ScottYZ250
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Jul 24, 1999
- 375
- 0
Well, another one in the books. This is the only harescramble I do each year, because it's run in my backyard (Carnegie OHVRA). The past week or two I was worried it would be a wet sloppy race, but ended up with dry weather the past week and actually saw quite a bit of dust on the trail.
The start this year absolutely sucked. I'm truly shocked there weren't some serious injuries. Rows of fifty riders hauling @$$ towards a gate that let the riders onto the motocross track, with a hard right hand turn just inside the gate (the gate was only 8-10 feet wide).
Once on the MX track we had a couple of banked turns and then it was up and onto the grass track (on the hill above the MX track). Some switchbacks up along the grassy hillside and then we are dumped back onto the MX track briefly and then sent into the canyon directly behind Carnegie's MX track. I personally like this canyon, and play around here alot with my regular crew. A few switchbacks on the doubletrack trails, a couple of off-camber sections and then we cross a service road and are directed along the top of a huge hill and into another canyon.
This canyon is known for some rocky sections, and we're run down some of them. At the bottom, we're routed up some black diamond switchbacks. Nothing too tough when empty, but a pain in the butt with stuck riders littered all over the place. At the top of these switchbacks we get some easy singletrack taking us along the sides of some nice scenic hillsides (one of the few sections of Carnegie with trees) and then we are spit out onto a heavily rocky jeep trail which takes us to the extreme back of the park and up a hill banking to the right.
At the top of the hill we imediately are redirected to the left and down a tight singletrack downhill section, bank to the right on a mellow yet still tight trail and then a hard left and down an extremely rocky and rutted hill which I believe is called monkey (something?), which spits us out onto a trail that has injured many riders. Just the previous weekend I was part of a large group of riders who helped haul a kid (21yrs old) out of a creek/rain washout on a backboard. The kid could not feel his legs at the time he was helovaced to the hospital (so scary and sad :ugg: ). This trail is the connector trail that gets you from the West side of the park to the East side of the park without going into a ridiculously steep canyon or back out to the front of the park.
Anyways, we follow this trail down and back up again until we are back to open terrain on the East side. For the first time in the 10.5 mile loop we are in open grassy terrain following an easy trail down a hillside (we're about 5.5-6 miles into the loop at this point). At the bottom of the hill we make a right hand turn, go about a hundred yards, down another easy wide hill and then we are routed back uphill into another canyon, still in pretty wide open terrain (good for passing). At the center of this canyon I see the trail they are sending us up and remember what I was told by fellow DRN'er Dave Wood, whom I had just met the day prior. "Sometimes to go faster, you have to go slower." Remembering this, and knowing what was coming, I slowed down and shifted from fourth gear to second gear keeping one finger on the clutch and just cruised up the heavily rutted, rocky trail. The two guys on my butt blew by me at the bottom of the hill and were on the gas hard. Actually, too hard as not 20 feet up the hill the first guy ducks to dodge a tree branch, catches a rut wrong and loops his bike. The second guy I think was a better rider than the first, and had that first guy not looped out right in front of him, probably would have shown me just how to haul @$$ up a nasty hill. Unfortunately for him, he was now off balance dodging the first guys bike, and combined that with now being in too tall a gear did not get much further before his bike stalls. Myself, I took my time and just picked my ruts and rocks accordingly, got around both riders and made the top of the hill (how cool!).
At the top we went to the right and immediately banked left up another little but technical hillside and back to the main jeep trail. At this point I can see the tarp where they check and record your number in the middle of the loop to confirm you aren't trail cutting, but we are sent to the right onto an off-camber hillside. This goes for a hundred yards or so and then a small hill with a steep left hand turn going uphill a bit more and back to the jeep road again. A quick left, a quick 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear and on the brakes hard going into the check station (in the hills, not the finish station).
After the station, we run some wide singletrack along the side of a hill, working our way down into a canyon we have already been in part of, cross a nearly dry creek, left turn and racing down a jeep trail again. just when I thought they were going to run us down this road all the way back to the motocross track, we make a hard left and drop down to a creek which we cross and run the opposite side of down more wide singletrack (still heading toward the MX track). Back onto the jeep trail for about fifty yards, then a left and up a hill towards the area my crew calls "the playground." Along the edge of the twisty trails and hills of the playground, and then we're taken onto a trail around the side of the playground, crossing Harrison Hill (where the spring hillclimb was run last April). We follow this trail along the top of the hill (I can see the MX track way below us), and just before the switch backs that would take us to the MX track, we're routed to the right. Another hundred yards of trail, down a small hill and up a nice wide open grasshill. At the top we make a left and follow this trail down a huge grass hill, veering to the right as the trail tightens up. Tight singletrack takes us down the remainder of the hill, acoss the creek, and up onto the jeep trail. One final left onto the jeep trail and then wide open back to the MX track.
This was a very technical race this year, although I definitely see improvement in my riding. Even with a kid crashing in front of me at the end of my second loop sending myself off the trail and into shrubs (resulting in my losing 10-15 minutes but no injuries), I still made it back in time for a third loop (my first time ever). Unfortunately, spending every ounce of energy I didn't have getting back onto the trail and finishing my second loop, making sure that damn kid was ok, and kicking my CRF450 about thirty times because it was upside down for a good three minutes, I was too tired to finish my third loop. Deciding that I was a safety hazard about a third of the way through the third loop, I called it quites and took the main road back to the MX track. Serious injury just isn't worth macho instincts, even when your wife is in the crowd.
All in all, I had a great day. The ride was a great workout, and I went home healthy so I can enjoy the Piglet Family Enduro this Saturday at Clear Creek.
