This past weekend put me on the track for my first XC race for the season. I was riding a brand new machine that only had 1.5 hours over the break-in. Unfortunately, the VA boys don??????????????????t come out as strong for the races as guys do in other places, so there were only 22 riders in the whole field. That??????????????????s actually a good turnout compared to what we had last year (7-10 each race), which was the first year of ATV racing in VA. Those 22 were spread out over 450 A & B, Open A & B, and 2 guys in Utility. Since I took a 1st and 2nd overall last year, I signed up for 450A. The promoter has signed ITP as a sponsor, so the overall winner takes home a free pair of Holeshots at each race! That??????????????????s an awesome prize and one that I wanted! Whether they were fronts or rears, I could use either. Of course the guy that I battled with last year was here again. I was glad to see him- he??????????????????s a great guy and a good rider. He rode over when I pulled in and started chatting with me. His quad had a brand new pair of rear Holeshot XCR??????????????????s that he had one at the first race of the series. Unfortunately for me, he told me about a bunch of races that he??????????????????d run since the end of last season. So, I knew he was in shape (better than me anyway!) and would be tough to beat. A glance around the pits and I saw a couple Predators, a YFZ, Raptor, 250R, V-Force 700, some EX??????????????????s, and a couple Warriors.
The series had stopped here last year, but I didn??????????????????t make the race. So, I didn??????????????????t know the course at all. About 20% of the course was an MX track, about 40% was brand new trails in the woods, and the other 40% was fields and fire roads. There was no pre-riding allowed on the course. The women bikers had gotten 6 laps, so we figured we??????????????????d probably get about the same since we had been told it was going to be very tight for us. The quads run last, race started at about 1:45. It turned out that all the other riders wussed out and signed up for 450B or other classes and there were only 2 of us on the front row!! Feeling confident that I could take the guy on the MX section or the fire roads (as long as I got that far), I told him I was going to let him lead through the MX track the first time. He has raced here before and I??????????????????m not trying to let my adrenaline get me hurt on a track I don??????????????????t know.
VA XC Racing~~Dillwyn GP-- long story
So, the hand goes up in the air, the engines are silent???????????????. 10 seconds???????????????. And the hand drops. The quad starts right up and that??????????????????s the end of the drama. I made good on my statement and fell in behind him. That decision really didn??????????????????t hurt me, but it darn sure made me nervous when we came out of the first turn and I was riding in a brown out!!! I couldn??????????????????t see 2 feet in front of me! So, I had to let off and putt along till the dust cleared enough to be able to see the ground. Slowing down turned out to be a good call, because this track was rougher than just about anything I had ever ridden before!! They built a nice track about 10 years ago and haven??????????????????t touched it since!! There were ruts and gullies covering this track! There was no way to hit a jump because of what you had to land in. Even the field sections were like riding through a minefield! It was crazy, but we all had the same course.
So, we finally get into the woods, I??????????????????m probably 15 seconds back. It doesn??????????????????t take long to realize we are the very first quads that have ridden this course! We were having to duck off the trail all over and squeezing between the trees where we could. It was super tight. That made it slow with a whole lot of clutching! I had made up a little time and was fairly close when we opened onto a fire road and the brown out hit again!! This was definitely not good! There was no way I could pass him in the open sections if I couldn??????????????????t see to catch up with him. So he got away again. It was a short stretch of fire road and back in the woods we went. We stayed separated this time and my head was churning trying to come up with a new plan, the open sections were no longer my friend. Most of the woods were super tight and it paid off! I came around a corner to find a real tight spot between 2 trees in front me. The leader had decided to head to the right into the woods to go around. It was thick and he was hung up!!! I sat there waiting for a second and thought I had a chance to get through the tight spot. So I eased up to it, worked my front tires between the trees, and pinned it!!! I came on through and took the lead!!! Of course he wasn??????????????????t hung up for long and now I was the one having to trail blaze and figure out where we would fit and where we wouldn??????????????????t. I had learned the brown out trick well and was spinning the rears all I could in the open sections. It paid off because when we finished the first lap, I was about a minute ahead. Back to the insane MX track, I rolled through it as fast as I could. I could see 2nd on the track, too. There was no question he was back there waiting for me.
Back into the woods, I was not going 110% because hitting a tree at this point would hand the lead over. Of course I bumped a couple trees here and there but was able to maintain enough lead that I couldn??????????????????t see 2nd. I came to the tight spot where I had made the pass. I saw the trail on the right where the other guy went in. I wasn??????????????????t sure if he had ever gotten through or just backed up and squeezed through like I did. I chose to squeeze through again. I was a little more anxious this time and bumped the trees. I pushed back and eased up to try again. AHHHHHH, I didn??????????????????t get through the second time either!!!!!!! He??????????????????s got to back there!! I pushed back again for another go. As I start backward, he pops around the corner, cuts to the right on his previous trail, and away he goes!!!! I had the lead for exactly one lap and he took it back in same place I took it from him. So, I go around the way he did and take off in hot pursuit.
