| 2000 Race Reports |
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March 12, 2000
Steelville, Missouri
3rd of 8 in Open B class
Driving to this race reminded me of last year's first race in Cuba, Illinois. Matt Sellers
and I had driven up together, and the farther north we drove, the more snow was on
the ground. The drive to Steelville was similar except that there was three times as
much snow. The day before, winter's last blessing of the season had left us with 3 or
4 inches. Naturally, I wasn't too excited to start out the racing season pushing my bike
more than I actually rode it (like Cuba). But two key differences would make this race
much more enjoyable. First, the snow was rapidly melting and would be pretty much
gone by the end of the day. And second, Missouri's natural splendor includes more
rocks than most quarries, so the mud was only axle-deep instead of handlebar-deep
like Illinois.
I had ridden several times since January, thanks to the mildest winter I'd ever
experienced. Physically, I felt good enough to go at least 10 or 15 minutes without
panting like a dog in heat. As I pulled up to the starting line, I noticed some familiar
bikes and riders, particularly the guy on the Honda XR who wears the "Pizza Man"
jersey (he beat me in Kahoka last year). I also noticed my front brake caliper bolts
were just about ready to fall out. Apparently the threadlock wore off, so there I sat
trying to decide if I had enough time to go back to the truck and tighten the bolts.
Since our Open B class was on the 5th row and they start each row a minute apart, I
figured I had at least 4 minutes, so I dashed back to the truck and grabbed a wrench.
Losing the front brake during the race could have been a painful disaster.
So the race started, and I entered the first turn in 4th place. The guy next to me had a
brand new Y2K KTM 300EXC, and he crashed in a whooped-out creek bed shortly
after the first turn. One down, three to go. The course was extremely muddy for a
Missouri race, and with just one lap complete the goggles came off. After that it was a
constant battle to keep mud out of my eyes. I felt like I was riding pretty good, but
based on previous experience, that didn't mean much except all the other guys were
probably riding better. The second lap was slower because the course was torn up,
but by then my forearms were finally warmed up and pain-free. At the main
checkpoint after the second lap, the scorer told me there was one more lap to go. I
caught my second wind and started riding harder. Little did I know that after the first
lap I was in second place, but on the second lap I lost a place and gave up a full
minute on the guy who passed me. On the third lap I nearly caught up to the second
place guy but came up 18 seconds short. Still, it was my best finish ever in a Missouri
race. My goal before the season was to win a trophy at a truly rocky Missouri race (i.e.
anywhere outside of Kahoka). In my first race of 2000, I met that goal.
March 19, 2000
Belleville, Illinois
4th of 5 in Open B
Ah, a return to the scene of last year's dizzying experience. Thanks to steady rain the
prior two days, the course was almost too slippery to walk. I walked it anyway, and as
I passed the infamous hill that knocked me out last year, I thought of taking another
look. But I decided to let it remain a memory, since the hill was not part of this year's
course. The promoters scrapped the motorcycle course altogether and had us all
ride the ATV course. Even in the mud I could tell it would be a very fast course.
Matt had called in the morning and decided not to race because of the mud, that
wimp. He might have been smarter than me, though. The race got off to a bad start
when my engine refused to run. I kicked, swore a little, kicked harder, swore harder,
watched row after row pass by, and after 5 minutes or so it finally fired up. My friends
Curtis and Resmi watched the whole embarrassing ordeal. By this time the
trailriders had already left. It didn't take long to catch them, but when I did it was at a
muddy section that was causing them all problems. I was able to squeeze through
without much delay, thanks in part to using some of them (bikes and body parts) as
traction, but I had a lot of time to make up. The laps were very short and had sections
that were WFO in 5th gear. It was kind of cool to be keeping up with the highway traffic
that bordered a long, fast trail section for nearly a mile. After 3 or 4 laps I noticed that
my front tire felt like it was losing air. I kept going anyway, but after 1½ hours it gave
out completely. Luckily I was very close to the staging area and simply turned around
and rode the 100 yards back to my truck. I called it a day, since putting in a new tube
would have taken too much time to be worthwhile. Curtis and Resmi had braved the
cool weather to watch me, and just like last year they didn't get to see me finish.
March 26, 2000
Wesphalia, Missouri
6th of 12 in Open B
Another typical Missouri hare scramble. Rocky and fast. Conditions were just about
perfect, though, with sunshine and fairly mild temperatures. Matt and I both raced the
Open B class. I got off to a decent start and rode pretty well, then got hooked up with a
guy trying to pass me and fell down. Matt passed me there, but I got by him again
within a few minutes. I was comfortably in a top-5 position for 1½ hours and then,
inexplicably, I ran out of gas. Over the next month this would happen a couple more
times and I would struggle to figure out what the problem was. Between getting the
bike started again and leaving the course to get gas, I lost about 3-4 minutes. I did
one more lap, riding like hell (it was actually my fastest lap by about 2 minutes), but
finished in 6th place behind Matt, who ended only 21 seconds ahead of me. Had I not
run out of gas, I would have finished fourth and brought home another trophy. Matt got
bragging rights and I had to listen to him all the way home.
