| 2003 Race Reports |
September 7, 2003
Smithville Lake, Missouri
4th of 17 in Vet
It's a long, long drive to the best trails Missouri has to offer. Smithville Lake is 'da
bomb, it's all 'dat, the shizzle in the hiznet. Or something. To get there from St. Louis,
hop on I-70, go west for about 3 hours and turn right. That's pretty much it, 275 miles
later. Sure, it's an early morning and a long day, but the rewards are sweet.
Singletrack, and lots of it, mostly free of rocks. No ATV's. And this year, perfect weather
with very little dust.
Clay County Parks & Recreation was again generous enough to provide a portion of
its 7,200-acre Smithville Lake property for Round 13 of the Missouri Hare Scrambles
Championship. The course used the same portion of those acres as last year, which
had been a completely new Smithville course. In 2002 I worked this race, so the 2003
event was my first time riding these awesome trails. During the rider's meeting, Tom
Eidam gave us a refresher course on trail courtesy, which was the standard "If you
hear a screaming engine behind you, get the hell out of the way" coupled with "Expect
to hear various colorful metaphors and insults to 'yo mama if you choose not to get
out of the way."
The Smithville course was around 8.5 miles of mostly singletrack and a long grass
track that I actually enjoyed riding. The grass track was near the staging area,
providing some good viewing for spectators. Despite the relatively narrow trails, the
practice lap revealed numerous, yet relatively inconspicuous, spots to pass and be
passed in the woods. The course began and finished at the grass track, with the final
mile or so winding in and out of a waterway, through a narrow creek bed, and out into
the open for a half mile of moto-like sprinting to the finish. Once again I brought my
insanely comfortable lazy chair, and after the practice lap kicked up my feet, sipped a
Breeze iced tea, and contemplated the gorgeous morning. In this part of the world we
get about 10 days of such fine weather each year, and what better way to enjoy it than
outdoors on a dirt bike.
For the first time in forever, the Vet class lined up on the third row, just behind the A
and AA riders. The first corner was at the edge of the open field, and when the board
dropped for the start of our race, I was about mid-pack entering the tree-lined turn.
Matt Weis jumped out ahead and set an extremely fast pace. Soon after, I could hear
#76 Gary Mittelberg behind me, searching for a place to pass. He finally found it at
one of those inconspicuous corner-shortening opportunities that I had noticed in the
practice lap but didn't see in time to use. I followed Gary for a couple more miles until
I found a quicker way around a slow curve. I was feeling pretty good about passing
Gary for about a minute. The trail curved around a large fallen tree, which normally
would have been easy to hop over, but it was lying nearly parallel to the trail. Most
riders (including me) were taking the long way around, but Gary hopped over the log
with little effort and easily beat me around the corner. I trailed him until the grass
track, where he inexplicably let me by (a flat tire ended Gary's day). Steve Crews got
around me in the grass track and took off to pursue Matt Weis.
The next two laps went by quickly as I tried to work my way through the pack. Some of
the B riders in the rows behind me had closed the gap around the halfway point of the
race, including #128 Zach Bryant on his high-revving RM125 and #30 Adam Ashcroft
in the 250B class. Adam and a group of fast guys got around me shortly after the
downed tree where Gary Mittelberg had earlier passed by. I had killed the engine just
before that spot and Adam, following closely, told me to get out of the way. The nerve!
I did get out of the way, unintentionally, when I tried to take a higher line on an
off-camber trail and misjudged the gap between two trees. Even with 30-inch-wide
handlebars, a 28" gap is just a little too narrow to manage without slowing to a crawl.
The Ashcroft freight train left me standing.
And now, a brief message to the 29 riders who were faster than me at Smithville
Lake: When I give you an opportunity to pass, please take it. Please don't follow me
as I take the wide route around a corner. Please don't smack my rear tire when I pull
over. And finally, please refrain from running over my foot as you pass by in frustration,
expletives spewing from dusty lips. If you do these things, I might get angry. Very
angry. Enough for a green monster to emerge....yes, that race-ready KX250 in the
stable next to the tame orange beast. It's coming. It's sooooo coming to a race near
you.
I finished up by letting #454 Mark Green pass by in the grass track. He was restarting
his bike when I had passed him near the end, and I could swear he had been lined
up in the A class. No reason to slow him down, I thought, and I let off just enough for
him to get around. My fault, and it may have cost me third place. Oh well. The race
was thoroughly fun and I only smacked my still-tender ankle one time. Matt Weis took
home the win in the Vet class, followed closely by Steve Crews. The overall win went
to #4 Holeshot King Doug Stone. Congrats to Adam Ashcroft on his first-ever top-20
overall finish, and Tyler Ruckdeschell on his first-ever Junior class win!!