Oh yeah, when you come off the course from the wrong direction and your wife jumps out of her chair wondering what's wrong, immediately gesture to her that you are ok. She will repay you for the thoughtfulness of calming her nerves later...trust me! :thumb:
The start this year absolutely sucked. I'm truly shocked there weren't some serious injuries. Rows of fifty riders hauling @$$ towards a gate that let the riders onto the motocross track, with a hard right hand turn just inside the gate (the gate was only 8-10 feet wide).
Once on the MX track we had a couple of banked turns and then it was up and onto the grass track (on the hill above the MX track). Some switchbacks up along the grassy hillside and then we are dumped back onto the MX track briefly and then sent into the canyon directly behind Carnegie's MX track. I personally like this canyon, and play around here alot with my regular crew. A few switchbacks on the doubletrack trails, a couple of off-camber sections and then we cross a service road and are directed along the top of a huge hill and into another canyon.
This canyon is known for some rocky sections, and we're run down some of them. At the bottom, we're routed up some black diamond switchbacks. Nothing too tough when empty, but a pain in the butt with stuck riders littered all over the place. At the top of these switchbacks we get some easy singletrack taking us along the sides of some nice scenic hillsides (one of the few sections of Carnegie with trees) and then we are spit out onto a heavily rocky jeep trail which takes us to the extreme back of the park and up a hill banking to the right.
At the top of the hill we imediately are redirected to the left and down a tight singletrack downhill section, bank to the right on a mellow yet still tight trail and then a hard left and down an extremely rocky and rutted hill which I believe is called monkey (something?), which spits us out onto a trail that has injured many riders. Just the previous weekend I was part of a large group of riders who helped haul a kid (21yrs old) out of a creek/rain washout on a backboard. The kid could not feel his legs at the time he was helovaced to the hospital (so scary and sad :ugg: ). This trail is the connector trail that gets you from the West side of the park to the East side of the park without going into a ridiculously steep canyon or back out to the front of the park.
Anyways, we follow this trail down and back up again until we are back to open terrain on the East side. For the first time in the 10.5 mile loop we are in open grassy terrain following an easy trail down a hillside (we're about 5.5-6 miles into the loop at this point). At the bottom of the hill we make a right hand turn, go about a hundred yards, down another easy wide hill and then we are routed back uphill into another canyon, still in pretty wide open terrain (good for passing). At the center of this canyon I see the trail they are sending us up and remember what I was told by fellow DRN'er Dave Wood, whom I had just met the day prior. "Sometimes to go faster, you have to go slower." Remembering this, and knowing what was coming, I slowed down and shifted from fourth gear to second gear keeping one finger on the clutch and just cruised up the heavily rutted, rocky trail. The two guys on my butt blew by me at the bottom of the hill and were on the gas hard. Actually, too hard as not 20 feet up the hill the first guy ducks to dodge a tree branch, catches a rut wrong and loops his bike. The second guy I think was a better rider than the first, and had that first guy not looped out right in front of him, probably would have shown me just how to haul @$$ up a nasty hill. Unfortunately for him, he was now off balance dodging the first guys bike, and combined that with now being in too tall a gear did not get much further before his bike stalls. Myself, I took my time and just picked my ruts and rocks accordingly, got around both riders and made the top of the hill (how cool!).
At the top we went to the right and immediately banked left up another little but technical hillside and back to the main jeep trail. At this point I can see the tarp where they check and record your number in the middle of the loop to confirm you aren't trail cutting, but we are sent to the right onto an off-camber hillside. This goes for a hundred yards or so and then a small hill with a steep left hand turn going uphill a bit more and back to the jeep road again. A quick left, a quick 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear and on the brakes hard going into the check station (in the hills, not the finish station).
After the station, we run some wide singletrack along the side of a hill, working our way down into a canyon we have already been in part of, cross a nearly dry creek, left turn and racing down a jeep trail again. just when I thought they were going to run us down this road all the way back to the motocross track, we make a hard left and drop down to a creek which we cross and run the opposite side of down more wide singletrack (still heading toward the MX track). Back onto the jeep trail for about fifty yards, then a left and up a hill towards the area my crew calls "the playground." Along the edge of the twisty trails and hills of the playground, and then we're taken onto a trail around the side of the playground, crossing Harrison Hill (where the spring hillclimb was run last April). We follow this trail along the top of the hill (I can see the MX track way below us), and just before the switch backs that would take us to the MX track, we're routed to the right. Another hundred yards of trail, down a small hill and up a nice wide open grasshill. At the top we make a left and follow this trail down a huge grass hill, veering to the right as the trail tightens up. Tight singletrack takes us down the remainder of the hill, acoss the creek, and up onto the jeep trail. One final left onto the jeep trail and then wide open back to the MX track.
This was a very technical race this year, although I definitely see improvement in my riding. Even with a kid crashing in front of me at the end of my second loop sending myself off the trail and into shrubs (resulting in my losing 10-15 minutes but no injuries), I still made it back in time for a third loop (my first time ever). Unfortunately, spending every ounce of energy I didn't have getting back onto the trail and finishing my second loop, making sure that damn kid was ok, and kicking my CRF450 about thirty times because it was upside down for a good three minutes, I was too tired to finish my third loop. Deciding that I was a safety hazard about a third of the way through the third loop, I called it quites and took the main road back to the MX track. Serious injury just isn't worth macho instincts, even when your wife is in the crowd.
All in all, I had a great day. The ride was a great workout, and I went home healthy so I can enjoy the Piglet Family Enduro this Saturday at Clear Creek.
Oh yeah, when you come off the course from the wrong direction and your wife jumps out of her chair wondering what's wrong, immediately gesture to her that you are ok. She will repay you for the thoughtfulness of calming her nerves later...trust me! :thumb:
