| 2000 Race Reports |
June 11, 2000
Jonesboro, Illinois
8th of 8 in Open B
What a difference a week makes. A bonehead mechanical oversight put me well out
of contention less than two minutes into the race. Matt and I raced together again on
a typically hot June day in Southern Illinois. We walked a small part of the course
beforehand and the trails looked to be in great shape. The starting point of the race
was an open field that had been laid out with wood stakes and yellow ribbon, into a
series of 180-degree turns before dropping into a creek and then heading back up
through the woods. I made it into the woods ahead of Matt and suddenly discovered
my clutch didn't work. I pulled over and saw that the bracket had come loose and the
clutch perch was flopping around. Fortunately I was only a couple hundred yards
from my truck and made the repair, but it took me about 10 minutes to get the job
done and get back onto the trail. Too bad, because the course was excellent. I didn't
try too hard to catch up to the rest of my class, especially since the race was
shortened to 1.5 hours due to the heat. I used the race for practice, more or less, and
worked on my passing skills. Matt finished in 4th place and took home a trophy,
while I finished dead last for the first time in a long while. About 30 minutes after the
race ended, the skies let loose and poured down rain for 20 minutes. A week later I
opened my toolbox and found an inch of water and many rusty tools.
June 25, 2000
St. Joe State Park
Park Hills, Missouri
5th of 11 in Open B
This race set up the way it was years ago when it was known as the Flat River Grand
Prix. The object was to do 6 laps (100 miles), but I figured I could get in 4 before the
pros got their 100 miles and the rest of the field was cut off at the finish line. But two
days before the race I came down with a cold and didn't feel 100%. The race started
in the little town of Park Hills, just like in the old days, with each class lined up on the
main downtown street. Before lining up for the start, all of the motorcycles paraded
from the setup area in St. Joe State Park all the way through the town--probably a
two-mile slow-ride of 150 or so bikes. At the start, a 4-wheeler "paced" each class
before pulling off to the side and turning the riders loose into the trail. To get to St.
Joe park, the trail wandered through a wooded area before going across a highway
overpass and down into the main part of the course. They wanted us to go slow over
the overpass and had a bunch of orange plastic barrels spaced very closely. We
were supposed to ride between the barrels, but I knocked over about five of them.
After two 16-mile laps I stopped for gas and a long rest. My cold was sapping all my
energy, but I still wanted to get in 4 laps. But after the third lap I couldn't take anymore
and called it a day. I felt horrible for a couple hours, and most of the drive home was
pretty bad, sort of like Kahoka last year. When the scores were posted on the
Internet, I could see that if I had just done that 4th lap I probably would have placed in
the top three in my class.
July 9, 2000
Tebbetts, Missouri
8th of 11 in Open B
Now matter how hard I try, this race leaves me incredibly frustrated. Tebbetts is the
most wide-open race in the Missouri series, but somehow I just can't maintain the
speeds necessary for doing well here. Matt and I drove out together, and at the start
he jumped out ahead and I didn't see him again until the end of the race. The course
was nearly identical to last year's race with the exception of more jumps in the
wooded motocross track. My favorite part is the fence crossing, which was two
ramps on each side of the fence that met over the top. You ride up one ramp and
down the other, praying not to stall right at the peak.
The mile-long creek bed was challenging as always, and this time I didn't fall over,
thanks to the steering damper that kept me going in a straight line. The day was
extremely hot, but I had been doing a little bit of "heat training" on the mountain bike
during the prior week, which mostly consists of torturing myself during the hottest part
of the day by riding 10-15 miles without stopping. When I finished the race, I saw Matt
completely changed into street clothes, and I couldn't understand how he finished
that far ahead of me. Actually, he quit after only three laps because of the heat, so he
ended up in 10th place and was as ready as I was to go home and recover.
Jonesboro, Illinois
8th of 8 in Open B
What a difference a week makes. A bonehead mechanical oversight put me well out
of contention less than two minutes into the race. Matt and I raced together again on
a typically hot June day in Southern Illinois. We walked a small part of the course
beforehand and the trails looked to be in great shape. The starting point of the race
was an open field that had been laid out with wood stakes and yellow ribbon, into a
series of 180-degree turns before dropping into a creek and then heading back up
through the woods. I made it into the woods ahead of Matt and suddenly discovered
my clutch didn't work. I pulled over and saw that the bracket had come loose and the
clutch perch was flopping around. Fortunately I was only a couple hundred yards
from my truck and made the repair, but it took me about 10 minutes to get the job
done and get back onto the trail. Too bad, because the course was excellent. I didn't
try too hard to catch up to the rest of my class, especially since the race was
shortened to 1.5 hours due to the heat. I used the race for practice, more or less, and
worked on my passing skills. Matt finished in 4th place and took home a trophy,
while I finished dead last for the first time in a long while. About 30 minutes after the
race ended, the skies let loose and poured down rain for 20 minutes. A week later I
opened my toolbox and found an inch of water and many rusty tools.
June 25, 2000
St. Joe State Park
Park Hills, Missouri
5th of 11 in Open B
This race set up the way it was years ago when it was known as the Flat River Grand
Prix. The object was to do 6 laps (100 miles), but I figured I could get in 4 before the
pros got their 100 miles and the rest of the field was cut off at the finish line. But two
days before the race I came down with a cold and didn't feel 100%. The race started
in the little town of Park Hills, just like in the old days, with each class lined up on the
main downtown street. Before lining up for the start, all of the motorcycles paraded
from the setup area in St. Joe State Park all the way through the town--probably a
two-mile slow-ride of 150 or so bikes. At the start, a 4-wheeler "paced" each class
before pulling off to the side and turning the riders loose into the trail. To get to St.
Joe park, the trail wandered through a wooded area before going across a highway
overpass and down into the main part of the course. They wanted us to go slow over
the overpass and had a bunch of orange plastic barrels spaced very closely. We
were supposed to ride between the barrels, but I knocked over about five of them.
After two 16-mile laps I stopped for gas and a long rest. My cold was sapping all my
energy, but I still wanted to get in 4 laps. But after the third lap I couldn't take anymore
and called it a day. I felt horrible for a couple hours, and most of the drive home was
pretty bad, sort of like Kahoka last year. When the scores were posted on the
Internet, I could see that if I had just done that 4th lap I probably would have placed in
the top three in my class.
July 9, 2000
Tebbetts, Missouri
8th of 11 in Open B
Now matter how hard I try, this race leaves me incredibly frustrated. Tebbetts is the
most wide-open race in the Missouri series, but somehow I just can't maintain the
speeds necessary for doing well here. Matt and I drove out together, and at the start
he jumped out ahead and I didn't see him again until the end of the race. The course
was nearly identical to last year's race with the exception of more jumps in the
wooded motocross track. My favorite part is the fence crossing, which was two
ramps on each side of the fence that met over the top. You ride up one ramp and
down the other, praying not to stall right at the peak.
The mile-long creek bed was challenging as always, and this time I didn't fall over,
thanks to the steering damper that kept me going in a straight line. The day was
extremely hot, but I had been doing a little bit of "heat training" on the mountain bike
during the prior week, which mostly consists of torturing myself during the hottest part
of the day by riding 10-15 miles without stopping. When I finished the race, I saw Matt
completely changed into street clothes, and I couldn't understand how he finished
that far ahead of me. Actually, he quit after only three laps because of the heat, so he
ended up in 10th place and was as ready as I was to go home and recover.
Jonesboro, Illinois
Park Hills, Missouri
Tebbetts, Missouri
Park Hills, Missouri
Tebbetts, Missouri
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