Stone Lake Harescramble #1

July 13, 2014

Our first trip to Stone Lake has come and gone.  The weekend was looking great with good weather and the race was promising almost an eight mile course. The Minnesota series has a good following so I was also looking forward to a good turnout.  

As two o’clock came near I was ready to get the day started.  As the flag dropped my bike fired up and I was about fifth to the first corner.  As I got to the corner I got pushed wide because of a mud hole in the inside of the corner, but as we went around the moto track I was able to get around a couple of guys and was sitting in a good spot going into the woods. I was confident that I could get by them and push to the front. As we started the second lap I came to the first field section and grabbed a couple gears. I was in either fourth or fifth when the front wheel tucked on me and sent me cart wheeling across the ground. After I gathered myself, I remounted the bike and took off. I was pretty sore and just rode the rest of the race trying to just get through it. After I crossed the finish line I was bummed on my finish but happy that I didn’t get seriously hurt on my get off. I never give up no matter what happens and push to come back stronger.  I would like to thank all my sponsors and my family for all their help.

Remember to keep it between the trees.

 

 

 Cheering on daddy!

Happy Father's Day

"Blessed indeed is the man who hears 

many gentle voices call him 'Father'" 

~Lydia M. Child 

 My pride and joy! My son Chase.

Virginia National Enduro

Round five of the National Enduro series brought us to a new venue in Virginia. Since we have never been to Virginia we made a family trip out of the race weekend. We left a couple days early and did some sightseeing. We started off going to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and then ate and stayed at the Bob Evan’s homestead. We set off from there to see the Natural Bridge in Virginia. The last thing we did before heading to the race was stop at a children's museum in Lynchburg, VA; Chase loved it there (especially the farm themed exhibits). When we arrived at the race property it was awesome! Our pit was in the middle of a huge meadow that housed a big horse track that was never used for horse racing. The race was held on about a 5000 acre piece of property. About 75 percent of the trail was brand new and never ridden and that made for an awesome race (definitely worth the long drive). There were actually some pretty dusty parts of the trail when we got into the open fields, but the woods had moisture in the dirt and it was really good traction. This race had a lot of tighter sections comparable to most of the races we do and I like that a lot more. This enduro had some rocky sections but not too many. It was unique because we did seven tests (normally we do six) which was fine by me. Test seven was actually tests one and two combined. I thought that it was going to be super rough but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. My day went pretty well because I really didn't make any big mistakes. I rode great but feel like I have a little way to go before I am happy with my results. I ended up 11th in my class and 30th overall. My new class is tough, but my goal is to run top five. I am going to work extra hard and try and get myself ready for round six in Michigan. 

I would like to thank all my sponsors and my family for all that they do to help me each and every week to go racing.

Remember to keep it between the trees!!!

Camping out before the race

 Stop at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Ohio

 Visiting Bob Evan's homestead in Ohio

 Natural Bridge in Virginia

 Our stop at the children's museum in Virginia

Dancing to the live band the night before the race

 

 

 

 

 

Missouri National Enduro

Round four of the National Enduro series was in Missouri. We were in store for a great weekend because the weather was going to be perfect and the trails were said to be in great shape for race day. I was excited to get the weekend started and hoped to improve on my results. When the clocked clicked 19 I fired my bike and took off for the start of test one. I didn't make it far into that section when I made a small bobble which ended up becoming a nasty get off (I ended up in a small cedar tree). Not the way I wanted to start the day! I got my bike going and settled down and started to push. I tried to make the best of that test and put behind me that incident because I had a whole race ahead of me. That was not the case because I couldn't get comfortable with the terrain all day. The track was a little sketchy with all the rocks, roots and the fast trail. I just couldn't get settled in and relaxed. It seemed like I was fighting myself a lot and making too many little mistakes. My best section of the day was the sixth test. This was a lot more technical and tighter trail section. It had the well known water fall section which was pretty neat. I was hoping for a better finish, but overall was satisfied with my results. I finished 31st overall and 10th in the Expert AA class. 

I would like to thank all my sponsors because you make it a lot easier for me to do what I love. I am constantly trying new things to improve and get to where I want to be.  

Remember to keep it between the trees!!

