zio
Mr. Atlas
- Jul 28, 2000
- 2,291
- 0
Man, what a confusing weekend. I don't know whether to be encouraged or bummed. I didn't finish a single lap, but before a rediculous bottleneck on a hill - call it Hamburger Hill - I was doing awesome. I don't toot my own horn often, but man, I really think I could have done well.
The day before, it was sunny & warm. But by the start of the A/B race Sunday morning, it was raining. It got progressively worse, until it was absolutely dumping buckets by my racetime. A delay in the race (they had to cut out several sections for us C riders) allowed Mother Nature to keep brewing the mud, but thankfully the rain stopped in time for our start (which was delayed nearly 2 hours).
I was lined up on the second row (it went 0-200, 201-250, then 4-strk, Vet, Sr, and so on), and luckily the row in front of me was sparse because the mud was at least a foot deep & if there was a rider starting in front of you you were guaranteed a thick coating of mud before you even started your engine.
When our shotgun went off, I missed the first kick & got off on the second. I have no clue how many guys were ahead of me, but I gunned it instead of my usual "casual launch". I had spectators (namely my uncle who's never seen me ride), and I had to look good at least on the start. By the time I reached that first turn, though, I was getting pelted with mud. I could barely see, and just tried to make it through the first lap of the motocross track without falling. Actually, riding in that thick mud was easier than it looked. It was so thick, it sort of kept your tires stuck in. As long as I kept my momentum up, I could hold a line pretty well. All I needed were a few milliseconds between wicked roostings to peek up & aim, and I was doing good. I didn't know it, but I was actually passing quite a few riders.
By the time I made it off the track & into the real course, I was totally blind. I reached for my first tearoff, & ended up taking all 10 off at once. :eek: Luckily, the mud wasn't as thick & I could take time to dodge roost & managed to keep my goggles clear for quite a ways. Taping an extra lense to my visor was a lifesaver.
I had decided early on to pace myself & try not to use up too much energy on the first lap. As I got farther into the course, I started realizing that I wasn't nervous, that I wasn't tired yet, and that I was doing well. Then I started to get confident & decided that I wasn't going to let the Kawasaki that just passed me get away. As I gassed it, I paid close attention to his lines and realized that he wasn't any better than me. So I waited for him to fall and he politely did so within a few turns. Then I caught up to two more riders and did exactly the same thing- hung out a safe distance behind them, watched their lines, and waited for them to fall. The guy in front did, but the dude on the Yamaha behind him didn't, so I waited for him to slow around a turn- he slowly took the inside line on this uphill left-hander and I went around him on the gas!!!!!!!! :yeehaw: That was only like my third time ever passing someone for real in a race.
I was thinking to myself "This rocks! I'm gonna do well!" Then it happened. I came around a corner & could see the signs of a bottleneck- riders slowing to a stop side by side. There was Hamburger Hill, and riders strewn all over it. It was ugly. There was no where to go. Every conceivable line had at least one rider burried up to his axle. Momentum was the key, and the rest of the racers coming up behind me were slowly packing themselves up into the chaos. I didn't want to follow, I wanted to wait for a clear line so I could get a good start & maybe make it up. But guys were coming up beside me & going 10 feet until they stalled behind the goon in the middle of their line. It was rediculous. But I figured I may as well get in line. So I gunned it until I hit a burried root & stalled. Guys were cussing right & left. Possible clean lines were suckering guys everywhere. The layer of grass off in the trees was only hiding more deep muck. The best way up the hill was to hop off the bike & rev to the moon while you pushed alongside it. Getting stuck behind another guy meant a humorously long shower of mud. Honestly- one guy three feet in front of me on a CRF gave me at least 45 seconds of roost. No worries, because I paid him back generously once I got some momentum & passed him.
After 10-15 minutes, I was (again) burried & stalled only 8 feet from the top. I was drained. I managed to kick it over, pin it, dump the clutch & launch it the rest of the way. Thankfully, by the time I climbed up it was still running on it's side. I picked it up & motored off. But alas, the triumph was short-lived. My already questionable clutch was gone. I limped to the first check (only a mile from the start/finish) and waited for a lift back.
