
First moto I got a great jump out of the gate, lined up on the far outside. It was a bad gate choice, as I got pushed out and ended up blowing the first turn by about 20 feet, and came out in second to last place. They overwatered the track for this moto, so it was very slick coming into the corners, it was like sliding on ice. It was difficult to not ram people in the corners as nobody could stop until you slid into a rut or berm. I passed 5 or 6 guys until I got massive arm pump and couldn't hold on with my throttle hand. I was looking for that checkered flag, and hoping to get lapped soon by the A guys again to let me run one less lap.. It never happened, and I didn't see the last lap flag either! Two riders were on my tail and I was too tired to fight them off, not knowing how many laps were left.. I let them go, and came around to get the checkered flag that same lap.. Doh! I could have held them off easily and even put some ground between us if I knew it was the last lap.
First moto score: 11th out of 16.
Second moto, last run of the day. I lined up on the inside with two riders further inside than I. I figure I had a straighter shot into the left almost-hairpin turn. I got another good jump out of the gate and holeshot the field by about a bikelength and a half.. Woohoo! I tried to sprint away and hide which lasted for about half of a lap, until my buddy Aaron passed me followed by another guy on a CR. We came into the rhythm section, composed of 6 jumps..
I'll explain this section to help paint the picture of what was to happen next.
The first two jumps are not too far apart, maybe 35 feet. The second set are farther, about 40 or 45, so you have to gas it. The third set are about 35 - 40, so timing isn't important on the last two.
There are usually 2 or 3 speed demons that will triple-triple this section, including the fellow who built the track. They built a kicker / lip on the fourth jump, in the middle of the track, to make it easier to triple-triple.. When you double-double-double, this is your landing point so you have to be very careful and precise if you go up the middle, otherwise you should stick to the left or right sides.
I was using the right side all day long, so I kept using it. The guy on the CR doubled in, I was hot on his heels, about 4 or 5 feet behind him. Mistake number one. He landed and piled on the brakes, he wasn't going to double the rest of them I guess.. This put me in a very humbling situation. Either smoke into him from behind and take us both out into a broken heap, or screw myself even worse and try to avoid him. I chose the latter, which was probably my mistake #2. I shut off the throttle on landing to try to miss him, and veered to the left.. Right towards the middle lane. I didn't have nearly enough speed to clear the second set, but I was going too fast to roll it.. Plus my body positioning was way off from my emergency maneuver to try to ride out my impact. I came up short and smoked onto the lip/kicker on the fourth jump, which tossed me like a shrimp salad into a bloody heap in the middle of the track.
I got winded pretty bad and was sucking oxygen for the better part of a minute, until I could breath properly again.. There were a lot of first aid guys and spectators crouching around, so I knew I wasn't going to get run over. I could move all of my limbs, so I crawled off of the track and sat back against a dirt pile. Quick inspection showed my helmet suffered no noticeable damage.. Woohoo! I could feel something oozing from my right leg.. I looked down and there was a huge hole in my pants and a lot of blood under my knee pad. I guess my Fox kneepad slid down and left my kneecap exposed, as it is all torn up.
I was able to walk out under my own power and got my leg cleaned up with the assistance of some needle nose pliars, to get the gravel and dirt out of the big flesh hole. My whole knee was numb, so it didn't hurt. The hurt came later that night, after the shower.
Anywho, I cleaned house in the raffle draw, winning four times.. Best $10 I ever spent. :)
Dinner was catered at the track, delicious chicken and lasagna. Free cold beer, which I like to think made my knee feel better.
Damage report..
Bike: brand new set of Tag T2 bars, bent. First ride. :whiner:
Bike: broken Acerbis Flag-light handguard on brake side.
Bike: front wheel is aimed about 20 degrees out to the left, haven't felt good enough to try to straighten it yet but hopefully nothing is damaged regarding this and it will straighten back out okay.
Bike: slightly tweaked subframe, exhaust side looks a wee bit lower than the left using the rear fender as a reference point, but it may just be the fender.
Body: possible nerve damage to my left ring finger
Body: possible bruised or cracked rib near the top right of my chest
Body: possible cracked kneecap under the big open wound
I'm going in today for x-rays.. The doctor yesterday told me to expect the worst, but hope for the best. The swelling in the knee has gone down quite a bit so I'm hoping the kneecap is okay. It hurts like hell to cough, so I'm not too confident that the chest is okay, and my finger keeps falling asleep but I can bend it all the way now and there is feeling there still.
Oh, and I broke a nail! :whiner:
The biggest piss-off is bending the set of bars on the first ride.. But it could have been worse I suppose.
Lesson learned: Don't follow someone that close through a rhythm section, in the same line that they are in.
I'm hoping I will be able to ride next weekend, but I guess the x-rays will tell the story.
I signed up late Friday night for the Support B class, and was sure to set the alarm for an early rising on Saturday. The weather was perfect, and a huge turnout was expected.
