Tonya and PQBON's WebLog
The long and short of it is I had a great time, and I finished my race. Of the riders that road both motos, I'm pretty sure I placed last. However, I was having problem with my rear suspension (I accidentally let the nitrogen out of the shock, yes, I'm stupid!). I do feel good about how I did. The most important thing is I had fun and I want to do it again, and not just to prove I can (which is kinda how I feel about the hare scrambles) but because I really enjoyed the race.
More in the extended entry...
| Moto | Number | Class | Name | Home Town | Manufacturer | Moto 1 | Moto 2 | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F15 | 971 | 25+ C | Martinelli, Seth | Petaluma CA | Honda | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| F15 | 422 | 25+ C | Lowenberg, Chad | Petaluma CA | Honda | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| F15 | 51 | 25+ C | Green, Olin | Corvalis OR | Honda | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| F15 | 732 | 25+ C | Schmid, Dave | Tualatin OR | Honda | 7 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
| F15 | 145 | 25+ C | Ferrie, Stewart | El Dorado Hills CA | Yamaha | 5 | 9 | 14 | 5 |
| F15 | 4 | 25+ C | Healy, Rob | Newhall CA | Suzuki | 14 | 4 | 18 | 6 |
| F15 | 841 | 25+ C | Mullaney, Jason | Miranda CA | Yamaha | 12 | 7 | 19 | 7 |
| F15 | 45 | 25+ C | Linster, Joe | RocklinCA | Honda | 11 | 8 | 19 | 8 |
| F15 | 161 | 25+ C | Fowler, JoJo | Redway CA | Honda | 8 | 14 | 22 | 9 |
| F15 | 221 | 25+ C | Terriberry, Keith | Rocklin CA | Suzuki | 13 | 11 | 24 | 10 |
| F15 | 111 | 25+ C | Sutter, Joe | Calabasas Hills CA | Honda | 17 | 10 | 27 | 11 |
| F15 | 623 | 25+ C | Miller, Robert | Fortuna CA | Honda | 15 | 12 | 27 | 12 |
| F15 | 536 | 25+ C | Helgeson, Scott | Springfield OR | Honda | 26 | 6 | 32 | 13 |
| F15 | 17 | 25+ C | Brillant, Dave | Penryn CA | Honda | 16 | 16 | 32 | 14 |
| F15 | 519 | 25+ C | McCarthy, David | Simi Valley CA | Suzuki | 22 | 13 | 35 | 15 |
| F15 | 102 | 25+ C | Thurman, Cody | Chico CA | Yamaha | 20 | 15 | 35 | 16 |
| F15 | 206 | 25+ C | Plaskett, Pat | El Dorado Hills CA | Yamaha | 18 | 17 | 35 | 17 |
| F15 | 11 | 25+ C | Medlen, Steve | Fort Bragg CA | Kaw | 19 | 19 | 38 | 18 |
| F15 | 21 | 25+ C | Kissinger, Blaine | Concord CA | Honda | 21 | 18 | 39 | 19 |
| F15 | 89 | 25+ C | Ditmore, Charles | Oakland CA | Yamaha | 23 | 22 | 45 | 20 |
| F15 | 15 | 25+ C | Ford, Ryan | S Lake Tahoe CA | 27 | 20 | 47 | 21 | |
| F15 | 540 | 25+ C | Casella, Paul | S Lake Tahoe CA | Honda | 28 | 21 | 49 | 22 |
| F15 | 26 | 25+ C | Archie, Paris | Reno NV | Honda | 30 | 23 | 53 | 23 |
| F15 | 12 | 25+ C | McCune, William | Sacramento CA | Honda | 32 | 24 | 56 | 24 |
| F15 | 23 | 25+ C | Byrne, Bryan | San Bruno CA | 31 | 25 | 56 | 25 | |
| F15 | 980 | 25+ C | Deutsch, Will | Folsom CA | Yamaha | 34 | 26 | 60 | 26 |
| F15 | 10 | 25+ C | Fain, Nick | Virginia City NV | Honda | 25 | |||
| F15 | 18 | 25+ C | Teel, Jerame | Antelope CA | Yamaha | 9 | |||
| F15 | 43 | 25+ C | Lindgren, Douglas | Burney CA | KTM | 10 | |||
| F15 | 73 | 25+ C | Booth, Adam | Valencia CA | Honda | 4 | |||
| F15 | 91 | 25+ C | Karr, Paul | San Jose CA | Honda | 33 | |||
| F15 | 367 | 25+ C | Cook, Eric | Gardnerville CA | Yamaha | 29 | |||
| F15 | 710 | 25+ C | Whitmire, Gary | Redding CA | KTM | 24 | |||
| F15 | 910 | 25+ C | Peterson, Brandon | Morgan Hill CA | Honda | 6 |
The day started at 5:45am when my mom banged on the bedroom door letting Tonya and I know it was time to rise. We got up showered and got dressed. The truck was basically ready to go. My bike, ramp, stand, cooler, gear bag, and gas can were in the bed. My tools and parts and fluids were in the back of the crew cab. Tonya and I were on the road by 6:20am. The road was relatively short, since the Prairie City SVRA is the home of the Hangtown MX track. It took a little while to get in and park. We weren't the only people who decided to show up at 7:00am. The pit area was pretty full. It was a little tough finding a place to park. After looking for a while we managed to find a whole that would fit the titan that was only 3 rows from the track exit/entrance.
