| 2004 Race Reports |
 |  |  |
April 4, 2004
Lebanon, Missouri
3rd of 16 in A Sportsman
Every once in awhile a personal experience makes a tired old cliché finally have real
meaning. Thanks to the Lebanon opening round of the MHSC, I can now fully
appreciate that sometimes ignorance is bliss. In the middle of a race when the bike
feels different, and not in a good way, but you don’t know for sure what the problem is,
that is ignorance. And when you keep on riding to a decent finish, not knowing how
bad the problem is, that’s bliss.
Such was the case at Lebanon, a highly technical affair with some surprisingly
challenging obstacles throughout its 8.5-mile course. With regular riding partner Matt
Sellers out of action for the next several weeks (broken thumb), I teamed up with one
of the Boyz from Illinoiz, Jeff Smith, for the ride to the race site. In the pits, the talk of the
’04 series was the new “A Sportsman” class, also called “Not Quite Ready For
Primetime.” This class was designed for the 26th through 40th overall finishers from
2003, who are not eligible for the “regular” A class but would typically dominate their
respective B, Vet, Senior, etc. classes. Especially appealing was a perpetual 3rd row
starting line for the A Sportsmen, instead of the rotating starting line system for non-A
classes that often leaves the fast non-A riders in constant first lap battles to get
around slower riders in classes that start ahead of them.
When we arrived at the staging area, we saw many jagged rocks poking out of the
grassy pit area and #587 David Brewster changing a flat front tire on his truck. The
rocks had already claimed their first victim and hardly a bike had been unloaded. We
backed up to Pit Row next to Mike Goforth, fellow A Sportsman, and the rest of the
Illinois contingent. After signup I took some time to ride the KX around the staging
area and try out my new Hebo hydraulic clutch. Unlike me on a Saturday night, it felt
smooth and easy (except I’m easy, pretty much) so I took off for the practice lap.
What I found was one of the most technically challenging courses ever put together
for a Missouri hare scramble. Within a mile of the start was a long pass through a
creek bed filled with every imaginable type of rock. Big, small, wet, dry, stationary,
moveable, flat, sharp, jagged, you name it, we rode through it. And that was just the
first creek. The second creek was wider, faster and wetter. Most of it could be ridden
in 4th gear and with some of the water a foot deep or more, it left me completely
drenched. Next up was a very steep hill with a tricky left turn on the way up, then
another small creek with even more rocks. To exit this creek, we made a hard left up
another steep hill with very little approach. I was already visualizing multiple
bottlenecks and I’d traveled less than half the course. But many of the trails were nice
singletrack, some of which appeared to be new for this race. And the course shared
very little with what the ATV’s had ridden the day before. Still, as soon as I got
comfortable with any part of the trail, a rock ledge would appear, another hideous
creek bed would show up, or a leaning tree would attempt to separate me from my
bike.
At the starting area, I lined up to the inside of #29 Steve Crews and #35 Kevin
Ruckdeschell. When the 15-second board dropped, Kevin got a great start while I was
near the middle of the pack. Mike Goforth soon edged his way around me while we
negotiated the fastest of the grass tracks on the course. Once we entered the woods,
the pace was a little slower than what I felt capable of, but fast enough considering
the abundance of obstacles we would face over the next two hours. On an off-camber
side hill trail, Gary Mittleberg took a minor detour down the side of the hill and waited
as several of us passed. Shortly after, in the first rocky creek I was able to get around
Steve Crews as he battled with another guy. Next up was Mike Goforth, who got
caught behind a rider having problems and had to watch as I went around both of
them. The first lap was a freight train of Sportsmen, with only 37 seconds separating
the lap leader (K-Ruck) from #237 Elston Moore in the 10th spot.
I began the second lap in 7th place and quickly felt the heat of Gary Mittleberg close
behind on his Yamaha 250 thumper. In the wide, fast creek, Gary powered his way by,
just as we were approaching some slower riders. With water flying high into the air
and limited vision, I attempted to go around a guy on the far right side of a gravel bar.
