Hare of the Dog

[LapTraffic]

It's been 4 days since the race and I'm still hoarse...
I had very little planning for this event. My race buddy Paul (ppogue) got ahold of me about a week before the event and asked if I had wanted to go.

Hangover Harescramble at the Washougal MX park on Jan 1st.

I had no plans that day so marked it on my calendar and started getting ready.

Paul got his pro buddy corey to go and it wasnt too difficult to convince Charlie (440 rider #34) who took 5th at the horn rapids race on his dale to come along for the ride.

Washington hs been gripped in a bit of an out of character winter blast.

I called the track New Year's eve to get their perspective on quads running in the deep snow and ice.

"The 4x4's dont have a problem, I couldnt get passed a couple sections on my 2 wheel drive quad today... If you have chains you should be okay..."

Chains??? Holy crap this was going to be interesting!

I was a little nervous leaving the house the day of the race. That last comment had eaten at me all night. Chains? on a quad? it must be seriously icey! I wracked my brain for ideas on getting more traction out of my tired and worn Maxxis Razrs. I remembered the ice racing segment on one of the heuvos videos. Wasnt that screws they had used in those tires?

The cordless was thrown in the truck almost as an afterthought and we hit the road.

A quick detour through the home depot parking lot... THEY WERE OPEN! I ran in and grabbed 400 1/2" hex head screws and an adapter for the drill. We were on the road with my wife and crew chief eyeing me suspiciously.

Another small detour to pick up Charlie and his girlfriend and then the long haul south to Washougal.

The roads got bad about half way there and by the time we were within 50 miles of the park we were in 4 wheel drive and doing 30 mph. The last 5 miles into the park I had to chain up. It was insanely slick out and cars littered the ditches.

We made it to the pits with 40 minutes to race time and a lot of work left to do!

This is me, my quad hauler and a lot of snow!

[LapTraffic]

The quads were an absolute mess.

Corey and Paul were already there getting ready. Paul had to get his bike charged, Charlie and I barely got ours going.

Im thinking about getting an enclosed trailer

[LapTraffic]

Got the bike going and the snow and ice started melting off.

Earlier in the week I had talked to Jeff Stoess and discussed racing setups. He highly recommended the blaze MAP and helped me out on my goggle selection (I have a terrible time with fogging)

I was a bit unsure of the blaze MAP but got it loaded anyway figuring Jeff has probably forgotton more about racing than I know. I hadnt ridden the bike with the new MAP yet, it seemed to start okay despite the 25 degree temp outside. As the bike warmed up I made like a Nascar pit crewman and started drilling screws into my tire

Now a lot of you may know this to be THE method for traction in ice, but I can honestly say I felt like a complete *** drilling screws into otherwise good tires. I had no experience with the technique, knew of no one who had done it and frankly didnt know if I'd wind up with 4 flat tires. I got a lot of suprised looks from people walking by.

The tires held air and the screws seemed to be pretty solid in the tread. It just might work!

[LapTraffic]

Kim had registered me and she finished the last tire while I got changed.

Corey, Paul Charlie and Myself made it to the start line with about 3 minutes to spare, just long enough to catch a dirty look from the race official as he had to go over some of the race details again.

Dead bike start, hands on bumper standing in front of the quad.

Utilities go first as they historically run the course faster, 2 minutes later the 2 wheel drive quads go.

1 hour race, as many laps as you get done. laps are about 3.5 miles in length, there is a check station.

All too quickly the Utilities were tearing off through the snow, we were standing in front of our bikes then it was our turn.

I jumped to my bike and struggled to get it going. In afterthought the bike probably fired right up, but I couldnt hear it over the roar of the other bikes. Im going to have to practice that.

Paul grabbed the holeshot! Here's a picture of me coming through. I wish I could say I was in 3rd as the picture shows, IM actually somewhere around 20th through the turn, the rest of the pack is already about 300 yards ahead!

Not a good start...

[LapTraffic]

I felt pretty good, several quads were spinning out and the mob of bikes I was in passed them by. There was no passing with in the Mob, there were no lines, just a lot of quads tearing through the snow to the next corner.

Then it was into the woods and single track. We popped out of the woods into a snow covered field. I nailed the gas and slid back on the seat and picked a high line through the snow and started picking off riders. Several were spinning out or just going slow given the conditions.

This was the field portion of the course and wound through about 200 acres of rolling hills. A lot of turns with good straights.

I soon caught up to Corey on his CRF 450 powered 400ex, he was stuck behind a rediculously huge 4x4 bouncing and pitching all over the trail in front of him.

Ive done several races in the last year, and to be honest I've never been in a situation where I wasnt just running my race. I rarely have to pass, and I dont often get passed. I just run my race and I'm very happy.

Ironically, Corey has helped me out a ton to get my bike set up suspension wise, and to correct some problems with my riding stance. I've felt much faster on trail rides with much less fatigue.

Now I'm stuck behind the guy who has gotten me there with a utility in front of us that wasnt letting us by.

And something in me shifted...

I pulled wide into the untracked portion of trail, slid back on the seat and nailed the throttle, grabbed from 3rd gear to 4th and pinned it again I got by corey and then into some pretty rough stuff next to the utility. We made contact and then over a small single I passed him and tore down the trail.

What had gotten into me? That was a very sketcky pass and not something I would have tried a few months prior.

Quickly I put the thought out of my head as we cut through the trees and hammered up horsepower hill. a seriously whooped out uphill that brought to mind fond memories of my kidney belt still sitting in the truck.

I was stuck in a pack of riders as we cleared the hill and came down the backside.

The trail took a turn to the right and there was actually a mud pit in the center of the trail. The bikes in front of me were takingg the right line around the mud. The trail cut back left and I figured I could get 4 positions very quickly by taking the left line THROUGH the mud.

I hammered the throttle...

[LapTraffic]

and hit the biggest, deepest mudpuddle I've ever found myself in. To say it was a mud puddle does this body of water that probably appears on a map a terrible injustice.

I threw a wall of water probably 10 feet into the air, almost going over the bars from the sudden deceleration. I relized the bike was floating and I was still a good ten feet from shore.

I leaned back to get the airbox out of the water and pinned the throttle. the water was over my waist, the exauhst was making an odd burbling noise, the front tires were sticking uselessly up in the air.

I eventually clawed my way to shore and amazingly made my way clear of the hole. I'd lost countless positions.

[LapTraffic]

We were on the top portion of the track and once out of the mudhole I started setting up and passing riders again.

I was suprised to see Corey stalled about a mile from the infield and got by him by hi siding the trail in a tight woods section.

I came into the infield unsure of position and frustrated by my mistake.

Here's a picture of Paul taking time to wave to the pit crew as he sets up a 4x4 for the pass

[LapTraffic]

I went through the checkpoint, through the short woods section and then back out onto the snow covered rolling fields.

on the first straight before an off camber right hand up hill turn I saw Charlie broken down. I gave him the thumbs up and he enthusiastically waved me on.

I started really making up ground. Getting past quads that I had already passed once, before my mistake. I was in the zone and pounding through the corners and letting it all out in the straights.

The mudhole / lake didnt get me the second time. Passes were more difficult on the top section, not as wide open as down below. I managed to get past a few more bikes and came into the infield hungry.

Here I am coming into the corner where we were pitted.

[LapTraffic]

and lined out for the next jump.

The footing was treacherous and my wife didnt get the opportunity to move much from this position.

[LapTraffic]

Paul had lost his holeshot position and fallen to the back of the pack with gloves that had cut off his circulation.

He pitted and Charlies girlfirend gave him a new pair.

He was charging hard back through the pack when he spun one into the berm for the camera