char393
05-19-2008, 11:01 PM
The EVO series headed to Cycle Ranch this last weekend. Even though I've only raced one other round, I couldn't pass up the chance to ride CR again. For those who have been there you know that the dirt is awesome, the elevation changes are cool and they seem to change the track fairly regularly.
We got to the track around 2pm and I debated whether or not to practice since they'd be done at 5pm. I decided to go ahead and get some laps in since it's been over a year since we'd been there. That was a good decision, the track was WAY different than I remembered. The long, fast sections had been replaced with doubles, these funky roller/whoop thingies oh..and some more roller/whoop thingies (highly technical term). Oh well I figured, at least I'll get to ride Cycle Ranch. I also saw Erik Shea out there and got to visit with him a little bit over the weekend. Erik is a good guy!:thumb
Vintage Dave showed up and was nice enough to spend some time watching me through different sections and made a couple of changes to my suspension as well as offering some line suggestions. Getting to see him is ALWAYS a good thing...not only does the man possess an incredible wealth of bike-knowledge, he's got a very sarcastic sense of humor that I can fully appreciate.
Sunday morning arrives and we get all signed up and ready to go. I offered for Dave to ride Effie in the +40 class and was glad he decided to go for it. Since all modern bikes run the same practice, the plan was for me to take a few laps and hand Effie off to Dave to run the remainder of the 20 min practice. Imagine my surprise when I come around on the third lap looking for Dave only to see the checkered flag flying. What the heck??!! I thought... that's when I saw Dave bending the flagman's ear and kinda chuckled to myself. Body language speaks volumes sometimes. Needless to say, Dave got a few laps of practice on a nearly empty track.
The schedule for the EVO series is set at the beginning of the year and the +30 class is the last moto. Their classes are a bit different, +30 junior, sport and senior...the equivalent of c, b and a.... I guess. I was looking for a spode class, but it wasn't offered. We're second gate and I get a halfway decent start, mid-pack I guess. I spent the first couple of laps chasing a friend that I'd conned into racing the +30 class (he coulda rode the +40), it was great fun trying to chase him down! I got close coming up to the whoop section and I did my best to catch him on the outside of the ensuing s-turn...it's pretty cool to be next to someone you know you're fairly even with in skill level... but then he tipped over in the corner. I thought about stopping, but he popped right back up so I kept on going. Got around a couple more people, but was sure I was pretty far back in the pack still. I was pretty surprised to see that I finished 6th in that moto.
Anyway...second moto (sorry this is so long).. I got a horrible start, pretty much dead last I think. I felt better this time 'round though and rode fairly well or at least, I think I did. I managed to keep it on two wheels, kept the rest of the pack in sight and even passed a couple of guys. The track was completely different this time out, very dry and dusty although not too rough. I must have rode better than I thought I did because I ended up sixth again which gave me 5th overall for the day.
All in all it was a great weekend!!! Robbie and the kids drove out Saturday night and camped with us. We roasted marshmallows and just had a great time relaxing. Our new trailer came in handy as we slept in it and Robbie got the tent. We laughed plenty, hardly saw the kids at all on Sunday and enjoyed the weather. I rode better than I expected myself too and certainly finished better than my first EVO attempt.
Great friends, good racing, beautiful weather....doesn't get much better than that.
A few pics taken by my bestest friend, MrsTwister393...
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/whirobbie/F7282584.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/whirobbie/F7282728.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/whirobbie/F7282562.jpg
We got to the track around 2pm and I debated whether or not to practice since they'd be done at 5pm. I decided to go ahead and get some laps in since it's been over a year since we'd been there. That was a good decision, the track was WAY different than I remembered. The long, fast sections had been replaced with doubles, these funky roller/whoop thingies oh..and some more roller/whoop thingies (highly technical term). Oh well I figured, at least I'll get to ride Cycle Ranch. I also saw Erik Shea out there and got to visit with him a little bit over the weekend. Erik is a good guy!:thumb
Vintage Dave showed up and was nice enough to spend some time watching me through different sections and made a couple of changes to my suspension as well as offering some line suggestions. Getting to see him is ALWAYS a good thing...not only does the man possess an incredible wealth of bike-knowledge, he's got a very sarcastic sense of humor that I can fully appreciate.
Sunday morning arrives and we get all signed up and ready to go. I offered for Dave to ride Effie in the +40 class and was glad he decided to go for it. Since all modern bikes run the same practice, the plan was for me to take a few laps and hand Effie off to Dave to run the remainder of the 20 min practice. Imagine my surprise when I come around on the third lap looking for Dave only to see the checkered flag flying. What the heck??!! I thought... that's when I saw Dave bending the flagman's ear and kinda chuckled to myself. Body language speaks volumes sometimes. Needless to say, Dave got a few laps of practice on a nearly empty track.
The schedule for the EVO series is set at the beginning of the year and the +30 class is the last moto. Their classes are a bit different, +30 junior, sport and senior...the equivalent of c, b and a.... I guess. I was looking for a spode class, but it wasn't offered. We're second gate and I get a halfway decent start, mid-pack I guess. I spent the first couple of laps chasing a friend that I'd conned into racing the +30 class (he coulda rode the +40), it was great fun trying to chase him down! I got close coming up to the whoop section and I did my best to catch him on the outside of the ensuing s-turn...it's pretty cool to be next to someone you know you're fairly even with in skill level... but then he tipped over in the corner. I thought about stopping, but he popped right back up so I kept on going. Got around a couple more people, but was sure I was pretty far back in the pack still. I was pretty surprised to see that I finished 6th in that moto.
Anyway...second moto (sorry this is so long).. I got a horrible start, pretty much dead last I think. I felt better this time 'round though and rode fairly well or at least, I think I did. I managed to keep it on two wheels, kept the rest of the pack in sight and even passed a couple of guys. The track was completely different this time out, very dry and dusty although not too rough. I must have rode better than I thought I did because I ended up sixth again which gave me 5th overall for the day.
All in all it was a great weekend!!! Robbie and the kids drove out Saturday night and camped with us. We roasted marshmallows and just had a great time relaxing. Our new trailer came in handy as we slept in it and Robbie got the tent. We laughed plenty, hardly saw the kids at all on Sunday and enjoyed the weather. I rode better than I expected myself too and certainly finished better than my first EVO attempt.
Great friends, good racing, beautiful weather....doesn't get much better than that.
A few pics taken by my bestest friend, MrsTwister393...
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/whirobbie/F7282584.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/whirobbie/F7282728.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/whirobbie/F7282562.jpg