I decided to race the WORCS race the 31st after verifying that no logs and tires and bears were a part of the course, lol. All of us SIDRA members were to start at 4:45 in 3 waves with a live engine start. (Nothing like waiting all day long before your race … allows proper time to freak yourself out.).
Since we had all the time in the world before our race, Velo and I decided to walk around and check out parts of the course. The start had a long wide hillclimb then curved to the left and put you into some crazy deep sandy s-turns. The sand had to be close to a foot or so deep. It was pretty wicked. No doubt riders would be piled up there, so we made a mental note to try and be prepared.
After the s-turns, you headed right for a section on the track. The track was pretty intimidating especially since a.) I’ve never been to one before and b.) I’ve never ridden one before. We decide that probably the first lap I should just roll everything and the laps following have a little fun if I felt comfortable with the tabletops.
The next area we were able to check out was the nasty long sandy downhill that included DEEP whoops that wanted to send riders over the bars … and did big time, lol. We saw some pretty good yard sales in this section. Sweet. Now, I just wanna hurl and question why in the hell did I sign up for this race, lol.
Well, now it’s time to gear up and get down to the start. Did I mention already that I just wanna hurl? We get lined up in the proper rows A, B (this is where I was), and C. I told myself to forget about the hole shot and just let the rest of the wave duke it out, lol. This decision turned out to maybe be a mistake cuz the start led you right into those deep sandy s-turns that I mentioned before. As soon as I came around one of the corners … a pile up … perfect. I can’t really get around them much so I flail and tip over. Frick, lol. I pick the bike up and get it kicked over first kick and I’m finally off. … looking over my should for the C wave. There are some sandbaggers in that group and I didn’t want tire marks on my new helmet, lol.
I head to the section on the track and I can feel that I’ve tensed up a bit. I roll a jump or two and then get led to another part of the dezert course.
This would be the section that had the longest section of gnarly sand known to boy (or girl) ever. Had some deep whooped out corners. And wouldn’t you know, I come around a corner and two riders were piled up with nowhere for me to go … I tip over, lol. Dammit, that’s twice now I’ve come off my bike cuz of other people piling up. Freakin’ hell. Pick the bike up, kick it over first kick, and I’m off … again. At this point pretty much, the C sandbaggers have blown past me. Whew. No tread marks … YAY!!
However, I now know that the gnarly sandy downhill is coming up. So, I try to focus and know where the other riders are around me and what lines they might take … so I can avoid a yard sale in this section. Somehow, I focused enough and got through that section. I even managed to pass a rider or two. Sweet!! (They later caught me tho, lol)
There were two other parts in the course that almost gave me yard sales. One was a long chopped out hillclimb. Halfway up you start to notice that it’s the same freakin’ deep sand that the downhill had. What’s a girl to do at this point? … yell an obscenity and pin it, lol. I ended up pulling a wheelie for a ways (unintentionally of course) cuz there was no way I was gonna get stuck in that sand. Right at the top was a couple workers that witnessed my flailing around. Once I got under control I shook my head as I drove by. I’m such a spaz. I seem to have gotten better climbing this with each lap tho, so I guess I improved a bit.
The other part was another hillclimb that was way chopped out, but with no sand. I made it up no problem first lap, but I think either the second or third lap is where I had my most spectacular save. With it being pretty chopped out, there are numerous way to just freakin’ launch into the air. I managed at one point to launch off a part while I was still trying to climb up. It’s obvious what’s gonna happen. I pull a huge wheelie with my feet off the pegs and legs flailing behind the bike. When most would have the smarts to just let go, I decide … what the hell … open the throttle more? I’m glad I did cuz that’s what got me up over the top and then finally the front wheel came down. Cool … yeah right, lol.
If you guessed that there was a crowd at the top to witness everything again … you guessed right. At the moment I let off the throttle to gain my composure and be on my merry way, I hear the people laughing and gasping for air and manage to hear someone shout “holy ****, that was a girl!”. Awesome … I so meant to do all that, lol. NOT. Sheesh, how embarrassing. Never a dull moment that’s for sure.
