| 2000 Race Reports |
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October 15, 2000
White City, Illinois
4th of ?? in Open B
Holy mother of all that is pure and evil, what a terrible enduro this was. Ten days
before, a rain storm dumped 6 or 7 inches of rain on White City. Although the rain
held off just before and during the race, the ground was still very saturated. I chose
row 25, I think it was, figuring the trail would be well defined (unlike the previous year
when I had a heck of a time finding the trail on row 5). No problem with finding the
trail, but the mud was tough. After about 8 miles on the club grounds, the course
went to other sections that were totally torn up anywhere there was a gully or creek
crossing. I lost plenty of time in a section about a mile long where the trail crossed a
small creek about 10 times, each with huge, deep ruts. By the time I got about 30
miles into the race (total of 80 miles), I had houred out and had to quit. The spot
where I headed back to the club was the same place where I had to quit last year after
breaking my ribs. So once again, I had do ride through the center of Mt. Olive and
pack up early. Bill Steele had already quit after having clutch problems, but he told
me later in the week where I had finished. I'm guessing there were about 4 guys in
my class. Of the 70 or so riders that started, about 10 finished.
October 22, 2000
Chadwick, Missouri
9th of 9 in Open B
Another enduro, another early exit, this time because of a flat front tire. After getting
screwed over by a Super 8 motel in Springfield, I spent the night in my truck. Not so
bad, as long as you know where to park. I would not recommend the parking lot of an
auto body and 24-hour towing service on a Saturday night. Anyway, back to the
enduro. This was another BJEC-series race, and as usual it was very well organized
and very fast. The first time around the 40-mile loop was an 18-mph average, which
was basically a trail ride with a couple of tests that added a couple of points to my
score. The race was held in the Mark Twain National Forest, which means the
promoters had to work with the forest service in laying out the course. This year the
club was not allowed to use any single-track trails, so it was all two-track ATV trails.
Chadwick is famous for its rock ledges, and I had a hard time adjusting. Some of
them would appear at off-camber sections and were damp in the morning. I think I
crashed about 10 times on those darned things before I figured out how to ride them.
Chadwick is also infamous for the forest service's use of inter-locking bricks to
control erosion. Paved trails...now that's getting back to nature. They were actually
very slick and dangerous.
Shortly into the second time around the loop, with the speed average bumped up to
24-mph, I pinched my front tube and decided to call it quits. Usually I carry a spare
(duct-taped to the fender), but this time I chose not to, since in all my previous
enduros I had never needed it. Duh.... Predictably, I finished in last place.
October 29, 2000
White City, Illinois
1st of 2 in Open B
What a difference two weeks makes. White City is pure joy when the trails are dry,
and this day was perfect (as in no crashes...my definition of perfection). I got a decent
start and rode well the whole race. The course was very similar to the first 7-8 miles
of the enduro, except this time the traction was tractor-pull quality. My lap times were
right at 40 minutes and I missed a fourth lap by a minute or two. I was actually
disappointed not get one more go-around. The only other guy in my class lost his
chain, but hey, a win is a win.
December 10, 2000
Crab Orchard, Illinois
8th of 17 in Open B
Did I really race 21 times this year? No wonder my body has so many pains. One
important lesson I learned at this race is to never break in a pair of new boots at a
hare scramble. I couldn't wait to get those things off me. As for the race itself, it's not
often that you get an opportunity to race a truly new course, but Crab Orchard was just
that. Put on by the same club that normally hosts the Jonesboro hare scrambles, this
race was the final round of the SOIL Series for 2000. The course was laid out on an
old strip mine property that was purchased by the Little Egypt club with help from a
grant from the State of Illinois. The terrain was similar to Belleville or Ottawa, with
several sections up and down a series of ridges. Since Matt raced with me, naturally
the trail was very muddy from a rain the night before.
The Open B class was fairly large, with 17 entered. The first mile was a grass track
that bordered a highway, but the grass did not last long. It became mostly a
30-foot-wide path of slop. The second mile was a first gear off-camber section that
was full of bottlenecks on the first lap. After that, the course was more traditional
woods with two sections of going up and down 8 or 10 steep ridges left over from
strip mining (like Belleville and Ottawa). Somewhere in the first lap I didn't make it up
a hill and considered taking the long way around, but one of the club guys dared me
to try it again, so I did and made it. Matt had already passed me early on, but on the
second lap I caught up to him and passed him in an open section.
The scoring system is similar to the Missouri Hare Scrambles Series, with a bar code
on each helmet and an electronic scanner and scoring system. Their system went
even further and had a stoplight that was red until a successful scan, and then it
turned green. A large digital number display would show what place each rider was
as he passed through.
At the end of the second lap, I was hopeful that time would run out and I could go
home. The course was tough all around, especially that mile of first gear off-camber.
I looked at my watch after passing through the scoring gate to start my third lap, and
after a quick bit of math in my head, figured out that I would probably be doing two
more laps. Man, was I out of shape. Near the end of the third lap I considered
quitting, but then kept on going and struggled to finish the fourth lap. On the last open
stretch before the finish line, I could see Matt at the truck already loading up his stuff.
He did 3 laps and I did 4, but he ended up only one place behind me in the 9th spot.
--------------------------------------------------------
So that's how the season ended. I never imagined racing 21 times in one year, nor
did I expect to win my class. Best of all, I stayed relatively healthy and the bike
had no major breakdowns. I finished 6th in the Missouri Hare Scrambles series
and 2nd in the SOIL Series. A long season, but a good one.
