truespode
Moderator / Wheelie King
- Jun 30, 1999
- 7,984
- 251
This weekend was a blast. It is about the most fun I can have on a bike without Gomer around. I have to say riding and racing just isn't the same without him :(
First, we headed to JMX for some night racing on Saturday then I hit Parson's mountain again with a friend I used to work with.
Saturday Night:
I raced 250D and rode +30c/d. One thing I noticed during practice. There are some sandbaggers out there. One kid racing 125D on a KTM was so fast he almost lapped 3 guys in the heat race!!
Before I get to my races though let me tell you about the 250A. Normally they run and are unbelievably fast! Well, Saturday was
un-FREAKIN-believable. Rodney Scott (#577) usually wins the 250A. In the heat he lost to 104 but he had a bad start. In the main #577 got second after the first turn and moved into first by the second lap. 104 was in 4th off the start. 104 moved into 3rd and on lap three he did the incredible.
Now, you have to know the track but trust me, this was awesome!!
There is a section that has a table top, table top and a step-up. I love this section. There is very little room out of the corner. If you take the inside you only have 2 feet or so before the face. 104 RAILED the outside and jumped from the first table top to the second!! He cased it hard but it was amazing. He moved into 2nd on that leap and took over the lead on the last lap and never looked back. He was the fastest person I've ever seen out there and that includes Josh McCleavy (runs the GNCC series).
Ok, now on to me.
In the 250D heat I got a decent start. I was 9th or 10th off the start out of 16 riders. I passed a couple and was running 7th. I had a good battle going with 4 other riders but there was a lot of carnage and I lucked out on the last lap. A kid on a KTM slid out on the 2nd to last turn and took another guy out who was setting me up (he was a lot faster than me). I got 5th out of 16 in the heat.
In +30 c/d I got 2nd to last out of the start and stayed there. Those guys were pretty fast but I really enjoyed being out there.
Overall, I couldn't find a rythm through the whoops and that was my achilles heal the whole night.
In the main I got a decent start in the 250D class. Only 15 lined up and that is all they counted for points. On the first lap Wrench goes down hard. I think he got crossed up by two other riders. He hit his knee and shoulder pretty hard. He wasn't a happy camper this morning.
I hope it heals quick for him.
I went around and took the turn after the stepup wide but
on the gas!! As I jumped I saw that a kx was on the ground!! OH ****!!. Fortunately I went wide. If I would have cut inside I'd have had nowhere to go. I missed him by inches but the guy I was battling with didn't :(
I held 9th for another lap and then decided I can clear the finish line jump. Up I go and guess what? Another kx on the ground. My front wheel had just crested and the kx was at the bottom of the jump. I tapped the rear brake and scrubbed off enough speed that I landed just short enough to pull around and over his back fender and head into the whoops.
I tired out on the next lap and some guys were catching me but I was fast enough to hold on for 8th out of 15 in the main (my best ever was 6th on a short gate). On the last lap I jumped one jump and jammed my left wrist. My pinky went numb and the rest of my hand hurt. I decided not to run the +30 since it was only 3 races after the 250D. If I would have had more of a break to find out if there was something really wrong with my wrist I'd have
ran it. Turned out I just hit my funny bone or something. It is a little numb today too but it isn't bothering me too bad. Either way I really had fun in the 250D.
They trophied 7 places. Just one short.
The weather was perfect for the night. Mid 70's and a cool breeze. This was the best I felt ever racing so I have to say that this is the best I've ever raced. I know at least 2 people will be moved out of 250D. #19 from last year on a 426 really was flying and he didn't look like no D rider Saturday night. He looked really smooth.
Sunday:
A friend I used to work with called me about 5pm on Saturday and said he was heading to Parson's Mt. I had to meet him out there. I got there around noon and it was really, really, really, really nice out. Did I say it was really nice out? Well, it was better than that. It was so nice that when I got home I washed the bike, mowed the lawn and did a few other things in the yard. Last year I'd have been so dead after the night race I'd have stayed in bed till noon and rested all day Sunday. The weather just made it too desirable to stay outside.
Unfortunately, the trails were all dust!!
Jeff and his gang showed up with a story to tell. First his brother lost his trailer. It just fell off the ball. Totalled the trailer and scratched up the RMX. Man, I'd have **** if that had happened to me. Then they get Jeff's trailer and about 1/2 a mile after leaving the left wheel locks up due to bad bearings.
Oh well. They load up into a van and come on down.
We head out on the first run and it was a pretty good pace. I was following Jeff's brother and Jeff was behind us. The dust was crazy!! I was doing my best to stay on Jeff's brother but he'd brake slide or roost it over a waterbar and kick up so much sand and dust that there was no way I could see anything. There were a few times I just gassed it and hoped I didn't hit anything!!
On the second loop I let Jeff ride my bike and I rode his KDX250 and immediately I LOVED the motor. I hated everything else but man Kawasaki's have such a lovely electric motor. All the KX250's I have ridden have felt really good. After finally finding the shifter and getting out of first gear I started doing ok. I couldn't stand too well b/c his bars were bent and his suspension was stock. Not to mention the seat had a worn down spot that put my butt so low that it was really, really hard to get up.
If I could get a YZ250 to have a motor as electric with my suspension I may just be enticed to go back to the smokey side. Either that or Kawasaki has to get McGrath then I would have a good excuse (b/c the wife told me to switch <g>).
Overall, we took less breaks than we did when we ran Parson's last time but we ran a slower pace too. Not much but it was slower.
Anyway, that is my report. If it wasn't for the dust it would have been perfect. As it stood it was as close to a "I bet you wish you were me" weekend as you can get.
