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Jonesboro, Illinois
8th of 8 in Open B
What a difference a week makes. A bonehead mechanical oversight put me well out of contention less
than two minutes into the race. Matt and I raced together again on a typically hot June day in Southern
Illinois. We walked a small part of the course beforehand and the trails looked to be in great shape. The
starting point of the race was an open field that had been laid out with wood stakes and yellow ribbon, into
a series of 180-degree turns before dropping into a creek and then heading back up through the woods. I
made it into the woods ahead of Matt and suddenly discovered my clutch didn't work. I pulled over and saw
that the bracket had come loose and the clutch perch was flopping around. Fortunately I was only a couple
hundred yards from my truck and made the repair, but it took me about 10 minutes to get the job done and
get back onto the trail. Too bad, because the course was excellent. I didn't try too hard to catch up to the
rest of my class, especially since the race was shortened to 1.5 hours due to the heat. I used the race for
practice, more or less, and worked on my passing skills. Matt finished in 4th place and took home a trophy,
while I finished dead last for the first time in a long while. About 30 minutes after the race ended, the skies
let loose and poured down rain for 20 minutes. A week later I opened my toolbox and found an inch of
water and many rusty tools.
June 25, 2000
St. Joe State Park
Park Hills, Missouri
5th of 11 in Open B
This race set up the way it was years ago when it was known as the Flat River Grand Prix. The object was
to do 6 laps (100 miles), but I figured I could get in 4 before the pros got their 100 miles and the rest of the
field was cut off at the finish line. But two days before the race I came down with a cold and didn't feel
100%. The race started in the little town of Park Hills, just like in the old days, with each class lined up on
the main downtown street. Before lining up for the start, all of the motorcycles paraded from the setup area
in St. Joe State Park all the way through the town--probably a two-mile slow-ride of 150 or so bikes. At the
start, a 4-wheeler "paced" each class before pulling off to the side and turning the riders loose into the trail.
To get to St. Joe park, the trail wandered through a wooded area before going across a highway overpass
and down into the main part of the course. They wanted us to go slow over the overpass and had a bunch
of orange plastic barrels spaced very closely. We were supposed to ride between the barrels, but I
knocked over about five of them.
After two 16-mile laps I stopped for gas and a long rest. My cold was sapping all my energy, but I still
wanted to get in 4 laps. But after the third lap I couldn't take anymore and called it a day. I felt horrible for a
couple hours, and most of the drive home was pretty bad, sort of like Kahoka last year. When the scores
were posted on the Internet, I could see that if I had just done that 4th lap I probably would have placed in
the top three in my class.
July 9, 2000
Tebbetts, Missouri
8th of 11 in Open B
Now matter how hard I try, this race leaves me incredibly frustrated. Tebbetts is the most wide-open race in
the Missouri series, but somehow I just can't maintain the speeds necessary for doing well here. Matt and
I drove out together, and at the start he jumped out ahead and I didn't see him again until the end of the
race. The course was nearly identical to last year's race with the exception of more jumps in the wooded
motocross track. My favorite part is the fence crossing, which was two ramps on each side of the fence that
met over the top. You ride up one ramp and down the other, praying not to stall right at the peak.
The mile-long creek bed was challenging as always, and this time I didn't fall over, thanks to the steering
damper that kept me going in a straight line. The day was extremely hot, but I had been doing a little bit of
"heat training" on the mountain bike during the prior week, which mostly consists of torturing myself during
the hottest part of the day by riding 10-15 miles without stopping. When I finished the race, I saw Matt
completely changed into street clothes, and I couldn't understand how he finished that far ahead of me.
Actually, he quit after only three laps because of the heat, so he ended up in 10th place and was as ready
as I was to go home and recover.
