I wish I had video - as for the pix, the photographer was
CJB PhotographyAs for the race day - it was excellent. You guys don't know what you're missing.
The dirt section was ridiculously dry and loose, and there was no traction to be had by anyone. There were a couple of tough wrecks in the morning in the dirt, so everyone started taking it slow. Although, the fast guys knew how to make use of the birms, and still had some good speed. The guys on dual-sport could also find traction where us guys on the slicks were sliding.
Since the day was a hot one (over 90 degrees), I figured I'd up my tire pressure to 25 (I usually run 23 on a hot day). I also decided to wear the moto-cross outfit, as opposed to leathers - in an attempt to keep cool. Both decisions turned out to be bad ones. During practice, I was going thru turn 1 (the fastest turn on the track) at about 60, and got on the gas a little too early, and lost traction on the front wheel. That - in conjunction with the wrong tire pressure - had the front wheel wash out on me. As I was sliding down the track, thru the turn, I knew my motocross outfit was getting shredded by the asphault, so as soon as I thought I was going slow enough, tried to stand up. (this is when I thought of Keith Code saying "tap the track 3 times before you stand up")... 'cause apparently, I was still sliding along at about 25mph... which sent me flipping thru the air. Luckily, the bike didn't get damaged at all, and I didn't break any bones, nor sprain anything... and it turned out to be one of the most fun wrecks of my life. If I could do it again, I would (except wearing leathers). I the asphault did indeed shred my motocross gear and I ended up with a big brush burn on my shoulder. So, Sonja (the lady who runs ESMRA) bandaged me up and sent me on my way to the next race. The bandages wouldn't stay on when I put on my gear, so we had to duct-tape them on. I felt like a SuperMoto Warrior.
Since my moto cross gear was shredded, I had to resort to the leathers for the afternoon races. They were quite a bit hotter than the moto cross gear, but not too bad (and puts your mind at ease, considering the added protection).
It turned out to be kind of a close race between me and the first place guy - but he definitely maintained his lead over me. So, to avoid another crash, I didn't push it, and accepted my fate with 2nd place, and he had me by about 10 seconds by the end of the race.
As for the bike - I replaced my front 14-tooth sprocket with a 15-tooth sprocket (which I ordered thru
European Motorcycles of Pittsburgh - of course, and thought that would've really toned down my low-end power. Well - it did help out a ton, and my higher top speed was real nice, too... but I still had more low-end power than I was expecting... and for my race start for the first heat, I rode a sky-high wheelie 1/2 way down the track. The wheelie was a lot of fun... but also the slowest start you can get (aside from a stall... which I managed to accomplish last year). The guy behind me (who was good at race starts) said he almost rear-ended me... that would've been a real crappy start!
All in all - it was a complete blast, and I'm glad I finally have a 2nd place race trophey to put next to all of Jordan's!
For as great as it is - I can't believe everyone isn't racing SuperMoto!
