The track was in pretty good shape when I went out to practice on Sat morning…not too whooped out, not too deep. It was actually pretty fun. I realized very quickly I was going to need to do some rebound adjustments and general ergo stuff so after doing a couple laps, I started talking to a friend about suspension settings. He has a KX as well and had his suspension setup by a local suspension shop so we decided to trade bikes for a while to see if I liked his setup. I loved his bike. It just seemed to float over everything. After riding a few miles, I stopped and it took a minute for him to catch up and he explained that I was smoking his butt. He won his class last year and to date, I’ve been unable to keep up with him. So, my suspension is going to the shop this week. The fact that he told my wife how much faster I would be with tuned suspension was very helpful.
By Saturday evening, the track was a deep, sandy, whooped-out white knuckle ride. It was a 13 mile course and I swear that 10 of it was whoops, deep sand, and deep sandy whoops. I could only do a half lap and my hands were killing me.
Sunday race highlights: I got a decent start…mid pack with about 30 riders. I only stalled a couple times and dropped it twice. I crashed right in front of my wife and friends in a big cloud of dust at one time. Another time, while they were watching, I went flying down a straight, developed a severe case of headshake, couldn’t get on the brakes, and went into the trees. I also figured out that I’m not experienced enough to go fast through the whoops, because when I tried, my bar pad slammed into my chin and it took me a couple minutes to wave off those fireflys I was seeing. For the first time ever, I was glad I didn’t have a steering damper up there. The only other notable thing I can recall is that deep sand, deep whoops, dust, and the sun in your eyes at the same time is a treacherous combination. I think I finished in about 8th place and had a great weekend.
Next race: Jacksboro, TX…..with cushy new suspension.
One more thing, my wife’s best friend, who takes care of our kids during the day, placed 4th in the Woman’s Expert class out there after not having raced for two years. Congratulations Patty Vowell!!
Dennis
By Saturday evening, the track was a deep, sandy, whooped-out white knuckle ride. It was a 13 mile course and I swear that 10 of it was whoops, deep sand, and deep sandy whoops. I could only do a half lap and my hands were killing me.
Sunday race highlights: I got a decent start…mid pack with about 30 riders. I only stalled a couple times and dropped it twice. I crashed right in front of my wife and friends in a big cloud of dust at one time. Another time, while they were watching, I went flying down a straight, developed a severe case of headshake, couldn’t get on the brakes, and went into the trees. I also figured out that I’m not experienced enough to go fast through the whoops, because when I tried, my bar pad slammed into my chin and it took me a couple minutes to wave off those fireflys I was seeing. For the first time ever, I was glad I didn’t have a steering damper up there. The only other notable thing I can recall is that deep sand, deep whoops, dust, and the sun in your eyes at the same time is a treacherous combination. I think I finished in about 8th place and had a great weekend.
Next race: Jacksboro, TX…..with cushy new suspension.
One more thing, my wife’s best friend, who takes care of our kids during the day, placed 4th in the Woman’s Expert class out there after not having raced for two years. Congratulations Patty Vowell!!
Dennis
