 |  |  |
Fosterburg, Illinois
3rd of 3 in Open B
The week before this race I fell hard at St. Joe State Park and bruised my ribs, so I almost didn't race here
at all. Matt wanted to go, so we drove out in my truck and I figured I would do a recreational ride. Again,
more dust. Matt got the early holeshot at the start and I rode cautiously. After about 10 minutes he and the
only other rider in our class were out of my sight. The ribs loosened up after awhile, but I just couldn't ride
aggressively at all. A couple of times I started to get my groove on, but then I'd bobble and have to slow
down. During the last half hour of the race, rain appeared for the first time in months. If it had just stopped
at about ¼ inch, that would have been perfect. Instead, it continued for the rest of the race. The last lap
turned into survival, and I was doing fine until a slippery uphill that I had to push the bike up. The summer
had been so dry that the trails were packed down, and when the rains came it was like riding on frozen
ground. When it gets wet and muddy like that, goggles don't work very well. I took mine off, and about two
minutes later one of the fast guys, Lee Lankutis, squeezed around me and a bunch of mud shot off his
back tire and went into my eye. Lee is a good guy and even though I was cursing him at the time, no
damage was done and once the mud cleared from my eye I didn't care. I just wanted to get the race over
with.
I finished up and Matt was already done. He was a little depressed because he had led the whole race
until the rain came, and the other guy passed him. It continued to rain for the rest of the afternoon, so once
again it was a real pain trying to get changed in my truck. Matt was having an especially difficult time
changing in my little truck because he's three inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than me.
September 19, 1999
Jonesboro, Illinois
2nd of 6 in Open B (trophy)
This was probably my best all-around ride of the year. These types of Illinois races suit my riding style
much better than Missouri because the woods are always tight. I seem to race better under those more
technical conditions where precision riding is a must. The Southern Illinois club that put on the race uses
a resort that owns some ground adjacent to the Shawnee National Forest. Matt and I rode here for fun
during the summer, so I had an idea of what to expect. He came down to race and brought his wife and
kids, including his 6-year-old son. Matt bought him a KTM mini-bike a few months before, and the little guy
was putting around on it before the race.
The course was very dry, so apparently they did not get the rain that Fosterburg had the previous weekend.
I was there early and had a chance to walk some of the course while the ATV's were doing their race. I
helped a couple of guys up a huge, steep hill that was causing everyone problems. There is nothing
scarier that watching someone lose traction and try to slide backwards down a hill on a 4-wheeler.
However, helping those guys would end up being a big advantage during the race because I knew the best
way up the hill.
I got off to a decent start, entering the first turn in third place. I quickly passed one guy in front of me but the
leader started pulling away and I never caught him. The dust either wasn't as bad, or maybe I was just
getting used to it. The ribs were still a bit sore, but I was able to ride aggressively for the whole race. I
missed a turn on the first lap and had to backtrack, and I was afraid I lost my position, so for the rest of the
race I was trying hard and riding pretty well. The big hill never gave me problems, but on each lap there
were guys hung up on the hillside. I never did crash, which for me is some kind of miracle, especially
since I was riding pretty hard. The hills were very steep but the course was routed down most of them.
Even so, a couple were just plain scary. On the last lap I nudged the handlebar end into my sore ribs, but
the pain was only temporary.
Matt was already done when I got back to my truck. He and the family packed up right away, and I stuck
around to check our scores. He had some trouble with the steep hill and ended up in last place,
completing one less lap than me. I finished in second place and was about 10 minutes behind the leader.
During the trophy presentation they had a fun time with my name. Most of the time they just butcher my last
name and move on to the next guy, but this time the presenter actually made an effort to pronounce it
correctly. Then he got the crowd involved, and they all started chanting "Stich-noth...Stich-noth." It was a
good day.
Damage Report: lost a radiator guard.
October 10, 1999
Festus, Missouri
7th of 9 in Open B
Another case of the bike that refused to start. The only thing more embarrassing than kicking your bike
over and over again while the rest of your group has already left, is crashing in the first corner (and I've
done that, too). After I finally got going, I immediately found myself being strangled by my chest protector. It
kept sliding back against the front of my neck. I finally had to stop and discovered that I had failed to latch
two of the straps, so the thing was just flopping around. By that time I was so far behind everyone else in
my class that I knew it wouldn't be a real successful day. The lowlight had to be the minibike that passed
me on the second lap. You never feel so slow as when a 13-year-old blows by your 300cc bike on his 80cc
minibike.
The course was really fun, though. They had a pasture where someone had made a great little grass
motocross track with some good jumps. Another section was about a mile of a wide, flat trail in the woods
where you could just fly in 5th gear.
Before the race, while standing in line to sign up for the race, I saw another reason why the ATV's scare the
hell out of me. The course ran through the spectator's area and crossed a shallow gully. The fast guys
were just hammering through it, and some of the slow guys were trying the same thing with mixed results.
I suddenly heard a scream and looked over to the area of the gully. An ATV had crossed the gully and was
continuing down the trail without its driver. Actually, the guy was still with his ATV, except he was under it
and being pulled along the ground! It stunned him for awhile, but later he walked away from it.