September 21, 2003
Eugene, Missouri
8th of 10 in Vet
Ever have one of those days where for no particular reason you notice some random
image or event and later realize that the random image or event was a predictor of
things to come? Maybe that only happens to some people after a 5-hour Saturday
morning Beverly Hills 90210 marathon on FX. Not that I would know because I've
never done that (couldn't make it past 4 hours). But it happened on the day of the
Eugene round of the Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship and it was weird. Very
weird.
Image #1: driving west on I-70, passing and being passed by a hundred cars and
trucks, and of all those vehicles, of all those Missouri license plates with the familiar
three digits followed by a space and then three letters, I noticed the one that ended
with the letters "DNF".
Image #2: riding my KTM to the starting area to begin my practice lap, while a small
group of cattle were quickly getting the message that they needed to find another
place to graze, one young bull couldn't contain himself and mounted up on an
unsuspecting cow.
What do those images mean? If it isn't already clear after you read about my day at
Eugene, I'll spell it out later. As far as the racing was concerned, the conditions could
not have been more perfect. The morning was warm but not hot, the trails slightly
damp but not slick. Pleasant temperatures and perfect trail conditions made for a
seriously enjoyable ride. The long creek section that challenged us last year was run
in reverse, meaning we were riding downstream instead of fighting the current. The
rains during the week had filled the creek with fresh, flowing water that was just a bit
too deep for comfort in a couple of spots. Like the prior year, the bottom was either
slick rock ledges or jagged-edged stones and boulders. I walked this section prior to
the practice lap and saw no good way to get through other than straight down the
beaten path, which was not so much beaten as it was a main line with some of the
bigger rocks pushed to either side. The pit area was adjacent to the first half of the
creek section, providing what was sure to be an entertaining afternoon for the
spectators.
The rest of the course was a good mix between fast ATV and new singletrack, much
like the opening round at Lebanon. I hooked up with K-Ruck #94 for awhile and
finished the practice lap by myself. After starting on the 3rd row at Smithville, it was
now our turn to head to the back of the pack, somewhere around 8 rows behind the
AA class. The Vet class starting line was abuzz with the sight of #35 Robbie Jo Reed,
making a rare appearance after winning the first two rounds earlier in March. On
either side of me was #76 Gary Mittelberg and #81 Matt Weis, along with #442 Steve
Crews, #237 Elston Moore, and K-Ruck in the mix.
My start was typically average, and I battled with Elston to the first turn. The initial
quarter mile was through the second half of the creek section. At the exit of the creek
was a slippery bank, followed by a steep off-camber hill. I passed K-Ruck there and
settled in with a train of riders. Gary Mittelberg and K-Ruck soon caught up to me, with
Gary making his pass via an alternate path through a rock ledge. Gary is one of the
smartest guys on the trail when it comes to finding ways around slower riders. Using
a tired old corporate cliché, he thinks outside the box. After Gary's pass, K-Ruck got
around me and I followed him through the end of the first lap.
On lap 2, Kevin put some distance on me in the creek section and I never saw him
again. I tried to keep up an aggressive pace and felt like I was riding well, but Kevin
and Gary were pulling away. I caught up to Robbie Jo Reed, who turned a fast initial
lap but was fading on the second lap. As usual, I had no idea what place I was in
when I started my third lap, but it didn't matter. At the beginning of the creek section, I
fell over in the deepest part of the creek. I almost kept the bike upright enough to
prevent water from entering the airbox, but slipped on the slick rock bottom and
dropped the bike completely into the water. My day was done. With help from
spectators, I pushed the bike up the creek bank and called it a day. It really is
surprising how much water can get inside the engine is such a short time. It had
been about 10 years since I had last flooded a dirt bike, but the draining routine was
fresh in my mind. After ridding the bike of water, I had a notion to go out and enjoy
another lap but decided to pack up and go home.
To translate the abovementioned images, I didn't finish (DNF), got screwed
(unsuspecting cow) in the creek, but had a heck of a good time (young bull). K-Ruck
took the Vet class win, followed closely by Elston who put on a late charge. Steve
Crews locked up the series with a 3rd place finish. The overall win went once again to
Steve Leivan, who battled young gun Caleb Wohletz the entire race.