So, we finally get into the woods, I??????????????????m probably 15 seconds back. It doesn??????????????????t take long to realize we are the very first quads that have ridden this course! We were having to duck off the trail all over and squeezing between the trees where we could. It was super tight. That made it slow with a whole lot of clutching! I had made up a little time and was fairly close when we opened onto a fire road and the brown out hit again!! This was definitely not good! There was no way I could pass him in the open sections if I couldn??????????????????t see to catch up with him. So he got away again. It was a short stretch of fire road and back in the woods we went. We stayed separated this time and my head was churning trying to come up with a new plan, the open sections were no longer my friend. Most of the woods were super tight and it paid off! I came around a corner to find a real tight spot between 2 trees in front me. The leader had decided to head to the right into the woods to go around. It was thick and he was hung up!!! I sat there waiting for a second and thought I had a chance to get through the tight spot. So I eased up to it, worked my front tires between the trees, and pinned it!!! I came on through and took the lead!!! Of course he wasn??????????????????t hung up for long and now I was the one having to trail blaze and figure out where we would fit and where we wouldn??????????????????t. I had learned the brown out trick well and was spinning the rears all I could in the open sections. It paid off because when we finished the first lap, I was about a minute ahead. Back to the insane MX track, I rolled through it as fast as I could. I could see 2nd on the track, too. There was no question he was back there waiting for me.
Back into the woods, I was not going 110% because hitting a tree at this point would hand the lead over. Of course I bumped a couple trees here and there but was able to maintain enough lead that I couldn??????????????????t see 2nd. I came to the tight spot where I had made the pass. I saw the trail on the right where the other guy went in. I wasn??????????????????t sure if he had ever gotten through or just backed up and squeezed through like I did. I chose to squeeze through again. I was a little more anxious this time and bumped the trees. I pushed back and eased up to try again. AHHHHHH, I didn??????????????????t get through the second time either!!!!!!! He??????????????????s got to back there!! I pushed back again for another go. As I start backward, he pops around the corner, cuts to the right on his previous trail, and away he goes!!!! I had the lead for exactly one lap and he took it back in same place I took it from him. So, I go around the way he did and take off in hot pursuit.
Obviously, as slow and tight as this course is, there is a WHOLE LOT of clutching going on. My arms were tight and hurting. Regardless, I had a lead to regain. We hit a fire road and there was nothing I could do. So I trailed along trying to ride hard and safe in the woods and safe on the fire roads. I came down a hill and saw some X??????????????????s with danger on them straight ahead of me. I had seen arrows pointing to the right that said alternate, which is the way we went the first lap. I wasn??????????????????t going too fast as I passed the X??????????????????s seeing what appeared to be a small creek crossing in front of me. As I got closer, I realized it wasn??????????????????t so small. It was more like a 5-6 foot drop off into a 4-5 foot wide creek with a flat bank on the other side. I could do it! But not this time, I didn??????????????????t have the speed. So I had to push backward again and take the alternate. I knew this was a spot to make a few seconds up and hoped I could remember where it was on the next lap. We passed our first lapper at the end of the 2nd lap. On the MX track was the only time that I could actually see the leader, he was about 30 seconds ahead of me.
Lap 3 was going along fairly uneventful. I stalled a couple times, as I had at least once on the other laps as well. This course was tough, especially on a tired man! I swear I kept hearing an exhaust behind me. I finally decided it must??????????????????ve been my heart beating, because no one ever caught me. I did pass a few more lappers and was thinking that I was running out of time and had to catch up. I could see the drop off ahead, no sweat, stab it and go! And I was gone. Cleared it with no problem. That was a little boost, feeling that I had just gained a little time. I continued to ride hard and hit the checkpoint at the start of the MX section. I could see the leader was about halfway through the track. I figured I had about 2 laps left to make it happen!
Lap 4 was a good one. The course was more defined now because of all the riders. I was keeping what I thought was a good pace, but I wasn??????????????????t seeing the leader in the woods. I could see the dust on the fire roads, but not the man. I pushed, but didn??????????????????t want to go too hard and burn out or worse, wreck hard. I nailed the drop off again with out any problem. Did that one with a couple more lappers around, I know it had to look cool!
With time dwindling, I was pushing it. I figured I had one, maybe 2 laps left. I was feeling good and felt like I had a good shot at catching him. I headed to the checkpoint and they said the awful words: ????????????????Your Done!???????????????
????????????????What!!!??????????????? I thought!!! I needed another lap at least!! But that??????????????????s the way it ended. Our 1-1/2 hours was up!