All in all, I’m glad I didn’t chicken out and I had some killer saves. The only downside was the outrageous race fees for only being able to ride for an hour. Ended up costing around $90 or $100. Oh, and I finished last. Frick, lol.
Since we had all the time in the world before our race, Velo and I decided to walk around and check out parts of the course. The start had a long wide hillclimb then curved to the left and put you into some crazy deep sandy s-turns. The sand had to be close to a foot or so deep. It was pretty wicked. No doubt riders would be piled up there, so we made a mental note to try and be prepared.
After the s-turns, you headed right for a section on the track. The track was pretty intimidating especially since a.) I’ve never been to one before and b.) I’ve never ridden one before. We decide that probably the first lap I should just roll everything and the laps following have a little fun if I felt comfortable with the tabletops.
The next area we were able to check out was the nasty long sandy downhill that included DEEP whoops that wanted to send riders over the bars … and did big time, lol. We saw some pretty good yard sales in this section. Sweet. Now, I just wanna hurl and question why in the hell did I sign up for this race, lol.
Well, now it’s time to gear up and get down to the start. Did I mention already that I just wanna hurl? We get lined up in the proper rows A, B (this is where I was), and C. I told myself to forget about the hole shot and just let the rest of the wave duke it out, lol. This decision turned out to maybe be a mistake cuz the start led you right into those deep sandy s-turns that I mentioned before. As soon as I came around one of the corners … a pile up … perfect. I can’t really get around them much so I flail and tip over. Frick, lol. I pick the bike up and get it kicked over first kick and I’m finally off. … looking over my should for the C wave. There are some sandbaggers in that group and I didn’t want tire marks on my new helmet, lol.
I head to the section on the track and I can feel that I’ve tensed up a bit. I roll a jump or two and then get led to another part of the dezert course.
This would be the section that had the longest section of gnarly sand known to boy (or girl) ever. Had some deep whooped out corners. And wouldn’t you know, I come around a corner and two riders were piled up with nowhere for me to go … I tip over, lol. Dammit, that’s twice now I’ve come off my bike cuz of other people piling up. Freakin’ hell. Pick the bike up, kick it over first kick, and I’m off … again. At this point pretty much, the C sandbaggers have blown past me. Whew. No tread marks … YAY!!
However, I now know that the gnarly sandy downhill is coming up. So, I try to focus and know where the other riders are around me and what lines they might take … so I can avoid a yard sale in this section. Somehow, I focused enough and got through that section. I even managed to pass a rider or two. Sweet!! (They later caught me tho, lol)
There were two other parts in the course that almost gave me yard sales. One was a long chopped out hillclimb. Halfway up you start to notice that it’s the same freakin’ deep sand that the downhill had. What’s a girl to do at this point? … yell an obscenity and pin it, lol. I ended up pulling a wheelie for a ways (unintentionally of course) cuz there was no way I was gonna get stuck in that sand. Right at the top was a couple workers that witnessed my flailing around. Once I got under control I shook my head as I drove by. I’m such a spaz. I seem to have gotten better climbing this with each lap tho, so I guess I improved a bit.
The other part was another hillclimb that was way chopped out, but with no sand. I made it up no problem first lap, but I think either the second or third lap is where I had my most spectacular save. With it being pretty chopped out, there are numerous way to just freakin’ launch into the air. I managed at one point to launch off a part while I was still trying to climb up. It’s obvious what’s gonna happen. I pull a huge wheelie with my feet off the pegs and legs flailing behind the bike. When most would have the smarts to just let go, I decide … what the hell … open the throttle more? I’m glad I did cuz that’s what got me up over the top and then finally the front wheel came down. Cool … yeah right, lol.
If you guessed that there was a crowd at the top to witness everything again … you guessed right. At the moment I let off the throttle to gain my composure and be on my merry way, I hear the people laughing and gasping for air and manage to hear someone shout “holy ****, that was a girl!”. Awesome … I so meant to do all that, lol. NOT. Sheesh, how embarrassing. Never a dull moment that’s for sure.
All in all, I’m glad I didn’t chicken out and I had some killer saves. The only downside was the outrageous race fees for only being able to ride for an hour. Ended up costing around $90 or $100. Oh, and I finished last. Frick, lol.
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