Just as I was starting to pass, I noticed a rather large fallen tree hanging several feet
into the creek and directly into my path. In 4th gear, there was not much I could do
except brace for the impact. As luck would have it, the end of the tree caught the
radiator shroud, appeared to have yanked out the lower shroud bolt, and left nothing
except a piece of wood wedged between the frame and my kickstarter. Or so I thought.
I slowed down to try dislodging the wood from the kickstarter area, then continued on.
A short distance later was the second of the highly technical creek beds, where I
found K-Ruck stopped behind Chili Roberts on his side. Kevin had lost a few spots
earlier on that lap after stalling his engine (“Took me 3/10ths of a second to restart it
and three guys passed me!”). With Chili on the ground, Kevin let me by but stayed
right on my tail. The hard left exiting the creek had now developed two lines, one to the
inside and the main line up the steep hill. I took the main line and Kevin cut to the
inside, where we met at the top and Kevin let out a loud whoop to express the fun he
was having. I edged by him but knew he would be in hot pursuit, so I turned up the
pace and tried to put some distance between us.
By the end of the second lap I had worked my way into third place, knowing full well
that my pants had a huge tear where I’d hit the tree limb. Every time I passed through
water, I felt a booty-numbing chill. And the rubbing against the seat…I was cursing
that friggin’ gripper cover. But the real problem showed up about halfway into the 3rd
lap, when I entered a section of tight singletrack. I noticed the engine struggling for
power, similar to how it feels when the rear brake is dragging or something gets
caught in the chain guide. Or when the engine is running with no coolant. I couldn’t
see it, but the tree limb had made its impact between the bottom of the right-side
radiator and the pipe. While it didn’t puncture the radiator, it shoved one of the hoses
against the engine, causing a hole that eventually drained all the coolant. In full-on
racer mode, I tried my best to pretend there was no problem even as #38 Todd
passed me and my weakened KX. I’d blast through a creek and the engine would
cool off and run better, then I’d catch up to Todd again. On the fourth and final lap, I
was trailing him through a section of singletrack and finally stopped to check the rear
wheel. Nothing wrong there, and naturally Mr. Oblivious didn’t notice the right radiator
shroud sticking out a good 3 inches wider than the left shroud. I caught back up to
Todd and had one last chance to get around him at the top of the steep hill where K-
Ruck and I had our close encounter. He was struggling at the top but got it together
just in time to stay ahead of me. I tried one last alternate line at a rock ledge
bottleneck, but it didn’t work. At that point I was pretty sure it would be futile to get
around him with an ailing bike, so I backed off in hopes of finishing before the bike
gave out.
I made it to the finish line about 15 seconds behind Todd, taking home the 3rd place
trophy and 22nd overall. My mangled radiator was quite a hit in the pits, as were my
ass-baring pants. Gary Mittleberg picked up where he left off last year in the Vet class
by winning the ”A-minus” class. Mike Goforth was fifth-best Sportsman, while K-Ruck
was 9th despite stopping for a couple minutes to help out a guy who had knocked
himself silly. Kudos to Kevin for exemplifying the spirit of our racing community, as he
has done many times in the past (start casting your Racer of the Year ballots, folks).
Caleb Wohletz, to quote Ken Wabel , appeared to be riding a different course as he
took the overall win by nearly six minutes. Tracy Bauman finished an outstanding
second overall, his best-ever result in the MHSC. Other notable finishers racing in
new classes for ’04 were #587 David Brewster (4th in 250B), #149 Ryan Rohleder
(1st in 200C), and #9 David Taylor (7th in AA). And finally, driving partner Jeff Smith
rode his new CR250, affectionately named Vickie, to a 15th place finish in the Open C
class. Lebanon was a great start to the 2004 MHSC, and with a new ride and a new
class, I’m looking forward to the season.
