Things I forgot

[dvl104]

Make sure you don't hold up 121.. you will end up on your head.

[Pumpkinpatch]

I'm going to chime in here and say the facts as they are known to 99% of the racers out there. I think this thread has a tone that isn't intended.

If you get caught from behind; they are there because you screwed up or they are there because they are faster than you, for whatever god given reason, today, they are faster than you. If they persist and are still behind you after you have "recoved" from your mistake; they are faster than you. I don't see this as a difficult concept. Dan repeats it week after week after week. Trust me men; I am getting caught by teenagers that a year ago were in the junior class. It is what it is. Race, have fun, enjoy life. Don't complicate it.

If they are faster than you, you certainly have two options. Allow the pass to happen with class (my preference) or be @ss and widen out yourself.
You will find, eventually; that the latter is not a wise thing to do and actually impairs your race speed. You'll focus on your counter tactics instead of your own race and start dropping spots in clumps.

So, we all have choices in life. Make them with your heart and mind and not with the nuggets between your legs.

[Pumpkinpatch]

BTW.
Dave, nothing to do with your post. It was great to see you out there Sunday.
Glad to have us another "elder" statesman in the B class.
Gotta try to keep those kids in check (or in sight might be more accurate).

[vetteracer77]

[quote="WireFryer"]Yes, Dan! There where a few speedy rascals in the Grand Class Sunday...., that will fit in just fine with the 700 club . (and one has 500 club speed to boot

Let's talk about this. I would assume you are speaking of the #1035 and #1027. Tom ran a 77.3% and John ran a 75.6%. Tom broke out by 3.3 points and John a mere 1.6 points. They would have done OK in the 700 club at this race due to a couple top guys not showing or dropping out early. Not even close in the 500 class.

I don't know John, but I do Tom and I've ridden with him. How did he beat B , C Adv, C Vet Adv, C, and C Vet riders on the first lap. He ran a 18.28, this is faster then 1st place winner of the 500 class. Is it the same reason that #1040 ran a 16.00 on his third lap and moved into 1st place for one lap.
Now I'm not accusing anyone of cheating, but from time to time the course can accidently be cut. Say for instance that happened and some one was chasing that person they may also cut and never know it. I heard talk of unintentional course cutting from the first race.
I think you need to look at all of the riders lap times and see if they are consistent. One lap that is way off is a red flag to me.
I think it would be a knee jerk reaction to get someone to move from this one race.
I guess what I'm saying is, if for instance if he had not had a super fast first lap would his speed % be so high. (and come on 3.3 point break out that's nothing, take a look at some other classes)

Now I have a hypothetical question. If I were in the 700 class and ran top 500 class lap times all day and then blew a tire or something like that on the second to last lap and ran a slow lap and it lowered my speed percent to an acceptable 700 percent, should I move up?

[Iamdanjohnson]

I cant tell who is responding to what exactly.

My post was saying, hey you guys rode well. Make sure you are in the right class now as the percents have changed. No "official" statement or move ups in mind.

The previous post from Gnarly: people know where they belong. They just resist going there. Any rider can take one lap that they know was a true example of their speed, divide that into the leaders lap times and find out exactly what their speed is. This method takes away all short laps and flat tires. Seldom will one race spell it all out but after a few races, it will be obvious where someone belongs. Often there will be times when the top three all break out. This is often due to the fact that they were racing close. The main thing i am looking for is runaway winners. It just sucks to show up at a race, pay your money, then find out a certain rider is there and everyone is racing for second. That is the heart of the percentile system.


On that passing thing: I understand what Wirefryer is saying. When I was following my boys, I would be crazy vigilant about riders coming up so I could get out of the way and warn the boys. On occasion I would not notice someone and when they came up on me they would hit their rev limiter. I instantly stayed in the way! Their is no right to pass, just good trail manners for both. So a nice woo hoo given in advance will work about 90% of the time. Rev limiter will not work 90% of the time. The more notice you give the guy ahead the more likely he can find a spot before you get to him. Do not wait until you are on them.

That said, some people do not hear you so make sure you get progressively louder as needed. Jadan got got together with one of our good friends as he passed. I promise that guy would have been out of anyone's way fast but even faster for Jadan but he simply never knew Jadan was there. It happens.

Not because of all this hoopla but because it was discussed off season, we will run a few races with that order changed and see how it goes. Remind me to do it and remind me to give the 800's a quick speech on the line.

I think its all good. I kind of like having a topic of interest on here. Makes it fun to check in and see who is talking.

