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Place:
6th
Site: Weatherford, TX
Current Standing: 6th,
623 points
In my never-ending quest to avoid my dreaded "afternoon race malaise", I thought I'd try a different tack this time. TCCRA race #2811 was scheduled at Flying P Cycle Ranch near Weatherford. The place is open for riding every day, and I decided I would use this to my advantage. For several weeks before this race, every riding outing was to Flying P. I had logged probably a dozen laps around the race course in the weeks leading up to this race, including close to three hours of line-scouting the Thursday before the race. I had hoped that all these laps of the race course would allow me to skip my usual Saturday practice laps in an effort to conserve all my energy for race day. Unfortunately, it was not to be. When I arrived home Thursday from riding, I noticed that I had contracted the beginnings of a sore throat. Uh-oh. This is my sure sign that a nasty head cold (or worse) is on the way.
Due to the oncoming illness, I decided I would skip going to Weatherford altogether on Saturday. I hoped that by staying home in the air-conditioning and resting, I would kick the cold and be ready for Sunday afternoon. I downed liquid, rested, napped, and watched college football Saturday in an effort to be ready to roll on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday morning I stuffed my gut (I'm usually too nervous on Sunday morning to eat much), slammed water, and headed for Weatherford, setting an ETA of about noon in order to catch the start of Cindy's race. I was feeling better, but didn't think I had really rid myself of the bug. I arrived around 11:45, and noticed that it didn't appear the mid-day race was going to be starting any time soon. Swell. That meant extra time sitting in the heat waiting for my race to start as well. It turned out that Cindy had been having bike problems Sunday morning and had yet to nail down the source of the problem. I frantically tore into her carburetor to see if that was the culprit. Everything there looked OK, so off she went to secure another bike to race. The siren sounded, she headed for the start on her borrowed bike, and I started her bike to go and watch. The bike started fine, but upon releasing the clutch...nothing. Her clutch was toast. Hmmm, guess I'll just sit here in the shade and wait for the Ladies Amateur crowd to come around.
After a couple of hours had passed, it was time for the Expert/Intermediate program to head for the starting line. I was feeling OK, but knew I hadn't completely licked the cold. The start was approximately 100 yards straight down a dirt road (after having to split two fairly close-proximity trees), before having to make a hard left and dive into a single-file tree section. Lots of silty dust to be kicked up the entire route, a good start would certainly be helpful. No problem, now that I'm Mr. Holeshot, it should be a piece of cake, right?
Amazingly enough, it nearly happened again. I got a good jump off the line, the bike cooperated, and it was a drag race for the hard left between James Willingham (J63) and myself. He had about half a bike-length on me, and made it into the tree-tunnel first. Good enough, with the dust the way it was, I would certainly settle for a second-place start. A hard off-camber left faced us as we exited the trees. Willingham dumped it in front of me, and there was enough room for me to motor by! I was now out in front of the dust, leading the class. "OK, keep a good, even pace, avoid mistakes and you'll be fine".
I grasped the opportunity, hit all the right lines, and didn't see anyone close on my heels. Let's see how long this lasts. A couple of miles into the course was an EXTREMELY sandy section that I knew would be VERY dusty. To my advantage was the fact that I had the rest of my class behind me. To my disadvantage was the fact that I had caught the back of the class in front of me, the Over 38 Experts. Dang it, sure enough, dust. Blinding. Lots of it. So much dust in fact that I had to literally come to a complete stop (for the first time ever in a race) because I couldn't have seen the inside of my helmet if my life had depended on it. "Uh-oh, that sounds like a 125 behind me". Sure enough, here came Willingham, apparently equipped with the latest in x-ray vision technology. That, or perhaps the daring of youth. Either way, he paddled past me.
A second later, the dust cleared to normal dusty conditions, and I could flail forth. Breathing all that powder was not doing my illness any good however. I got going and picked up the pace. Willingham was not going to be caught, but I pushed forth knowing that the dust would keep the rest of the class at bay for at least a little bit. I maintained a strong pace on lap one, and cleared the barrels still holding second place. Unfortunately, my lingering illness and maintaining that strong pace had sapped my energy. I still had some juice left, but I could tell that the first lap had taken a lot out of me.
About two miles into lap two, there was overall class-leader Craig Pundt (J17) behind me. It would be only a matter of time before he got by me. I didn't want to ride over my head to try and stay in front of him, and I also knew that attempting to do so would sap any energy I had left. I pulled over and let him by and told him not to roost me too much. A couple of miles later, I noticed I was starting to make fatigue-induced mistakes, the kind that can land you on the ground. Sure enough, I approached the top of a creek crossing, hit a rut wrong, and down I went. I was on a difficult off-camber downhill slope and had trouble getting back on the bike. The riders started to pile up behind me. Dang it! I hate getting in people's way. I did my best to get out of the way ASAP, finally was able to do so, and one of the group motoring past was Nathan Price (J98). I got going right behind him, but wrestling the bike had zapped my race pace, and I was forced to putt for a while. Wouldn't have done me any good had I been going full-blast anyway, as it seems Mr. Price was on fire this day and nearly caught Willingham for the win.
Before I could regain a decent pace, Brian Mullen (J95) passed me and hid. Jeez, second to fifth in a few short miles, this was pathetic. Eventually, a little energy returned and I established a middling pace. I maintained through lap two, and started my third lap in 5th. I was now on the verge of dragging. Just after the checkpoint on lap three, Matt Trimmier (E3) cut me off in a turn, I sideswiped a small tree, and dismounted. That was it for me. Uncle! Curtis Pace (J24) was among the group that motored by me this time. The remaining lap-and-a-half would be pure plodding. If I didn't get lapped prior to finishing my third lap, of course. Unfortunately, I missed being lapped by about a minute and would have to complete that fourth lap. It was to be the longest, loneliest lap I've ever taken.
No longer was I merely fatigued. I was cooked spaghetti. I was flopping around like a noodle. Trying to navigate turns was as easy as nailing jello to a tree. My head felt like a bowling ball. My neck hurt from propping up the bowling ball. I had no business being out there on a motorcycle at that point, I was a severe danger to myself. Turns out I had JUST enough juice left to go EXTREMELY slowly. I've never ridden a lap where I saw no spectators anywhere, and further, saw no RIDERS anywhere. It felt like everyone had packed up and gone home, I was going so slow. Actually, I have to amend that. I did see Danny Burford (H11) out there cheering me on ("shouldn't you be on your bike?"), which was helpful. And I certainly have to thank Rob for hustling from one end of Flying P to the other in order to pour water on me, and Cindy and Melissa for dousing me with water at their designated spot. I wouldn't have made it without you guys.
To my surprise, when I arrived at the finish everyone was still there, including a tired-looking flagman, and lots of annoyed workers who were all thinking, "About time pal, we've got to be at work tomorrow you know!".
I made it, and 6th, while not what I was looking for, was OK. It keeps me in 6th for the year, and barring a DNF in the last three races, I should be able to hold that spot.