April 18, 2004
Steelville, Missouri
6th of 12 in A Sportsman
Based on the first two rounds of the MHSC, the planning of the 2004 schedule must
have included, at some point, a friendly wager among the clubs on who could
assemble the most technical, challenging motorcycle course of the series. Round
two at Nasty Creek picked up where Lebanon left off two weeks prior: another rough
and tough race on one of the longer loops seen in quite some time. This race venue
was back on the series schedule after a one-year sabbatical, which gave the club
plenty of time to find some fresh, punishing terrain.
After the tree encounter at Lebanon, my relatively new KX250 was garnished with
some even newer parts, including a right radiator, Devol radiator guards, Wiseco top
end, FMF Gnarly pipe and a fresh set of radiator shrouds (with graphics, no less). To
those of you questioning why my radiator shrouds are a de facto Pro Circuit
advertisement when my KX goodies include not a single Pro Circuit product, it’s
called eBay, folks. Try it. The KX had been prettified more than any race bike I've ever
owned, far too attractive for the abuse my bikes must withstand. Even the rear tire was
new, but that was only because of poor tire management. Based on past experience, I
try to never use new tires at Nasty Creek because of the destruction it wreaks on
knobbies. But Lebanon was my fourth race on the same rear tire and it was ready to
join the stack of eaten-up rubber in my basement, destined for cremation in the burn
pile by the railroad tracks back home on the farm (the country boy’s method of
recycling).
Upon arrival in the pits, the signup line was already 100 yards long. Kurt “PizzaMan”
Mirtsching, newly sponsored by Miller Lite, stopped by to show off his helmet cam,
which he intended to use out on the course. Kurt had a huge bulge under his jersey,
presumably a bundle of electronic gadgetry in a backpack but large enough to make
me wonder if I’d see him along the trail enjoying a PizzaMan picnic (the contrast of
cultural sophistication that is PizzaMan, my bet was on proscuitto and brie
sandwiches with rosemary fig confit, washed down with 16-ounce cans of Miller Lite).
As the minutes in line turned into hours, it became clear that I wouldn't get a full
practice lap before the race started. I was able to ride about 1/3 of the course before
being pointed back toward the pit area. With temperatures in the 80’s and very little
rain the previous week, the course was dry and slightly dusty in the open sections. In
one spot, a large tree was leaning over the trail so low that I was looking eye-to-gas-
cap with the tank as I passed under it. Another tricky section was a climb out of a
ravine with square-edged boulders all the way to the top. Some sections were
moderately tight, others were very fast and wide, and most trails were rocky and rough.
I lined up next to Gary Mittleberg on the starting line with the idea that keeping close to
him the entire race could pretty much guarantee a good finish. Other notable riders
making their first appearance in the “A-“ class were my former Open B opponent Matt
Coffman and from the Vet class last year, Matt Weis. The starting area was in the
same open field used in past races, and I assumed my usual mid-pack position at
the first turn. Before entering the woods, we weaved back and forth across the
pasture, over an earthen dam, and then into the trees. I followed Kevin Ruckdeschell
under the leaning tree, then passed by him after he stalled at the bottom of a rocky
ravine. Heading up the first boulder-filled hill, I could feel #38 Todd Corwin on my back
tire. The KX struggled up the rocky hill while Todd’s KTM 4-stroke seemed to climb
with ease. I rode pretty poorly those first couple miles and Todd was growing
impatient. While his exact words were difficult to make out, I believe they included
“This is not the Trail Rider class” and “Please move over before I make traction out of
your helmet.” I held off Todd until we reached the point in the course where I had been
waived back to the pits on the practice lap. Shortly thereafter I came around a tight
corner leading down a steep hill and couldn't react quickly enough to avoid a large
tree that wasn't visible until it was too late. I grabbed too much front brake and the bike
fell over. The KX stopped but I rolled another 30 feet down the trail and watched as
Todd got by, then #487 Tom Huber, #425 Rick Helmick, and #121 Matt Coffman. A
small tree had wedged its way between the front wheel and fender, and I struggled to
get the bike upright. After several kicks, the engine finally fired up and I got back on
track. But the warm weather and the effort of righting the bike made me feel tired and
lethargic. A few minutes later I was just getting back up to speed, and eventually I
caught up to Tom and Rick. I followed them for several miles, getting close to Tom
and his Yamaha in the fast open trails and then watching him pull away in the tight
stuff.
One of the highlights of the course was a long stretch of old horse trail along a creek.
The path was a couple feet wide, flat, mostly straight and free of rocks and trees. Tom
and Rick led me through this section the first time and it was a blast in 5th gear. In the
twisty trails that followed, Tom put on some distance but I closed the gap when the
trail opened up near the end of the lap. A mile into the second lap, Tom waived me by
after we crossed over the earthen dam. I led for a couple miles until the next nasty
rock climb, where Tom’s 4-stroke scaled the hill as easily as Todd Corwin's KTM the
previous lap. Again, I followed Tom and traded spots with him now and again. At the
end of the lap I was 13 seconds behind him and had just realized I’d neglected my
pre-race ritual of putting band-aids on my thumbs. My blistering thumb on my throttle
hand would irritate me all 13.4 miles of the last lap.
At the exact same place Tom Huber had waived me by on the previous lap, I caught
up to him on the final lap and once again he motioned for me to pass. I finally found
my groove and posted my quickest lap of the day, but by that time it was too late. I was
able to hold off Tom on the last lap but Todd Corwin, one spot ahead in 5th place,
was already several minutes in front of me. A mistake-free, aggressive ride is about
the only way to finish near the top of the A Sportsman class, and on this day I was off
my game for most of the race. But it was still a fun day on a challenging course. Crafty
veteran Steve Leivan held off young gun Caleb Wohletz for the overall win, in another
battle of youth versus experience.
Lebanon, Missouri
3rd of 16 in A Sportsman
Every once in awhile a personal experience makes a tired old cliché finally have real
meaning. Thanks to the Lebanon opening round of the MHSC, I can now fully
appreciate that sometimes ignorance is bliss. In the middle of a race when the bike
feels different, and not in a good way, but you don’t know for sure what the problem is,
that is ignorance. And when you keep on riding to a decent finish, not knowing how
bad the problem is, that’s bliss.
Such was the case at Lebanon, a highly technical affair with some surprisingly
challenging obstacles throughout its 8.5-mile course. With regular riding partner Matt
Sellers out of action for the next several weeks (broken thumb), I teamed up with one
of the Boyz from Illinoiz, Jeff Smith, for the ride to the race site. In the pits, the talk of the
’04 series was the new “A Sportsman” class, also called “Not Quite Ready For
Primetime.” This class was designed for the 26th through 40th overall finishers from
2003, who are not eligible for the “regular” A class but would typically dominate their
respective B, Vet, Senior, etc. classes. Especially appealing was a perpetual 3rd row
starting line for the A Sportsmen, instead of the rotating starting line system for non-A
classes that often leaves the fast non-A riders in constant first lap battles to get
around slower riders in classes that start ahead of them.
When we arrived at the staging area, we saw many jagged rocks poking out of the
grassy pit area and #587 David Brewster changing a flat front tire on his truck. The
rocks had already claimed their first victim and hardly a bike had been unloaded. We
backed up to Pit Row next to Mike Goforth, fellow A Sportsman, and the rest of the
Illinois contingent. After signup I took some time to ride the KX around the staging
area and try out my new Hebo hydraulic clutch. Unlike me on a Saturday night, it felt
smooth and easy (except I’m easy, pretty much) so I took off for the practice lap.
