After the trip to Baja in 2002 I knew racing was in my future, but I had no idea how it would happen. At the time I lived in Bellingham, Washington, and had no possible way of affording racing...not to
mention I didn't know if there was any desert-style riding up there. I had another hobby at the time as well which took most of my free time, though I like to think that if I could have afforded to race I would have dropped that hobby in favor of racing.<--Starting line at Sage Riders National Hare and Hound April 2007
Fast forward to 2005 when I moved my family back to Utah. Though I still couldn't afford to race, and my other hobby was taking even more time, the opportunity to at least ride again came with this move. I would be able to ride my dad's motorcycles and go on trips with the family again. We went on a few trips and had a great time and the desire to race was starting to surface again...but I wouldn't be the one to take the plunge and finally get the ball rolling.
I don't know how well he thought he'd do, but as I mentioned before I thought I was pretty hot stuff and I knew that Paul was better than me. He told me he was entering the Novice division which surprised me because he seemed like an Expert to me. But I figured it would be fine because he would just dominate and would show everyone how awesome he was by passing up Amateurs and Experts who would have a head start on him.
Back at the pits we waited for what seemed like forever. The Pro and Expert divisions didn't seem to take long on the first loop and so I waited out on pit row with anticipation - I was sure I'd see Paul coming somewhere in the middle of the Experts. He didn't show up with the Experts as I noticed the first several Amateurs start filtering through. It must have been a little tougher than I thought but no big deal - he'd show up with the Amateurs.
For a while it seemed like everyone had come through, giving further weight to my thought that he crashed hard. But then looking down pit row I saw what looked like Paul...but it wasn't the Paul I knew - this guy looked tired. Really tired.
Well he rolled in to the pits looking kinda battered. I asked if he had crashed but he said nothing bad - he just was really tired from battling the other Novices (lots of them sprawled out on hill climbs) on the course. He related some of the crazy things he'd seen - terrain he hadn't spe
nt a lot of time on before that didn't suit our style of riding: large deep whoops,
Paul on the other hand, was hooked. He would race in almost all of the remaining Utah races that year and even eventually showing how good he was by get a 1st Overall Novice finish before the end of the season. My chance to race still hadn't come, but it would soon, even though at this point I wasn't as sure anymore that I even wanted to do it...at least not what he had just done...
Tomorrow is my 4th race this year: USRA Round 4, Firebirds Hare Scrambles. Race Reports are on the way, but I'm trying to keep this somewhat chronological. Next in the story is my first race, since I will only have done 5, I'm almost caught up!
Fast forward to 2005 when I moved my family back to Utah. Though I still couldn't afford to race, and my other hobby was taking even more time, the opportunity to at least ride again came with this move. I would be able to ride my dad's motorcycles and go on trips with the family again. We went on a few trips and had a great time and the desire to race was starting to surface again...but I wouldn't be the one to take the plunge and finally get the ball rolling.
In Spring of 2007 seemingly out of nowhere my brother Paul (who had always shared the dream of racing with me) announced that he had signed up for a desert race in Jericho, Utah, that a motorcycle club called the Sage Riders was putting on. It was going to be a "National" so that meant there would be good riders and we were excited to see how well he would do.
Paul at the start line (he's the one on a blue Yamaha WR250 in red gear and gray helmet):
Paul at the start line (he's the one on a blue Yamaha WR250 in red gear and gray helmet):
I don't know how well he thought he'd do, but as I mentioned before I thought I was pretty hot stuff and I knew that Paul was better than me. He told me he was entering the Novice division which surprised me because he seemed like an Expert to me. But I figured it would be fine because he would just dominate and would show everyone how awesome he was by passing up Amateurs and Experts who would have a head start on him.
The start was crazy...I had seen maybe one or two videos of starts like that when I was a kid, but seeing it i
n person was something else. Called the "Bomb Run" by a lot of people, just watching it stressed me out. I got a good spot to watch from; the start line was in the sage brush and then ended up in some sand dunes and I was right next to one of the banners that started the marked course on the sand dunes.
(<- Paul in the thick of things)
n person was something else. Called the "Bomb Run" by a lot of people, just watching it stressed me out. I got a good spot to watch from; the start line was in the sage brush and then ended up in some sand dunes and I was right next to one of the banners that started the marked course on the sand dunes.When Paul's line came through he was right in the middle of all the action...it looked so crazy and insane! He was going for it though, and I felt good that when the course got narrower he'd turn it on and start passing people left and right.
Video of the start from that very race, but it's only of the Expert wave so you won't see Paul in it (the camera is shooting from the same area that I was watching from):
Video of the start from that very race, but it's only of the Expert wave so you won't see Paul in it (the camera is shooting from the same area that I was watching from):
Back at the pits we waited for what seemed like forever. The Pro and Expert divisions didn't seem to take long on the first loop and so I waited out on pit row with anticipation - I was sure I'd see Paul coming somewhere in the middle of the Experts. He didn't show up with the Experts as I noticed the first several Amateurs start filtering through. It must have been a little tougher than I thought but no big deal - he'd show up with the Amateurs.
But then the first few Novices started filtering through the Amatuers. I was getting pretty worried now, thinking since he hadn't shown up yet he must have had a really bad crash or something and gotten hurt. He was far too fast and too good to be this far back in the pack.