Short clip of the waterfall section in Test 6

 

 

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes

Getting ready for the race season and each race takes a lot of effort and preparation. District 16 Harescramble events are possible because of great volunteers and helping hands. Make sure to thank our support crew and awesome sponsors. Also, make sure to say thanks to Moose racing for the awesome easy-up they provided D16 with this year!

Getting ready for sign-up

Making sure the computers are ready

District 16 Opener

April 27, 2014

Everyone was excited to get the District 16 Harescramble season started and chomping at the bit to ride their dirtbikes on dirt not snow.

Mother Nature did not want to cooperate on race day. The skies were filled with black clouds and the temps were cold. The day brought on and off showers that were not needed. The ground at Adams is all sand but there are some low spots that suffered from the rain. Our class was lucky enough that the rain subsided for the start of the race. When the gun went off all the bikes fired in the AA row except mine. I got a horrible start and was almost last into the first corner. I was able to pass a couple of riders right away once we got into the woods and that put me in fifth place. I followed Eric and Dillon for a while longer and made a pass on both of them in a corner and began to real in Ryan and Shane. The three of us started to pull away from the rest of the field just as the skies opened back up and the rain came down. It didn't last that long but it did make the course slippery. Halfway around the first lap I was able to get into the lead. I was comfortable with second place right on my heels because I wasn't getting roosted every corner and had clear vision for the most part. On lap three I was able to start slowly pulling away from second place and I was feeling more comfortable to start charging. That was short lived because when I came through scoring, popped out of the woods, and got on the gas hard it seemed as if my clutch was slipping. Come to find out it was smoked. Some were along the way my banjo bolt on my oil line either got hit by a branch or something and cracked it loose. The vibrations backed it out a little bit and caused most of my oil to be pumped out on the bike and ground. Unfortunately, this ended my day with only two and half laps to go. Luckily the clutch went and my motor was not destroyed because I stopped in time. I was really disappointed and mad since this was only my second mechanical problem causing me not to finish a race since I started racing. Not the way I wanted to start the season, but I am just going to have to take it race by race to get myself out of the point’s deficit that I am in.

I would like to thank all my sponsors for all their help and thank my family for everything that they do to make it possible to be able to ride my dirtbike every weekend. I would also like to thank Steve Roof from Keytime Motorsports for all the help he provided me to get my bike back up and running. 

Remember keep it between the Trees!!!

 

Additional photos from the race taken by Brain Mullane: http://brianmullane.smugmug.com/Motorcycles

A little family fun at the races!

 

 

 

Sand Goblin Enduro

April 13, 2014

The start of our local Enduro series was finally here. We made our trek to Roselawn, IN for the first round. This was a combined district 16/17 race. The whole family got to come to this race so that was exciting. We arrived Saturday afternoon and got signed up and all ready for Sunday’s race. I ended up on row 21. I would have preferred a little later row because of all the leaves but they were filled up. The weather was calling for rain showers on and off Sunday and I was glad they were wrong. 

Sunday rolled around and the skies were sunny with some clouds. The rain held off for the event so that made the day great. The Endurocross section was right next to the start of the race so I walked over and looked at it to see where I wanted to go. It didn't look bad - the only real obstacle was going to be other bikes and people stuck in it. When the race started we rode around a big field then entered a little woods section. After that I entered the endurocross section. When I got to it there were three guys stuck on the logs right at the beginning. I was able to get by all of them but on the last log trying to get over it and around a guy I got stuck myself and tipped over. I was able to get up right away and get going. I got through the rest of it with no problems and back into the woods. I ended up getting a little arm pump in that section after the endurocross section (I think a combination of holding my breath and holding on too tight through that section). The next couple of tests went well except I was missing the flips on the checks and that was costing me valuable points to the other guys in my class. Overall I had a decent ride! The only real set back was that I had too early of a minute. I had a hard time finding the trail in some sections due to all the leaves and had to pass a lot of the guys ahead of me. I think ten minutes back would have been better because of a more established tail to follow.  The club did a great job and the race was a lot of fun. I ended up 4th overall for the event out of 238 entries. 

I am going home to work on some stuff because I am hungry for the win at the next round. Thanks again to all my great sponsors for all their support and to my support crew consisting of my Dad, Mom, wife Keri, and my biggest fan Chase.

Remember Keep it Between the Trees!!