Finally, the last and best race of the year. Only one problem, rain. We drove through rain all day saturday and arrived at the awesome Schadd Ranch in the low Sierra Nevada mountains. A pure woods race with very tough conditions. It rained all day saturday, but stopped just as the sun went down. Then, everything froze over at night. In the meantime, we had an excellent fire and good times bs'n till about 9 pm.
In the morning I woke up to beautiful blue skies and let my brother know that the rain was gone. His race was 9am start for all over 40 classes. In the meantime, our old buddy Ret Sr. pulled up beside us, fresh off his dominating victory in the previous weekends enduro. I walked the first part of the course with my brother and waited for the race to go off. My bro and Ret were in the same class and started in the 3rd row. Ret pulled a rude holeshot and sprinted off to a big early lead. The laps were long, slippery and rough. Ret was rolling and came through in 1st after 1 lap. The riders from all classes were mixed up and it was har to tell what was goin on. I had to go get ready for my race, but my bro had caught and passed Ret on lap 2. One other rider from there class had gotten by and was gone. My bro finished 2nd with Ret 3rd :thumb: .
For the A/B race, I picked my spot in the last of 4 rows and waited for everyone to get there starts. When the gun went off, I got another good start and was about 5th into the first right hander. Another rider went in hot and his rear wheel slammed into my front wheel almost taking me out and causing me to fall outside the top ten. I didn't waste time getting back into the mix, and about 2 miles in, my brother signalled I was in 6th. The reast of the lap was carnage, as exposed rocks and roots made things supe difficult in some places. I was up into 3rd and feeling good. I caught my buddy and he crashed handing me 2nd. I made it about 50 yards past him and crashed trying to A-line a slower rider. All the work I had done was gone, as I remounted outside the top 10. I battled back past a couple, but I crashed again trying to pass on the second lap. Then a rider I was worried about blew by me on a fast section. I was not riding well, but I picked up my pace and started feeling better. I caught back up to him and as I tried to go around him, I went down again. At this point, I figured I was done. I got going but was tired from picking up my bike. Luckily I recovered quickly and began riding better. On lap 3 of a race I knew would only go 5, I made some good progress. I passed all the way back up to the guy I was worried about. In the middle of the loop, is a nasty creek bed which we ride right up the middle of. I saw my competition and knew he didn't see me right behind him. He followed the rider in front of him and I made a pass on both of them when they got screwed up in the trees. I made a break and was pulling away near the end of the 3rd lap. Again I found myself behind traffic. I passed all but 1. As I made my move, I lost the front end and went down, breaking my hand guard and augering in my handlebar. I frantically tried to get going again. I started the bike and took off, but 2 guys from my class were right on me. I was beat and both riders snuck by me with just over a lap to go. As I tried to get my energy back, they pulled away on the fastest part of the loop. As we entered the first single track, I charged pack into the battle, but I could only see one of the riders that passed me. I got by when he got tired and took off after the other rider. For 2/3 of the lap, I never saw him. Just as I was about to give up, I spotted him about 50 yards ahead with the race allmost over. I caught up and didn't have time to get by before a really tight downhill peg deep rut. I killed my engine and coasted down, because I was sure he didn't know I was there. At the bottom, I let out the clutch and stayed right on him. Right then, he looked back and saw me. With about a mile to go we battled, but he rode smart and stayed in the good lines and held me off by the length of our bikes. The race was tough and I was a little dissapointed to come in 4th. A win would have locked up the title, but I did beat everyone else who was near me in the points. Now after nine straight weekends of racing, I'm looking forward to some fun rides. I had a fun year and moved up about 50 positions in the overall d-36 standings. See you No-Cal'ers on the trails.
In the morning I woke up to beautiful blue skies and let my brother know that the rain was gone. His race was 9am start for all over 40 classes. In the meantime, our old buddy Ret Sr. pulled up beside us, fresh off his dominating victory in the previous weekends enduro. I walked the first part of the course with my brother and waited for the race to go off. My bro and Ret were in the same class and started in the 3rd row. Ret pulled a rude holeshot and sprinted off to a big early lead. The laps were long, slippery and rough. Ret was rolling and came through in 1st after 1 lap. The riders from all classes were mixed up and it was har to tell what was goin on. I had to go get ready for my race, but my bro had caught and passed Ret on lap 2. One other rider from there class had gotten by and was gone. My bro finished 2nd with Ret 3rd :thumb: .
For the A/B race, I picked my spot in the last of 4 rows and waited for everyone to get there starts. When the gun went off, I got another good start and was about 5th into the first right hander. Another rider went in hot and his rear wheel slammed into my front wheel almost taking me out and causing me to fall outside the top ten. I didn't waste time getting back into the mix, and about 2 miles in, my brother signalled I was in 6th. The reast of the lap was carnage, as exposed rocks and roots made things supe difficult in some places. I was up into 3rd and feeling good. I caught my buddy and he crashed handing me 2nd. I made it about 50 yards past him and crashed trying to A-line a slower rider. All the work I had done was gone, as I remounted outside the top 10. I battled back past a couple, but I crashed again trying to pass on the second lap. Then a rider I was worried about blew by me on a fast section. I was not riding well, but I picked up my pace and started feeling better. I caught back up to him and as I tried to go around him, I went down again. At this point, I figured I was done. I got going but was tired from picking up my bike. Luckily I recovered quickly and began riding better. On lap 3 of a race I knew would only go 5, I made some good progress. I passed all the way back up to the guy I was worried about. In the middle of the loop, is a nasty creek bed which we ride right up the middle of. I saw my competition and knew he didn't see me right behind him. He followed the rider in front of him and I made a pass on both of them when they got screwed up in the trees. I made a break and was pulling away near the end of the 3rd lap. Again I found myself behind traffic. I passed all but 1. As I made my move, I lost the front end and went down, breaking my hand guard and augering in my handlebar. I frantically tried to get going again. I started the bike and took off, but 2 guys from my class were right on me. I was beat and both riders snuck by me with just over a lap to go. As I tried to get my energy back, they pulled away on the fastest part of the loop. As we entered the first single track, I charged pack into the battle, but I could only see one of the riders that passed me. I got by when he got tired and took off after the other rider. For 2/3 of the lap, I never saw him. Just as I was about to give up, I spotted him about 50 yards ahead with the race allmost over. I caught up and didn't have time to get by before a really tight downhill peg deep rut. I killed my engine and coasted down, because I was sure he didn't know I was there. At the bottom, I let out the clutch and stayed right on him. Right then, he looked back and saw me. With about a mile to go we battled, but he rode smart and stayed in the good lines and held me off by the length of our bikes. The race was tough and I was a little dissapointed to come in 4th. A win would have locked up the title, but I did beat everyone else who was near me in the points. Now after nine straight weekends of racing, I'm looking forward to some fun rides. I had a fun year and moved up about 50 positions in the overall d-36 standings. See you No-Cal'ers on the trails.