What I found was one of the most technically challenging courses ever put together
for a Missouri hare scramble. Within a mile of the start was a long pass through a
creek bed filled with every imaginable type of rock. Big, small, wet, dry, stationary,
moveable, flat, sharp, jagged, you name it, we rode through it. And that was just the
first creek. The second creek was wider, faster and wetter. Most of it could be ridden
in 4th gear and with some of the water a foot deep or more, it left me completely
drenched. Next up was a very steep hill with a tricky left turn on the way up, then
another small creek with even more rocks. To exit this creek, we made a hard left up
another steep hill with very little approach. I was already visualizing multiple
bottlenecks and I’d traveled less than half the course. But many of the trails were nice
singletrack, some of which appeared to be new for this race. And the course shared
very little with what the ATV’s had ridden the day before. Still, as soon as I got
comfortable with any part of the trail, a rock ledge would appear, another hideous
creek bed would show up, or a leaning tree would attempt to separate me from my
bike.
At the starting area, I lined up to the inside of #29 Steve Crews and #35 Kevin
Ruckdeschell. When the 15-second board dropped, Kevin got a great start while I was
near the middle of the pack. Mike Goforth soon edged his way around me while we
negotiated the fastest of the grass tracks on the course. Once we entered the woods,
the pace was a little slower than what I felt capable of, but fast enough considering
the abundance of obstacles we would face over the next two hours. On an off-camber
side hill trail, Gary Mittleberg took a minor detour down the side of the hill and waited
as several of us passed. Shortly after, in the first rocky creek I was able to get around
Steve Crews as he battled with another guy. Next up was Mike Goforth, who got
caught behind a rider having problems and had to watch as I went around both of
them. The first lap was a freight train of Sportsmen, with only 37 seconds separating
the lap leader (K-Ruck) from #237 Elston Moore in the 10th spot.
I began the second lap in 7th place and quickly felt the heat of Gary Mittleberg close
behind on his Yamaha 250 thumper. In the wide, fast creek, Gary powered his way by,
just as we were approaching some slower riders. With water flying high into the air
and limited vision, I attempted to go around a guy on the far right side of a gravel bar.
Just as I was starting to pass, I noticed a rather large fallen tree hanging several feet
into the creek and directly into my path. In 4th gear, there was not much I could do
except brace for the impact. As luck would have it, the end of the tree caught the
radiator shroud, appeared to have yanked out the lower shroud bolt, and left nothing
except a piece of wood wedged between the frame and my kickstarter. Or so I thought.
I slowed down to try dislodging the wood from the kickstarter area, then continued on.
A short distance later was the second of the highly technical creek beds, where I
found K-Ruck stopped behind Chili Roberts on his side. Kevin had lost a few spots
earlier on that lap after stalling his engine (“Took me 3/10ths of a second to restart it
and three guys passed me!”). With Chili on the ground, Kevin let me by but stayed
right on my tail. The hard left exiting the creek had now developed two lines, one to the
inside and the main line up the steep hill. I took the main line and Kevin cut to the
inside, where we met at the top and Kevin let out a loud whoop to express the fun he
was having. I edged by him but knew he would be in hot pursuit, so I turned up the
pace and tried to put some distance between us.
By the end of the second lap I had worked my way into third place, knowing full well
that my pants had a huge tear where I’d hit the tree limb. Every time I passed through
water, I felt a booty-numbing chill. And the rubbing against the seat…I was cursing
that friggin’ gripper cover. But the real problem showed up about halfway into the 3rd
lap, when I entered a section of tight singletrack. I noticed the engine struggling for
power, similar to how it feels when the rear brake is dragging or something gets
caught in the chain guide. Or when the engine is running with no coolant. I couldn’t
see it, but the tree limb had made its impact between the bottom of the right-side
radiator and the pipe. While it didn’t puncture the radiator, it shoved one of the hoses
against the engine, causing a hole that eventually drained all the coolant. In full-on
racer mode, I tried my best to pretend there was no problem even as #38 Todd
passed me and my weakened KX. I’d blast through a creek and the engine would
cool off and run better, then I’d catch up to Todd again. On the fourth and final lap, I
was trailing him through a section of singletrack and finally stopped to check the rear
wheel. Nothing wrong there, and naturally Mr. Oblivious didn’t notice the right radiator
shroud sticking out a good 3 inches wider than the left shroud. I caught back up to
Todd and had one last chance to get around him at the top of the steep hill where K-
Ruck and I had our close encounter. He was struggling at the top but got it together
just in time to stay ahead of me. I tried one last alternate line at a rock ledge
bottleneck, but it didn’t work. At that point I was pretty sure it would be futile to get
around him with an ailing bike, so I backed off in hopes of finishing before the bike
gave out.