White City, Illinois
4th of ?? in Open B
Holy mother of all that is pure and evil, what a terrible enduro this was. Ten days
before, a rain storm dumped 6 or 7 inches of rain on White City. Although the rain
held off just before and during the race, the ground was still very saturated. I chose
row 25, I think it was, figuring the trail would be well defined (unlike the previous year
when I had a heck of a time finding the trail on row 5). No problem with finding the
trail, but the mud was tough. After about 8 miles on the club grounds, the course
went to other sections that were totally torn up anywhere there was a gully or creek
crossing. I lost plenty of time in a section about a mile long where the trail crossed a
small creek about 10 times, each with huge, deep ruts. By the time I got about 30
miles into the race (total of 80 miles), I had houred out and had to quit. The spot
where I headed back to the club was the same place where I had to quit last year after
breaking my ribs. So once again, I had do ride through the center of Mt. Olive and
pack up early. Bill Steele had already quit after having clutch problems, but he told
me later in the week where I had finished. I'm guessing there were about 4 guys in
my class. Of the 70 or so riders that started, about 10 finished.
October 22, 2000
Chadwick, Missouri
9th of 9 in Open B
Another enduro, another early exit, this time because of a flat front tire. After getting
screwed over by a Super 8 motel in Springfield, I spent the night in my truck. Not so
bad, as long as you know where to park. I would not recommend the parking lot of an
auto body and 24-hour towing service on a Saturday night. Anyway, back to the
enduro. This was another BJEC-series race, and as usual it was very well organized
and very fast. The first time around the 40-mile loop was an 18-mph average, which
was basically a trail ride with a couple of tests that added a couple of points to my
score. The race was held in the Mark Twain National Forest, which means the
promoters had to work with the forest service in laying out the course. This year the
club was not allowed to use any single-track trails, so it was all two-track ATV trails.
Chadwick is famous for its rock ledges, and I had a hard time adjusting. Some of
them would appear at off-camber sections and were damp in the morning. I think I
crashed about 10 times on those darned things before I figured out how to ride them.
Chadwick is also infamous for the forest service's use of inter-locking bricks to
control erosion. Paved trails...now that's getting back to nature. They were actually
very slick and dangerous.
Shortly into the second time around the loop, with the speed average bumped up to
24-mph, I pinched my front tube and decided to call it quits. Usually I carry a spare
(duct-taped to the fender), but this time I chose not to, since in all my previous
enduros I had never needed it. Duh.... Predictably, I finished in last place.
October 29, 2000
White City, Illinois
1st of 2 in Open B
What a difference two weeks makes. White City is pure joy when the trails are dry,
and this day was perfect (as in no crashes...my definition of perfection). I got a decent
start and rode well the whole race. The course was very similar to the first 7-8 miles
of the enduro, except this time the traction was tractor-pull quality. My lap times were
right at 40 minutes and I missed a fourth lap by a minute or two. I was actually
disappointed not get one more go-around. The only other guy in my class lost his
chain, but hey, a win is a win.
December 10, 2000
Crab Orchard, Illinois
8th of 17 in Open B
Did I really race 21 times this year? No wonder my body has so many pains. One
important lesson I learned at this race is to never break in a pair of new boots at a
hare scramble. I couldn't wait to get those things off me. As for the race itself, it's not
often that you get an opportunity to race a truly new course, but Crab Orchard was just
that. Put on by the same club that normally hosts the Jonesboro hare scrambles, this
race was the final round of the SOIL Series for 2000. The course was laid out on an
old strip mine property that was purchased by the Little Egypt club with help from a
grant from the State of Illinois. The terrain was similar to Belleville or Ottawa, with
several sections up and down a series of ridges. Since Matt raced with me, naturally
the trail was very muddy from a rain the night before.
The Open B class was fairly large, with 17 entered. The first mile was a grass track
that bordered a highway, but the grass did not last long. It became mostly a
30-foot-wide path of slop. The second mile was a first gear off-camber section that
was full of bottlenecks on the first lap. After that, the course was more traditional
woods with two sections of going up and down 8 or 10 steep ridges left over from
strip mining (like Belleville and Ottawa). Somewhere in the first lap I didn't make it up
a hill and considered taking the long way around, but one of the club guys dared me
to try it again, so I did and made it. Matt had already passed me early on, but on the
second lap I caught up to him and passed him in an open section.
The scoring system is similar to the Missouri Hare Scrambles Series, with a bar code
on each helmet and an electronic scanner and scoring system. Their system went
even further and had a stoplight that was red until a successful scan, and then it
turned green. A large digital number display would show what place each rider was
as he passed through.
At the end of the second lap, I was hopeful that time would run out and I could go
home. The course was tough all around, especially that mile of first gear off-camber.
I looked at my watch after passing through the scoring gate to start my third lap, and
after a quick bit of math in my head, figured out that I would probably be doing two
more laps. Man, was I out of shape. Near the end of the third lap I considered
quitting, but then kept on going and struggled to finish the fourth lap. On the last open
stretch before the finish line, I could see Matt at the truck already loading up his stuff.
He did 3 laps and I did 4, but he ended up only one place behind me in the 9th spot.
--------------------------------------------------------
So that's how the season ended. I never imagined racing 21 times in one year, nor
did I expect to win my class. Best of all, I stayed relatively healthy and the bike
had no major breakdowns. I finished 6th in the Missouri Hare Scrambles series
and 2nd in the SOIL Series. A long season, but a good one.
White City, Illinois
Chadwick, Missouri
White City, Illinois
Crab Orchard, Illinois
Chadwick, Missouri
White City, Illinois
Crab Orchard, Illinois