Well, I finally got to finish a race at Splendora (San Jacinto MX). My past race experiences there have been less than fun. It opened in September or so last year. It is the best track near Houston. I have spent many Sundays pounding practice laps. But before yesterday, I was 0 for 2 when it came to races.
The first race I went to there I was in a first turn wreck but I was able to complete the moto. I felt really bad during the first moto of my next class. I decided to call it a day. The next day, the doctor told me that I had pneumonia.
After recovering from the pnemonia, I had a few awesome races at Highlands and Swan before coming back to my new "home" track, Splendora. Having turned so many laps on the track and my recent racing sucess, my confidence was riding high for my 2nd attempt at going home with some Splendora plastic. Within 1 lap of morning practice, the rest of my day had been decided. The toe of my boot dug into the deep loam on a hard jump landing and that was it. Broken ankle.
4 months go by...
I start riding again, put in a good race at Swan and yesterday was my 3rd attempt to survive Houston's best track (and Houston's waether). Well, I made it but I've got a long way to go to get back to where I was 5 months ago! Of course it could be the 100* heat :|
In the 250 nov class, I got a couple of holeshots and led for a few laps, but man am I out of shape! I had the speed and starts to win, but not the endurance of the 18 year old who took home the big plastic. I got second in both motos(if you were there and watched the 250 nov, laugh now). Another thing I found out is that my ankle hasn't healed yet. In the first moto, everytime that I sat down in a turn, I would inadvertantly lock up my rear brake! I stalled my bike in turns 3 times yesterday! Apparently, I lost the muscles that l use to lift my toe off the brake. That cost me alot of time and kept me from having a chance to keep up with the kid in the first moto.
The O-25 Nov class wasn't much better. I got a bad start in the first moto but was up to 2nd by the end of the first lap. The leader was gone, though. I tried to reel him in some, but it was a lost cause. In an effort to conserver energy for the second moto, I decided to just cruise on the last lap. The 3rd place guy was waaay back there anyway. Well, going slow into the sand turn is a bad idea! I did one of those low speed wrecks you see beginners do in the pits! 2 people got past and I finished 4th. :o Second moto was better. I got pushed up to the fence on the start and again was into 2nd by the end of the first lap. This time I managed to keep the race pretty uneventful. I was able to keep the leader in sight for a few laps before cruising. It was nice to finish my final moto unscathed.
Anyone within 200 miles of Houston should come ride this track! Big jumps, high speeds and perfect preping every Saturday and Sunday! The headlining jump is a 4th gear wide open uphill triple!
All in all, it was a fun day and I know what I have to work on.
The first race I went to there I was in a first turn wreck but I was able to complete the moto. I felt really bad during the first moto of my next class. I decided to call it a day. The next day, the doctor told me that I had pneumonia.
After recovering from the pnemonia, I had a few awesome races at Highlands and Swan before coming back to my new "home" track, Splendora. Having turned so many laps on the track and my recent racing sucess, my confidence was riding high for my 2nd attempt at going home with some Splendora plastic. Within 1 lap of morning practice, the rest of my day had been decided. The toe of my boot dug into the deep loam on a hard jump landing and that was it. Broken ankle.
4 months go by...
I start riding again, put in a good race at Swan and yesterday was my 3rd attempt to survive Houston's best track (and Houston's waether). Well, I made it but I've got a long way to go to get back to where I was 5 months ago! Of course it could be the 100* heat :|
In the 250 nov class, I got a couple of holeshots and led for a few laps, but man am I out of shape! I had the speed and starts to win, but not the endurance of the 18 year old who took home the big plastic. I got second in both motos(if you were there and watched the 250 nov, laugh now). Another thing I found out is that my ankle hasn't healed yet. In the first moto, everytime that I sat down in a turn, I would inadvertantly lock up my rear brake! I stalled my bike in turns 3 times yesterday! Apparently, I lost the muscles that l use to lift my toe off the brake. That cost me alot of time and kept me from having a chance to keep up with the kid in the first moto.
The O-25 Nov class wasn't much better. I got a bad start in the first moto but was up to 2nd by the end of the first lap. The leader was gone, though. I tried to reel him in some, but it was a lost cause. In an effort to conserver energy for the second moto, I decided to just cruise on the last lap. The 3rd place guy was waaay back there anyway. Well, going slow into the sand turn is a bad idea! I did one of those low speed wrecks you see beginners do in the pits! 2 people got past and I finished 4th. :o Second moto was better. I got pushed up to the fence on the start and again was into 2nd by the end of the first lap. This time I managed to keep the race pretty uneventful. I was able to keep the leader in sight for a few laps before cruising. It was nice to finish my final moto unscathed.
Anyone within 200 miles of Houston should come ride this track! Big jumps, high speeds and perfect preping every Saturday and Sunday! The headlining jump is a 4th gear wide open uphill triple!
All in all, it was a fun day and I know what I have to work on.
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