Big Springs Race Reports

[shredder]

C'mon, Let's hear em!

I want to thank Tim Wolfe. Tim is a guy who is always quietly helping anyone in need and today when I realized I had forgot to get gasoline and notta in my can or in my bike I was in a pickle for sure. Thanks for helping me out because it turned out to be a great day to be a racer at Big Springs. Thanks Tim

First of all I must say that this may have been the best Big Springs ever! I noticed the 1100's cutting down deep inside on those corners, it was so cool to see that torn up broadcasted soil laid so perfect it looked hand raked. I was shocked to watch (3 different times) the little guys go ripping right by me in the loose soil like they had velcro tires! I figured heck yes, I'll give it a try and WHAMMO! I had velcro tires too, man that was cool, way too cool. I thought the loose soil was suicide but it would repack and hold in an instant! Holy high strength velcro Batman!!!

Second - I want to formerly apologize again to to Ed Morris. Today someone went down and somehow a tangled up mess ensued. Ed pulls up and slows down appropriately and gently decides to ride away on the left and in picking up my yard sale items I bumped Ed a pretty good shot and not realizing I changed his trajectory into an innocent tree. Ed I have about 30 different things I can do and I'll throw them all at ya to get past a fellow racer but crashing you or crashing both of us is not one of them. In my haste and embarrassment to get the hell going at that moment I sent you sailing on a new vector I didn't bother to look to my left and make sure that the bump I felt was just a bump. To put a guy off the track and into a tree, jump on my bike and rip outta there is not my style. I am (once again) just in awe of you to approach me after the race and say "hey man you put me into a tree and left!"... all with a calm non assuming voice and that huge smile you have. You are truly an example of the kind of racer to aspire too. Thank your for your graciousness and coming up and telling me.

Third - Man those top 5 or 6 guys were just really ripping it today and I want to say I really really appreciated the poise, patience and skill to which you guys yell or shouted, gave me a second to analyze where I'm at, give you a signal on which side to pass and BOOM! You guys are gone like it never happened. WOW. Jadan clearly has the skills to observe, call out, wait a sec for a signal, make a pass and clean my goggles and check my oil level before I even have time to realize he has already passed me. Man you guys are impressive. I really had fun watching you guys battle it out today!

Fourth - I want to point point out Terry Fleming #1017 - (I think) that showed HUGE restraint in sitting with me at the bottle neck only 1/8 mile in on lap one. I'm ready to blow a gasket and he pulls up up and we eyeball each other with ants in our pants as we just started battling at the start and had a cool thing going and them we see the road is blocked an no one is going any where - gosh at least 3 minutes or so. We didn't bail out till our classmates up front got moving them popped out and slid in behind them. Terry was on my left and could go at any time but manned up and chewed his cud till it was right. The gentleman's club is all about doing battle not plastic trophies. You rock dudes!

Today was just EPIC. Sure it was windy but hey, how do you think PK got it got so perfect after that rain?

[Harvey Mushman]

I almost didn't come out as I thought it would be too muddy but I was glad I did. The course came around real well and was alot of fun, no dust was nice, cool temps, overcast, just damn near perfect. Had a good ride, didn't crash anywhere even on the telephone pole turnaround some sadistic individual put together there Yes Shredder, when I come to a bad bottleneck and see no alternate line that would be legal, I just sit and wait my turn out of respect for the guy in front of me. Some do, some don't. Of course if I thought I had a chance of getting on the podium and getting a trophy from one of those hot trophy girls, I'd have been throwin' some sharp elbows LOL! It was a great day to be outside on a dirt bike yesterday.

[ktm1991]

Man Shredder I'm kinda bummed I didn't get a mention in your race report I figured once I got by you guys alive without taking anyone down (that I know of) I thought I for sure gave you something to talk about! Although I didn't quite show patience and poise like you praised in your report!