After the parking ordeal was solved it was time to unload and get ready for my practice laps. Unloading the truck was uneventful, well almost. As I unloaded my bike I noticed that the collar that holds the reference post from my Scott's steering dampener had slipped off the baring cup on the steering head. I immediately went about fixing it. I had tonya get my tools out and I pulled everything apart. I tightened down the collar clamp and buttoned every thing back up. At this point it was almost 8:00am and I hadn't practiced yet. I fired up the bike to make sure it would and let it warm up while I got my practice gear out. I killed the motor and got in my practice gear.
I rode up to the track entrance and thought I was going to die. This was nothing like the motocross track at Met Calf I had practiced on. It wasn't even anything like the GP track at Met Calf I used to work on my stamina. It was like nothing I had ridden before. After the first turn there was a huge up hill climb with some turns in/before it. Then at the top of the hill you turn left and go back down, but there is an a tall obstacle on the down hill. You can't jump it, you have to roll it because as you roll down the face of it you have to start turning right. Then you make a left and go down the hill. At the bottom of the hill you make a right. As you leave the corner you are confronted by the first big table top jump. You clear it and have a short straight before a 180 degree corner. Now you are pointed down the hill and coming up to the big table top. You clear the big table top and round a right hand corner and are faced with what ideally is a double, double, double. After getting through that you have a huge peaked jump that is a good 4 or 5' tall. Luckily, you can roll it or you can jump it. After you deal with that obstacle there is a small jump before a right hander. This has you staring at the face of the next big table top. The table top is followed by a string of jumps that can be taken as a string of doubles. After the rhythm section is a left into a relatively plain straight. Then you enter the tighter more natural section of the course. You have a long gentle right handed 180 that barley feels like a turn compared to the rest. This brings you to a 90+ degree right. Out of the 90 you hit two small table top jumps. A small straight with a slight right into a somewhat natural whoop field of about 5 whoops, then a 90 left to the start finish table top (steep but short). As you land you charge into the front strait to start all over again.
My practice session started as the previous session all filed off the track past us. We were told two laps, although the proved to not be true. When I came in after my two most people were still out there flying around. My first practice lap I used for sighting. I barely jumped the jumps and rolled the ones that could safely be rolled. My second lap I decided to try and wick it up. I did something stupid though, after the first big hill is the obstacle that you have to roll because of the turn, well I jumped it. I wound up stopping my bike by hitting a hay bale to kill the last bit of forward speed (the pros have a slightly different coarse, they jump this and have a run out with a different turn setup to bring them back to the main coarse). Well, OK I decided to not do that in the race. The rest of my second lap was pretty unexceptional. I mean other then the fact that I completed a lap on a huge track that is really intended for pro racing. I was really tired after my second and after jumping the start/finish jump got off the track at the wrong spot and had to improvise getting out.
Back at the truck I put my bike back on the center stand and took off my practice riding gear (I bought new gear to race in and I didn't want to get it dirty in practice). Tonya and I sat around for a few minutes and ate and drank so that we would be OK for the day.
At 8:30am I headed off to the riders meeting. The meeting was pretty standard stuff. All the officials said good luck and have fun. We were told they are just about finished printing out the class info and moto order. We checked that out and went back to the truck to wait for the first race.
The first race was the Sr. (Sr = over 30) C class. It was fun to watch. I was able to learn a little more about how to ride the track by watching the Sr guys. We also stuck around for the next two motos. They were 125A and 125B. Originally 125 was going to be an A/B class but they split it and had the A guys run then the B guys ran. The A guys were amazing to watch. They were really flying and most of them were only in high-school. There was an interesting mix of two and four stroke bikes in the A class. IIRC most of the A class was on four strokes with a few two stroke hold outs. The field seemed to spread relatively fast. It was a fun race to watch. The Bs were great too. There was more bunching in the B group and that made for more downed riders. There was a spectacular mid air collision over the finish line jump. Two riders wound up in the in field of the track. The medics were on them in seconds. I believe both were sent to the hospital to make sure they were OK.