Smithville Lake, Missouri
4th of 17 in Vet
It's a long, long drive to the best trails Missouri has to offer. Smithville Lake is 'da
bomb, it's all 'dat, the shizzle in the hiznet. Or something. To get there from St. Louis,
hop on I-70, go west for about 3 hours and turn right. That's pretty much it, 275 miles
later. Sure, it's an early morning and a long day, but the rewards are sweet.
Singletrack, and lots of it, mostly free of rocks. No ATV's. And this year, perfect weather
with very little dust.
Clay County Parks & Recreation was again generous enough to provide a portion of
its 7,200-acre Smithville Lake property for Round 13 of the Missouri Hare Scrambles
Championship. The course used the same portion of those acres as last year, which
had been a completely new Smithville course. In 2002 I worked this race, so the 2003
event was my first time riding these awesome trails. During the rider's meeting, Tom
Eidam gave us a refresher course on trail courtesy, which was the standard "If you
hear a screaming engine behind you, get the hell out of the way" coupled with "Expect
to hear various colorful metaphors and insults to 'yo mama if you choose not to get
out of the way."
The Smithville course was around 8.5 miles of mostly singletrack and a long grass
track that I actually enjoyed riding. The grass track was near the staging area,
providing some good viewing for spectators. Despite the relatively narrow trails, the
practice lap revealed numerous, yet relatively inconspicuous, spots to pass and be
passed in the woods. The course began and finished at the grass track, with the final
mile or so winding in and out of a waterway, through a narrow creek bed, and out into
the open for a half mile of moto-like sprinting to the finish. Once again I brought my
insanely comfortable lazy chair, and after the practice lap kicked up my feet, sipped a
Breeze iced tea, and contemplated the gorgeous morning. In this part of the world we
get about 10 days of such fine weather each year, and what better way to enjoy it than
outdoors on a dirt bike.
For the first time in forever, the Vet class lined up on the third row, just behind the A
and AA riders. The first corner was at the edge of the open field, and when the board
dropped for the start of our race, I was about mid-pack entering the tree-lined turn.
Matt Weis jumped out ahead and set an extremely fast pace. Soon after, I could hear
#76 Gary Mittelberg behind me, searching for a place to pass. He finally found it at
one of those inconspicuous corner-shortening opportunities that I had noticed in the
practice lap but didn't see in time to use. I followed Gary for a couple more miles until
I found a quicker way around a slow curve. I was feeling pretty good about passing
Gary for about a minute. The trail curved around a large fallen tree, which normally
would have been easy to hop over, but it was lying nearly parallel to the trail. Most
riders (including me) were taking the long way around, but Gary hopped over the log
with little effort and easily beat me around the corner. I trailed him until the grass
track, where he inexplicably let me by (a flat tire ended Gary's day). Steve Crews got
around me in the grass track and took off to pursue Matt Weis.
The next two laps went by quickly as I tried to work my way through the pack. Some of
the B riders in the rows behind me had closed the gap around the halfway point of the
race, including #128 Zach Bryant on his high-revving RM125 and #30 Adam Ashcroft
in the 250B class. Adam and a group of fast guys got around me shortly after the
downed tree where Gary Mittelberg had earlier passed by. I had killed the engine just
before that spot and Adam, following closely, told me to get out of the way. The nerve!
I did get out of the way, unintentionally, when I tried to take a higher line on an
off-camber trail and misjudged the gap between two trees. Even with 30-inch-wide
handlebars, a 28" gap is just a little too narrow to manage without slowing to a crawl.
The Ashcroft freight train left me standing.
And now, a brief message to the 29 riders who were faster than me at Smithville
Lake: When I give you an opportunity to pass, please take it. Please don't follow me
as I take the wide route around a corner. Please don't smack my rear tire when I pull
over. And finally, please refrain from running over my foot as you pass by in frustration,
expletives spewing from dusty lips. If you do these things, I might get angry. Very
angry. Enough for a green monster to emerge....yes, that race-ready KX250 in the
stable next to the tame orange beast. It's coming. It's sooooo coming to a race near
you.
I finished up by letting #454 Mark Green pass by in the grass track. He was restarting
his bike when I had passed him near the end, and I could swear he had been lined
up in the A class. No reason to slow him down, I thought, and I let off just enough for
him to get around. My fault, and it may have cost me third place. Oh well. The race
was thoroughly fun and I only smacked my still-tender ankle one time. Matt Weis took
home the win in the Vet class, followed closely by Steve Crews. The overall win went
to #4 Holeshot King Doug Stone. Congrats to Adam Ashcroft on his first-ever top-20
overall finish, and Tyler Ruckdeschell on his first-ever Junior class win!!