For a while it seemed like everyone had come through, giving further weight to my thought that he crashed hard. But then looking down pit row I saw what looked like Paul...but it wasn't the Paul I knew - this guy looked tired. Really tired.
Well he rolled in to the pits looking kinda battered. I asked if he had crashed but he said nothing bad - he just was really tired from battling the other Novices (lots of them sprawled out on hill climbs) on the course. He related some of the crazy things he'd seen - terrain he hadn't spe
nt a lot of time on before that didn't suit our style of riding: large deep whoops,(Gassing up at the pits and telling us about the obstacles on the course - mostly other Novices that had crashed...I'm filling him up and Dad is in the orange shirt. Paul's wife and baby are in the foreground-->)
technical single track, crazy hill climbs - all this coupled with a whole bunch of riders of every skill level. We filled him up with gas and he took off looking re-energized.
Despite the fact that he had come in much further behind to the pits than I thought he would, and obviously exhausted, for some reason I still thought he'd take command of the second loop and come in ahead of all the other Novices. We didn't really give him that much time to complete the loop before heading over to the finish to watch him come in.
We probably waited there an hour or so and again I was getting really worried - this was my brother who was an amazing rider when we'd go to Baja and other places. I just couldn't fathom what this race course was like that would be so hard on him. What I've come to learn since then is that this terrain is not what we were used to. On the fast Baja-style jeep roads I'll still hold that we're quite skilled and fast...but that type of terrain isn't as tiring - you can sit down more to rest, it's not so technical etc. It's more just, how fast do you dare to go? These races like this Sage Riders AMA National Hare and Hound he did has a little fast terrain, but it has some difficult hill climbs, large deep whoops that suck the strength and energy out of your body, technical single track that you can't go fast on but requires more strength and agility. We've both come to enjoy this terrain as much as the stuff we grew up on, but if you're not used to it, it will drain you, and fast.
We waited for
a long time and he finally came in - we didn't know it yet but he had had a really bad wreck on this loop and was hurt pretty bad, but he still gave us all a show when he came into the finish with a long wheelie.
(<-- He might have been hurt, but he could still show off!)
It was a totally new experience for him, but he finished his first race. He was in the Over 30 class in the Novice division in which he finished 7th, the 43rd overall Novice out of 55 that actually finished. Keep in mind at least a dozen Novices or so didn't finish the race (DNF'd for future reference - Did Not Finish).
Watching this whole thing made me a little more skeptical about racing instead of making me want to do it more. The bomb run start looked pretty insane and dangerous to me; the type of terrain he told me about on the course wasn't the kind we were used to and had ridden all our lives and it really didn't sound that fun. I really liked our Baja-style fast jeep roads.
technical single track, crazy hill climbs - all this coupled with a whole bunch of riders of every skill level. We filled him up with gas and he took off looking re-energized.
Despite the fact that he had come in much further behind to the pits than I thought he would, and obviously exhausted, for some reason I still thought he'd take command of the second loop and come in ahead of all the other Novices. We didn't really give him that much time to complete the loop before heading over to the finish to watch him come in.
We probably waited there an hour or so and again I was getting really worried - this was my brother who was an amazing rider when we'd go to Baja and other places. I just couldn't fathom what this race course was like that would be so hard on him. What I've come to learn since then is that this terrain is not what we were used to. On the fast Baja-style jeep roads I'll still hold that we're quite skilled and fast...but that type of terrain isn't as tiring - you can sit down more to rest, it's not so technical etc. It's more just, how fast do you dare to go? These races like this Sage Riders AMA National Hare and Hound he did has a little fast terrain, but it has some difficult hill climbs, large deep whoops that suck the strength and energy out of your body, technical single track that you can't go fast on but requires more strength and agility. We've both come to enjoy this terrain as much as the stuff we grew up on, but if you're not used to it, it will drain you, and fast.
We waited for
a long time and he finally came in - we didn't know it yet but he had had a really bad wreck on this loop and was hurt pretty bad, but he still gave us all a show when he came into the finish with a long wheelie.(<-- He might have been hurt, but he could still show off!)
It was a totally new experience for him, but he finished his first race. He was in the Over 30 class in the Novice division in which he finished 7th, the 43rd overall Novice out of 55 that actually finished. Keep in mind at least a dozen Novices or so didn't finish the race (DNF'd for future reference - Did Not Finish).
Watching this whole thing made me a little more skeptical about racing instead of making me want to do it more. The bomb run start looked pretty insane and dangerous to me; the type of terrain he told me about on the course wasn't the kind we were used to and had ridden all our lives and it really didn't sound that fun. I really liked our Baja-style fast jeep roads.
Paul on the other hand, was hooked. He would race in almost all of the remaining Utah races that year and even eventually showing how good he was by get a 1st Overall Novice finish before the end of the season. My chance to race still hadn't come, but it would soon, even though at this point I wasn't as sure anymore that I even wanted to do it...at least not what he had just done...
Tomorrow is my 4th race this year: USRA Round 4, Firebirds Hare Scrambles. Race Reports are on the way, but I'm trying to keep this somewhat chronological. Next in the story is my first race, since I will only have done 5, I'm almost caught up!
Posts
1 comment:
Wow nate, you write a lot, but good luck! i wish i could go with you guys
Post a Comment