I was definitely disappointed, I wanted those tires!! I ended up with a trophy, a big bottle of Mud Release cleaner, and a $10 EBC certificate. I ended up buying the tires for less then they cost at Rocky Mountain, so I do have a new set of rears to mount up. I had spotted a guy on a dirtbike at the drop off, he came up to me after the race and asked if that was me that hit it. I told him yeah. He told me I was the only quad that hit it. I really wasn??????????????????t surprised, but it was cool to have done something no one else did and be recognized for it. Usually, the stuff in the woods goes unnoticed. Even though it was rough and super tight, it was fun. I??????????????????m very anxious for the next race, which is the week after the group ride. There is one throw away, so if I can make the rest of the series and pull off a couple wins and no DNF??????????????????s, I still have a chance at the Championship. That??????????????????s a long ways off and I??????????????????ll take it one race at a time. After the time adjustments, I ended up with 2nd place overall.
The quad ran flawlessly, I was thankful for that. My wife was with me cheering me on and she had a good time, too. I hope she hits all the races with me! Surprisingly, she was talking about enclosed trailers on the way home! I had to settle her down and we??????????????????ll be happy with the 10x10 canopy for a while.
And, if there are any other VA riders reading this, Don??????????????????t Sing It, BRING IT!! We??????????????????re just a bunch of Average Joe??????????????????s out having fun. All you need is a kill switch to come out and play along.
:usa
Lap 3 was going along fairly uneventful. I stalled a couple times, as I had at least once on the other laps as well. This course was tough, especially on a tired man! I swear I kept hearing an exhaust behind me. I finally decided it must??????????????????ve been my heart beating, because no one ever caught me. I did pass a few more lappers and was thinking that I was running out of time and had to catch up. I could see the drop off ahead, no sweat, stab it and go! And I was gone. Cleared it with no problem. That was a little boost, feeling that I had just gained a little time. I continued to ride hard and hit the checkpoint at the start of the MX section. I could see the leader was about halfway through the track. I figured I had about 2 laps left to make it happen!
Lap 4 was a good one. The course was more defined now because of all the riders. I was keeping what I thought was a good pace, but I wasn??????????????????t seeing the leader in the woods. I could see the dust on the fire roads, but not the man. I pushed, but didn??????????????????t want to go too hard and burn out or worse, wreck hard. I nailed the drop off again with out any problem. Did that one with a couple more lappers around, I know it had to look cool!
With time dwindling, I was pushing it. I figured I had one, maybe 2 laps left. I was feeling good and felt like I had a good shot at catching him. I headed to the checkpoint and they said the awful words: ????????????????Your Done!???????????????
????????????????What!!!??????????????? I thought!!! I needed another lap at least!! But that??????????????????s the way it ended. Our 1-1/2 hours was up!
I was definitely disappointed, I wanted those tires!! I ended up with a trophy, a big bottle of Mud Release cleaner, and a $10 EBC certificate. I ended up buying the tires for less then they cost at Rocky Mountain, so I do have a new set of rears to mount up. I had spotted a guy on a dirtbike at the drop off, he came up to me after the race and asked if that was me that hit it. I told him yeah. He told me I was the only quad that hit it. I really wasn??????????????????t surprised, but it was cool to have done something no one else did and be recognized for it. Usually, the stuff in the woods goes unnoticed. Even though it was rough and super tight, it was fun. I??????????????????m very anxious for the next race, which is the week after the group ride. There is one throw away, so if I can make the rest of the series and pull off a couple wins and no DNF??????????????????s, I still have a chance at the Championship. That??????????????????s a long ways off and I??????????????????ll take it one race at a time. After the time adjustments, I ended up with 2nd place overall.
The quad ran flawlessly, I was thankful for that. My wife was with me cheering me on and she had a good time, too. I hope she hits all the races with me! Surprisingly, she was talking about enclosed trailers on the way home! I had to settle her down and we??????????????????ll be happy with the 10x10 canopy for a while.
And, if there are any other VA riders reading this, Don??????????????????t Sing It, BRING IT!! We??????????????????re just a bunch of Average Joe??????????????????s out having fun. All you need is a kill switch to come out and play along.
:usa
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Ryanstones
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:41 pm
Great report NR!
Sounds like a lot of fun. Pretty impressive that your newly assembled 'dale was so perfect! You must be a better mechanic than rider ! LOL.
:clap:
:clap:
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thunderwolf
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:41 pm
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jesshamner
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:41 pm
Thanks Guys!
Glad to hear it was worth my time to write it. I swear, I'm out to put a spankin' on that guy next time!
One of the bike racers went into the woods during our race and took some pics. He sent them to me today. Nothing great, but I was tickled and very appreciative that he took his time out to take pics of us quad boys. I can't resize them at home, but I'll do it at work tomorrow and post them at lunch time.
One of the bike racers went into the woods during our race and took some pics. He sent them to me today. Nothing great, but I was tickled and very appreciative that he took his time out to take pics of us quad boys. I can't resize them at home, but I'll do it at work tomorrow and post them at lunch time.