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Place:
5th
Site: North
Bryson, TX
Current Standing: 6th,
493 points
Remember the scene in Forrest Gump where "I musta drank me about 15 Dr. Peppers"? Well, that was me for the first three laps or so of Sunday's TCCRA race #2809. Seems I put the kibosh on water intake just a bit too late and, well...I don't think I've ever been so...uncomfortable...during a race. Although it may have made me go just a bit faster so I could finish quicker and find an outhouse.
Anyway, back to the weekend's timeline. That blasted rain was again placing a damper on my hopes for a decent race. We couldn't have two mud races in a row, could we? It appeared likely. The forecast called for rain Saturday, Saturday night, and possibly Sunday. This would produce a swamp. On top of that, it seemed in the previous week that we couldn't go more than 24 hours without rain here in North Texas. The trip to Bryson didn't exactly allay my fears, either. From the time we reached Lake Worth until we hit Springtown, it was a deluge. I mean, a go-30-MPH-because-you-can't-see-well enough-to-go-any-faster deluge. However, we were riding in style, having purchased a new truck on Friday evening. I was afraid it would float off the road a couple of times, though.
Shortly after clearing Springtown, the rain gradually started to ease, and as we continued on toward Jacksboro, breaks in the mass of clouds even started to appear. When we neared Jacksboro, there was no rain whatsoever, and there were significant breaks in the clouds. Good news. We pulled onto the dirt road leading to the camping area, and the dirt appeared to be in great shape. And the air temperature was just unbelievable for this time of year, probably 20-25 degrees below normal.
We unloaded and I sent Cindy out on an official dirt-testing crusade. Her mission: test moisture content and rideability of said dirt. She returned with the verdict evident on her scooter: it wasn't muddy. After lounging about for a couple of hours BSing with various and sundry members of Team Patman Racing, I suited up in my ever-so-stylish practice rags and set out for a practice lap. My not-so-trusty scooter wasn't cooperating however. It was sputtering, coughing and bogging like a long-haired cat afflicted with obsessive/compulsive disorder. Swell, I'd have to mess with the jetting. Any of you reading that own Yamahas know what an utter pain in the arse it is to get at the jets. I returned to camp and had master mechanic Skip Gove ride the bike in order to better nail down the jetting problem. He came back with the opinion that it was too rich on the bottom. So, not having a leaner pilot jet, we messed with the airscrew and clip position to try and solve the problem. No go. After much adjusting, he decided that the problem appeared to be that it was too lean on the bottom. That was good news, as I did have a richer pilot jet. I installed that richer pilot jet, returned the clip to the middle position, fired up the bike, and voila! That seemed to solve the problem. I hopped on and headed for the course. Immediately I knew that the problem had indeed been solved. I had my bike back! It was running stronger than it had in months. I was so excited, I was ready for the race to start right then! Of course, that was partly because the dirt was great and it wasn't raining, but still! I was happy to have the bike running right. The course was...rough. As per usual, already beat-up. And, this being North Bryson, rocky. Large, embedded ones in the middle of whoops. But all in all, not that bad for North Bryson, as good as this place gets. It even had the trademark of this promoter: the Brent Shaw Dead Cow™. Now...all that was left was to perform my anti-rain dance in order to combat the vile hopes of the Patman.
Following our Team Patman Racing Saturday evening pot-luck (deeeeee-lish!), I changed my gearing back from 13/51 to 13/50, and soon headed for bed (no rain, no rain, no rain). "I'd better not wake up to any of that pitter-patter on the top of the trailer crap".
Sunday morning I awoke to...still-rideable soil! Not only that, but the skies were filled with non-threatening-looking clouds, great for holding down the temperature. It appeared we were going to luck out...well, everyone except the Patman, that is. You see, for some reason he has this morbid fascination for sliding around in the mud. He's a sick man...
As you read at the top of this tome, I
concentrated on downing water all morning, in order to try and avoid my
traditional afternoon race bonk. Race time came and I was ready!
"Maybe I'll even mix
in a good start today, what the hell". I lined up next to Mr. Fast, Nathan
Price (J98). The green flag flew, and once again choosing this
moment to show off for my mesmerized fans, I wheelied. Not a huge
one, but there went the class, including Nathan, who had zipped off the
line and looked to be heading for the first turn ahead of the pack.
I got the front end down and tried to make the best of my sorry starting
effort. We cleared the first turn (I don't think I was last) and
buzzed toward the 2nd, a right-hander. As we reached it, whose bike
was flipping (with him flying off) but Nathan's. I was able to
narrowly avoid hitting him. Nathan explained his stunt in this
post-race remark: "I meant to do that. It was my way of showing you guys that I can
get a good start but I just prefer coming from behind. The crash about 1/16th
of a mile after that was for good measure". Insult would
subsequently appear for Nathan in the form of a rear flat. Some days
the racing gods just have it in for you.
I managed to stay with the pack for the first few turns, I must have been seventh or eighth. Curtis Pace (J8) blew a turn almost immediately, and I slipped past. I settled in behind Brian Mullen (J95) and tried to keep up. About a mile into lap one, Craig Pundt (J17), the current class leader, blew by both of us in very short order. Luckily, he'll be whipping up on the B class next year. I was able to stay with Mullen for about half the lap, but eventually he pulled away. That would be the last 125 Expert I would see the rest of the race.
I
completed lap one in 5th, and that's where I would stay. A couple of
times during the race, my crack pit crew informed me that I was close to
the 4th-place rider, but I could never catch sight of him. My
energy
level stayed pretty good, and I was able to keep a good pace
throughout. There was only one nagging problem. I really
had to...get rid of some of that water I'd drank. I first noticed it
a few miles into lap one (you know, about that point in a race when you start
breathing again), and it really didn't subside until about my fourth
lap. But I couldn't stop; I knew Nathan was still behind me and
probably gaining. Overall pro class leader Clay Hoenshell passed me
about three-fourths through lap four, so I knew I'd do one lap less than
the maximum. Unbeknownst to me, that meant five laps instead of
four. Quite a surprise when I reached ace flagman Alex
Romero at the end of lap four and he was brandishing the white flag.
Not the color I was looking for. "Oh well, I still feel pretty
strong, and maybe someone ahead of me will get a flat or
something".
I pushed hard that final lap, but was unable to catch sight of anyone in my class. However, I had caught sight of Danny Burford (H11) behind me at the start of that fifth lap, and knowing he's very fast, concentrated on attacking the course and trying to keep him behind me, just for practice. Of course I wasn't able to shake him, but managed to keep him behind me. If I'm still going as fast as he does when I'm eligible for the Over 45 class it'll be a miracle.
My fifth keeps me solidly in 6th overall for the year, and if I just keep riding consistently and avoid any more catastrophic mechanical failures, I hope to hold that spot. I'll have to work hard in order to accomplish that.
