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Steelville, Missouri
3rd of 8 in Open B class (trophy)
Driving to this race reminded me of last year's first race in Cuba, Illinois. Matt Sellers and I had driven up
together, and the farther north we drove, the more snow was on the ground. The drive to Steelville was
similar except that there was three times as much snow. The day before, winter's last blessing of the
season had left us with 3 or 4 inches. Naturally, I wasn't too excited to start out the racing season pushing
my bike more than I actually rode it (like Cuba). But two key differences would make this race much more
enjoyable. First, the snow was rapidly melting and would be pretty much gone by the end of the day. And
second, Missouri's natural splendor includes more rocks than most quarries, so the mud was only
axle-deep instead of handlebar-deep like Illinois.
I had ridden several times since January, thanks to the mildest winter I'd ever experienced. Physically, I felt
good enough to go at least 10 or 15 minutes without panting like a dog in heat. As I pulled up to the starting
line, I noticed some familiar bikes and riders, particularly the guy on the Honda XR who wears the "Pizza
Man" jersey (he beat me in Kahoka last year). I also noticed my front brake caliper bolts were just about
ready to fall out. Apparently the threadlock wore off, so there I sat trying to decide if I had enough time to go
back to the truck and tighten the bolts. Since our Open B class was on the 5th row and they start each row a
minute apart, I figured I had at least 4 minutes, so I dashed back to the truck and grabbed a wrench. Losing
the front brake during the race could have been a painful disaster.
So the race started, and I entered the first turn in 4th place. The guy next to me had a brand new Y2K KTM
300EXC, and he crashed in a whooped-out creek bed shortly after the first turn. One down, three to go. The
course was extremely muddy for a Missouri race, and with just one lap complete the goggles came off.
After that it was a constant battle to keep mud out of my eyes. I felt like I was riding pretty good, but based
on previous experience, that didn't mean much except all the other guys were probably riding better. The
second lap was slower because the course was torn up, but by then my forearms were finally warmed up
and pain-free. At the main checkpoint after the second lap, the scorer told me there was one more lap to
go. I caught my second wind and started riding harder. Little did I know that after the first lap I was in
second place, but on the second lap I lost a place and gave up a full minute on the guy who passed me.
On the third lap I nearly caught up to the second place guy but came up 18 seconds short. Still, it was my
best finish ever in a Missouri race. My goal before the season was to win a trophy at a truly rocky Missouri
race (i.e. anywhere outside of Kahoka). In my first race of 2000, I met that goal.
March 19, 2000
Belleville, Illinois
4th of 5 in Open B
Ah, a return to the scene of last year's dizzying experience. Thanks to steady rain the prior two days, the
course was almost too slippery to walk. I walked it anyway, and as I passed the infamous hill that knocked
me out last year, I thought of taking another look. But I decided to let it remain a memory, since the hill was
not part of this year's course. The promoters scrapped the motorcycle course altogether and had us all ride
the ATV course. Even in the mud I could tell it would be a very fast course.
Matt had called in the morning and decided not to race because of the mud, that wimp. He might have been
smarter than me, though. The race got off to a bad start when my engine refused to run. I kicked, swore a
little, kicked harder, swore harder, watched row after row pass by, and after 5 minutes or so it finally fired up.
My friends Curtis and Resmi watched the whole embarrassing ordeal. By this time the trailriders had
already left. It didn't take long to catch them, but when I did it was at a muddy section that was causing them
all problems. I was able to squeeze through without much delay, thanks in part to using some of them
(bikes and body parts) as traction, but I had a lot of time to make up. The laps were very short and had
sections that were WFO in 5th gear. It was kind of cool to be keeping up with the highway traffic that
bordered a long, fast trail section for nearly a mile. After 3 or 4 laps I noticed that my front tire felt like it was
losing air. I kept going anyway, but after 1½ hours it gave out completely. Luckily I was very close to the
staging area and simply turned around and rode the 100 yards back to my truck. I called it a day, since
putting in a new tube would have taken too much time to be worthwhile. Curtis and Resmi had braved the
cool weather to watch me, and just like last year they didn't get to see me finish.
March 26, 2000
Wesphalia, Missouri
6th of 12 in Open B
Another typical Missouri hare scramble. Rocky and fast. Conditions were just about perfect, though, with
sunshine and fairly mild temperatures. Matt and I both raced the Open B class. I got off to a decent start
and rode pretty well, then got hooked up with a guy trying to pass me and fell down. Matt passed me there,
but I got by him again within a few minutes. I was comfortably in a top-5 position for 1½ hours and then,
inexplicably, I ran out of gas. Over the next month this would happen a couple more times and I would
struggle to figure out what the problem was. Between getting the bike started again and leaving the course
to get gas, I lost about 3-4 minutes. I did one more lap, riding like hell (it was actually my fastest lap by
about 2 minutes), but finished in 6th place behind Matt, who ended only 21 seconds ahead of me. Had I not
run out of gas, I would have finished fourth and brought home another trophy. Matt got bragging rights and I
had to listen to him all the way home.