Practice went well, except that I was riding like a spode and got lapped by the A guys.
First moto I got a great jump out of the gate, lined up on the far outside. It was a bad gate choice, as I got pushed out and ended up blowing the first turn by about 20 feet, and came out in second to last place. They overwatered the track for this moto, so it was very slick coming into the corners, it was like sliding on ice. It was difficult to not ram people in the corners as nobody could stop until you slid into a rut or berm. I passed 5 or 6 guys until I got massive arm pump and couldn't hold on with my throttle hand. I was looking for that checkered flag, and hoping to get lapped soon by the A guys again to let me run one less lap.. It never happened, and I didn't see the last lap flag either! Two riders were on my tail and I was too tired to fight them off, not knowing how many laps were left.. I let them go, and came around to get the checkered flag that same lap.. Doh! I could have held them off easily and even put some ground between us if I knew it was the last lap.
First moto score: 11th out of 16.
Second moto, last run of the day. I lined up on the inside with two riders further inside than I. I figure I had a straighter shot into the left almost-hairpin turn. I got another good jump out of the gate and holeshot the field by about a bikelength and a half.. Woohoo! I tried to sprint away and hide which lasted for about half of a lap, until my buddy Aaron passed me followed by another guy on a CR. We came into the rhythm section, composed of 6 jumps..
I'll explain this section to help paint the picture of what was to happen next.
The first two jumps are not too far apart, maybe 35 feet. The second set are farther, about 40 or 45, so you have to gas it. The third set are about 35 - 40, so timing isn't important on the last two.
There are usually 2 or 3 speed demons that will triple-triple this section, including the fellow who built the track. They built a kicker / lip on the fourth jump, in the middle of the track, to make it easier to triple-triple.. When you double-double-double, this is your landing point so you have to be very careful and precise if you go up the middle, otherwise you should stick to the left or right sides.
I was using the right side all day long, so I kept using it. The guy on the CR doubled in, I was hot on his heels, about 4 or 5 feet behind him. Mistake number one. He landed and piled on the brakes, he wasn't going to double the rest of them I guess.. This put me in a very humbling situation. Either smoke into him from behind and take us both out into a broken heap, or screw myself even worse and try to avoid him. I chose the latter, which was probably my mistake #2. I shut off the throttle on landing to try to miss him, and veered to the left.. Right towards the middle lane. I didn't have nearly enough speed to clear the second set, but I was going too fast to roll it.. Plus my body positioning was way off from my emergency maneuver to try to ride out my impact. I came up short and smoked onto the lip/kicker on the fourth jump, which tossed me like a shrimp salad into a bloody heap in the middle of the track.
I got winded pretty bad and was sucking oxygen for the better part of a minute, until I could breath properly again.. There were a lot of first aid guys and spectators crouching around, so I knew I wasn't going to get run over. I could move all of my limbs, so I crawled off of the track and sat back against a dirt pile. Quick inspection showed my helmet suffered no noticeable damage.. Woohoo! I could feel something oozing from my right leg.. I looked down and there was a huge hole in my pants and a lot of blood under my knee pad. I guess my Fox kneepad slid down and left my kneecap exposed, as it is all torn up.
I was able to walk out under my own power and got my leg cleaned up with the assistance of some needle nose pliars, to get the gravel and dirt out of the big flesh hole. My whole knee was numb, so it didn't hurt. The hurt came later that night, after the shower.
Anywho, I cleaned house in the raffle draw, winning four times.. Best $10 I ever spent. :)
Dinner was catered at the track, delicious chicken and lasagna. Free cold beer, which I like to think made my knee feel better.
Damage report..
Bike: brand new set of Tag T2 bars, bent. First ride. :whiner:
Bike: broken Acerbis Flag-light handguard on brake side.
Bike: front wheel is aimed about 20 degrees out to the left, haven't felt good enough to try to straighten it yet but hopefully nothing is damaged regarding this and it will straighten back out okay.
Bike: slightly tweaked subframe, exhaust side looks a wee bit lower than the left using the rear fender as a reference point, but it may just be the fender.
Body: possible nerve damage to my left ring finger
Body: possible bruised or cracked rib near the top right of my chest
Body: possible cracked kneecap under the big open wound
I'm going in today for x-rays.. The doctor yesterday told me to expect the worst, but hope for the best. The swelling in the knee has gone down quite a bit so I'm hoping the kneecap is okay. It hurts like hell to cough, so I'm not too confident that the chest is okay, and my finger keeps falling asleep but I can bend it all the way now and there is feeling there still.
Oh, and I broke a nail! :whiner:
The biggest piss-off is bending the set of bars on the first ride.. But it could have been worse I suppose.
Lesson learned: Don't follow someone that close through a rhythm section, in the same line that they are in.
I'm hoping I will be able to ride next weekend, but I guess the x-rays will tell the story.
