BIG SPRINGS RACE REPORT

[Gibber]

Well, does anyone besides me think Perry outdid himself this year? What an awesome race!

Didn't get there until about 3:30 Saturday afternoon so I hustled up and grabbed a lap. I felt pretty good, bike was running great, dirt was awesome and the course was marked perfectly. Although the last few years at BS I had not finished well I had a pretty good feeling at this point.

Then about 4:30 Mason Martin hit me up to take another lap. As soon as we entered the course at the starting point Mason hit the gas and I knew I had bitten off more than I could chew! But I stuck with him and we ran a really good lap until his bike started running poorly so we cut out after the creek.

Dinner was great Saturday night and the whole camping thing was perfect like it usually is at BS.

Sunday morning took another practice lap and chased Brett Kyle for about half of it. I know he wasn't running full speed but it was a pretty good pace. By the time I was done with that lap the only part I was really concerned with was the start. But thanks to some good advise from Matt Williams I think I did okay.

Wasn't a great start. Probably around mid pack. Dust was unbelievable but with 3 practice laps I felt pretty confident. Then came the carnage. One bike sideways on the trail, another stalled on a hill climb and then the pile up.

I didn't realize at the time it was Chuck Martin when we came out a wooded area on a left turn and it was pretty fast at that point. Next thing I know a bike is laying on it's side in the middle of the trail and the rider is just about to pick it up. Another bike was stalled out to the right who had tried to stop before running in to Chuck. For just a moment I thought of going over his back tire and hitting the gas but he was starting to stand up. I really didn't want to run into him so I hit the brakes. I more or less made the stop just running into his back tire then another 700 rider did the same thing I did and ran in to me jamming my front tire between Chuck's rear tire and fender. Chuck was still on the ground and now was pulling my wheel off of his bike so he could pick it up. In the mean time JP Fay passes me on the left.

I got unhooked from Chuck without damage to either bike and got back on the trail. Played a little cat and mouse with 712, 714 and 731 then came thru scoring in 13th. Not really where I wanted to be but I still felt good and I was holding my own.

I worked on riding smooth and my corner speeds. A few of the corners were pretty slick and I almost dumped it twice on the same corner but held it up. Only went down once on the last lap when I applied a little too much front brake in some soft dirt and my tire washed out. I just rolled over on my back right up on my feet and got back on the bike. Fortunately I didn't lose a spot.

The wet, muddy section after the creek was kind of fun and tricky. First time thru I went up the slick, wet off camber incline sideways on the gas and just about wrapped it around a tree at the top. At that point I figured out I had to go slow to go fast. So I came out the mud hole in 2nd, stayed off the gas and chugged up the hill till my tires were clean and the dirt was dry. Virtually every time I had someone on my tail that would get on the gas and then all of a sudden they weren't there anymore! There is something to be said about age and experience coupled with patience.

So I worked my way up to 11th and by the last lap I was really hoping to pick up one more spot and knock down a top ten. Every rider I came up on I hoped it was a 700 and everyone that came up on me I hope WASN'T a 700! Unfortunately Orangecrush was just too far ahead of me and the Rocket Ship so 11th was going to be the best I could do. However, I am not disappointed. Big Springs is super fast with not much terrain to separate the "Pin it to Win it" riders from the more technical riders so 11th in the 700's is okay with me. I am still in the the top ten in points and we have a lot of racin' left to go!

On another note, I notice what Captain Picard of the Starship Enterprise would describe as "a strange anomaly". I actually had more than one 700 rider either Rev or Woo Hoo me. If you are faster than me, especially early on in the race, I wont block you. But I'm also not going to get out of your damn way. We are racing each other. You get a fender up on me and I will hold my line but it is up to you to pass. The rev or woo hoo should be reserved for members of a different class. So the problem you created was I would not give way to a faster rider from another class until I could completely confirm he actually was from another class. So Sorry to to 800's and a couple of 900's I may have held up. I didn't mean to. And as for the 700's, lets try to remember we are racing. Again, I wont block you but it is your job to make the pass. Anybody else who has thoughts on this please feel free to express them.

Last but not least I would like to welcome back the infamous Wade Wasinger! Wade was a hell of a rider in his day and has raced I think at least B class in FMHSC. However, he had to undergo surgery to remove a tumor on his brain late 2013. Turns out the tumor was be-nine but he has struggled with the after effects of the surgery ever since. I.E. Balance, Focus, Etc. Well, it would seem that part of his therapy now is for Wade to get back on the bike. His debut was yesterday in the 700 class and he took 13th! Pretty damned good if you ask me. And I sure hope to see him again. It just goes to show that riding these things really does keep you young. Just one thing Wade, as your speed comes back don't expect any sympathy. You start blowing out the 700's like I know you can we will make sure Dan moves you up! . As Dan would say, "It's all good". Hope to see you soon.

I am sure everyone is board to death by now so I will call it quits. Great job by Perry Keegan and crew for an awesome race. I can't wait to see what Perry has in store for the next chapter. I am guessing it will only be bigger and better!

P.S. I have nothing to say about Flyn' Ryan only because after we lined up I never saw him. He obviously was on rails at his home course. Now he is leading the points. Good Job Ryan!

[J450NX5]

I agree! That was a super fun race! Great job Perry!

[motoracr199]

Pulled in at about 9:45, race at 11. Don't like cutting it that close but I finished the practice lap with enough time to be comfortable before the start.

Lined up between Danielle and Tony in the middle. What a huge difference a year can make. Last year there were as little a 2 in the 400 class. Now it's close to 20.

Was feeling confident about the start with the fresh dunlops. They hooked up awesome and I was able to come out with the holeshot! I led the entire first lap with 416 on me the entire time. Just after scoring, I went straight instead of turning back onto the start straight, and Jason went by, never to be seen again.

I made a few minor mistakes on lap 2 and by lap 3 the good ol' blue 402 was all over me. I battled a few leg cramps along with trying to deal with D. Bailey and we had a great battle, passing each other several times.

On the last lap or so I was caught by #554 on an old honda dual sport Turn out this guy has been in it a while and I was happy to stick with him while I could. By the time we reached the endurocross section on the last lap, I couldn't hear 402 behind me. Then, it happened. I crashed on the tires. Pick up my bike while simultaneously looking back and seeing what I didn't want to see. David coming down the rocks and closing in fast. I quickly start the bike (with the button) and goon ride the rest of the obstacles to the finish, just ahead of my favorite rival. YES!!!

Rode off with a second place and made many more memories. It was fun to see all 58 the 900's take off as well. 3 of which were my brothers. They had a good time and we all enjoyed the course.

Thanks to PK, the scoring ladies, the track workers and everyone else who makes these events possible. Its too bad this will the the last year for Big Springs, one of my all time favorite tracks this year. Fast and flowy.

See you guys soon!

[Harvey Mushman]

I think there was 24 or 25 on the Vet40 line, I had a good race and finished 7th. Normally when the turnout is smaller, by the last lap or two, you are often pretty much alone on the course but not this race. Every single lap when I came through the enduro cross section I'd sneak a peek and see there was 1, 2 maybe 3 more 10's very close behind me. It seemed like the entire race I was actually battling with someone in front or behind me. I had a great time. Hats off to Perry and anyone involved in conducting the race. An absolute perfect day to be in the woods on a dirt bike.

[Spooner]

Well my day started up a bit rough. I always mooch off of, I mean ride with my good buddy Matt Hall. He was going to head out early Sunday morning with all of our stuff and I was going to show up in the afternoon as I was in a wedding the night before. He called me early Sunday and said his jeep gave up its will to live on I70 so I needed to figure something out as neither of my cars had hitches installed on them yet. Called up my father in law and mooched (this seems to be a trend with me..) his truck off of him so I made the hour round trip to go get it. Then I hooked up to the trailer and headed to Big Springs. Got there about 11:30 and practiced the start a few times and the endurocross a couple times and thought I felt good.

On to the race, I lined up in a great spot with a straight shot into the woods and I got a good jump and was 3rd into the woods. Held that position until the upper section when Ryan upheld his name and went flyin' right by me on the outside making me look stupid, but it was an awesome move. Stayed in that position through the first lap and I was right on the leaders coming though start finish.

The next lap I was trying to keep up with everyone but I tried to get around a downed 600 and a tree reached out and pushed me down so Tom got around me. Next I got caught behind a 600 rider. He absolutely would not get out of the way no matter how much I revved or yelled at him. He turned around and saw me a couple times so he should have seen I was in a different class. After about a half lap of that I finally had to get aggressive and push him wide. He still tried to race with me out of the corner so another bump was needed and I was off. I was fuming but tried to just get calmed down and keep moving forward but I had lost touch with the other 700's at that point and came through 6th.

Lap three and four I hooked up with JGordo and we were having a blast ripping around. I made a good pass on the upper rock section with a good line I had and took off. Maybe a mile later a rider crashed right in front of me blocking me and remembering my crash trying to get around a downed rider I just waited for him to get up to proceed but Gordo wheelied by in glee. Got back on his wheel but he stretched it out a little on the last lap. Coming through the endurocross section on the last lap I bobbled just a bit on the first rock pile and two 700's snuck by me. I wasn't too worried about it as I thought we would have a 6th lap but we were right at the time limit coming through so I was relegated to 8th. It was amazing seeing 2nd-8th were barely over a minute apart at the finish so it was a close race for sure.

Gibber-I also has the same 'anomaly' at the last race where winner of BS yelled and revved at me like he was lapping me but it was the first lap and we were nose to tail. I agree-if you're in my class I'm not going to just let you by unless I'm blown up at the end of the race or something. I have to admit I did rev at Gordo on accident this race as I didn't see his number as I approached but only did it a couple corners before I realized my error.

Overall an amazing weekend and another awesome event by PK. Huge thanks to him for putting this on and I will really miss this place.

[blister]

My first time racing in a while and one of my most enjoyable racing experiences, all together. Day started with a short caravan commute from Manhattan with my buddy, Kip Niswanger-1019. Shared parking area with Kip, Jason Schupp-1044 (our 10's class leader), and Chuck Kocourek-1099. Schupp loaned me some duct tape to hold my boots shut...forgot my own. Had a good time hanging out with them and shooting the breeze.

I showed up with my newly acquired 05' 450 EXC - 4 stroke. Literally had one hour on it prior to this race and just barely got it halfway ready in time. Slapped some homemade numbers on it late Saturday night. My daughter loaned me her markers. Loved the bike...so smooth and powerful, like a "tractor". Suspension seemed just right, on the plush side and I think I will leave it alone.

For the entire race I was in the mix of those 10's riders that finished in 4th-10th zone. We swapped positions over and over again...Terry Fleming-1017 and Devin Turley-1021 are a couple I remember exchanging with multiple times . Hardly any portion of the race that I couldn't see one of those 10's riders in front or hear one behind me. We battled the whole two hours...what a thrill. I made several mistakes to give up a spot just after working so hard to gain it. One was a face plant in the muddy creek crossing on the fourth lap. Of course, I wasn't smart enough to take the "chicken" line. For some reason, my throttle arm and brain were no longer communicating in a timely manner. Instead of throttling to launch my front wheel over that crossing, I just planted it down in the bottom. Superman dive over the bars and splat. I know my brain was thinking something way different than what just took place. That muddy goop was then a challenge as my throttle and throttle hand were good and slathered in it. Must of been pretty excited on the first lap when I tried to get a drink from my hydro pack. Yanked the nozzle right off in my mouth. Was thirsty the rest of the race but pretty envigorated as my ice water drained out into my lap. 5th place finish, though...my best ever and first ever trophy. Maybe I'm on to something. I may just try putting an ice bag in my underwear next race. Had a few bumps and scrapes with other 10's riders as we battled it out...all great racing fun though. What a great time!

Gibber, I missed you in the 10's class. It was good to catch up and nice to see and hear you hollering support as we came into the enduro x section on that first lap.
Chad

[Diamonds]

I agree, the course was just flat out fun. PK and the team did a great job getting everything set up. I came in to enduro section on the first lap in 7th place. Been over that stuff a hundred times and for some reason (fatigue?) I just made a few dumb mistakes and piled it up on the first set of tires. Front end got crossed up over the perimeter logs and had to shut the bike off and man-handle it back over. Took me about 30 seconds to get the bike back up and pointed in the right direction. Ended up getting passed by 6 people in that tiny section Came through the checkpoint in 13th place.

After that, I was determined to catch (and pass) everyone that I had lost ground to. Boiled the front brake a bit trying to ride too fast and overshot a few turns and ran off the course a few times on laps 2 and 3; Just enough to cost me 20-30 valuable seconds. Ironically, my last lap was my fastest lap of the day. The track was just so fast though and there was not really any good areas to make up ground. I'm still a fairly new rider and not comfortable hauling the mail just quite yet. Finished the race in 11th place.

Sad that we won't be able to ride BS anymore. That was really the only place I had access to ride anytime I wanted...and one of the main factors for me getting back into riding this year. Oakland is closed for the summer and Perry Lake riding area is absolutely horrible. Back to the drawing board for this guy. See you all at Carbondale in 3 weeks.

[Aintdeadyet]

Weekend ride/race report:

Yeah Gibber, it's been years since I raced much HS. Did lots of BJEC, last race I can remember doing in FMHS was Knoxville and then Quenemo back in 2010 about a year into when I started getting symptoms, just didn't know what from. Tired of not being able to be not dizzy, so a wise man out in Cali told me to get back to doing the things my brain knew how to do before got sick/surgery. Turns out ol tmex knows a thing or 2.

Rode Saturday with my son, felt pretty good, actually felt really good, decided to race a little, try to hit the hour mark and then go from there based on how I felt. Saturday was moist chocolate cake dirt, the kind you feel hero in and bikes were spread out.
Today was warm, winds around 30mph and trails were dusty and skaty, just what I didn't want for a return race. I was running a 4th place start (this vet class had 24 riders iirc), 1st lap scored me in 5th/15th overall (passed quite a few 6 series guys), then started pushing with 741 (guy on a Kawi who ended up winning class), stalled it in the EX section and took almost 4 minutes to get going which sucked as I could see the scoring lane, but just kept losing spots with each kick lol. I spose when I am normal would be no big deal, but it got my head spinning pretty good, plus I lost 10 places, ended up through the scoring in 13th. Called it a successful 1st outing, gonna keep riding, maybe hit a few races here and there. See if it will rehab me back to normal. Felt pretty good on the bike prior to the stall. But I gotta say, between not racing in forever, out of racing shape and the dizzy that set in while trying to hot start that 250f, yeah it kicked my butt just that fast. Went back to pits, got a gatorade, Lynda checked my eyes and said, you did great but let's let your head rest. Got loaded up, went to her folks house for blue catfish fillets and fresh morels and salad, plus a few cold Silver Bullets. Yeah, what a great weekend!

[Dirtbike62]

Well this is my first time posting so I won't be as long winded as everyone else. The track was awesome, super fast and flowy! I got a 4th place start and got to lead for a while the first lap till I went down a couple of times and lost some steam. Over heated my brakes first lap and fought having brakes on and off rest of the race. At the end of the 3rd lap I came around to the enduro cross section and went to do the double again and just didn't have it in me and came up way short. The bike rolled over me and the chased me down and landed on my head clear off the track. I have no idea how long I was down but I think someone or 2 went around me. Huge thanks to whoever helped me up and let me get back on the bike! I don't remember much of the next lap or really the rest of the race but I was able to finish in 6th and had a great time. Doc said today minor concussion, bruised 3 rib bones, and bruised pelvis bone. All is good, super sore but ready to race the next one! Again thanks to the people that helped me up and the people that came and checked on me after the race. Very appreciated!

[FlyinRyan]

Now that it is Tuesday and I can move my fingers again I will try and type this out. I cannot wait until Wednesday when I can move my arms again. Props to Perry Keegan for putting on one hell of a race. It started out with a pre-ride session on Saturday from noon till five and the dirt was absolutely perfect. That lead into an all you could eat Boston butt and pork beans dinner that lead to the Bon fire being lit with a flaming shotgun shell after it was, dare I say saturated with fire accelerant.

Back to the race. Big Springs is where I started riding 4 years ago and it was PK that brought my son and I into the dirtbike world so I really was shooting for a first on this race. As it turns out, it is hard to get a first when you crashed three times. Everybody out there was super fast. I was riding over my head and barely keeping up or so I felt.

I got a decent enough start going into the woods in about seventh or eighth I am guessing. Being familiar with with the track and knowing when and how long I can stay on the gas I was able to make several passes in the first lap to work my way up to second place behind Philip. I followed him for an entire lap and could never pass until we got to the Rocky water section towards the end of the lap and there was a 600 rider stuck in it while we were bottled up I made a left into the creek and around them in a flash and into first place. The funny thing about that entire lap when I was following Philip is that I kept getting woo hoo'd... I would turn around and the only person I would see was 741. It's Walter, why in the hell is he woo hooing me? Think I'm going to pull over and give him second place? Well at least not on purpose. Now I go through scoring on the second lap and am in the first place and feeling pretty good. Remember what I said about the three crashes? Well the first crash happened at the bottom of the hill where I washed out and crashed. At a place that I know to be cautious and Walter was right there to make a legitimate racing pass. I pulled over for you, but not on purpose. So I continued to follow Walter for the entire lap until until we got into the Enduro cross section. I do not have much trouble with the in enduro cross but what I did not anticipate was a 600 rider being down on the wagon wheel. That forced me to the out side where once again I go down. Two times now. As I am getting my bike off the ground and kicking I see Nick go past me, Tom go past me, Phillip go past me, and Gordo go past me. This is killing me at this point, I started the race like this and work my way up to first and now I'm back in 6th position as I go through scoring third time. Back to the grind. I work my way up to fourth on the third lap and then after another pass and Philip running out of energy on his last lap was able to find 3rd place by the end of the day. Wow what a rush, riding harder and faster then I think I ever have trying to chase the prize.

Can't wait for the next adrenalin rush at Carbondale.