So it has been a while and I have not done much posting. That is because it is summer and we are racing!!! It is the end of May, we have finally gotten to summer and we are definitely racing. As a result, this is all about racing.
Adams County
Last weekend was the annual race at Bob Kau’s place in Adams County. It might be the best piece of property in the state. Great trees, sand ground so that it does well with rain. I have to do that race. Bob is the nicest grumpy guy in the world. Seriously, when you meet him you think he is a grouch. Turns out he is just loud and the nicest guy you have ever met.
Unfortunately, the field was pretty small there – just 4 riders on my line. Yuck. I soft pedaled it off the line and was last on purpose into the first turn. I just wanted to see how fast the other guys were and was hoping that I would have to chase. I passed to 2nd early in the lap, and sat on the leader. He was doing really well, but for some reason he did not want me behind him. He pulled over and allowed me to lead jumping onto my wheel. That was kinda fun, but eventually we got separated.
I decided to see how far I could get up into the A class. Not that far, but it was fun to chase. I ended up 1st place.
This is what my side looked like after smacking myself the weekend before. Made it pretty tough to get through the next race. Trust me, it actually felt even worse than it looked.
That is Dave Peters sticking it to the morning race. Sandbagger, he totally should be racing with me in the afternoon.
Rhinelander – WIXC, Day 1.
Have I mentioned that I really like my trailer?
Summer really is better than spring or fall. And of course a burrito is way way better than Pizza. Either of them are better in the summer though. Ah, summer. So glad it is here.
Consider this for your imagination. It is summer (there it is again) and our heroes are here in Rhinelander for a WIXC race. There is no frost on the ground. I know that surprises you. It does me as well.
God I love these races. (Not sure why god would care about that, but I noted it for him anyway.)
The race started pretty well, I was about mid-pack but moved up towards the front quickly. About halfway through the first lap, I found myself in 3rd and pushing the guys in front. One of them left the door open and I squirted through. The other one went wide in a turn, so I cut through to the inside. It almost worked, but we ended up trying to occupy the same spot in the turn. I did not want to knock anyone down, so I let off. We touched, but just barely. Unfortunately for the Honda guy, he gassed it really hard trying to stay ahead of me on the straightaway – blowing right through the next turn. Oh well, easy into the lead.
Bang, I put my head down and never saw anyone after that. Course was good, dirt was good, small amount of dust good black dirt in the woods. Yowza.
Scott and I checking out the woods before the morning race.
We will see how tomorrow goes. Hopefully as well as today.
Day 2.
I figured out how to start! As you know, the new 2013 KTM 250XCF that Nicholas at Fun Mart outfitted me with is the bomb. It is so so much better than my old bike, I cannot explain why really – but wow! The only problem is that it does not have a kickstarter and for a dead engine start that can be a challenge.
Chris Bach had told me that you start in neutral and snick it to 2nd right away and off you go. I was getting reasonable starts, but pulling 2nd sometimes in that chaos was just not getting it done. I was ending up midpack all the time at the start. Then, I would have to work my way through the field and sometimes that is just tough for me to do.
But, instead of snicking into 2nd, I tried smashing it into 1st this time. BANG – holeshot. 1st gives you such a jump that you then can snag 2nd/3rd right away and you are off. Now the button is a bonus. SCHWING!!!
I holeshoted and checked out immediately. Never looked back. Turned out that Rob broke a chain shortly into the race (he has done that before – hmmm), so we really did not get to race straight up again. I miss that. But, I went ahead and won anyway.
Love that Rhinelander course. It is 6+ miles long and has a little bit of everything. Rocky tough, reasonably tight trees (although I disagree with Rick – you do not need handguards), some fast sections, great dirt, mud, dust, easy jumps on the MX track. Love it.
Ok. a could of weeks of good racing. Unfortunately, I am out for a couple of weeks of busy work. But, I will be back racing in a few weeks.
cheers.
If only Honeystinger made drink mix!
Ready to go!
That’s Rick’s wife Paula, manning the timing tent. She is a saint. Stands there and gets roosted by all of us and smiles through it all. On top of that, she puts up with Rick full time.
303 Off-road 