I made it to the finish line about 15 seconds behind Todd, taking home the 3rd place
trophy and 22nd overall. My mangled radiator was quite a hit in the pits, as were my
ass-baring pants. Gary Mittleberg picked up where he left off last year in the Vet class
by winning the ”A-minus” class. Mike Goforth was fifth-best Sportsman, while K-Ruck
was 9th despite stopping for a couple minutes to help out a guy who had knocked
himself silly. Kudos to Kevin for exemplifying the spirit of our racing community, as he
has done many times in the past (start casting your Racer of the Year ballots, folks).
Caleb Wohletz, to quote Ken Wabel , appeared to be riding a different course as he
took the overall win by nearly six minutes. Tracy Bauman finished an outstanding
second overall, his best-ever result in the MHSC. Other notable finishers racing in
new classes for ’04 were #587 David Brewster (4th in 250B), #149 Ryan Rohleder
(1st in 200C), and #9 David Taylor (7th in AA). And finally, driving partner Jeff Smith
rode his new CR250, affectionately named Vickie, to a 15th place finish in the Open C
class. Lebanon was a great start to the 2004 MHSC, and with a new ride and a new
class, I’m looking forward to the season.
April 18, 2004
Steelville, Missouri
6th of 12 in A Sportsman
Based on the first two rounds of the MHSC, the planning of the 2004 schedule must
have included, at some point, a friendly wager among the clubs on who could
assemble the most technical, challenging motorcycle course of the series. Round
two at Nasty Creek picked up where Lebanon left off two weeks prior: another rough
and tough race on one of the longer loops seen in quite some time. This race venue
was back on the series schedule after a one-year sabbatical, which gave the club
plenty of time to find some fresh, punishing terrain.
After the tree encounter at Lebanon, my relatively new KX250 was garnished with
some even newer parts, including a right radiator, Devol radiator guards, Wiseco top
end, FMF Gnarly pipe and a fresh set of radiator shrouds (with graphics, no less). To
those of you questioning why my radiator shrouds are a de facto Pro Circuit
advertisement when my KX goodies include not a single Pro Circuit product, it’s
called eBay, folks. Try it. The KX had been prettified more than any race bike I've ever
owned, far too attractive for the abuse my bikes must withstand. Even the rear tire was
new, but that was only because of poor tire management. Based on past experience, I
try to never use new tires at Nasty Creek because of the destruction it wreaks on
knobbies. But Lebanon was my fourth race on the same rear tire and it was ready to
join the stack of eaten-up rubber in my basement, destined for cremation in the burn
pile by the railroad tracks back home on the farm (the country boy’s method of
recycling).
Upon arrival in the pits, the signup line was already 100 yards long. Kurt “PizzaMan”
Mirtsching, newly sponsored by Miller Lite, stopped by to show off his helmet cam,
which he intended to use out on the course. Kurt had a huge bulge under his jersey,
presumably a bundle of electronic gadgetry in a backpack but large enough to make
me wonder if I’d see him along the trail enjoying a PizzaMan picnic (the contrast of
cultural sophistication that is PizzaMan, my bet was on proscuitto and brie
sandwiches with rosemary fig confit, washed down with 16-ounce cans of Miller Lite).