We went back to the truck to relax, eat some food and make sure my bike was ready to race. First step was to drink some more Gatorade to make sure I was maximally hydrated. The sun was out and it was in the high 80s F all day. Then I tried to clean the thick mud off my tires so they wouldn't be packed solid at the start of the race. Then I went over the bike tip to tip to make sure nothing was wrong. I tightened things and adjusted things to get the bike set perfectly (or as close as I could get). From there I drank Gatorade and Red Bull and waited. (Because of all the hydration I was frequenting the porta potties).
After a while it was time to start getting ready. I changed into my race gear, my Fox 180 Pants
, Troy Lee Designs Moto Jersey 
, OxTar TCX Pro boots
, and Fox kidney belt, elbo and knee pads, and under shirt roost guard. I loaded my goggles with tear offs and was ready to go. At this point Tonya and I parted ways. I road my bike to the track entrance and she took the camera bag and head for the spectator area.
While waiting for my moto to load I chatted with some of my competitors. It was pretty cool. The class was definitely chill, people didn't take each other out or stuff each other. This allowed me to relax a little. I had been worried that people were going to be out for blood like they were in the hare scrambles. Everyone in my class seemed to be pretty cool. I wasn't even the only one on a "small" bike. While most people were on 450s or 250 two strokes, there were a handful or people like myself on 250 four strokes and even some on 125s. Most were just out to have fun like myself.
When the 85 Cs were almost done we got directed down to the gate area where we formed two lines and picked our starting spot. Picking your starting spot for the first moto was a lottery, each rider picked a number chip out of a bucket. The number on the ship was the gate number for your start. I don't remember my first gate number, it was some where in the middle (around 20 or so). The 85s were directed off the track and we started out motors (unlike hare scrambles motocross is a live engine start). After about 4 minutes of reving and checking, we were told to kill our motors. There was an injured 85cc rider that was still on the field and they wanted the medics to have no pressure to get him moved. The rider was eventually moved (it took about 5 minutes) and we restarted out motors and the starter raised the 30 board (signifying there was 30 seconds to the actual gate drop). The next thing I knew the 30 board was sideways... then 2-3 seconds later the gate dropped and we were off. Actually, I wasn't off. I waited a half a second to let everyone else race a head. This was for one simple reason, pile ups. Watching the other classes through the day and the pros on TV showed me one thing: the middle of the pack always crashes together in the first corner taking out a handful of riders. So I was almost last but was able to just go around the carnage in the first turn.
I motored up the hill to the first big turn with my rear end bouncing like mad. (Stupidly I had let the nitrogen out of my rear shock and was running on just the spring for the whole day!) I went around the corner and down the big obstacle. I went down the straight and around the next corner. I jumped the jumps and was presented with the next corner. I took the corner too wide and found myself just off the course with my rear sprocket submerged in loam. (I was on the side of a hill, the racing surface was raised compared to the surrounding land.) I let out the clutch with the intent of getting back on the track. The bike died. I kicked it a few times, to no avail. OK, I'm on a hill, I'll just bump start it down the hill. I push the bike with my feet and notice even with the clutch in the rear wheel isn't rolling!
At this point I start to panic. The race leaders were crossing the finish jump at this point, I was WAY behind. I started thinking... What could be wrong? Could I have killed the clutch? Did the gearbox throw a gear? Is my chain caught on something? I put the bike in neutral and tried to roll it again. Nothing, the rear tire still wouldn't turn. Then I grabed the wheel by spokes and tried to turn it. Nothing. I did notice that the chain was too tight. I check to see if the rear axel moved during the race. It hadn't. The race leaders passed me a second time. I realized that the chain and sprocket had picked up a bunch of dirt between them. I decided to start the bike and use the motor to rip the chain clean. I kicked it a few times with the hot start and it started, right about the time the race leaders were coming around again. I let them pass and reved up the motor and dumped the clutch in 1st. The rear wheel ripped free from the earthen strangle hold and my rear tire roosted a muddy little storm. I was free!
Being so far down in the running I just chilled my next lap. I was greeted by the white flag when I crossed the finish line jump. I had completed one lap and the race had one lap left. At this point there was nothing I could do to not get last place. I just rolled around the track trying to enjoy the ride but not push it. I crossed the finish line with a handful of people behind me. People that had completed there 4 or 5 laps. People who would place higher then I.
I pulled off the track and started to feel overly hot headed and very uncomfortable. I rushed back to the truck and threw my bike up on the work stand. I ripped off my helmet and drank a Gatorade . I ripped off my riding gear as Tonya walked up. She went off to get snow cones and I jumped in the truck and turned on the motor to be able to run the AC. As I was cooling off Tonya showed up with the snow cones and joined me in the ACed cab.
