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Westphalia, Missouri
3rd of 17 in Vet
April weather in Missouri is always hit-or-miss, but this day was just about perfect for Round 4
of the MHSC series near Westphalia. Once again, parking was plentiful as the ATV race was
held the previous day. Matt and I took an early practice lap and found some familiar ATV trails
mixed with two sections of new singletrack. The new trails had been ridden sparingly, and I
was reminded of the annual White City enduro as I refined my arrow-navigating skills.
Near the starting line, I took some time to practice my starting routine and figure out what I
had been doing wrong the previous two races. Apparently the bike doesn't like that last blip of
throttle while the kill switch is on. Or maybe the bike just doesn't like me. Anyway, after a
couple of successful practice starts I lined up near the inside of the Vet class row. After further
review, I could see two lines at the left-hand turn into the woods. The inside line looked to be
a sharp, abrupt turn, while the outside line appeared to be a faster, sweeping turn. I moved
over to the right side of our row, thinking I could get a better approach to the outside line into
the woods and carry more speed. My theory didn't look so good when Doug Stone, lined up
on the far left side of the AA row, easily got the holeshot by taking the inside line. When the
board dropped for the Vet class, my bike started on the first kick, but I got pushed too far to
the outside and was mid-pack at the first turn.
The first couple miles of the course were tight ATV trails, with passing opportunities limited
and challenging. Some creative lines got me around a few guys and the pack was spread out
by the time we entered the first wide-open blast through a pasture. With little rain the previous
week, the open areas were very dusty and I was riding blind whenever more than a couple
bikes were ahead of me. We cruised through a fun section of open woods and continued on
the ATV trails for another mile or two. The first stage of new singletrack was much more
established by now, which meant the rocks were at least visible. I had put on a new SDG
tall-soft seat to replace the concrete slab that KTM calls seat foam, and for the first time on
the MXC I didn't notice my bony ass getting spanked the whole ride. To give you an idea of
how hard the KTM seat is, think of the last time you visited the primate house at the zoo.
Think about those monkeys with bright red posteriors that scream "I was just dragged on my
bare butt over pea-gravel for three miles." Yeah, that's me after two hours on a KTM seat.
Back to the race...the middle part of the course had an interesting run through a narrow creek
bed that was clogged with riders the first time through. From there it was a drag race to a
grass track that contained a set of terraces that doubled as awesome 3rd and 4th gear jumps.
The track had been laid out so that some of the turns were placed around the terraces, so we
were jumping at an angle. On our first pass through this section, lines had developed in the
grass and it was kind of fun to blast through the series of jumps and 180-degree turns. After
another drag race to exit the grass track, we were routed back into the woods and entered the
second stage of virgin singletrack. This section was nearly Illinois-style, with dense woods and
only one way through the initial quarter-mile.
I came through the scoring lane in 6th place after the first lap. By that time Steve Crews had
broken out into the lead and would not be challenged the rest of the race. I passed Elston
Moore, Jerry McCasland, and Wade Hall somewhere in the 2nd lap, but Elston and Matt Weis
were right on my tail. In the terrace section, the EMT crew was attending to 200C rider Jason
Clark, unconscious after a nasty get-off (Uncle K-Ruck thinks he needs a steering damper).
Matt Weis came flying by a passed me within the first mile of lap 3, making a charge to the
front of the pack that put him in 2nd place by the end of that lap. Elston also got around me
on the third lap but I kept him within shouting distance for the next two laps.
My lap times were showing the potential for 6 laps if I hurried, and that I did on the 5th lap.
The new sections of trail were breaking in nicely but the faster ATV sections were getting
rough. Just after the scoring lane at the start of my 6th and final lap, the trail dropped down
into a gully and coming out of it I caught a rut that kicked the back end sideways. I kept the
bike on the trail but it stalled and wouldn't fire up right away. The 15-20 seconds I lost might
have been the difference between 2nd and 3rd place, and that incident was the only
time-consuming mistake I made the whole race. After Uncle K-Ruck stopped to check on the
status of his nephew, I had gained some ground. On my last lap I finally caught up to him in
the narrow creek section. The exit of that section had developed quite a bit of slop and a
deepening rut. I cut to the inside of the slop and K-Ruck took the outside line, and I was able
to get around him as his front wheel slid out. At the time I didn't realize it was him, but as I've
learned many times before, the guy you choose to let by late in the race might just be the guy
who finishes a spot ahead of you (see Sedalia '00). K-Ruck put on the heat in a big way, from
the drag race to the grassy terrace section, around the grass track, and back into the woods.
I held him off and pulled away in the singletrack, taking 3rd place and 29th overall.
Matt Weis was only 5 seconds ahead of me at the end, and had I not stalled the bike I might
have had a chance to challenge him. Steve Crews had a great race and took the win with a
healthy margin over Matt, myself, and K-Ruck. In the overall results, Steve Leivan took
another victory by just a few seconds over Doug Stone. The fight for the 26th thru 32nd
spots in the overall results was intense, as the 7 riders in that order were only 20 seconds
apart. Another fun, challenging race.
