I live within an hour of Longview so I went to track on Saturday to check it out. The couse appeared to have alot og grass track sections so it looked like a fun course. There was alot of clay so if it rained it might be slick. Saturday of course was a beautiful sunny day. I was getting excited.
Sunday morning I met my brother for breakfast. We had a nice long bench racing session. My race wasn't until 2:30 so I was in no hurry. The weather was starting to mist a little and the clouds looked threatening. Then took off for the track.
On the drive down the rain hit. It was not steady rain. It would rain for 5-10 minutes then slack off for awhile. So maybe not too bad. As the day progressed the rain showers increased to 15-20 then 20-30 then 30-45 minute sessions.
When I arrived got signed up, passed the sound test easily then went to watch the fast race. The riders were covered with gorp!! So the track was a mess. I heard a couple of them complaining about a mudhole.
I went to watch the kids line up for their race. I watched a little of the kids race. Very cool. They were having a blast and the course looked good for them. Mainly a flat grass track with alot of twisties. Wow some of those little kids can fly.
Went and suited up for my race after the kids were done. Went out to the line and got on my wave. Had a short riders meeting on the line. Nothing special.
The wave in front took off and showered us with grass and clay clumps. A small sample of things to come. The gun fired for our wave, I kicked and no fire. Kicked again, nothing. Third time was a charm. I was able to catch up to the wave in the first and second turns since some riders went down and slowed everyone a bit.
The clay in the course had been finely polished by the morning race so it was slicker than greased glass. It was a struggle for me to keep the bike upright. The first mile or so was this slick goo. People were going sideways, face planting all over the place and slinging big clods of gorp. And the ruts were deep in the corners.
There was a short steel bridge crossing a little creek they had warned us about. So it was single file across there. Then we hit a gravel road for a ways so traction was finally good. Went down the road for a mile or so then back to some long grassy straights. These were not too bad if you kept on the gas. However on the second lap I got the front end crossed up in one of the ruts and was able to examine the grassy substance with my person. Trying to pick my bike up was a worthy workout. The gorp had stuck to it so it was at least 30 pounds heavier.
One section got done on the sandy banks of the Columbia River. In fact if you missed the turn you were going swimming. But it was a really wide turn. Had a straight section down the beach so traction was good there.
Then we got back towards the pits with more grass track sections and some twisties and a few small jumps. The track was really soft here and there. Some of the mudholes were getting wider and wider as the race went on.
After the first lap checking station there was a long straight down a gravel road. That was fun. Then it was back to the grease.
I managed one more face plant on the final lap. I was getting tired by now. Finally I finished.
Had alot of fun, didn't place well. The rain was only misting for most of the day so vision wasn't too bad. All in all it was a challenging ride and a good workout.
Thanks to Cascade Family M/C for a good event and a nice course.
Sunday morning I met my brother for breakfast. We had a nice long bench racing session. My race wasn't until 2:30 so I was in no hurry. The weather was starting to mist a little and the clouds looked threatening. Then took off for the track.
On the drive down the rain hit. It was not steady rain. It would rain for 5-10 minutes then slack off for awhile. So maybe not too bad. As the day progressed the rain showers increased to 15-20 then 20-30 then 30-45 minute sessions.
When I arrived got signed up, passed the sound test easily then went to watch the fast race. The riders were covered with gorp!! So the track was a mess. I heard a couple of them complaining about a mudhole.
I went to watch the kids line up for their race. I watched a little of the kids race. Very cool. They were having a blast and the course looked good for them. Mainly a flat grass track with alot of twisties. Wow some of those little kids can fly.
Went and suited up for my race after the kids were done. Went out to the line and got on my wave. Had a short riders meeting on the line. Nothing special.
The wave in front took off and showered us with grass and clay clumps. A small sample of things to come. The gun fired for our wave, I kicked and no fire. Kicked again, nothing. Third time was a charm. I was able to catch up to the wave in the first and second turns since some riders went down and slowed everyone a bit.
The clay in the course had been finely polished by the morning race so it was slicker than greased glass. It was a struggle for me to keep the bike upright. The first mile or so was this slick goo. People were going sideways, face planting all over the place and slinging big clods of gorp. And the ruts were deep in the corners.
There was a short steel bridge crossing a little creek they had warned us about. So it was single file across there. Then we hit a gravel road for a ways so traction was finally good. Went down the road for a mile or so then back to some long grassy straights. These were not too bad if you kept on the gas. However on the second lap I got the front end crossed up in one of the ruts and was able to examine the grassy substance with my person. Trying to pick my bike up was a worthy workout. The gorp had stuck to it so it was at least 30 pounds heavier.
One section got done on the sandy banks of the Columbia River. In fact if you missed the turn you were going swimming. But it was a really wide turn. Had a straight section down the beach so traction was good there.
Then we got back towards the pits with more grass track sections and some twisties and a few small jumps. The track was really soft here and there. Some of the mudholes were getting wider and wider as the race went on.
After the first lap checking station there was a long straight down a gravel road. That was fun. Then it was back to the grease.
I managed one more face plant on the final lap. I was getting tired by now. Finally I finished.
Had alot of fun, didn't place well. The rain was only misting for most of the day so vision wasn't too bad. All in all it was a challenging ride and a good workout.
Thanks to Cascade Family M/C for a good event and a nice course.
