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5/1/16 – Day in the Dirt 2016 Update

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Day in the Dirt Update 5/1/16

It’s been a while since providing any updates on this. Between injury, illness, mechanical issues with the race bike, bad weather on my free weekends, unable to travel to the practice facilities during the nice weekends, etc….it seemed that at every turn something was conspiring to keep us from getting the seat time needed to race competitively and safely, or at all for that matter.

And yet….hope springs eternal, because that’s just how we roll here! With a killer new race bike, lots of recent seat time, all the broken stuff healed and a full summer schedule of racing ahead, we are READY to rock this thing!

New Date: May 29th 2016
Where: Surry, Va
Event: VCHSS “Reddy Hole” hare Scramble (hey, don’t look at me…I don’t name ’em, I just race ’em).

If you are one of the people who pledged an amount early on, your original pledge is still in place. If you are -not-, now is your opportunity to get in on the action! Full details are on the Day in the Dirt web site.

In the mean time, here’s a cool video of this very event from 2012 (we took 3rd in class in this one).

Thank you for your support!

-Bob

1/26/16 Update

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Haven’t been able to get in much practice or gym time due mainly to the injuries sustained in my dumber-than-dumb November crash. Although my ribs had healed up well enough to ride after 3 weeks or so, the shoulder injury is still not healed. It’s getting better, but progress has been super slow. On top of that, I’ve been varying degrees of sick for the past week, so the bottom line is that I’m physically still a good ways away from being race-ready.

I did get out a couple of times though – once on January 10th for about 10 minutes or so just to test out some changes I had made to the KTM’s front suspension, and again on the 16th for around an hour and a half. The shoulder was much, much better the second trip, so I can’t imagine it being more than another couple of weeks before it’s healed to the point I can start training in earnest.

In the mean time though, I’ve had to back out of the Burnt Gin hare scramble and will instead be racing a SORCS Iron Man race in Georgia on Feb 20-21 if ready, with rain dates being VXCS race on 3/6 in Dillwyn, VA, or the VCHSS season opener in Chatham, Va on 3/20.

Stay tuned….

 

.

 

12/23/15 – Dem Bones…..

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You know, I had just gotten done commenting to someone how it had been several years since I’d broken any bones on the bike. Me and my big mouth.

A few weeks back on November 29th, I was at NCMP trying to get some practice in and start getting in some kind of shape for the upcoming race season. The woods were closed, but desperately needing seat time, I spent the afternoon turning laps on the newly reconfigured intermediate track. I was riding ok, a little slow and rusty, but since I can count the number of times I’ve been riding over the last two years quite literally on one hand with room to spare, it was to be expected.

Maybe an hour and a half in, I was starting to pick up some speed and was hitting the jumps with a lot more confidence (except for the big single – I roll that one if there’s no flagger on it, and today there was no flagger). Anyway, I’m on a section of track that’s essentially a straightaway with a small rise in the middle. You can carry some good speed through here as you set up for the next turn. Everything was fine – bike was good, I wasn’t tired or distracted or anything… I’m coming up over this rise and am just a little too far inside, I start to ease back to the left, and bang…front wheel breaks out in some loose stuff and tucks under, and before I could correct, down I go.

Got the wind knocked out of me, but once I shook that off and kind of regained my bearings, did a quick assessment and determined I was just a little banged up – road rash, some bruises, etc…, but nothing serious. Bike was a mess though – bars and front forks were tweaked pretty bad – so I figured this was probably a good time to call it a day.

By the time I got home though, things were starting to really hurt and I couldn’t lift my right arm. Long story short, final verdict is 2, possibly 3 fractured ribs, indeterminate ligament and/or muscle damage in my right shoulder, sprained left thumb and some road rash. Of course the nurse practitioner who saw me in the ER (you would think that for $1900 dollars, you’d get to see an actual doctor. You would be wrong) starts talking about possible broken collarbone, possible broken hip, etc etc… but since all I could envision were the greenbacks flying out of my wallet into the tender loving arms of the Wakemed billing department, I held off until my regular doc could see me.

