pscook
Platinum Level Site Supporter
Today started like every other race day- Load and wait for my nephew. Well, he was on time, and so was I. We headed out for the 90 minute drive to Straddleline ORV for round four of the Winter GP series. Brad was testing his "new to him" 1999 KTM 300. Cheap and sorted, we were ready to go when we hit the parting lot. I went for a 10 minute jog to warm up the body, came back to warm up the bike. It's a dead-engine start format in waves, so you need to have a button or "one-kick-wonder" to get the holeshot. I have neither, so I sucked at the start.
The whole course was wet and slippery, with some great fast sections and tricky whooped-out mud lines. I only got faster as the race wore on, I'm pretty happy about that. Michelin M12 front and S12 rear worked well at 13psi each, I wanted them a bit harder to clear the mud. I wasn't worried about getting grip with flexible carcass, I wanted the lugs to pierce the mud. They did that pretty well.
So, the race was going well, I was holding my own in Open C (Beginner? Yeah, right. Not at the front...), and I ended up lapping some people. There is one particular corner that they put an option around, but I was fast enough to make it through the turn to not worry about it. I have even passed other riders there, so I was a little over-confident. Anyway, lap three, I come around, it looks clear, so I pour on the power to clear the corner. However, another rider was right where I needed to be. A lapped rider. Guess who? Yep, the nephew! I end up lapping him right where it was the worst place to get stuck. No problem, except that I got a bit stuck, too. Super slippery clay, up hill, rut, slippery rocks. I had to push the bike for the first time ever. I only lost a minute, but with adrenaline, it felt like 5. I made it out, drug Brad for a couple of corners, then I checked out.
I ended up fifth in class and felt great. Yes, it was the short course. Yes, it was only 75 minutes. But, I have been training and the training paid off. I believe I will try the long course this summer assuming I can keep my fitness level up.
Anyway, here's the clip of me literally running into Brad. I kept my cool (mostly), and got back into the rhythm. I'll post more sections as I get the videos uploaded.
http://contour.com/stories/clay-corner-with-brad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvUeUHFK64k
The whole course was wet and slippery, with some great fast sections and tricky whooped-out mud lines. I only got faster as the race wore on, I'm pretty happy about that. Michelin M12 front and S12 rear worked well at 13psi each, I wanted them a bit harder to clear the mud. I wasn't worried about getting grip with flexible carcass, I wanted the lugs to pierce the mud. They did that pretty well.
So, the race was going well, I was holding my own in Open C (Beginner? Yeah, right. Not at the front...), and I ended up lapping some people. There is one particular corner that they put an option around, but I was fast enough to make it through the turn to not worry about it. I have even passed other riders there, so I was a little over-confident. Anyway, lap three, I come around, it looks clear, so I pour on the power to clear the corner. However, another rider was right where I needed to be. A lapped rider. Guess who? Yep, the nephew! I end up lapping him right where it was the worst place to get stuck. No problem, except that I got a bit stuck, too. Super slippery clay, up hill, rut, slippery rocks. I had to push the bike for the first time ever. I only lost a minute, but with adrenaline, it felt like 5. I made it out, drug Brad for a couple of corners, then I checked out.
I ended up fifth in class and felt great. Yes, it was the short course. Yes, it was only 75 minutes. But, I have been training and the training paid off. I believe I will try the long course this summer assuming I can keep my fitness level up.
Anyway, here's the clip of me literally running into Brad. I kept my cool (mostly), and got back into the rhythm. I'll post more sections as I get the videos uploaded.
http://contour.com/stories/clay-corner-with-brad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvUeUHFK64k
