MY Valley Trail Riders HS Report
This was my third HS. The weather had been rainy for a few days so I suspected no dust but maybe some mud. I wasn’t gonna go but the Team PTP mechanic and riding buddy has a cast on his hand so he can stay home and play with the wife all weekend. He said something about showing her some new moves, but I didn’t know Napper liked to dance. Anyway my best pit girl (E.T.) wanted to go and be my gas crew. She made up the sandwiches in the morning and off we went. This time with a map as last time at Polka Dots I thought I knew where it was but ended up having to ask at a local diner.
We are traveling there and we see the customary turkey flock in the school playground where my wife teaches in Pinconning. Finally we get there and the damn parking lot is packed like a tailgate party of drunks at a Lions game. We find a spot and walk by LeRoy signing autographs for some old guy. As I get to the sign up hut I see my old pal “corn dog” and “Johonny Cochran” and they show me some sport where a quad racer just pulled out in the supreme parking area next to Cory Caulkins. So I ask Cory to “hold it”
OK, now I’m parked and go to sign up. Get the pit all set up and see if Voc remember to bring my repaired pipe. No pipe because he thought I wouldn’t be there.
Now it’s race time, and theres no parade lap. Oh oh….it must be real muddy I thought.
I find me a nice stick to put my foot on to get a start and wait my turn. “M:” class is off first and in the second corner it looks like the pile up you see when the Lions try to run the ball, carnage everywhere and Brian Marr has a new rear “Chopper fender pointing straight up. Next excitement was the “H” class when my buddy corndog tries to get the hold shot on his team mates 300 EXC and damn near loops the bike out, I don’t know how he save it.
My flag drops and off I go in about 6th place, made it through the first few corners OK and got the the back straight and the let the KTM eat hauling some mail get set up for the corner and the bike quits! Damn, auto clutch ain’t supposed to do this! With out the parade lap my oil wasn’t warm enough and the bike stalls for a while. So I get the bike started in DFL and off I go. Man this thing is hard to steer and ride! I tightened the steering stem too much when I adjusted the fork tubes on it so I ride the first 7 mile loop turning it like a Mac Truck, it won’t handle worth beans so I’m slow as hell and I’m getting tired already. I make it back to the Pits and Fergie and Dave Dixon help me wrench it and off I go. Man that was one looooong first lap. The next two laps are better but I got arm pump like Popeye after 3 cans of spinach. I crashed a few times about once per lap and finally made 4 laps for a gas and Redbull break. The course is beat all to hell and I finish my final 2 laps. The first lap cost me big time because I didn’t get in quick enough to get into my 7th lap so I got my butt beat and ended up 10th place in my class.
I go into the trailer and change my clothes and as I leave it from the side door I lock that door because I don’t need it anymore. The back door was inadvertently locked too so I ask Erin for the keys. She says “they are in the pocket iof my jacket in the trailer!” Crap now my keys are locked in the trailer. (Reminds me of a story the first time I met Napper and he had to break a lock. After much begging for a bolt cutter Dennis Caulkins ended up taking the door off the trailer and we got in. As we left the race we almost ran over some baby turkeys.
This was my third HS. The weather had been rainy for a few days so I suspected no dust but maybe some mud. I wasn’t gonna go but the Team PTP mechanic and riding buddy has a cast on his hand so he can stay home and play with the wife all weekend. He said something about showing her some new moves, but I didn’t know Napper liked to dance. Anyway my best pit girl (E.T.) wanted to go and be my gas crew. She made up the sandwiches in the morning and off we went. This time with a map as last time at Polka Dots I thought I knew where it was but ended up having to ask at a local diner.
We are traveling there and we see the customary turkey flock in the school playground where my wife teaches in Pinconning. Finally we get there and the damn parking lot is packed like a tailgate party of drunks at a Lions game. We find a spot and walk by LeRoy signing autographs for some old guy. As I get to the sign up hut I see my old pal “corn dog” and “Johonny Cochran” and they show me some sport where a quad racer just pulled out in the supreme parking area next to Cory Caulkins. So I ask Cory to “hold it”
OK, now I’m parked and go to sign up. Get the pit all set up and see if Voc remember to bring my repaired pipe. No pipe because he thought I wouldn’t be there.
Now it’s race time, and theres no parade lap. Oh oh….it must be real muddy I thought.
I find me a nice stick to put my foot on to get a start and wait my turn. “M:” class is off first and in the second corner it looks like the pile up you see when the Lions try to run the ball, carnage everywhere and Brian Marr has a new rear “Chopper fender pointing straight up. Next excitement was the “H” class when my buddy corndog tries to get the hold shot on his team mates 300 EXC and damn near loops the bike out, I don’t know how he save it.
My flag drops and off I go in about 6th place, made it through the first few corners OK and got the the back straight and the let the KTM eat hauling some mail get set up for the corner and the bike quits! Damn, auto clutch ain’t supposed to do this! With out the parade lap my oil wasn’t warm enough and the bike stalls for a while. So I get the bike started in DFL and off I go. Man this thing is hard to steer and ride! I tightened the steering stem too much when I adjusted the fork tubes on it so I ride the first 7 mile loop turning it like a Mac Truck, it won’t handle worth beans so I’m slow as hell and I’m getting tired already. I make it back to the Pits and Fergie and Dave Dixon help me wrench it and off I go. Man that was one looooong first lap. The next two laps are better but I got arm pump like Popeye after 3 cans of spinach. I crashed a few times about once per lap and finally made 4 laps for a gas and Redbull break. The course is beat all to hell and I finish my final 2 laps. The first lap cost me big time because I didn’t get in quick enough to get into my 7th lap so I got my butt beat and ended up 10th place in my class.
I go into the trailer and change my clothes and as I leave it from the side door I lock that door because I don’t need it anymore. The back door was inadvertently locked too so I ask Erin for the keys. She says “they are in the pocket iof my jacket in the trailer!” Crap now my keys are locked in the trailer. (Reminds me of a story the first time I met Napper and he had to break a lock. After much begging for a bolt cutter Dennis Caulkins ended up taking the door off the trailer and we got in. As we left the race we almost ran over some baby turkeys.