Steelville, Missouri
3rd of 8 in Open B class
Driving to this race reminded me of last year's first race in Cuba, Illinois. Matt Sellers
and I had driven up together, and the farther north we drove, the more snow was on
the ground. The drive to Steelville was similar except that there was three times as
much snow. The day before, winter's last blessing of the season had left us with 3 or
4 inches. Naturally, I wasn't too excited to start out the racing season pushing my bike
more than I actually rode it (like Cuba). But two key differences would make this race
much more enjoyable. First, the snow was rapidly melting and would be pretty much
gone by the end of the day. And second, Missouri's natural splendor includes more
rocks than most quarries, so the mud was only axle-deep instead of handlebar-deep
like Illinois.
I had ridden several times since January, thanks to the mildest winter I'd ever
experienced. Physically, I felt good enough to go at least 10 or 15 minutes without
panting like a dog in heat. As I pulled up to the starting line, I noticed some familiar
bikes and riders, particularly the guy on the Honda XR who wears the "Pizza Man"
jersey (he beat me in Kahoka last year). I also noticed my front brake caliper bolts
were just about ready to fall out. Apparently the threadlock wore off, so there I sat
trying to decide if I had enough time to go back to the truck and tighten the bolts.
Since our Open B class was on the 5th row and they start each row a minute apart, I
figured I had at least 4 minutes, so I dashed back to the truck and grabbed a wrench.
Losing the front brake during the race could have been a painful disaster.
So the race started, and I entered the first turn in 4th place. The guy next to me had a
brand new Y2K KTM 300EXC, and he crashed in a whooped-out creek bed shortly
after the first turn. One down, three to go. The course was extremely muddy for a
Missouri race, and with just one lap complete the goggles came off. After that it was a
constant battle to keep mud out of my eyes. I felt like I was riding pretty good, but
based on previous experience, that didn't mean much except all the other guys were
probably riding better. The second lap was slower because the course was torn up,
but by then my forearms were finally warmed up and pain-free. At the main
checkpoint after the second lap, the scorer told me there was one more lap to go. I
caught my second wind and started riding harder. Little did I know that after the first
lap I was in second place, but on the second lap I lost a place and gave up a full
minute on the guy who passed me. On the third lap I nearly caught up to the second
place guy but came up 18 seconds short. Still, it was my best finish ever in a Missouri
race. My goal before the season was to win a trophy at a truly rocky Missouri race (i.e.
anywhere outside of Kahoka). In my first race of 2000, I met that goal.
March 19, 2000
Belleville, Illinois
4th of 5 in Open B
Ah, a return to the scene of last year's dizzying experience. Thanks to steady rain the
prior two days, the course was almost too slippery to walk. I walked it anyway, and as
I passed the infamous hill that knocked me out last year, I thought of taking another
look. But I decided to let it remain a memory, since the hill was not part of this year's
course. The promoters scrapped the motorcycle course altogether and had us all
ride the ATV course. Even in the mud I could tell it would be a very fast course.
Matt had called in the morning and decided not to race because of the mud, that
wimp. He might have been smarter than me, though. The race got off to a bad start
when my engine refused to run. I kicked, swore a little, kicked harder, swore harder,
watched row after row pass by, and after 5 minutes or so it finally fired up. My friends
Curtis and Resmi watched the whole embarrassing ordeal. By this time the
trailriders had already left. It didn't take long to catch them, but when I did it was at a
muddy section that was causing them all problems. I was able to squeeze through
without much delay, thanks in part to using some of them (bikes and body parts) as
traction, but I had a lot of time to make up. The laps were very short and had sections
that were WFO in 5th gear. It was kind of cool to be keeping up with the highway traffic
that bordered a long, fast trail section for nearly a mile. After 3 or 4 laps I noticed that
my front tire felt like it was losing air. I kept going anyway, but after 1½ hours it gave
out completely. Luckily I was very close to the staging area and simply turned around
and rode the 100 yards back to my truck. I called it a day, since putting in a new tube
would have taken too much time to be worthwhile. Curtis and Resmi had braved the
cool weather to watch me, and just like last year they didn't get to see me finish.
March 26, 2000
Wesphalia, Missouri
6th of 12 in Open B
Another typical Missouri hare scramble. Rocky and fast. Conditions were just about
perfect, though, with sunshine and fairly mild temperatures. Matt and I both raced the
Open B class. I got off to a decent start and rode pretty well, then got hooked up with a
guy trying to pass me and fell down. Matt passed me there, but I got by him again
within a few minutes. I was comfortably in a top-5 position for 1½ hours and then,
inexplicably, I ran out of gas. Over the next month this would happen a couple more
times and I would struggle to figure out what the problem was. Between getting the
bike started again and leaving the course to get gas, I lost about 3-4 minutes. I did
one more lap, riding like hell (it was actually my fastest lap by about 2 minutes), but
finished in 6th place behind Matt, who ended only 21 seconds ahead of me. Had I not
run out of gas, I would have finished fourth and brought home another trophy. Matt got
bragging rights and I had to listen to him all the way home.
Steelville, Missouri
Belleville, Illinois
Westphalia, Missouri
Belleville, Illinois
Westphalia, Missouri