So, it’s been a few weeks now. Ribs are great. Still a little sore but not enough to slow me down anymore. The shoulder seemed to heal about 80% in a matter of days, but this last 20% is taking forever and is what’s keeping me off the bike. I’m supposed to race Jan 31, so this needs to finish healing like yesterday.

Jester’s Hangover Hare Scramble 12/30/13 – And A WIN!

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It was a good day for Lincoln Charities. I showed up at this race not expecting much, as it was the first race back after a couple of months down time from a broken wrist (from a crash at this very facility back in October). It was cold out, but conditions were surprisingly good considering the rain that had moved through the area in the days leading up to the race. The small MX track, which had been a greasy mud pit just a day before, was in great shape thanks to some 4-wheelers who had spent the afternoon turning laps in order to speed the drying out process.

Anyway, long story short…there were maybe 10-12 racers on the 40+ class. I got a decent start and was third into the woods. Unfortunately I was under the impression that I had left with the wrong class so spent the first minute or so just kind of riding along while trying to decide whether to go back to the line. I figured though since this is just a ‘for fun’ race I’d continue on and see how it went (good thing, too because it turned out I did start with the right class after all).

So, into the woods with two in front of me…cleared on after a couple of minutes. That left Tim Loen directly in front of me and putting up one hell of a fight. I was right on him but he was picking good lines, closing the door whenever I spotted and tried to take advantage of an opening, and generally riding really well. My opportunity came about ten minutes in when he went down on a slick root. I passed him for the lead and never looked back. An hour and a half later, I got the win with Loen taking 2nd a couple of minutes behind me. It was a good day 🙂

Here’s some video of the first ten minutes or so:

 

-b

 

VCHSS Blue Ridge II, 8/12/2012

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This was the first race back after the mid-summer break. To say things had not quite gone my way during the off-time would be the understatement of the century. My mood this day was dark, my focus was elsewhere, I hadn’t slept much in the weeks leading up to this race, and was, as a result, in horrible physiological condition. But I was still leading the championship points and therefore had to show up to defend and try to at least maintain my lead, as Luke Brown (28S) was running strong and was hot on my heels. So, my mindset this day was screw it, I was either going to win this race or get carted out of here in an ambulance. That’s no exaggeration and, in retrospect, might be yet another understatement.

This was a big field; I don’t know how many riders were on the 45+ line that morning, but I’d say north of 30. Brian Dean was lined up immediately to my right, Luke Brown was all the way to my left at the opposite side of the line.

The start was a really cool arrangement. Dead engine, front tire in a small rut that ran the full length along the base of a tall, steep wooded hill. There was no run up to this hill, so as soon as you start moving, you’re immediately in a wooded hill climb. At my end of the line, there were only two possible lines the first several riders could pick, and only one of them was worth a damn. I looked over to my right and saw Dean scoping the same line. I sad ‘you going for that one?” he says ‘yup’, so I knew I had to go the instant that flag so much as twitched.

My starts hadn’t been very good so far this season. My reaction time was good, but there had been a problem with getting the bike fired quickly that I hadn’t been able to address until just a week or so prior to this race. Everything seemed to be ok now, but this would be the first start under race conditions.

So…our line is up. Front tire in the rut, right leg poised over the kickstarter, heart pounding, muscles tensed…the ‘TEN SECONDS” call is made…. It’s all I can do to not jump on that starter. A few more seconds and the flag goes up, the bike fires -immediately-, I dump the clutch, peg the throttle and am fucking g-o-n-e, baby. The entire field was in the dust behind me….it was a thing of beauty. As I crested that hill and hooked the left onto the main trail, I glanced over and saw all those guys who had picked the far left line getting tangled and jammed up with each other. I had no idea where the guys who started on my side were other than behind me, and that’s all that mattered.

