VCMC Night race

[KKXR400R]

This was my second night race and I have to say...It's been interesting, exciting and frustrating at the same time. The first race I had an absolute blast at...The second was way more challenging and most of the time I was just trying to make it to the pits with out getting lost. A freind of ours let me borrow her Diablo set up (battery powered) and I set up 2 mag lights on the top of my helmet. My partner volunteered (actually I had no choice) me to start as he had a bum knee and this was a mass start. Man....I tell ya, that was interesting. I got a great start and was holding it for a while before the experts and faster ammies started whizzing by....the dust was horrible. To make long story short, the markings for the course were horrid. The club that put the race on were extremely understaffed and the course suffered for it. I got lost more times then I ever wanted to. I ended up putting 27.5 miles on my bike on a 15 mile loop. bummer. I got to the pits and told my team mate to keep an eye out for the markings and he took off. An hour and a half passed and he pulled it. He had the same problems as I did and missed 2 checks. We decided to hang it up for the night considering we would have never made the cut-off and missing checks would have DQed us. All in all I had a blast and enjoyed the 15 miles of course that I did ride. Too bad the markings sucked.

On a side note:One of my goals this year was to quit smoking...probably the hardest thing I had to do. Now I have another. I have wanted to lose weight for quite a while now and my new goal is 40 pounds. I have been hitting the gym 4-5 times a week for the last month and started dieting a week ago. In the process I lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks. Just going to the gym has helped me very much with my endurance, stamina and strength. Heres some pics of the race....Enjoy

-Kevin-

[MXtras]

Sorry to hear about the poor course marking - still looks like a blast to me! I have never done any of this type of racing, but if it's on two wheels, it's gotta be a blast!!

Scott

[crfjedi393]

I'm sure the experience was worth living. You dez dogs are a tough bunch. Night racing in the desert would keep me a gear low. I'm a wuss like that.
On the other hand, maybe I wouldn't miss any markers going slow.

[KKXR400R]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

I'm sure the experience was worth living. You dez dogs are a tough bunch. Night racing in the desert would keep me a gear low. I'm a wuss like that.
On the other hand, maybe I wouldn't miss any markers going slow.

I was thinking the same thing after my first night race (Prairie Dogs night race, which I got 2nd) but you would be surprised on how fast you can get going out there. After we decided to call it a night I went back out (2nd picture from the top) but this time used a friends HID helmet light and her HID bike light and ran across the dry lake portion of the course. After getting the bike in the 70'sh mph range I figured I can't out ride the lights and going any faster would be a "it seemed like a good idea at the time". IMO the hardest aspect of night riding is the dust. As soon as the light hits it, its like pulling a sheet over your head....that's when things get interesting.

-Kevin-