Anyway I had a blast yesterday despite losing my rear breaks on the second lap and running out of gas on the last lap! I had a lot of fun battles with some new faces that I didn't race with last year! The dirt and corners were what every racer dreams of! The course was well marked and ribboned and left zero room for error! Perry must have done something right to get those conditions for race day! The only thing I wish was different was that it was a split race. I wasn't a fan of the split races at first but now I'm starting to think that the split races make it much more safe and bring the fun factor up for everyone. It felt like a constant battle all day about worrying how to get around lappers clean and safely as possible. Not only that I felt bad for some of the juniors who had to of been worried about getting run over rather than what was in front of them. I hope no offense is taken just my two cents and maybe something to think about for next year to make this race even more fun than what it was yesterday!

[JayShafe8]

I would also like to thank Perry, all of the workers, and Dan for running a smooth race. The dirt tacked up better than anyone could have hoped for.

I began my race with a bad start and a lot of work to do. After 2 laps of jumping places with people I found myself with the train of leaders in the A class. I felt faster than the group, it was just difficult to tell because there was limited space for passing. Once the four of us got into the mix of lappers it began to get really hectic and unsafe. We all made mistakes and were rushing to get around lappers. I would have to agree with the previous post that a two race format would have been better for that problem. However, I am sure it makes race-day functions easier to do with one race. Ended up getting 2nd and had fun doing it.

[shredder]

Ryan, Ryan Ryan!!! I haven't posted my race report yet, NOOOOOOOOO! I only gave out some things that I thought needed mentioning - outside of my race report.

I must admit that I had more than my average share of crap to deal with in one race and I fear I may end up writing a novel to cover it all but to clarify was that you that got all loose in that pass that had my sphincter at 11 whereas by the time you finally got by us you managed to bounce off of everything withing 75 feet of the track - except us slow-pokes? It all happened so quickly I never got a good read on WHO it was.

Another time some guy going mach 3 went by me just as I made a move on another rider. A triple train comes up behind me but I don't know they are there yet. I get coy and slide out left and pin it, the 1st dude of 3 behind me goes to my right and almost hits the dude I was passing. (stay with me cause I NEVER seen this before and your gonna like it - hee hee hee!) The number 2 dude slips in behind me and I hear engines EVERYWHERE but I don't understand why I hear all these 2 smokers blazing away and I freak out and as I turn my head I grab even more throttle by mistake. I get the hell back over to the right after passing my guy just as the trail widens gently and end up doing a perfect job of keeping the number one dude that just passed the guy I was passing in the first place out in the brush because he aired it out and my best guess is that this dude has balls the size of battleships as he is re-entering the trail and I slide over in perfect sync to block him! (This is where I notice how dry my throat is getting, I tried to swallow nut my throat just kinda "stuck together") So the #2 dude see's all this happening and just as if we have all practiced this in rehearsal #2 brakes ( and I give all the brakes on the front and rear I have and still end up giving #2's rer tire a little love kiss), #1 slides back in just in front of #2 just as the left hander turn starts and #3 who never slowed down in the first place slices off to the inside of the turn, backs his bike in the corner, hangs a lefty, grabs some tacky soil and BOOM! all gone. As they left #1 ends up second, #2 ends up third, #3 ends up first. I hope you can follow that.

Anyway my race report is coming out to a theater near you soon!


So I pull over, check my pants and admire how large of a pile I have accumulated in there, look over at the 700 -something rider - he looks at me and we don't even say a word. We didn't even shake our heads or even acknowledge that anything unusual ever happened. We just stand there staring at each other like each of us have never seen another rider before...(man that was cool)... He (she) finally just waves his hand like "after you" and off we went.

You young guys have just got to remember that when I wear glasses and they are bouncing all over the place - seriously - there is actually 2 of everything during rocks or speed bump sections and I can't waste any more attention because at that exact moment I'm trying to see which way the track goes - much less get a plate number. You young guys can go race, pass a guy while making a purchase on ebay, run hard for over 2 hour in triple digit heat, play frisbee after the race and all after a night of partying!

BRAAP!