I got the holeshot, got onto the main loop out front, and that’s where I stayed, flat-out for the next hour forty-five. All that other crap that had been weighing me down? Gone. It was just me, the bike, and the trail. The KTM was flawless that morning. The suspension soaked up everything I hit, settled perfectly into every turn, every rut, every berm, the engine tune was 100% spot-on, the tires hooked up like…I dunno, you get the idea. It was just layers-deep perfect. Everything just worked.

I don’t have much recollection of that race beyond what I just described….until, of course, what transpired in the closing few minutes.

We were getting towards the end of the final lap. I was pretty much home-free at this point; the second place racer was 45 seconds behind me, all I had to do was not screw up and the win was mine. There was no traffic to contend with, so….smooth sailing….right?

Yeah…..

Next thing I know, I’m on my ass. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what the hell happened, but there I was on the ground with the bike laying on its side a good fifteen feet that->>>way. I ran to the bike, picked it up and got it fired, but was so disoriented that I couldn’t find the trail. It  had to be right next to me – it had to – but I simply could not find it. I rode around the woods in the direction I was certain I’d come from, but ultimately jumped back on at a point down the hill and well behind where I’d come off. I rode that last mile or two to the finish hoping I’d salvaged the win, but David Coulter got by and took the win 18 seconds ahead of me.

In retrospect, the reason for the crash and subsequent disorientation was simple; I bonked. Ran completely out of energy, the end result of how I had been treating myself in the days and weeks leading up to this race.  It sucked hard, but it was a lesson hopefully learned.

We’ll get ’em next time….

Round 1, South Hill, Virginia 3/25/12: WIN!

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Mud? What mud?

It was a nasty, wet day in South Hill, Va. Although there was no rain this morning, it had been raining pretty steadily in the days leading up to today, and predictably, the place was a muddy mess. Fortunately. I’d prepped for these specific conditions so at least I wouldn’t be in a tremendous disadvantage going in.

The start was an approx 100 yard downhill run with a wicked pinch at the end followed immediately bu a sharp 90-degree right-hander, another 60 or so yards up a hill and then through a short 180 into the woods.

As I’m preparing for the start, another rider in my class comes up to me, and after a minute or so of typical pre-race small talk says “oh, if you’re in front of me and I yell, move over, ok? I don’t play this “get a wheel up on him stuff”.  Alright…I wasn’t particularly interested in arguing with anyone at the line so simply said ‘yeah, OK’. What I should have said, and what I was actually thinking, was “you want the position, you can earn it and take it, motherfucker”.

As an aside, this (the VCHSS) is a friendly series. We’re almost all amateurs, and most of us have families to go home to after the race and jobs to go back to on Monday. The level of camaraderie is high. However, I share to a certain degree the sentiments of Bob Hannah, who said something to the effect of “I’m not here to make friends. I want to beat these guys into tomorrow, and if you’re friends, it just makes it harder to do what you need to do to win.”

Anyway, 20 riders on the line. The flag went up and it was on. Oh wait, my bike wont start. One kick….two kicks…..three kicks. Finally, mercifully the bike fires and I’m off and into the woods in about 19th.

The woods? A freakin’ mess. Ugly. Even if this were a dry day, these trails are beat to hell and back. I know, because I helped cut some of them a few years ago and they have seen their share of races since.

Almost immediately, guys were dropping. The slick wet clay in these early sections had guys sliding and spinning all over the place. Remember when I said I’d prepped? I was hooking up and passing people at a ridiculous rate. By the time we came out of the first woods section – maybe a mile or so after the start – I was in tenth (according to a friend who was counting S-class bikes at that particular section of track) and moving up.

After a short run on some grass and then the motocross track, we dropped back into the woods. The nastiness back here is almost indescribable. Slick, soupy in spots, rutted, rooty, and bikes were getting collected all over the place. Picking the right lines through these areas, particularly when someone else was already stuck, was crucial.

