first desert race report!

[deuceshigh7]

so after almost a year of procrastinating i finally went through with my first desert race! and wow! it was awesome!!! it was so fun that im pissed at myself for not doing it earlier! hahah anyway it was a "European Scramble" out in Mojave desert... heres how it went


so i was super calm and not too anxious beforehand but when i stepped up to the line and when the banner raised up, my heart started beating SO fast i couldn't control it! it was ridiculous! and when the banner dropped i cranked my right hand and kicked the bike over..... too much gas and the bike bogged to a slow death, and as the other 100 racers on my line now took off, i kicked my bike over again and took off i was pinning it! trying to catch up... took off into a wall of dust that was pretty bad! i could barely see 5 feet in front of me... however i somehow ended up mid-pack when we funneled to a road at the end of the bomb. but that road that we got to was foot deep silt. sand-dune like sand with buried rocks thrown in the mix. riders down EVERYWHERE! i actually wheelied over a riders bike that was down right in front of me...(sorry dude!) but mid pack now began to pick riders off, it was a really tight single track that was on a off camber hillside and was surrounded by a hillside of football size rocks... so when someone would stall, a huge line would form. a couple of times i made my own line around them and passed like 15 people at a time! i was pretty happy with myself, until we got to out first of many hill climbs. again, silty-rock uphill prolly at 60 degrees that twisted back and forth. i started up it, and two people in front of me went down, so i tried to move around but ended up washing my back end out and tipping over. picked up the bike, but the hill was SO steep that i had to gas-clutch it up the hill with me running along side it... BAD IDEA! i was so tired when i got to the top that two riders passed me as i was continuing.... however, i got a second wind and i completed my first loop! my girlfriend and a couple of buddies were there cheering me on as i went by and that gave me a rush of energy, so i pinned it and started to up my pace a little. passes two or three guys and then lost my rear end again and tipped over.. that happened again to me another time for a total of three crashes. but nothing bad. i ended up passing 5-6 people from there on to the finish and i finished about mid pack with the novices.... however i was racing as beginner so im not sure but im thinking i was top to mid pack of my class (beg.) so i was supper stoked and super happy that i was able to finish and pull of a decent ride even tho i had a horrible start. two loops for l believe around thirty miles. not too much but i was still super tired. haha thanks for reading my book... ha im still pretty stoked about it! i will be doing more races for sure... i have the racing bug now!

-nic

[ccnut]

Great report ! Been since the late 70's since I raced in the desert.But I always loved it.The area around Sultan sea and Ocatillo Wells were our stompin grounds. You should be stoked to make both loops,good stuff! We do need pics though ....We LOVE pics. Way to Go!!...Jerry

[yzernie]

Sounds like fun!! Glad you had a good ride.

[deuceshigh7]

thanks guys! ya it was a total blast!
-nic

[crfjedi393]

I am usually so tired after a cross country race I don't even want to talk about it for a couple of days. Congrats on the finish.

[KKXR400R]

Nic, who put the race on? I didn't know they had races in Mohave.

-Kevin-

[deuceshigh7]

a D37 club, HBMC. it was actually out in Johnson Valley but i just referenced Mojave so the fellas on the other side of the country would sorta get an idea... haha it was off of boone rd. and HWY 247.... been there?? it is like 10 miles passed the rock pile

-nic

[KKXR400R]

Tracy and I raced both days. What did you think of the "sand" course (A)?

I'll post my ride report later on. Glad you made it out. Shoot me a call or a PM the next time you go out and we'll meet up.

-Kevin-

[deuceshigh7]

i only did course "B" on sat. my race was at 1:30 so the course was choppy but super fun! i heard course A was a silt-whoop-nightmare haha
-nic

[Sean9224]

nice comeback !

[KKXR400R]

Originally Posted by deuceshigh7

i only did course "B" on sat. my race was at 1:30 so the course was choppy but super fun! i heard course A was a silt-whoop-nightmare haha
-nic

Talk about 2 completely different courses! Had blast this weekend! Maybe I'm a little sadistic but I really like the sand so "A" appealed to me more then "B". There where some good size whoops out there. Just had to keep the momentum up and look for smooth lines. I found a bunch of virgin stuff about 30 or 40 feet off ribbon and avoided about half of the whoops. Also, they had the dry lake bed....saw 82 MPH...that was a little hair raising for sure but gained quite a bit of time on some of the guys. The only thing that bothered me about "B" were the rollers on the back stretch, other then that I like it. I need to see how I finished but I think I did well on Sunday. Hope to see you out there for our (Racers MC) race...Just saw the map and lay out this weekend and It's gonna be epic.

-Kevin-

[deuceshigh7]

racers mc's race is march 28th right??? it is the slash x thing??? i want to for sure make that one, but i might be going out to arizona for spring break (same week) so we will see... but for sure ill hit u up next time im out!
-nic

[Mainjet2001]

Very nice report Nic.
You have now been bit my the desert racing bug which will stay with you a long time.
Congrats on your race and getting the bug.

[Dirtbikindad393]

Nic,

Nice report sounds like your bit!!!!!

Make sure to come to Racers MC camp and hang with us for a race or two. We will guest pit you and show you the ropes. Besides you get to hang with other ATMers. If you can't find it just ask anybody where Racers MC camp is at or ask for Dane somebody will point you in the right direction.

I love the desert. My son Jack got 4th overall and 1st in class on A course Sat. But didn't fair so well on Sunday taking 3rd in class and about 10th O/A.

Hope to see you soon!

Dane

[deuceshigh7]

well i got my results, 2nd in class... not too bad for a first race, a HORRIBLE start, and 3 spills... haha
-nic