[jgordo]

The weather was trying to play a cruel joke on us all weekend!! But thankfully this race was as close to perfect conditions that you would want to run in! The 700 class has really grown this year and as the first 8 or 9 of us rolled through scoring just seconds apart I thought to myself just stay up and have fun... I found myself not pushing to hard the first couple laps and just following the rider in front of me until they made a mistake and then just go by...unfortunately after following one fellow 700 rider almost an entire lap (and even pulling over and stopping with him as we were lapped by AA riders) I decided to push a little hard in the endurocross section. One sideways hit in the tires, one hard planted right leg and now I sit here with an ice pack on my knee waiting for an MRI to be scheduled. I was having so much fun this year and am mad at myself for pushing to hard...hopefully I can make it back after the summer!! Good luck 700's, keep the rubber side down!

[keko]

Epic race for sure! 700's where packed up like sardines. Managed to get a good start and rolled across the line in 2nd after the first lap. Bikes where a buzzing all around me and I felt like a Nascar driver at Daytona. I managed to catch the draft and worked my way into first after the 3rd lap but I knew the pack was coming and they where hungry. About half way through the fourth lap I smacked a tree and the 766 plowed into me. You all know what tree I'm talking about. The 3" around tree on the down hill rock slope that you could go left or right around. I chose straight and it didn't work out so well. Lucky for me I wasn't the only one who smacked that tree and she was a little loose in the roots. Poor little tree looked like it was the only tree for a thousand miles and a heard of bucks where shedding their felt. Picked the bike back up and accessed the damage and the handle bars and bark busters where all out of whack. Took me a bit to figure out if I could ride her or not but about that time I was getting comfortable the 709 goes ripping by. I chased him down and we battled it out for the last couple of miles. Got by him in the straight stretches on pure horse power. Came to the finish only to see the 749 their pushing his bike across the line. So I did the courteous thing and gave him a little nudge to help him out.

JGORDO Hope your alright. You had that look of it don't hurt to bad YET in your eyes.

[dvl104]

Hero dirt all day. That was alot of fun. Dont get out much to play but glad I did Sunday. A couple of the small rocky creek sections were challenging and the enduro cross rock garden was good when it was a little wet. Red Bull arches looked great, nice touch. No issues with the single race format. That course had plenty of places for riders to move over. I feel that that is part of race. Some racers are better at the passing than others. Thanks Perry and Lea for having us out Sunday good times.

[shredder]

First of all I got 9th.

I was reluctant to head out sunday morning after getting hit in Lees Summit all day Saturday with the rain. Pulled in and was surprised that all was actually EXACTLY the way Dan said it would be - OK parking and track perfect if we stay off of it Saturday....HMmmmmm - I'm going to write that down in my book , you see hell may have actually frozen over!

Pulled in and ran practice - little greasy so I planned to use caution and see what unfolds and take advantage of all who push it too far - you know blown corners, front wheel wash outs, rear wheel slip outs - etc.

The Red Bull arch was over the top (get? over the top?) - very nice Perry and even better we actually had a person holding up the "30 second" sign. It was also a good idea to have that person wear shorts too!!!! (so we could see that because of the different attire in the brisk winds that the sign person was obviously an official and demanded our full attention)

We go and I decide for once NOT to push hard at the first turn - I didn't want to "be that guy" that slides out - rather I waited and ended mid pack and let 1017 slip by, stayed cautious.

I started my hunt for the engine pulling the train, I would have settled for the coal car but I was mid pack and after the creek bottle neck fiasco I was over thinking everything too much and actually just being too careful. Traffic loosened up and I started putting bikes behind me that needed to be there. I caught up to Gibber who was tailing Chad Joyce. I haven't got a lot of time behind these two characters so I studied them both and took notes on line choice preferences, helmet twinges, elbow and arm movements, timing, throttle and brake use. It was early in the race and we were all checking out the track so I always kept a shot lined up just in case someone decides to have a yard sale but the pace pulled me along so I use the time to watch and learn. By the way it was fun to watch Gibber appear to be just "following" by listening to his engine but his line of sight and front tire ALWAYS says "pass". He is always ready to pass - very cool - I'm calling it the "Gibber Passive Aggressive Racing" (pronounced GPAR - not Gibber, just to be clear)

Any way I hit a bump and my chest plate hits my I-pod hidden down in my shirt somewhere and the volume is on "FULL" and Quit Riot comes on with "Bang your head!". If you are not familiar with this song you should just stop reading this right now, go google it on you-tube and listen to the first 5 or 6 seconds or the next part won't make any sense to you at all......OK...glad your back. OK - so the huge yell at the beginning of the song tightens my grip on the throttle, left toe up shifts, head lowers, elbows rise, hips move up un the tank more and I realize how much faster we could be going. Chad at pre Quit Riot was sliding thru just fine, good line choices, good protection in the corners and keeping his speed up thru the turns but now I looked up ahead and did my own homework and before 90 seconds into the song my solid rocket fuel was lit and I forget but first there was a tiny, itsy bitsy teeny weeny crack in the armor, followed by a slight falter, some confusion for 1/100th of a second, I smelled blood and went on a feeding frenzy. I felt pure nitro running thru my veins. All fear and caution was the other guys problem. The faster I went, the faster I realized I could be going.

As mention earlier I get passed by some 1100's - which I think is pretty cool. I watched and learned that these guys have the soil moisture content and mass all figured out and are totally exploiting it to the max. They are just plain hooking up! I try it and BOOM! I'm super sonic now. I was surprised that I was actually gaining energy instead of loosing it. I was in the zone and the music was driving me faster and faster and faster and ..and ..and,,, oh crap! Black rocks ahead! I am frigging flying and i pull the clutch just as I hit the first of two straights with the black soiled flat smooth rocks. The bikes suspension was dialed in perfectly for the loose soil but these rock got me drifting to the right a little....ok...thats ok....I'll just ride to the right side and use no brakes....use no brakes...and...COOL! made it around the gentle turn....bouncy...bouncy...KICKER, BANG and YES SIR, YES SIR YARD SALE! yARD SALE! THATS RIGHT FOLKS EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!! the bike got sideways and I just stayed loose, tried a little front and back brake but if you don't know what induced pilot oscillation is - well I just made it worse. I just lay her down on the side and rode it out and slid into home plate. Couple of dudes blasted right by and yelled something or "shredder!" but ya never know. I timidly get up, look around and make sure Andy aint around shooting pictures and take off.

I realize the slide on the rocks has bent my bark buster up into my "high idle" lever and I'm at a constant - no less than 1/3 throttle all the time. Its weird because even though I know it, I keep trying to use the engine braking a touch to reduce speed just before a corner so I can get up on the tank and roar out by going deep into the rut, trust it to deliver me to the other side and use power to up right the bike again like I've been doing all day. It's addictive - like cocaine or something, but instead I go off roading because the engine is just whining and taking over the situation. I am now adjusting with the clutch but once I cook the clutch my day is over so I just baby it as best as I can and try to figure something out. Just after scoring I realize crossing all the huge slimy rocks that I waited too long to abort this throttle thig. I did not want to be the guy who wads it up under the Red Bull arch with all the cameras present - ya know? I ride thru dragging my tail between my legs and I see a rock and stop and try beating the bark buster back with some success. I realize my hands are so numb I can barely hold the rock much less hit something accurately with it. A lady standing nearby sees me hitting different spots instead of the same spot like I should be doing and she says to a person nearby "Look at that guy, he really hates his bike"...lol!

I just tried to find a niche but it's not happening. I'm doing ok but now after a little loose dirt - front end wash out, my front end continues washing out and I realize some moist dirt got packed into the front brake lever and just pushes on it enough to keep constant surprises coming my way at every slick spot - heck even slick spots that you didn't realize were slick spots till your front brake is on all the time. J P Fayes wife helped me dig it out at scoring. Many many thanks!

