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Place:
5th
Site: Jean, TX
Current Standing: 6th,
688 points
There is nothing finer than racing in cool, overcast weather. Except maybe a race course where you can utilize all the gears in your gearbox, and not have to start and stop every 20 feet. Put the two together, and you have...well, big fun.
So it was at TCCRA race #2812 held near Jean, TX. It was our second trip to Jean this year, and the first trip had been good to me as I had my best race this year, finishing 3rd in race #2804. Jean usually affords the opportunity to open up the throttle a little and not worry about having your radiator spew coolant all over from going 5 mph for miles on end. There are even some sections where the terrain is both high-speed and rough, my favorite. For me there's no rush like attacking a winding, high-speed, choppy section and making the motor and suspension work. It's an unmatched thrill. But I digress.
I, as usual, had been all over the weather report the week before this race. For the first time in quite a while, it was bringing me good news. Varying reports had the high temperature being anywhere from the high 50s to mid-70s. Either way, considering the fact that I'd be starting at 9 A.M., I was going to have good race conditions for the first time since...since...well, I guess it would be the last time we were at Jean. Saturday was forecast to be another sweat-fest, but a strong cold front was predicted for Saturday night. For me, it couldn't come soon enough.
I suited up late Saturday afternoon for a practice lap. For the first time this year, I came back from my first practice lap and thought, "yeah, I actually liked that; it was fun". There was a little too much turning for my taste, but I don't think I could've done much better considering the land size. Several sections where you could really open it up and go fast.
I had also arranged to ride a KTM 200 since I'm in the market for a new bike. I had narrowed my choice to either another YZ or the KTM. I wanted to ride the KTM to see what it was like before I bought one. My concern with the 200 was whether it would feel too much like a 250. I've ridden 250s before and hated them; too much vibration and they don't stop as quickly as the 125. Sherri Stephens was kind enough to let me take a spin on her 200 EXC. Shortly after hitting the trail I knew it wasn't the bike for me. While obviously a great bike, it vibrated and stopped like a 250. It was certainly fast, but I was spending more time and effort controlling the power rather than applying the power. The power was plentiful (great low-end) and the bike handled extremely well. Just not the bike for me. I returned it to her, told her thanks, and went over the reasons why it wasn't for me. It just so happened that she camps with James Knowler, who rides a Gas Gas 200. "Try it", she said. "It's quite a bit different from the KTM." OK, what the heck. I got on the trail, and all I can say is WOW. This thing is cool! Extremely linear power, good low-end, turned flawlessly, no vibration, and the brakes were from another dimension. The power felt a hair choked on top, but other than that the bike was unbelievable. Anyway, now I'm really confused as to which bike to buy.
Considering the fact that we've obliterated the record in North Texas for most days without rain, the course was extremely dusty. The weather forecast not only called for cool temperatures but also the possibility of rain. For the first time ever (well, except when I'm in the desert) I was actually hoping for some rain the night before the race. Not too much, but some. The skies cooperated. Two fairly substantial showers passed through Saturday night.
I was anxious to wake up Sunday morning; I knew the rain had fallen and there was hope the dust wouldn't be too bad. More importantly, I wanted to see just how far the temperature had fallen. I stepped out of the trailer and pitched a tent. The skies were completely gray, the wind was blowing, and it was jacket temperature. YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEESSSSSSS! This was gonna be fun.
I made my way to the line at 8:55 and found that the start was even looking like a lot of fun. A LONG drag race to a sweeping left-hand turn, followed by another drag race. Cool; a non motocross-ish start for once. Well...ahem...except for that stupid live-engine thing. I got a good initial jump off the line, but quickly discovered that I have my bike geared lower than everyone else in the class. They all pulled me into the first turn. Guess that's what happens when you're the lard-ass of the class. Not to worry, the dust wasn't bad, and there was a lot of open terrain to make up ground. Very shortly after the start, we headed for a section that had been used at Jean in 1999. It was an open straight section, pretty rough; extremely rough if you took the left-hand line. I had consistently taken the right-hand line in '99 and it worked out great, I was always able to pull ground on people. It paid off again, I was able to motor by Nate Dogg (J98), who, like me, was enjoying another "stellar" start. Shortly after that, Curtis Pace (J24) blew by me in his usual banzai fashion. I was near the back of the pack, but the front was in sight. Well, at least for a second or two.
The first few miles were the usual; very intense, a half-dozen 125s screaming about at roughly a zillion RPM. I was able to avoid mistakes and hold my ground. That is until we hit a long straight and Nate Dogg held the throttle pinned a little longer than I did. A couple of miles later I reeled in Russell Horn (J35) and was able to get past. Then in a rough section preceding a hard left-hand turn, I was able to slip past Dwayne Gensler (J36). Shortly before the end of lap one, I passed Pace, who was stopped beside the trail standing next to his bike. No limbs seemed to be severed so I motored past. This put me in 6th at the end of the first lap.
The greatness of riding in cool weather was presenting itself; I was not fatiguing at all. Roughly two-thirds into lap two, I caught a brief glimpse of a green machine ahead of me. I thought I even saw a 98 on the back of this rider. I kept pushing, caught the rider, and sure enough, it was Nate Dogg. He seemed to be cruising, as though he was experiencing bike or bodily problems. He looked back, yelled "no way the old man's passing me", and really picked up the pace. For the next seven miles or so, we engaged in a full-on dice session. It was an absolute blast, probably the most fun I've had in a race this year. I couldn't pull next to him, but he wasn't gaining any ground on me either. Shortly before the check on lap three, he bobbled coming out of a turn into some whoops. He looked to be having some kind of trouble with his throttle. Turns out he'd been doing some crashing before I caught him, was having severe problems with his right thumb, and his hand guard was broken and was slightly applying his front brake, making his forks feel awfully stiff. Now I don't feel so good about being able to keep up with him. Still, crashing is part of racing and it's certainly something that can slow you down.
I was still going all-out; I'd have to in order to keep Nathan behind me. I finished lap three and set out for my final 10-mile circuit in 5th. Just before the end of lap three I'd sighted Chris Horton (J31) in front of me. I picked it up a notch again. Not only was he right in front of me on the race course, but he was 13 points ahead of me in the overall standings entering this race. He's faster than me, but I was giving it everything I had; flukes happen sometimes, and maybe I could catch him. He was never close enough to really put pressure on, but I never lost sight of him. Have I mentioned how much I love racing in cool weather? I guess I have. I was still able to go as fast at the end of the race as I had at the beginning. I kept Horton in sight but was never able to reel him in, and settled for 5th.
At the end of this race I was extremely satisfied. For the first time in I-don't-know-how-long, I was ready for another lap when I took the checkered flag. The course was good, the weather was great, and I had a blast. Never fell, never really bobbled even. I rode very near the upper limits of my abilities and didn't make mistakes; if my best effort was only good enough for 5th, then so be it, I'd had a lot of fun.
Kudos to the Shaws for laying out such a fun course. Of course the weather cooperated with them, but still. I'd even had fun on Saturday when it was still hot and dusty. Don Shaw even stopped us as we were leaving. It seems he'd looked at my name on the trophy sheet when I'd picked up my plaque and recognized the name. He told me how much he enjoyed reading my stuff on the Web. That felt great, and was just the capper on a near-perfect weekend.