One moto down, now all I had to do was eat some food and drink a bunch and wait. I apologized to Tonya for being abrupt immediately after my race (she was asking about snow cones and stuff) and explained that I has feeling flushed and light headed and knew I needed to fix that condition. I was feeling better and ready to get my bike ready for my next moto.
I started working on my bike by cleaning off all the yamalube chain crap. I had to put more on but I used less and tried not to over load. I decided to go back to chain wax rather then chain lube at that moment as I looked at the thick dirt caked goo on my chain and sprocket. I also went over the bike looking for leaks and problems. None were found. My new Boysen clutch cover, complete with gasket and gasket glue was holding great. The clutch was working. My Magura hymec clutch (Jack Clutch) was working fine, it seemed to be sweeting a little at the reservoir but that isn't really that bad.
As the second motos of the day progressed it came time to get my gear on and get ready. I stripped down to my scoobydo boxers and put my socks, protective pads, pants, and jersey back on. I then drank more Gatorade and more Redbull. Unfortunately this meant more bathroom trips but I really wanted to be hydrated for my second moto.
Sudenly it was time to go. I started by YZ250F and motored over to the track entrance to wait for me new gate assignment. This time instead of being assigned random gates, the first N people from the first moto got first pick of where they wanted to be. The rest of us were allowed to go where ever we wanted basically based on where were in the line that formed at the entrance.
My goal for the start was to have as few people around as I could so that I wasn't going to get caught in the pile up. I picked one of the last gates on the right side of the track. We waited while the 85 C racers finished. They finished and we fired up our bikes.
There was no waiting around this time. The 30 board was up almost immediately. It seemed it went sideways even sooner. The gate dropped and we were off.
I used the same strategy this moto as I had in the first. I didn't even try to get the hole shot (get out of the gate the fastest). Being on a 250F and this being my second moto ever, it just seemed like a good idea to hang back a little.
I was right. I rode around the ensuing pile up and when around the first corner and up the hill. Again the rear of my bike was flapping like a page in the breeze (why hadn't I gotten my shock refilled?). I had a OK first lap. My speed was never where it should have been but with only a spring in the rear end the rhythm sections and whoops where tough. I really suck for not up shifting and charging on the straits though. That was my big down fall. My first two laps were OK for the problems I was having and riding the way I was. I was having a lot of fun I was just slower then everyone else. To stress this though, I was having a blast with the riding. The whole race was great.
On the 3rd lap I hit the first table top big and had a rough landing, but kept my speed up. The next jump I was going at the wrong speed. I wasn't fast enough to land it as a double but not slow enough to treat it as a single. In other words I cased it. On my landing I tweaked my ankle and my helmet slammed into the steering dampener on my handle bar. I then bounced all over the rhythm section that followed. While this was happening the leaders blew by me. My crazy line force the leader off the track, which meant he didn't have to do the rhythm section. One of the things I liked about this class was he didn't get pissed off or try and take me out. Everyone in the class seemed pretty mellow and knew that some of us were out there for our first time.
This was kind of the beginning of the end. With a tweaked ankle (my right one to top it off) and my springy rear I was in for some fun. I slowed down for the rest of the lap. I was really really messy in the second rhythm section. I did a wheelie over the last jump in the section. If I wasn't reasonably good a rider (just not an MX racer) I probably would have looped it right there and been on my back with the bike on top of me. I continued around the coarse and hit the finish jump to be greeted by the white flag. I was kind of happy to have only one lap left.
I was slower on this lap then on any other lap. Up to this point I was doing OK as far as my relative speed to the slowest people out there. This lap I rolled most of the jumps and again almost killed myself in the rhythm section. Oddly enough I was still having fun. I came to a right hander before the table top and I did something I have done in practice tons of times. I washed out the rear end.
I felt it go and resigned myself to falling. I scrambled for the clutch and to get the bike back on its wheels so it didn't die. I managed to do that. I didn't notice during the race but in the fall or the getting up I tore the right side out of my very expensive carbon fiber airbox. More on this later.
So I went on and finished the race. I was last place by a mile and again as I finished I felt flushed and hot, but not light headed.
I motored back to the truck to wait for Tonya. Rather then wrestle the bike back onto the service stand I just used the side stand. Technically I should have taken it off for racing MX but the spring in it is really really strong so it doesn't flop down even on hard landings off big jumps.
I ripped off my jersey and my upper body pads, grabbed a Gatorade and jumped in to the truck to sit with Tonya in the AC before packing up.
After cooling off I changed out of my gear and into my regular clothes. When I went to load the bike I noticed the side of the airbox was torn away. My smile faded a little because I knew it was a $200 - $300 part.
We loaded the truck and left. We got back to my parents house and took a shower to get the dust and dirt off. It was a great shower...
Now I have a todo list for my bike... and for myself...
Bike todo list: