Being a novice again. 2009 Wilseyville Hare Scramble
2009 Wilseyville Hare Scramble write up, pics and video here.
The entry form says AMA championship series, so maybe it was a big race? All I know is I was as green as it gets. The newness of this unfamiliar sport opened my eyes to what athletes new to triathlon and XTERRA experience. Nervous, excited, clueless, scared of the unknown, scared of being last, scared of the mass start, and yes, just plain scared.
I grew up riding a little Yamaha PW 80 on our farm in South Africa, later a YZ 100, but when I got really serious about triathlon, (age 15) I sold the dirt bike in order to fund this new triathlon passion thing. I always promised myself, “the day I retire from triathlon I’m buying a dirt bike.” After winning XTERRA Worlds in 07 I thought “screw that, its been 18 years, I cant wait anymore”, so bought a used Honda CRF450 in South Africa. Click for one of my fave blog posts. This summer I bought a new KTM 450 EXC in the US. (my 1st new motorized vehicle ever) Could someone please explain to me how a new top end dirt bike costs the same as a top end mountain bike? How does a huge, knobbly, 30 pound dirt bike rear tire cost the same as a 500g mountain bike tire?
Anyway, Wilseyville is in the scenic Sierra Nevada mountains. Yellow trees everywhere and beautiful country side made for an amazing course on private land. No pre riding allowed, which was quite intimidating.
The C and Ladies class was HUGE. I guess 350+ riders in 7 starts 1 min apart. Apparently in this sport I’m an old dude, (Vet plus) so I was in the 6th row. I thought the C class is the hack class, but I didnt see a single jean pant! Shiny pimped bikes, custom what what, new tires. – I was the only guy with indicators and a cute license plate. At least I could honk the horn to overtake. Mostly people on the ground, and a fat guy cramping.
Our line (30 years and over) was completely full -the biggest class. Maybe 80+ bikes, so I stood behind 2 fast looking guys- half in the Ladies row. Most of the girls were so small they needed a box next to the bike to get on…
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A rider in the B race- before the slippery whoops became Grand Daddys.
I nicely stuffed up the start. Learnt what a “Dead engine shotgun start” was. When the gun shot went and the bikes fired up, the noise was so loud I couldnt tell if my bike was running or not. I think I opened the throttle while pushing the start button- then it wont start. So I panicked, for some reason popped 1st – you’re supposed to start in 2nd- and got off a few seconds late, but at the 1st corner there was a pile up- was quite funny (now) to see a guy rolling on the ground trying to get away with guys riding over him and his bike. Even in the C race these guys will eat you alive. Its a 7 mile lap and you see how many laps you can do in 90mins- funny concept to a triathlete. Imagine doing a triathlon where the person who covers the most ground in a fixed amount of time wins…
It had been raining on and off the last few days before the race, so it was slick and muddy. Greasy mud, not sloppy. There was a 400m rocky river section (the only part I was fast at- no whoops or ruts!)) and the exits were super slick, muddy, rocky with more and more roots showing up every lap. And then there was the whoops and ruts. I’ve seen a few whoops on the trails around Reno before, and usually dont really know what to do with them- but these ones were slippery, so if you dont hit them straight, you were knotted. I often went round, but short, not too big sections I could handle.
I have never ridden a single rut before. Before our race, the course was still in good shape, but our race (C Class) was huge so the whoops and ruts got deeper every lap. I did 4 laps (23mi total) in 1h33. If I was 3min quicker I could have done another lap. Was caught in 2 slow bottle necks where an old (but fast) dude couldnt start his 2 stroke. Also lost time whenever I heard a screaming 2 stroke come up, I’d pull over or stop to let the fast guys through. (was lapped by about 15 guys. I think 1 may have been a chick)
On the 1st lap rode behind a guy who should have been wearing a jean pant- kind of all over the show, but at least I could see where the slippery parts were, in the river bed I moved up to 2nd last but by then the others were gone.
Just like cycling, I’d learn a lot by following a better rider, but I was completely dropped- so I just putzed away, staying in control and smooth, not knowing the limits or the techniques used for this 40 horse power mountain bike with tires the size of my thigh. I had a mental block on the whoops – some were 3 feet deep, slippery, with open roots and surrounded by trees in places. If that 14 year old girl on the small wheel 80cc could float over the top at high speed it cant be TOO hard? If only I knew the right technique and had the confidence to ride it once, I’d practice and master them. – A mantra I teach new mountain bikers all the time- only I couldnt get myself to do it. For once I was in their shoes and realized the importance of a mentor/coach/ helping friend to hold your hand and guide you up the first few steps of that big, huge technique pyramid.
The scenery is amazing and of course there was no dust. Drove 5hrs there through the snow, so didnt spend much time at the venue, but wish I could to see a bit more. Sorry, no pics or video of me driving Miss Daisy.
I didnt crash, but my hands were covered in blisters, my quads were sore already and on the drive home it felt like my right forearm was broken. Must be from all that hard work keeping the throttle closed…
Being a beginner at a challenging sport was quite an eye opener and it made me appreciate anew novice triathletes’ fears, excitement and enthusiasm. After racing 15 to 35 triathlons a year for 21 years, I could do one in my sleep. I passionate about triathlon, but it took me a muddy day at the dirt bike races to relive and appreciate that special fuzzy feeling beginner triathletes are blessed with. Enjoy it while it lasts. Soon you too could blitz through T1 in your sleep.
Dont hurt your eyes by trying to fine my name on the podium. Look from the bottom up. (I was 15th in the Vet Plus and 128th in the C class)
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