Ballard 2 Race Reports

[AJ227]

My first race report who knows maybe more to come.

I got up loaded my stuff, went to my dad's house got his bike and finally got to my girlfriends house and picked up Lauren's ride for the day. Hectic morning.

So I was hoping to run with the lead pack but I ruined that for myself very quickly. I got a dead last start, only guy with a four stroke I should just expect it from now on. I got around Brennan and Remy before we got into the woods just passed the scoring trailer. Everybody was in a train everything was good. Then came all of my mistakes, I passed Remy three times and also crashed in front of him three times before the first lap was up. Ridiculous. I had one more crash and finally started to pull myself together.

I came through the 2nd lap and saw the next guy was 29 seconds, 3rd lap he was 20 seconds. I stopped for a fresh pair of goggles and some water down my back and I was rejuvenated. I caught Issac about halfway through that lap and he made a small mistake and I made my way around. I could no longer hear him behind me then all of a sudden I fall again about a half mile away from the finish. I scramble to pick up the bike and made it the finish holding him off. I came in 4th so I can't be too mad about that after all of my mistakes.

Also thanks for all the hard work Dan and putting this race on.

[ktm1991]

Glad to see some new faces on the race reports and shredders usual novel! Well the day started off terrible I went on a practice lap with Aaron and felt off the whole time hitting everything wrong and falling 3 or 4 times, needless to say I was not looking forward to what I was gonna be in for the next 2 hrs. Thankfully the race went much better than the practice lap! When the board dropped I got into the woods clean and in 4th followed Isaac for a couple miles til he made a poor line choice and got around him! I moved up to 3rd and couldn't figure out who was in front of me it looked like Aaron's gear but it wasn't a 4 stroke finally it dawned on me that it was the new kid (Logan). We chased Jeremy until he got hung up both of us got around and things were looking good I was trying to put as much pressure on Logan as possible to force him into a mistake but all I did was wind up on my face! Luckily for me Jeremy did the same thing and blocked up the rest of the trail so no one could get around I got up and going amazed I didn't get past but could no longer see the leader so I put my head down and charged and finally at scoring I was able to get a glimpse of him!

Second lap started with me riding way over my head to catch up and I finally did but Jeremy came right along with me finally Logan made a small mistake and washed out the front end in a corner so I finally had the lead. I tried my best to gap Jeremy and Logan but that was just not possible to do all day. I led til about half way through the third lap where I took a bad line into some thick brush and Jeremy got around and it stayed like that for the next 4 laps! No more big mistakes were made by all three of us the rest of the race and we never were close enough when one another would make small mistakes to get around! One of the hardest and most fun races I've had! Hats off to Logan he killed it for being his first A race and having two flat tires, I think he was even pushing me and Jeremy to go a little faster than either of us old out of shape guys wanted to go the last two laps! Also the lappers were probably the best they've been in a long time I didn't get held up once even though it's difficult sometimes in the tight slick stuff!

Thanks to Dan, Tim, the land owner and everyone else who makes this happen! Hopefully turnouts were big enough to let us come back next year I really liked both of the new locations!

[shredder]

It's really refreshing to see you guys taking the time to share your experiences. We have a lot of good writer's but even if it's short and sweet, that's fine too. It's really cool when we get to hear what's going on in the other dude's head while racing - especially you fast racers.

It was cool to hear you guys jabbering just after the race at the finish line after beating each other to a pulp out there. We always wonder what happened when 3 go out and 2 come back and then at the end of the race I get to hear the story get stitched together right at the finish line while the adrenaline is still pumping. I was bringing Ryan's bib mouse over and I got to hear you dudes talking with so much respect for each other and your abilities and you all looked like you just hand dug your way out of the ground! Way to go!

Something about that place made it an Epic day for me also. It was a crappy day as far as the numbers go but an awesome time on an awesome track and well marked too. I love the angled arrows Dan does to help us read the flat, down and sharp or easy turns - all by just paying attention to the arrows.

There is no such thing as a bad post. Thanks guys I really enjoy reading them.
dennis

[JayShafe8]

Couldn't have asked for a better race weekend! My dad and I hauled off bright and early with a trailer full of bikes. We took two brand new Letko machines as well as our two bikes. Stopped at McDonald's and got the breakfast of champions. We arrived at the race sight and immediately saw the wetness of the grass in the pits. I began to prepare for a mud race.

I took off on a practice lap and it did not feel well. Kasey #111 and I sloshed around in the mud and tried to get a feel for the course. It was a good thing that the rain held off and the track tacked up perfectly.

