New Tent trailer Report:
This weekend was to be Kevin and my first run with the new tent trailer. The
plan? To drive to Hollister, race the Hare Ball, then head to Clear Creek
for a night of camping and a day of riding at the Creek.
We woke at 5:30 am, packed the cooler and were off by 6:15am. The drive went
kinda like this,
Kali, "Did you hear that?"
Kevin, "Hear what?"
Kali, "It sounds like the hitch isn't completely on"
Kevin, "It's fine"
Kali, "I don't know, it sounds like it's not"
Fast forward 10 minutes, going 65mph down I-80
CRASH, sparks flying, trailer tongue sliding down the freeway...
Kali, "OH MY FUCKING GOD!"
Kevin, "shit...."
Kali" I KNEW THE FUCKING TRAILER WASN'T ON THE FUCKING HITCH, WHY THE FUCK
DON'T I LISTEN TO MY OWN GUT!!!!"
Kevin calmly drives the trailer to the side of the road pulling it along
with the safety chains...
Luckily for us the tongue looks okay enough, and we manage to get it on the
hitch with the aid of the tire jack. Kevin discoveres that the latch thingy
is kinda weird and it looks like it didn't latch all the way. Kali tries to
calm down and stops yelling....
Hoping this isn't an omen of things to come, we have a thoroughly enjoyable
and stress free drive down to Hollister (not). Kevin is thrilled that I
forced him into trailer ownership.
Hollister Hare Ball Scrambles Report:
Since the Hare Ball scrambles was a "fun day" there were only 2 classes to
choose from, main and support, the classes separated only by age. Kevin rode
the main in the B vet class (they only had A and B, no C) so all the B and C
riders raced each other. It was Kevin's first time racing and I think being
out there with friends really made it all the more enjoyable. It was also
fun to watch, since my friend Jen and I never knew who would be in front as
they came around the course (her husband Pierre was racing with Kevin).
Kevin crashed a lot his first lap, but each lap he got a bit faster and
crashed less, he managed a respectable 4 laps in 1.5 hours and is now hooked
on HS (no thinking involved).
I didn't fare so well in my race (the support event), but ended on a good
note anyway. My nerves were shot by the time we took off after sitting there
for an hour waiting in the intense sun (you will see in the pics my face
going from happy and white, to misery and bright red
. The conditions were
far worse than I could have imagined also, true Hollister silty crap dirt
with zero visibility in most sections. I left the line 14th out of my class
of 22 girls (we left 10 seconds apart, one at a time), and passed about 3 of
them or so within the first mile or two of the race, even at what felt like
a snails pace racing on powdered sugar. I then came up to a huge bottleneck
with about 6-8 girls all in my class just sitting there blocking the trail
completely, all stuck side by side. I managed to get through and realized
there was probably only 4 or so girls left in front of me! I turned up the
pace and quickly caught a girl on a CRF something, and was stuck behind her
trying to pass. She kept moving in front of me, and I finally saw and
opening to the inside right before a turn so I gasses it. Right when I got
along side her rear wheel she cuts right in front of me and takes out my
front tire and over the handlebars I go (now I know why faster guys hate us
beginners, I why I always carefully move over and signal faster riders to
pass). I saw maybe 2 girls from my class pass me as I got up, and I quickly
caught a few and was picking up a bit of speed. I later had another couple
girls in my class that wouldn't let me pass even though they were barely
moving, their tactic to keep swerving side to side so I couldn't get past
(is this racing? If so I prefer Enduros thank you very much...) Towards the
end of the first lap I pull a total "Kali" and downshift into neutral on a
loose uphill with a sweeping left turn. By the time I get into first I spin
out and roll down the hill. I finally get my bike up and watch 3-4 girls in
my class pass again, bump start the bike and get going, only to have my
throttle stick wide open. I limp to the next flagger who has tools, and
spend what seems like eternity fixing my throttle and handgaurd, and watch
my entire class pass me with minutes to spare (I cut down my bars on
Thursday and guess the throttle tube was too long for the shorter bars,
falling on the handgaurd pinned it open).
I finally get the bike safe to ride again and take off, totally angry at
myself for such a retarded mistake, and I decide to stop at one lap. I then
beat myself up emotionally for being a quitter, and hear the words of Nicole
Bradford in my head "we don't race the person beside us, but the person
inside us". I decide to ride the rest of the race for me, and start to have
some fun. I finished the first lap and do a second one, just to ride it. I
pass a few of the girls again in my class but know I am still way at the
back of the pack, but I am having fun. I hear the frontrunners start to lap
me, and I pull to the side and wave them by, cheering for them and watching
their riding. I practice standing, weighting the pegs, picking up speed in
the turns, and maintaining momentum on all the hills. I finished the second
lap with no crashes, and on a high note I realize that not ONE girl in my
class passed me the entire race except when I was on the ground, lol. Maybe
I don't suck as bad as I thought.
For anyone interested, here are some pics of us at the Hare Scrambles
Pierre 2004 KTM450, Kevin 2001 Black Gas Gas 300, Jim 2003 KTM200, Kali 99
Blue Gas Gas 200
http://www.fototime.com/inv/A6D90457B988639
We packed up and went to Clear Creek...
Clear Creek ride report:
In one word, Clear Creek was awesome. After eating all that Hollister dust
it was a huge surprise to find almost no dust on all the trails we rode at
Clear Creek. The weather was fantastic, and we were lucky enough to run into
a couple of friends of ours that know the trails well. We did a morning
ride, and stuck to all the singletrack and narrower two track, and had a
blast riding with the 4 of us (3 of us on Gas Gas' and our leader on his
brand new KTM200). We practiced hillclimbs and rode some nasty singletrack,
I rode some sidehills and some trails that went straight down on both sides,
I worked a lot on standing and not looking down, even though I was scared to
death at times. I think the best moment of the day was when I realized that
my biggest problem is just going too damn slow downhill - something that my
Pampera let's me get away with, but my 200 does not. I also realized that
the mess I got into on the hill in the Hare Scramble was for the same
reason, I need to get to the point where I NEVER even need to go into first
gear, then I won't shift into neutral, and I won't keep stalling it on
downhills then flying down them out of control. So...I spend the second half
of my day not allowing myself to use first gear. We did some really fun
uphill tight switchback trail, and I stayed in 2nd and 3rd the whole way -
if I couldn't get up and started to bog all I allowed myself to use was my
clutch, and it worked! For the rest of the day I didn't fall or stall once,
and even found 3rd on some trails I would have never ridden in that gear.
On the way back to camp we rode down a long stretch of downhill that was
loose and jeep road wide, about 3 miles of all downhill. I practiced picking
up speed and standing, and again it worked. Kevin gave me the thumbs up and
said he watched me progress leaps and bounds all day, and he was pleasantly
surprised. Perfect end to a weekend that started on a low note.
I just wish I could walk today...
Kali
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