[bowhunter]

I always liked the idea of yelling out your class # when coming up behind someone. If I know that that the person that is passing me is not in my class, I tend to move over earlier and without a battle. Don't know why this has not caught on. Seems like a win win to me.

[shredder]

I always liked the idea of yelling out your class # when coming up behind someone. If I know that that the person that is passing me is not in my class, I tend to move over earlier and without a battle. Don't know why this has not caught on. Seems like a win win to me.

I yell out senior!!!!! It has always worked out well for me. I always yell out a thank you as I move around. The 2 or 3 people whom I have passed can attest to this.

However one guy didn't seem to care how I yelled out seen your!, senior!!!! scene your!!!!!! - the dude never even tried to move. Finally I took a suicide line approach - just like ol slo mo jo does - you know just throttle up and make a pass right when everyone else just wants to ride thru, maintain or survive in a particular section like a slick off camber turn or cliff edge - etc. and as I pass I realize it was my classmate!!!
Hee hee hee - what a hoot that was! Can't remember who it was but they had to be laughing inside their helmet.

[blister]

I don't know John, but I do Tom and I've ridden with him. How did he beat B , C Adv, C Vet Adv, C, and C Vet riders on the first lap. He ran a 18.28, this is faster then 1st place winner of the 500 class. Is it the same reason that #1040 ran a 16.00 on his third lap and moved into 1st place for one lap.
Now I'm not accusing anyone of cheating, but from time to time the course can accidently be cut. Say for instance that happened and some one was chasing that person they may also cut and never know it. I heard talk of unintentional course cutting from the first race.
I think you need to look at all of the riders lap times and see if they are consistent. One lap that is way off is a red flag to me.

I can speak to this 16 minute lap time. My name is Chad Joyce, #1040 (2001 XR250)...the guy last off the starting line because I couldn't get it started. Sheesh, how embarrasing. This was my first race. On that particular lap, I had a crash located at what I would say was the first difficult section encountered on the course. The sharp right turn, followed by steep down hill and immediate steep uphill climb with a few small roots/rocks at the top. The moment I started down the bike ahead of me, which was on his way up the other side crashed. I was committed or wouldn't make it myself. I tried to squeeze by on the right but we got tangled. My kickstand ended up lodged in his rear wheel spokes. Our bikes were locked together for probably about 10 seconds which seemed like about 10 minutes as we were attempting, in our exhausted states, to pull them apart. All the while bikes were piling up behind us waiting for a clear path. After finally getting bikes apart, back down the hill and out of the way, I discovered my kickstand had been bent outward at the frame and the tension springs were gone. Another exhausted rider soon stopped for a rest and had some zip ties for a temp fix. By the way, thanks again, as I forgot your name and number. Anyway I did end up "cutting" the course. I left that low section headed south, I believe, seeing the trail again just to the right. My plan was to nurse it through another lap until I got back to finish area for a more permanent fix. I soon realized I was approaching the finish. I went through the recording area and saw that I was in "1st place". I did immediately go and report what had happened. In fact, when I was reporting my transponder triggered that I had completed yet another lap. So now I'm screwing everything up...sorry, sorry, sorry for the rookie errors. I reported this to what I thought was the main guy there running the finish area. I was informed not to worry and that things would be "averaged" out or something. Obviously, I should have exited the course differently.....right. I would welcome any constructive criticism or pointers on what I should have done differently.

Hope this clears things up and sorry if I made a mess of things. I loved this experience and certainly do not want to join your series on any sort of negative note. I have ridden since I was 5. Now I'm 41. This was my first race and I am absolutely hooked. What a blast. My learning curve was straight up last Sunday and everyone I encountered was extremely helpful. During the race, I had multiple times of bilateral calf cramps and one quad cramp, my right hand went completely numb, my left hand could barely squeeze the clutch by the end (not kidding) and my ego was completely ruptured when I couldn't keep up with a young, long-haired blonde lady who had passed me. I was completely exhausted. I learned racing is way, WAY different than riding. I was amazed at how sloppy my riding got when I was exhausted and how quickly a got exhausted when actually racing to pass or keep up with someone compared to when I was alone on the course.
Thanks,
Chad Joyce, #1040

[quik406]

I know the exact spot the course was being cut, and I am pretty sure it was accidental. I was sweeping the 2nd race and I parked my bike to block the spot, after seeing two guys blow the corner and take the wrong way. A pile of limbs was supposed to be your guide, but I could see how it could have been missed dropping off the top into a right hander.

[motoracr199]

I should use my voice more, and I like the class yell idea, at least I can yell a common term known to golfers, FORE!!!