September 21, 2003
Eugene, Missouri
8th of 10 in Vet
Ever have one of those days where for no particular reason you notice some random
image or event and later realize that the random image or event was a predictor of
things to come? Maybe that only happens to some people after a 5-hour Saturday
morning Beverly Hills 90210 marathon on FX. Not that I would know because I've
never done that (couldn't make it past 4 hours). But it happened on the day of the
Eugene round of the Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship and it was weird. Very
weird.
Image #1: driving west on I-70, passing and being passed by a hundred cars and
trucks, and of all those vehicles, of all those Missouri license plates with the familiar
three digits followed by a space and then three letters, I noticed the one that ended
with the letters "DNF".
Image #2: riding my KTM to the starting area to begin my practice lap, while a small
group of cattle were quickly getting the message that they needed to find another
place to graze, one young bull couldn't contain himself and mounted up on an
unsuspecting cow.
What do those images mean? If it isn't already clear after you read about my day at
Eugene, I'll spell it out later. As far as the racing was concerned, the conditions could
not have been more perfect. The morning was warm but not hot, the trails slightly
damp but not slick. Pleasant temperatures and perfect trail conditions made for a
seriously enjoyable ride. The long creek section that challenged us last year was run
in reverse, meaning we were riding downstream instead of fighting the current. The
rains during the week had filled the creek with fresh, flowing water that was just a bit
too deep for comfort in a couple of spots. Like the prior year, the bottom was either
slick rock ledges or jagged-edged stones and boulders. I walked this section prior to
the practice lap and saw no good way to get through other than straight down the
beaten path, which was not so much beaten as it was a main line with some of the
bigger rocks pushed to either side. The pit area was adjacent to the first half of the
creek section, providing what was sure to be an entertaining afternoon for the
spectators.
The rest of the course was a good mix between fast ATV and new singletrack, much
like the opening round at Lebanon. I hooked up with K-Ruck #94 for awhile and
finished the practice lap by myself. After starting on the 3rd row at Smithville, it was
now our turn to head to the back of the pack, somewhere around 8 rows behind the
AA class. The Vet class starting line was abuzz with the sight of #35 Robbie Jo Reed,
making a rare appearance after winning the first two rounds earlier in March. On
either side of me was #76 Gary Mittelberg and #81 Matt Weis, along with #442 Steve
Crews, #237 Elston Moore, and K-Ruck in the mix.
My start was typically average, and I battled with Elston to the first turn. The initial
quarter mile was through the second half of the creek section. At the exit of the creek
was a slippery bank, followed by a steep off-camber hill. I passed K-Ruck there and
settled in with a train of riders. Gary Mittelberg and K-Ruck soon caught up to me, with
Gary making his pass via an alternate path through a rock ledge. Gary is one of the
smartest guys on the trail when it comes to finding ways around slower riders. Using
a tired old corporate cliché, he thinks outside the box. After Gary's pass, K-Ruck got
around me and I followed him through the end of the first lap.
On lap 2, Kevin put some distance on me in the creek section and I never saw him
again. I tried to keep up an aggressive pace and felt like I was riding well, but Kevin
and Gary were pulling away. I caught up to Robbie Jo Reed, who turned a fast initial
lap but was fading on the second lap. As usual, I had no idea what place I was in
when I started my third lap, but it didn't matter. At the beginning of the creek section, I
fell over in the deepest part of the creek. I almost kept the bike upright enough to
prevent water from entering the airbox, but slipped on the slick rock bottom and
dropped the bike completely into the water. My day was done. With help from
spectators, I pushed the bike up the creek bank and called it a day. It really is
surprising how much water can get inside the engine is such a short time. It had
been about 10 years since I had last flooded a dirt bike, but the draining routine was
fresh in my mind. After ridding the bike of water, I had a notion to go out and enjoy
another lap but decided to pack up and go home.
To translate the abovementioned images, I didn't finish (DNF), got screwed
(unsuspecting cow) in the creek, but had a heck of a good time (young bull). K-Ruck
took the Vet class win, followed closely by Elston who put on a late charge. Steve
Crews locked up the series with a 3rd place finish. The overall win went once again to
Steve Leivan, who battled young gun Caleb Wohletz the entire race.
Smithville Lake,
Missouri
Eugene, Missouri
Missouri
Eugene, Missouri
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