Memorial Day Weekend 2004
What a weekend. Plenty of riding and lots of laughs.
First, we had a make up race Friday night at Shelby. They decided to run it as 2 practices and one main event instead of the normal practice, heat race, main event format.
James and I were there before Gomer but Gomer arrived in time for one practice. I don't know how he runs from Augusta to Columbia and then to Shelby. Lots of driving for the dude.
First race was great. I raced with Gomer in +30c/d but didn't keep up with the lead group for long. I ended up 5th out of 6 or 7. In the Unl Rookie class I almost had the holeshot. I was the first to the turn but someone came from the outside and got around the corner before me. He was hauling.
I quickly got passed by someone else and they took off. I felt pressure from behind but kept going and then started making stupid mistakes. Next thing I know a kid (a good kid too) goes by me on a KX 100. I tried to give chase but once we got to the whoops he pulled a lead on me easy.
That is one thing about Shelby, the bike size really doesn't matter and almost hurts the more power you have.
In the +35c/d Gomer really showed that to be true as he took off on the YZ250F and led every lap.
James rode well but was careful since this was his first MX back from ACL surgery.
Saturday was Top Gun. The track changes are awesome and this already was one of my favorite tracks but now it is even higher on the list.
McArver showed up with his CRF250R and we raced +30c/d and Unl Rookie together. In the first heat we raced very close together. He was right on my tail the entire time. I decided to do the 2 jumps I wasn't doing in practice. The first was a long 75ft jump that has a nice flat landing at 30ft then dips down at 75ft for a really smooth landing. It is basically a big double that you can land short on.
The other was the pit jump which I did last year. I did it this year with no problem too.
I ended up beating McArver in that heat. In the second it was a different story. The first two laps I jumped about 60ft of the 75ft jump. I landed hard both times and thought I was going to crash but didn't. On the last lap I didn't jump it and McArver took advantage.
He set me up in the corner and took my line and led the rest of the way to the finish. It was a great move and had me cussing the entire time :)
By the time the mains came there was rain. The track was really slick. I went out for the Unl Rookie class and on the first lap a guy went down in front of me. I could go left and get in the way of traffic that was coming down over a big ant hill or I could have gone right and ran over the guy. I decided instead to go through the middle and run over his bike.
I came to a nice rest upright on top of his bike. I got off my bike, lifted the back end off his and away I went... amazed I didn't go down.
After my first main I called it a night. Especially after seeing two B riders collide and go down. They weren't hurt but they had trouble starting from a stop and trying to go up the face of the jump only to fall backwards again. Seemed it was a little too muddy for me so I called it a night.
Overally, Linus took home the high place award by getting 2nd in 250D. Danny got a 4th in 250D and Gomer got a 3rd and a 5th in his races. Lots of fun, even in the rain.
Sunday as some riding at TNT and everyone was pretty wore out so we didn't do that much. Lots of good conversation as always. We also commisserated with Barbara who is still upset over the one customer who was living in a motorhome at TNT. He was over-staying his welcome and Barbara asked him to leave. He replied by returning with some buddies and kicking in all the doors, smashing stuff, stealing all the parts, a couple dorm size refrigerators, 2 4-wheelers, 2 open trailers, 3 motorcycles and a kids 90cc atv.
Other than the stolen stuff the conversation revolved mostly around good times and Gomer's soil samples :)
Ivan