As the minutes in line turned into hours, it became clear that I wouldn't get a full
practice lap before the race started. I was able to ride about 1/3 of the course before
being pointed back toward the pit area. With temperatures in the 80’s and very little
rain the previous week, the course was dry and slightly dusty in the open sections. In
one spot, a large tree was leaning over the trail so low that I was looking eye-to-gas-
cap with the tank as I passed under it. Another tricky section was a climb out of a
ravine with square-edged boulders all the way to the top. Some sections were
moderately tight, others were very fast and wide, and most trails were rocky and rough.
I lined up next to Gary Mittleberg on the starting line with the idea that keeping close to
him the entire race could pretty much guarantee a good finish. Other notable riders
making their first appearance in the “A-“ class were my former Open B opponent Matt
Coffman and from the Vet class last year, Matt Weis. The starting area was in the
same open field used in past races, and I assumed my usual mid-pack position at
the first turn. Before entering the woods, we weaved back and forth across the
pasture, over an earthen dam, and then into the trees. I followed Kevin Ruckdeschell
under the leaning tree, then passed by him after he stalled at the bottom of a rocky
ravine. Heading up the first boulder-filled hill, I could feel #38 Todd Corwin on my back
tire. The KX struggled up the rocky hill while Todd’s KTM 4-stroke seemed to climb
with ease. I rode pretty poorly those first couple miles and Todd was growing
impatient. While his exact words were difficult to make out, I believe they included
“This is not the Trail Rider class” and “Please move over before I make traction out of
your helmet.” I held off Todd until we reached the point in the course where I had been
waived back to the pits on the practice lap. Shortly thereafter I came around a tight
corner leading down a steep hill and couldn't react quickly enough to avoid a large
tree that wasn't visible until it was too late. I grabbed too much front brake and the bike
fell over. The KX stopped but I rolled another 30 feet down the trail and watched as
Todd got by, then #487 Tom Huber, #425 Rick Helmick, and #121 Matt Coffman. A
small tree had wedged its way between the front wheel and fender, and I struggled to
get the bike upright. After several kicks, the engine finally fired up and I got back on
track. But the warm weather and the effort of righting the bike made me feel tired and
lethargic. A few minutes later I was just getting back up to speed, and eventually I
caught up to Tom and Rick. I followed them for several miles, getting close to Tom
and his Yamaha in the fast open trails and then watching him pull away in the tight
stuff.
One of the highlights of the course was a long stretch of old horse trail along a creek.
The path was a couple feet wide, flat, mostly straight and free of rocks and trees. Tom
and Rick led me through this section the first time and it was a blast in 5th gear. In the
twisty trails that followed, Tom put on some distance but I closed the gap when the
trail opened up near the end of the lap. A mile into the second lap, Tom waived me by
after we crossed over the earthen dam. I led for a couple miles until the next nasty
rock climb, where Tom’s 4-stroke scaled the hill as easily as Todd Corwin's KTM the
previous lap. Again, I followed Tom and traded spots with him now and again. At the
end of the lap I was 13 seconds behind him and had just realized I’d neglected my
pre-race ritual of putting band-aids on my thumbs. My blistering thumb on my throttle
hand would irritate me all 13.4 miles of the last lap.
At the exact same place Tom Huber had waived me by on the previous lap, I caught
up to him on the final lap and once again he motioned for me to pass. I finally found
my groove and posted my quickest lap of the day, but by that time it was too late. I was
able to hold off Tom on the last lap but Todd Corwin, one spot ahead in 5th place,
was already several minutes in front of me. A mistake-free, aggressive ride is about
the only way to finish near the top of the A Sportsman class, and on this day I was off
my game for most of the race. But it was still a fun day on a challenging course. Crafty
veteran Steve Leivan held off young gun Caleb Wohletz for the overall win, in another
battle of youth versus experience.
Lebanon, Missouri
Steelville, Missouri
Steelville, Missouri
| Not good. |
| No wonder my ass was so cold. |
| Me being chased down by Todd Corwin |