Now I get to go to Virginia next weekend and San Diego the weekend after. 2 weeks without riding :( I'll fly in on the 28th, sleep and get up and ride 2 days at TNT to make up for it <g>
I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Ivan
First, we headed to JMX for some night racing on Saturday then I hit Parson's mountain again with a friend I used to work with.
Saturday Night:
I raced 250D and rode +30c/d. One thing I noticed during practice. There are some sandbaggers out there. One kid racing 125D on a KTM was so fast he almost lapped 3 guys in the heat race!!
Before I get to my races though let me tell you about the 250A. Normally they run and are unbelievably fast! Well, Saturday was
un-FREAKIN-believable. Rodney Scott (#577) usually wins the 250A. In the heat he lost to 104 but he had a bad start. In the main #577 got second after the first turn and moved into first by the second lap. 104 was in 4th off the start. 104 moved into 3rd and on lap three he did the incredible.
Now, you have to know the track but trust me, this was awesome!!
There is a section that has a table top, table top and a step-up. I love this section. There is very little room out of the corner. If you take the inside you only have 2 feet or so before the face. 104 RAILED the outside and jumped from the first table top to the second!! He cased it hard but it was amazing. He moved into 2nd on that leap and took over the lead on the last lap and never looked back. He was the fastest person I've ever seen out there and that includes Josh McCleavy (runs the GNCC series).
Ok, now on to me.
In the 250D heat I got a decent start. I was 9th or 10th off the start out of 16 riders. I passed a couple and was running 7th. I had a good battle going with 4 other riders but there was a lot of carnage and I lucked out on the last lap. A kid on a KTM slid out on the 2nd to last turn and took another guy out who was setting me up (he was a lot faster than me). I got 5th out of 16 in the heat.
In +30 c/d I got 2nd to last out of the start and stayed there. Those guys were pretty fast but I really enjoyed being out there.
Overall, I couldn't find a rythm through the whoops and that was my achilles heal the whole night.
In the main I got a decent start in the 250D class. Only 15 lined up and that is all they counted for points. On the first lap Wrench goes down hard. I think he got crossed up by two other riders. He hit his knee and shoulder pretty hard. He wasn't a happy camper this morning.
I hope it heals quick for him.
I went around and took the turn after the stepup wide but
on the gas!! As I jumped I saw that a kx was on the ground!! OH ****!!. Fortunately I went wide. If I would have cut inside I'd have had nowhere to go. I missed him by inches but the guy I was battling with didn't :(
I held 9th for another lap and then decided I can clear the finish line jump. Up I go and guess what? Another kx on the ground. My front wheel had just crested and the kx was at the bottom of the jump. I tapped the rear brake and scrubbed off enough speed that I landed just short enough to pull around and over his back fender and head into the whoops.
I tired out on the next lap and some guys were catching me but I was fast enough to hold on for 8th out of 15 in the main (my best ever was 6th on a short gate). On the last lap I jumped one jump and jammed my left wrist. My pinky went numb and the rest of my hand hurt. I decided not to run the +30 since it was only 3 races after the 250D. If I would have had more of a break to find out if there was something really wrong with my wrist I'd have
ran it. Turned out I just hit my funny bone or something. It is a little numb today too but it isn't bothering me too bad. Either way I really had fun in the 250D.
They trophied 7 places. Just one short.
The weather was perfect for the night. Mid 70's and a cool breeze. This was the best I felt ever racing so I have to say that this is the best I've ever raced. I know at least 2 people will be moved out of 250D. #19 from last year on a 426 really was flying and he didn't look like no D rider Saturday night. He looked really smooth.
Sunday:
A friend I used to work with called me about 5pm on Saturday and said he was heading to Parson's Mt. I had to meet him out there. I got there around noon and it was really, really, really, really nice out. Did I say it was really nice out? Well, it was better than that. It was so nice that when I got home I washed the bike, mowed the lawn and did a few other things in the yard. Last year I'd have been so dead after the night race I'd have stayed in bed till noon and rested all day Sunday. The weather just made it too desirable to stay outside.
Unfortunately, the trails were all dust!!
Jeff and his gang showed up with a story to tell. First his brother lost his trailer. It just fell off the ball. Totalled the trailer and scratched up the RMX. Man, I'd have **** if that had happened to me. Then they get Jeff's trailer and about 1/2 a mile after leaving the left wheel locks up due to bad bearings.
Oh well. They load up into a van and come on down.
We head out on the first run and it was a pretty good pace. I was following Jeff's brother and Jeff was behind us. The dust was crazy!! I was doing my best to stay on Jeff's brother but he'd brake slide or roost it over a waterbar and kick up so much sand and dust that there was no way I could see anything. There were a few times I just gassed it and hoped I didn't hit anything!!
On the second loop I let Jeff ride my bike and I rode his KDX250 and immediately I LOVED the motor. I hated everything else but man Kawasaki's have such a lovely electric motor. All the KX250's I have ridden have felt really good. After finally finding the shifter and getting out of first gear I started doing ok. I couldn't stand too well b/c his bars were bent and his suspension was stock. Not to mention the seat had a worn down spot that put my butt so low that it was really, really hard to get up.
If I could get a YZ250 to have a motor as electric with my suspension I may just be enticed to go back to the smokey side. Either that or Kawasaki has to get McGrath then I would have a good excuse (b/c the wife told me to switch <g>).
Overall, we took less breaks than we did when we ran Parson's last time but we ran a slower pace too. Not much but it was slower.
Anyway, that is my report. If it wasn't for the dust it would have been perfect. As it stood it was as close to a "I bet you wish you were me" weekend as you can get.
Now I get to go to Virginia next weekend and San Diego the weekend after. 2 weeks without riding :( I'll fly in on the 28th, sleep and get up and ride 2 days at TNT to make up for it <g>
I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Ivan