The first real trouble came in a section where the marked trail seemed to simply vanish beyond a pile of crashed and stuck bikes. Myself and another couple of guys found a way around and continued on. Shortly thereafter, on a slick section that ran along a creek, I somehow managed to slide directly front-wheel-first into a tree and went down. I was fine but the gas cap somehow popped off my bike and spilled a shitload of fuel on the ground and all over me before I was able to get the bike picked back up and the cap back on. Got the bike re-fired and set off after those that had gotten by, and said a little prayer that there was still enough fuel left in the tank to get me to the finish.

The next bit of trouble came shortly after this. There was a short, soupy mud bog followed by a short but very steep and heavily rooted uphill. I made it through the mud OK but lost traction on the roots about halfway up this hill, had to bail off the bike and push it the rest of the way. This was a h-u-g-e waste of energy, so I hoped to be able to find a better line the next time around (note: I didn’t).

I had no idea where I was running at this point and it didn’t really matter, just had to keep on pushing. But, much to my surprise, I came through scoring on that first lap 3rd in class (!)

The second lap was more of the same, only this time when I got stuck on that same heavily rooted uphill (it would get me all three laps), stuck right next to me was 48s, Larry Butler. He got up and going before me, and at that point I figured any shot at moving up just evaporated. Butler is fast. However, I don’t know how or where I passed him back but I did; my assumption is he got stuck in one of the bottomless mud pits somewhere along the way with everyone else. Coming through scoring at the end of the second lap, I was in the lead.

Lap three, getting beat to hell and back but pushing on. Came into a turn a bit too hot and ended up in an airbox-high rut that I’d been avoiding up until now. Problem was there was another bike stuck in this rut right in front of me. It took what seemed like forever to get out and get going again (realistically about a minute and a half), but not one single bike came by us the whole time. Didn’t know if that was good or bad or how much longer my luck would hold, but I rode from that point on as though I were on fire. Through scoring the final time….still 1st. Checkered flag. A win??? I’ll be damned…. a WIN! By two minutes and change. Unbelievable.

Not a bad way to start a season 🙂

March 2012 Update

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Been a while since my last post. Haven’t been feeling very, I dunno, literary  lately I guess. That said, lots going on these days. Race season is one day away and I’m sitting here just counting the minutes.

Ran a couple of races in the off-season. First up was the Hangover Harescramble @ Virginia Motorsports Park back on New Years day. FUN race, despite the complete and total clusterfuck that was the start. No starting rows were marked out which meant a large portion of the field left off with the wrong class. But, the mood was light on this day and everyone, including yours truly, just took it in stride. Of course, when the gate dropped, everyone’s gate dropped except mine. So there I sat, watching the last of the field disappear in a cloud of dust while trying to back my bike up enough to get around the stuck gate when it finally dropped. I was on the gas from that point forward and made up a ton of positions by the time it was all said and done. I don’t remember my finishing position….it wasn’t spectacular, but it was a good time all the same.

Next up was the Burnt Gin race down in Sumter. This was a national, and I blame nobody but myself for the disaster that of a race it turned out to be. Got a great start and hung with my class (those local boys are f-a-s-t), but about 15 miles in started getting lapped by the pros. You know, Mullins, Bakken, Raines, etc…, and it got to the point that I had to spend so much concentration on what was coming up behind me (do YOU want to be the guy who holds up Charlie Mullins? me neither…) that it totally blew my ability to focus on what was in front of me. After several stupid and otherwise totally avoidable crashes, I decided the rest of the afternoon might be better spent watching these guys and maybe learning a thing or two rather than continuing to hammer the living shit out of my knee for nothing but the privilege of being a rolling roadblock.

I did come home with a really cool orange t-shirt though.

