Thurman Race Reports

[jstr244]

@Keko, what kind of tire is that? Aren't studded tires illegal in our series? Close call!

I also had an excellent time at this new venue and would love to see it added. When I saw it on the schedule I was wondering how many folks from the Iowa series would show up, but it sounds like they also ran a race that day near Des Moines. So thanks to the land owners and course workers for putting together an excellent race.

As Ryan (#255) stated on Page 1, we had an 'epic' (where has this word been...'epic', I thought it was kind of like the series slogan?) battle from lap 2 coming up to the last lap of the race. Ryan caught my rear wheel and it was on! I ended up letting him by to see if I could follow his lines and try and catch up to Kasey (#8) who was hanging at around 15 seconds in front of us for the frist two laps. Not a half a lap later Ryan washed his front end and I was back around. For the next several laps we took turns leading one another before we finally caught Kasey in the middle of lap 7.

Kasey took a look back and saw that Ryan and I had caught up to his rear wheel and started charging! We freight trained through some lappers before we came up on a good battle with Ryans dad, Steve (#55) and another 500 rider at the A/B hill. Kasey and Ryan were able to cut left right after the fence and get a good run at the A hill while Steve followed the other 500 rider toward the B line. Steve must have thought 2 riders was all there was (understandable that late in the race, how often do you have a 3 rider battle going into the final lap!) and made a move toward the A hill just in front of my tire and I knew we were going to have some issues getting to the top!

We made it about 3/4 of the way to the top before the soft soil took away all traction. I ended up getting my bike turned around and headed off for the B line before I could string a few curse words out, sorry Steve! Ended that lap 40 second back of Kasey and Ryan so I knew they were all but gone for the final lap. I completed my last lap out in 7th to end the day. Thanks to everyone who made this one possible.

Lauren and I will be out for the next two races as we tie the knot! Wish everyone the best and we will see you all at El Dorado Springs!

[Superfast]

Reading through the posts on here, I am glad to see everyone has the same opinion as I do .......... Make sure Thurman is on the schedule for next year! That course was a blast to ride, elevation changes, jumps, loomy soil and the rain early in the morning made the course even better

I arrived saturday afternoon and got to ride the course when it was bone dry. It nice to see something different, the course was broke up nice, ride the woods for a bit then woods, then repeat! Dennis already went into the details of the A/B hill, that was a little deceiving and kicked both our butts!

Raceday practice was a little slick, but it tacked up nicely by race time. The board drops and I get a less than desirable start, about 8th going into the woods after making a pass on the first downhill section. Rode the 700 train for the first lap and gain a few positions, came through in 6th. Worked up to 5th on the second lap and then started the battle with Chad #729. We battled back and forth for the next 4 laps! I finally was able to get into 4th on the last lap when Chad lost a battle with a lapped rider, last time I saw him his bike was wrong side up. We had such a battle going on I hated to pass him like that but had to get going before the rest of the pack got caught up. Great ride Chad Looking forward to the next one!

Over all Thurman was an awesome race! I was hesitant about the longer drive, but it was well worth it. Thanks to the land owners and the boys that set this one up, you have a great place to ride.

I uploaded video from the first lap here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUjAUgJZdvw

[shredder]

Hey Wade, Have you got any recorded pics of my attempt to take down that tree? I just want to analyze that and see how maybe a different technique might bring that bad boy down...I'm thinking I'll try to just hit it much much harder next time...or... hitting it lower...or...just staying on my bike and let Joe hit the damn thing!...

[wadedawg]

With the camera mounted on my chest it doesn't pick up much video of the races going on just off the beaten path. I will look to see if it got you and if you want, I can record the entire race on DVD for your entertainment. The three of us stuck together most of the race.

[shredder]

Thanks! You rock dude!