At the start, I got a bad kick . I watched as my dad #311 and Scott take off and lead the rest of the class into the woods. Thank goodness I had a button to push after my kick failed. I was 5th into the woods as Brad #343 had even worse luck than me. I quickly heard him close in on me as I was on the tail of the pack. We quickly picked off two riders and that left 311 and Scott in front of us. Scott had taken the lead and I was pressuring my old man for 2nd. He missed an inside line that was quicker on a corner and I took and let it rip! He said that was the only time he got mud on his goggles all day I pulled away from him and the rest of the class and I closed in on the leader by the end of the first lap. As I began to pressure him, we picked up the pace. Towards the end of the lap, he let me go bye as he wanted to run my pace for a while. I thought he would just tail me and then begin to attack later in the race, so I tried to pull away as much as possible. He slipped up on that nasty rutted out muddy hill and I got my gap. I pushed and pushed to keep him away and to catch any A class guys I could. Rode smooth and only went down once all day!

After the race I didn't feel overly tired. The crossfit training with Russ, Macon, and Kasey is paying off!

Congrats to my brother-in-law Jeremy for the 1st place finish and Kasey for 3rd! Also to my sister for battling tough and getting 4th. If she had one more lap I think should could have caught the leaders! She is due for a win!

Thanks to Dan, Tim, the workers, and the owners for putting on a great race.

[Ed M]

Looked at the weather radar on the way to the race and saw a big green blob sitting over central Kansas, we decided it was still a go, drove to the race and figured it was best to park at the top of the hill just in case the rain showed up.

Practice time the course was a bit slick in spots, but then there were those areas that were tacking up nicely and were going to be fun.

Got a decent start and was able to make it past a few other riders when I got to the bottleneck at that slick nasty uphill, there were about 6 riders ahead of me and I waited patiently at the top of the downhill waiting for the uphill and other riders to clear. This was a spot where momentum was definitely required. Once I made it through that section I was on the move and was able to pick up another couple of positions when I caught Todd S. about 5 miles in. I tried to pass on a couple of occasions but he was hanging tough and put up quite the fight. I thought I had him on one corner when he took the longer outside line but I screwed up and couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity – it got real interesting for a couple of seconds when we were side by side hammering the throttle into some tight stuff when I conceded knowing if I stayed close, I would eventually be able to make my pass. When we came through scoring at the end of lap 1 it was Todd S. (31:06), myself (31:07), and Steve S. (31:08).

On the second lap I was staying close to Todd but not too close, I figured if he made a mistake I didn't want to get caught up in it. Then it happened - coming around a left hand corner there was a small creek crossing then a right hand corner, only problem was Todd didn't make the creek crossing, in fact he was facing the right direction but coming back down the face of the creek backwards as if he were in reverse. I tried to take a wider line then wham hit his bike with my left knee. I felt a pretty good jolt but was able to stay upright and kept on going. About a half mile or so down the trail I clipped a tree and went down pretty good. I was able to get remounted and back into the race pretty quick but noticed that Steve S. made it by me while I was down. Not long after that I noticed the right side of my lower back starting to tighten up. Somehow I was able to catch and pass Steve S. prior to the end of my second lap.

Third lap started out well, some areas of the course were now perfect, a couple of the creek crossing were just pudding - deep, nasty pudding but with good speed and line selection no problems. But by now the lower back was starting to get worse, with my history of back problems I decided to call it a day after lap 3. A little over a month ago I had a slight procedure done on the nerves in my lower back region, this was the first big hit I had taken since this procedure was done and didn't know how things would turn out. This morning while working under the dash in one of our cars I felt a big pop in my lower back – it must have realigned itself without the use of a chiropractor Things are looking up for Drexel.

[ososlo]

Where to start, well Tyler (916) and I (801) showed up early to get a practice in before the first race so we could hydrate up and cool down before our race at 2. I was kind of iffy about racing since the last race I did (Milford Lake), which I didn't make it out of the practice due to the rock breaking my three toes. So we do a lap, and I fell a few times from the wet logs and such, basically my tires were aired up to much like before. Either way I knew it was going to be a crap shoot. So I spent the next few hours calming my nerves, as I was pretty nervous race mode would take over as soon as the board dropped and I would make quite a few mistakes.

