rausch creek 9/19
rausch creek 9/19
as of 4:00 pm yesterday this event is still on! they got around 7" of rain up there yesterday. might be a little sloppy considering the woods have big puddles in them all the time. dirt, loneracer , and maybe even lou are making the trip over. owen, the guy leading the c class points, is rumored to be riding a yfz now. guess the cannondales drove his 400ex into retirement. i have to go finish assembling my bike. tune back in later.
the jersey outlaws got there about the same time as myself. we talked for a while then found jlhughes and he said to walk the last mile of the track to get a feel for it. we didn't think they were running the quads on the same track as the bikes but they did. we found tight trails with big water puddles everywhere. some of the course was the same as the 6 hour and some was "virgin trails", again. we were watching the bikes go through a couple water crossings and there was a rather large round rock just laying between them, which i will explain more later...
good turnout, full line of A,B, and C class racers, about 20 in each class. long starting straight, which was good for the dales, but it was extremely dusty.
loneracer lined up with some big names in the a class, lou took on the b class and the rest of us was c class.
good turnout, full line of A,B, and C class racers, about 20 in each class. long starting straight, which was good for the dales, but it was extremely dusty.
loneracer lined up with some big names in the a class, lou took on the b class and the rest of us was c class.
a class took off creating a huge brown out. same with b class. owen had the yfz and was lined up beside me on my left, derno and dirt were a few quads to my right. tim wertman was over to my far left on a 400ex. owen, tim, and derno are my main competiters for the rest of the season and they are all infront of me in the points.
flag flew and to my suprise i was 5th off the line. saw owen still sitting there(yeah). was 3rd into the corner and as soon as we hit the woods the leader stalled and jammed the guy behind him. i went around and was leading!
i don't like to lead on the first lap on an unfarmillier track. but i did and missed a turn and took about 8 guys with me! oops:eek:
we discovered we were not on the course anymore and turned around. i got stuck on a tree and was passed by quite a few of the guys...
flag flew and to my suprise i was 5th off the line. saw owen still sitting there(yeah). was 3rd into the corner and as soon as we hit the woods the leader stalled and jammed the guy behind him. i went around and was leading!
i don't like to lead on the first lap on an unfarmillier track. but i did and missed a turn and took about 8 guys with me! oops:eek:
we discovered we were not on the course anymore and turned around. i got stuck on a tree and was passed by quite a few of the guys...
woods were tight and being virgin trails, it was hard to see where to go. a few more banners and arrows would've been nice.
the promoter said about these new hills they added and if they were too difficult they would banner them off. got to the first uphill and some guys were having trouble. had to wait half way up it. my turn and i go up it no problem, wondering what the big deal was. it wasn't long or steep:confused:
continued on making mental notes of alternate routes and quick corners. needed to run a flawless race to get back into the points chase...
the promoter said about these new hills they added and if they were too difficult they would banner them off. got to the first uphill and some guys were having trouble. had to wait half way up it. my turn and i go up it no problem, wondering what the big deal was. it wasn't long or steep:confused:
continued on making mental notes of alternate routes and quick corners. needed to run a flawless race to get back into the points chase...
was just running a good pace and picking off a few guys here and there. they messed up at registration and gave a few people the wrong color sticker. they gave me the a class sticker then the correct green one. we always had the orange ones at every track before. i put them all on my helmet to confuse those behind me. i think it just confused me cause i had no idea who was who when people came up on me or when i came up on them!
i attacked the water puddles and crossings, no use trying to stay dry and clean. wasn't gonna happen today. feeling good and strong but had no idea what position i was in.
went thru a muddy section and find dirt sitting on a small hill directly in my line:mad: had to trailblaze my way up it. didn't work! was waiting for dirt to give me a hand. he looked like he was going to but instead got on his quad and went up the hill! i was going to BEAT HIS AZZ if he left me there!!!:box:
i attacked the water puddles and crossings, no use trying to stay dry and clean. wasn't gonna happen today. feeling good and strong but had no idea what position i was in.
went thru a muddy section and find dirt sitting on a small hill directly in my line:mad: had to trailblaze my way up it. didn't work! was waiting for dirt to give me a hand. he looked like he was going to but instead got on his quad and went up the hill! i was going to BEAT HIS AZZ if he left me there!!!:box:
he pulled over and came back to give me a hand. it took all the strength we could muster to get me up that hill.
my 22" tires were working good in the mud and rocks. just hammered over and thru anything in my path. track was slick and there was lots of places you could spin out rather easily. plus my seat was slick as oil and i was from one side of it to the other constantly.
on the second lap they eliminated the hill climb, so you were just more confused on which way to go. didn't think i would ever get the layout of this course.
my 22" tires were working good in the mud and rocks. just hammered over and thru anything in my path. track was slick and there was lots of places you could spin out rather easily. plus my seat was slick as oil and i was from one side of it to the other constantly.
on the second lap they eliminated the hill climb, so you were just more confused on which way to go. didn't think i would ever get the layout of this course.
they had bar code scoring with a clock there so you knew how long you had left. that is so sweet! had 30 minutes left, figured 2 laps.
came up to the 2 big water crossings. splashed thru the first and when the water cleared there was that big round rock directly in front of me!
WHAM! to my suprise it just rolled. should've rolled it into the second bigger water crossing:) but didn't. flintstoned it backwards and took off.
got to the barrels and saw i was running about 12 minute lap times. 2 more laps.
came up to the 2 big water crossings. splashed thru the first and when the water cleared there was that big round rock directly in front of me!
WHAM! to my suprise it just rolled. should've rolled it into the second bigger water crossing:) but didn't. flintstoned it backwards and took off. got to the barrels and saw i was running about 12 minute lap times. 2 more laps.
would come up on people and wonder if they were ahead of me or if i was lapping them.:confused: was hoping i'd catch derno as i have yet to catch a glimpse of him. saw owen was sitting off the side of the track earlier and tim was broke down on the first lap. good opportunity to get some valuable points. so i had to keep pushing.
white flag. thought i saved my last tear off but guess i didn't. i hate when that happens.:cry:
trying to ride smooth and finish. didn't think i'd last this long, had a bad wrenching session yesterday and had to finish it this morning. thankfully the loneracer had an extra masterlink clip :clap:
white flag. thought i saved my last tear off but guess i didn't. i hate when that happens.:cry:
trying to ride smooth and finish. didn't think i'd last this long, had a bad wrenching session yesterday and had to finish it this morning. thankfully the loneracer had an extra masterlink clip :clap: