Orrick Race

[gcat7]

Awesome venue indeed. It had everything a hare scramble can possibly have. Thank you owners and gang who put together the course. I would love to ride it for fun sometime just to check out the land. It was simply a cool place. Now on to the fun...from the 1k club.

Shane "hole shot" Weimer ripped another killer start so had to follow him and 6 others into the woods wheel to wheel. I don't know what happened at the first hill but there was a ton of dudes making dirt angels on the first rock hill. Luckily I was able to find a line and ended up 3rd behind Schupp, passed him in a grass area and ended up 2nd behind Capt'n hole shot thru a good lap one run.

Shane and I traded positions on lap 2 somewhere before the first hill again thinking to myself damn I'm actually leading and spaced off the hard line - took the looooong easy route up hill one. Oops bye bye leader say hello to Shane again leading. Good lap 2 but got passed somewhere ended up 3rd lap 2 then 4th thru lap 3. I don't really know what happened during the 3rd lap but started feeling like crap, maybe dehydrated so I sucked the life out of the camelback - it only made it worse so stopped by a creek crossing and did a helmet on, rock concert, Jonny on the spot, worthy puke. It was struggle to finish but with one last chance to test out the 6d helmet and neck brace, made it happen- they worked well together and probably saved a serious injury. By the time I figured out what day it was a bunch of guys passed and I finished 8th. Don't know whether I cought a bug or the track kicked my butt ...probably a combo of both but I'd do it all again.

Thanks all for great race.

[jgordo]

This track was awesome!!! Not just the terrain but the fact that It had wide trails and multiple lines. There were some sketchy spots that before the race had me worried about the possibility of a serious get off but just taking my time and keeping focused worked wonders!

I was really surprised to see the line of 700's! 19!! What a great turnout!!! I had a really good start and was able to take 2nd through the tree lane. I really like having starts that aren't just straight shots into the woods. For the first 1/3 of a mile there was enough room to pass the whole way! I was surprised that as soon as we hit the woods we also ran into a plethora of 600 riders!!! I've been training with the almost extinct Northern Kansas Mountain Goats in their secluded rock ranges so I wasn't afraid to make my own trail around the carnage!! Somehow after my detour I still ended up in second be Greg Crawford. He immediately lost the front end after we cleared the rock split and went down. I couldn't go anywhere so I hollered 'calm down and relax'...well he jumped up, took off and lost it again at the little downhill with the rocks overlooking the house. Once again I tried to encourage him to relax. Off we go again! And down he goes again!! I was start at to feel bad and thought maybe he was mistaking my words of encouragement as me yelling to get out of the way. Either way I was hoping he and I could pace each other and get out on the rest of the guys. He decided he had enough and took off without me!

I ended up letting a couple guys past that caught up pretty fast, went through scoring in 4th. Held it for the next lap. Caught 3rd and was trying to stay there and run my hardest for the last two laps...unfortunately I ran a little to fast and rolled through scoring with a minute left...after I had sat for a minute and a half before going through scoring!! I just didn't feel like I had it in me to run a sixth lap safely. My arms and legs we're jello and I made a promise to race smart this year and not push the limit when I don't have to. I gladly conceded third and fourth to the guys willing to hammer out that 6th lap!! Can't wait to race here again! I think I know what race I'm voting for at the banquet...!!!

[Bridgebuilder]

I agree with everyone else so far that this track had it all . Great job to all involved in setting it up and thanks Jason for having us on his place .
Race report will be short I'm still to tired to type very much lol .
Lined up next to greg (gcat) in the middle of of the line . I told him maybe schupp was onto something clear out there on the end . But we were to lazy to move . So board drops off we go but I was going to fast around the hay bale to turn 180 and used most of the remaining property to get turned around and headed toward the woods . Mean while Jim presley made a great corner and the race was on to get the hole shot into the trees . I haven't ever rapped my bike that tight in 3rd gear b4 but was able to cut back in inches in front of him at the corner .
Fast paced start through the grass was cool but didn't create any seperation when we hit the 1st hard line it did tho . I made it though ok and still had company behind me but wasn't crowded to bad 1st lap .
Lap 2 was different greg passes me on little up hill with some narley roots I got hung up on . I saw him go to 1st easy line and gambled on had line and got lucky it worked . Pros were lapping us middle of lap 2 . Anyway another 1000 passed me and road out of sight . So I ride through scoring in 2nd and Flying Ryan Salmans is jumping up and down and waving more while screaming that he is only 5 seconds ahead of me go get him .
I kinda had my doubts. It is Ryan as you all know but his enthusiasm was hard to ignore .bump it up a notch . Took the lead back on the 1st hard line again only to loose it few miles later but regaimed it b4 scoring.
Lap 4 was uneventful beside moving over for lots of fast guys .
5th lap I took a bad line up the 1st hard line ended up in a fence . Had to back up and around and down and try top half again . Finally made it up and had another battle with a downed tree for awhile around mile 4.5 .
Then 2nd caught me it was a race then . We got to the last deep crossing that was full of riders. He went to look for another line and I got lucky and a line opened up and I made it though and crippled into scoring absolutely exhausted .
That was alot more than I wanted to type lol

Orrick will probably get my vote this year too .
Awesome piece of property.

[FlyinRyan]

Sounds like I missed a great course but was still able to make it out to support the series. I woke up Monday morning and looked at the standings and saw that John Gordon had taken advantage of me missing my 2nd race and moved into 1st in the C Vet Class. Upon realizing I had been stripped of 1st place by default I was quick to congratulate John when Shane Weimer pointed out that with my work average I was still in 1st.

There really is a moral to the story so be patient. Racers that are new to the series or just unfamiliar with how the points system works really ought to check into it. Everyone has the opportunity to help work a race in one way or another and there are a number of jobs that are done by volunteers every race. So say for instance you try a double back flip off the top of your camper and you are not successful you can still work 2 races. Besides the benefit of the points it gives you real insight to how much work it really takes to put a race on.

I didn't get to watch a lot of the races because I was trying to salvage what points I could by working but one racer I was impressed with was Gunner Bell in the Junior Class. He was 2nd or 3rd on the hole shot but went down at the hay bail. By the time he got his bike up and started he was in last and into the woods a good 7-10 seconds after the 2nd to last bike into the woods. Not sure how he did it but he must have ridden his tail off because by the end of his race he had worked his way up to 4th. Nice work Gunner and everyone that was able to conquer this course.

I'm not sure what the record for hole shots is but I'm pretty sure Shane is getting close to it. I didn't have anything to do with his hole shot but glad I could give him the encouragement he needed to regain the lead. Your welcome, Shane. Sorry Greg.

[Richard Hammer]

Well I'm pretty disappointed that I decided to work both races and not race mine. This track was right in my wheel house. Kinda rough, technical with hill climbs and descents. Only thing I'm not a fan of is creek crossings and mud but the ones that were there didn't get to bad until later in the second race. I love rocks and there was a good amount to go around.
As far as working goes I have an incredible amount of respect now for the people that work these races. If you're sweeping, I guarantee you will be more worn out than if you raced. I'll say this wasn't exactly a friendly track for beginners and inexperienced riders but you have to start somewhere. I saw a few people that said this was their first race and had been struggling. I really hope it didn't discourage you.
I spent much of the first race being incredibly busy. That first hill was not a good one for the 900's and jr's. I think at one point there were 4 of us scattered throughout that hill helping riders. Got everybody sorted out and off we went again. Once again, it didn't take long to find some carnage. So this cycle went for a couple laps.
After people seemed to find their grooves things started to really smooth out and I enjoyed watching some of the more technical sections. I can say it looked like some of you were trying to wrassle an oiled up pig!
My old pal Matt Alexander came through a section with nobody behind him so I felt obligated to get behind him and give him some motivation . I could tell he appreciated as he kept looking back and laughing. Also had the perfect timing to answer the call of nature and hear a giggle as someone went by. Turned around and apparently I need to apologize to Lauren stretz! Lol sorry but had to go.
Second race was pretty uneventful. Checked on a few people and don't worry your secret is safe with me still.....
Anyways great course and wish I had raced but I gained a lot of perspective into what people who volunteer have to go through. Hats off to all of you now

[VetSki]

I didn't get to race there, but based off the feedback it sounds like a great place to ride. Any chance the landowner would consider allowing riding for a fee? We desperately need an off-road riding area. I would be willing to cough up some cash each ride or pay an annual fee and sign a waiver in a heartbeat! Just a thought!

[Diamonds]

It was an awesome venue to race! Unfortunately, although I had a blast, I went against my better judgment and rode sweep the first race. Should have listened to Dan on that one! My race went pretty much as usual. Started great and then crashed.

I got out to a great start, 3rd place around the hay bale. Quickly moved into 2nd place as soon as we got into the woods. Trying to chase down 1st place but on the first hard line uphill section, I tried to make an ill-advised move and was met in the middle of the hill by 2 downed riders and absolutely no way around them. Haha, the worst thing you can possibly do is stop in the middle of a hill like that! Unfortunately I had no choice. Ended up stalling the bike, falling down and rolling about 10 feet backward with my bike. Of course by that point my bike was pointing in completely the wrong direction, while I sat and watched bike after bike pass me by. Came across the line in 12th after the first lap. I was ready to quit but for some reason I just pushed on. I was able to make up a little ground on the 2nd lap and came across in 10th place. At that point, I had nothing left. I pulled off and rode over to my truck to get some water. Drank a few waters and said to myself; "Don't be a wuss....you can't quit now."

I strapped my helmet back on and hit the course again, on a mission to track the pack down. Rode a solid lap but wasn't able to catch a single rider. Came across the 3rd lap still in 10th place. 4th lap was nothing to write about, except for the mud pit at the creek crossing. It was a bottleneck and somehow I was able to split the pack and ride across. Finished lap 4 in 9th place. I'm not sure if the checkered flag was out or not. I think I cam across at 1:54 and a few seconds. Might have had another lap on the clock...but I had nothing left in my tank. I was spent and just happy to be done!