Thanks to PK, workers, Dan, Tim and that 700 rider I banged bars with all day, We traded spots so many times with all the fast guys blowing thru I forgot who won! If I beat you then you put up one hell of a fight my good sir....but if you won then I just want you to know I was holding back just a little bit.....

BTW - As a matter of FACT, I went home after the Big Springs race totally intact with all plastic in the correct position - ok - wait, scratch that - all plastic still on the bike! Yes yes I saw that ripped off white rear fender too at that turn and freaked out. Once I look back at my own ass I realized my rear fender is still there! SWEEEEET!

Mr Ed - I really must apologize again, I so solly!
Mr Jim Jefferies - It stung all the way home after finding out that YOU were the dude who got away! I really felt good and was running good and you were just flat out faster than I was...(that day anyway) hee hee hee!

Well I hope my Race Report was worth the wait. I didn't mention anything about Gibber almost taking us both out at the wagon wheel because I didn't want to be the one to bring it up so when all you guys see STEVE GIBBS (ie the Gibber #1036) at the next race be sure to ask him "Hey Gibbs, what the hell happened at the wagon wheel at Big Springs?" hee hee hee...
oh hell - gotta go after that

[Spooner]

First of all-huge thanks to Perry and his crew and Dan of course for making this all possible.

Jgordo-I'm pretty sure I am the other 700 that you told to keep going after the AA guy passed us-very cool of you!

As for my race-I'm still getting my feet wet in the off road stuff again as I did a few a year back in 2008-2011 but never took it all that serious. I was still road racing back then so it was just something to do on the off weekends. Decided to get back into it this winter with some buddies and we have been having a blast!

On the start I got a good launch and was 2nd into the woods. At the creek bottle neck I almost got around cleanly just to the left of it but slid in to the mess and took a second to get out and a few guys made it around the mess in the woods. Damn. Anyways I kept them close and freight trained that first lap and took more roost in that lap then I ever had in my life! Luckily it was pretty soft. Come through in 4th so I'm pretty happy. I think at some point I got into 3rd but had a small crash and got passed back. Starting to get into the groove a bit and just try to not make mistakes.

Now I'm in 5th and just trying to stay in the top 5 since my first race was a disaster and the second race I fouled a plug on the line so I wanted to get a decent finish. 3rd lap I have a stupid crash in the rock creek but I'm feeling good. Going into the last lap on the endurocross section I have a AA rider try to pass me as I went through the laid down tires as I spun and went a bit sideways and he hit me pretty good right in the right boot and I'm pretty sure he went down hard. I felt bad but probably not the smartest place to pass.. I was half expecting a punt into the woods when he finally caught back up but it was nice and clean.

So last lap I'm just rolling along with another 700 behind me and nobody in front so I'm trying to keep my pace up to hopefully catch 4th. Around 4.5 miles I come around a left hander and immediately lose the front and go down hard. I smashed my left hand pretty good and I'm pretty sure it's broken at that point and I'm pretty stunned. I finally get on my feet and another rider is there and says the same thing happened to him and he can't get his bike going. I'm seeing birdies so I ask him if he can pick up my bike since it was blocking the trail which he is nice enough to do. I'm starting to wiggle my fingers a little and move my wrist and it was stiff but no sharp pain so I figure maybe I can just ride it in (another selling point for a rekluse!) I thank the other rider and fire up the bike and roll away. As I get going my hand doesn't feel too terrible so I gradually get up to pace and was able to ride about 75% the rest of the lap. I was praying I would come through and see the checkers and as I approached the finish I see its straight up 2:00 so I expected to see the checkers.. but there weren't any..hmm So I go ahead and hit the endurcross section again and amazingly make it through even though I can barely hang on. As I exited the section a lady comes out and flags me down and says the race is over-woohoo!

So I ended up 7th so I'm pretty happy after being down for a good 5 minutes or so with that crash and I'm happy that I decided to try to finish the lap. My hand/wrist are still not great but I think I just strained it somehow so I should be good for this weekend.