I checked the results on the D36 website today, and I know I passed a few of the top 15 guys in my class at least once before the hill. Oh well. I guess that's racing, huh! :thumb:
The day before, it was sunny & warm. But by the start of the A/B race Sunday morning, it was raining. It got progressively worse, until it was absolutely dumping buckets by my racetime. A delay in the race (they had to cut out several sections for us C riders) allowed Mother Nature to keep brewing the mud, but thankfully the rain stopped in time for our start (which was delayed nearly 2 hours).
I was lined up on the second row (it went 0-200, 201-250, then 4-strk, Vet, Sr, and so on), and luckily the row in front of me was sparse because the mud was at least a foot deep & if there was a rider starting in front of you you were guaranteed a thick coating of mud before you even started your engine.
When our shotgun went off, I missed the first kick & got off on the second. I have no clue how many guys were ahead of me, but I gunned it instead of my usual "casual launch". I had spectators (namely my uncle who's never seen me ride), and I had to look good at least on the start. By the time I reached that first turn, though, I was getting pelted with mud. I could barely see, and just tried to make it through the first lap of the motocross track without falling. Actually, riding in that thick mud was easier than it looked. It was so thick, it sort of kept your tires stuck in. As long as I kept my momentum up, I could hold a line pretty well. All I needed were a few milliseconds between wicked roostings to peek up & aim, and I was doing good. I didn't know it, but I was actually passing quite a few riders.
By the time I made it off the track & into the real course, I was totally blind. I reached for my first tearoff, & ended up taking all 10 off at once. :eek: Luckily, the mud wasn't as thick & I could take time to dodge roost & managed to keep my goggles clear for quite a ways. Taping an extra lense to my visor was a lifesaver.
I had decided early on to pace myself & try not to use up too much energy on the first lap. As I got farther into the course, I started realizing that I wasn't nervous, that I wasn't tired yet, and that I was doing well. Then I started to get confident & decided that I wasn't going to let the Kawasaki that just passed me get away. As I gassed it, I paid close attention to his lines and realized that he wasn't any better than me. So I waited for him to fall and he politely did so within a few turns. Then I caught up to two more riders and did exactly the same thing- hung out a safe distance behind them, watched their lines, and waited for them to fall. The guy in front did, but the dude on the Yamaha behind him didn't, so I waited for him to slow around a turn- he slowly took the inside line on this uphill left-hander and I went around him on the gas!!!!!!!! :yeehaw: That was only like my third time ever passing someone for real in a race.
I was thinking to myself "This rocks! I'm gonna do well!" Then it happened. I came around a corner & could see the signs of a bottleneck- riders slowing to a stop side by side. There was Hamburger Hill, and riders strewn all over it. It was ugly. There was no where to go. Every conceivable line had at least one rider burried up to his axle. Momentum was the key, and the rest of the racers coming up behind me were slowly packing themselves up into the chaos. I didn't want to follow, I wanted to wait for a clear line so I could get a good start & maybe make it up. But guys were coming up beside me & going 10 feet until they stalled behind the goon in the middle of their line. It was rediculous. But I figured I may as well get in line. So I gunned it until I hit a burried root & stalled. Guys were cussing right & left. Possible clean lines were suckering guys everywhere. The layer of grass off in the trees was only hiding more deep muck. The best way up the hill was to hop off the bike & rev to the moon while you pushed alongside it. Getting stuck behind another guy meant a humorously long shower of mud. Honestly- one guy three feet in front of me on a CRF gave me at least 45 seconds of roost. No worries, because I paid him back generously once I got some momentum & passed him.
After 10-15 minutes, I was (again) burried & stalled only 8 feet from the top. I was drained. I managed to kick it over, pin it, dump the clutch & launch it the rest of the way. Thankfully, by the time I climbed up it was still running on it's side. I picked it up & motored off. But alas, the triumph was short-lived. My already questionable clutch was gone. I limped to the first check (only a mile from the start/finish) and waited for a lift back.
I checked the results on the D36 website today, and I know I passed a few of the top 15 guys in my class at least once before the hill. Oh well. I guess that's racing, huh! :thumb:
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