So we get up there, and the board drops my bike (a new to me 06 yz250f, I had maybe 45 minutes on the bike) starts first kick in gear and I'm off. I get 4th into the woods right behind 80 I believe, and followed for a while waiting on the people in front of me to make some mistakes. First lap went good, passed quite a few people and managed to make it up to second which 1st ( 849) was right in front of me. I was feeling great, no arm pump or anything which was pretty surprising, and got around 849 to take first for the next few laps. The third lap I rounded a corner about mid way through the track, and about went over the bars as a 600 rider (631 ??) I believe was there on the ground and not moving.

I asked if he was ok as I picked myself and bike up he noded and said yea. I kind felt like a Robert for not helping him, but kept pushing and told the people at the check in that he was down. The fourth lap was great up until I found a guy stalled in the middle of a crossing and my front end washed out from the mud and I flew over the bars into the mud. No big deal, picked my bike back up and went to start it. After 6 kicks and my heart rate rising through the roof I realized my bike wouldn't start because my throttle wasn't turning the whole tube was. Might I add that I ran out of water in the camel pack after two laps to dehydration was starting to take its toll from all the extra energy I was using.

I finally got it started by using my thumb to move the throttle, and figured I would go slow and keep it up to make it back, in my mind I still wanted to win and I knew that wasn't going to happen. So I babied it back, and on the last creek crossing I made it all the way up to the top and front end was coming up so I stood up, and completely forgot about the throttle until I went to give it some and BOOM nothing was there. It stalled and started falling into the creek my short leg wasn't long enough to keep it from falling. Instantly thought the bike was going to end up on top of me in the river bed 6-9 feet below. Well I got kind of lucky and the bike hit a tree stopped almost exactly where it stalled, and I fell head first into the dry creek bed. As much as I remember I jumped up got back to my bike, and I think 849 came shortly after I managed to pick the bike back up. I think he yelled move, and all I could think was pretty nasty thoughts. I ended up getting out of the way and finally back on track. I stalled it once more before the finish and thats when 802 passed me, it took EVERYTHING in me to get it started and to the end.

I was pretty beat, and about 30 minutes after I was done got a major head ache, which never happens, I'm chalking it up to landing directly on my head on a stone bed. All in all it was a fun time, I didn't think I was going to be able to do as well as I had, but got lucky in the fact that I made it out alright. Thanks to everyone who made it possible, I have to work the 4th (who can turn down double time) otherwise I'd be there. See you all after that though.

Jake (801)

[jstr244]

It was cool to hear you guys jabbering just after the race at the finish line after beating each other to a pulp out there. We always wonder what happened when 3 go out and 2 come back and then at the end of the race I get to hear the story get stitched together right at the finish line while the adrenaline is still pumping. I was bringing Ryan's bib mouse over and I got to hear you dudes talking with so much respect for each other and your abilities and you all looked like you just hand dug your way out of the ground! Way to go!

It's nice to be racing a big class of your friends. Much like the comradery you 10s have, but with just a little bit more speed and sometimes aggression. We still have fun out there though!

There is no such thing as a bad post. Thanks guys I really enjoy reading them.
dennis

A "Shredder" post is still the Gold standard. It is fun to read about everyone's own personal race though, a lot happens in 2 hours!

[Justin Mc]

I enjoyed the Survival of the Fittest race sunday. Got a good start, second in the woods. Got around the leader into first climbing the first 'hill'. Lost the back brake again and came up to the next off camber hill. Young rider was down just a short distance up from the bottom to the low side so I tried to hit it hard to the high side. The slope of the hill drew back tire down though and into the young rider's bike which then brought me to a stop. Then that oh so sickening feeling of high siding and falling with nothing you can do about it. Landed on the young man and his bike. Was pinned between the two bikes for quite some time and was asking the young rider if he was ok. He seemed to be upset but not hurt. I tried to get free of the two bikes while I watched bike after bike continue to stack up in the bottle neck. Honestly, was a little surprised that some of the fellow 1000 series riders didn't have the inclination to help out to clear the trail. Lying with your head down hill pinned between two bikes is not an easy situation to get extricated from. Finally managed to free a leg that I could push my bike off me. Got out and stood mine up then stood the young rider's bike up for him and made sure he was ok, then proceeded to get crap from a rider for causing the bottle neck. Guess he'd never wrecked before. Got it started and took off.

Anyway, fell back to 5th due to the wreck and never regained any momentum. Managed to stay on the bike for the rest of the day and wound up with a third place.

I hope the young rider is fine. Felt horrible for how that all played out. Never saw the number on the bike so not sure who it was. But if they are reading this or if you know who the rider is, please be sure to pass on my apologies. Takes the fun out of the race when situations like that occur.