Otherwise, not much seat time since Pipsico but I’ve been spending a lot of time in the gym, as in every single day. Originally my goal was to lose weight but I screwed up nutritionally and ended feeling weak and tired much of the time, losing a bit of muscle along with the fat I was trying to target. So, after getting the nutrition thing sorted out, I started wandering from the elliptical machines over to the weight area from time to time and messing around a bit, which evolved into some minor weight training being incorporated into my workout, which has since evolved into a full-on weight training program along with my already fairly intense cardio program. My weight as of this morning is @ 167 (down from 202 in August) and I feel great. The real test came last weekend though when I took the bike out for the first time in about a month. I don’t know if I was any faster but the level of control I had over the bike was massively improved, as was my stamina. Took a half day off from work and went out again yesterday to make sure all the kinks were worked out for Sunday’s VCHSS season opener, and it was all good.

On the down side, the knee has been starting to hurt again. I don’t know if the CTI unloader brace is doing what I’d hoped it would, and may have to go back the the less riding-appropriate but more effective Ossur unloader for the first couple of races and see how that works out. In any event, I will be approaching this season as though it’s my last and giving it everything I’ve got for as long as I’m able.

So, it’s on to South Hill! Race report to follow…

-Bob

Race Report: VCHSS Pipsico 100 11-13-2011

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bob_pipsico_counting_bikes

Hmm…that’s a lot of bikes.

What a day.

There were 29 riders lined up in the 45C+ class today, probably the biggest turnout in this class all year. The entire C-class field was 201 riders strong.

The start was short and intense – an abbreviated run off the line to the first turn – a 180-degree hairpin followed by a relatively short s-turn before funneling down to the entrance to the woods.

My strategy for the starts is simple, and borne more out of a sense of self-preservation than any attempt to score well: try to stay out of trouble and not wreck or get caught up in someone elses wreck. That means, for me, starting on one extreme end of the line or the other and getting going quickly. If you can make it to and through the first bottleneck – in this case, the first 180 – cleanly and ahead of the pack, you’re usually home-free.

Getting into the woods first is another matter entirely, and something I need to work on.

The flag went up and the KTM started on the first kick. Dumped the clutch, pinned the throttle and it was on. Got off the line near the front of the pack but lost a bunch of positions at the 180 and ended up getting into the woods in around 10th or 11th.

pipsico_start_crash

F-Class start. Yikes!

The first lap was a bit rough, but my first laps are always rough… It was a short one, under two miles and through scoring before heading out for the first full-length (7-mile) lap.

I came through scoring in 9th place and, once through the scoring tent, got on the throttle hard. Although there was a lot of new trail cut for this race, the route in and out of the scoring area has apparently remained unchanged for years, which means ruts, roots, and all other sorts of general nastiness. I mention this because about a hundred yards or so out, I lost it in some of this nastiness and crashed hard. Highsided right into a tree. Did a quick “am I dead/paralyzed” inventory to make sure fingers, toes and other important stuff still worked, picked up the bike and got back to it. Several guys had gotten past for position, so I had some serious work to do.

The forks had gotten tweaked in the wreck (bars pointing one way, wheel pointing another) so hopefully this wouldn’t pose a problem.

The first thing I noticed is that this wreck didn’t slow me down at all. In fact if anything, it knocked some focus into me. I started picking off positions almost immediately to get myself back into the game.

pipsico_hunting_down_82s

On the hunt – Chasing down Dillard for 5th place

Came through scoring at the end of lap 2 still in 9th place, but had now caught the tail end of what I call the “S Train” – a group of riders in my class who were all running nearly identical lap times and were well within striking distance of each other. I was right there…

Got past 37s (Tony Carthan) for position somewhere on this lap, moving me into 8th by the end of lap 3. I was still in the S Train, but laps were winding down and if there were a move to be made, it would have to come on this lap.

On the 4th lap, I picked up two more spots when both 59s (Andy Vasquez, who I had been following for a while earlier in the race – I could catch him but could not get past him – dude is s-m-o-o-t-h) and 50s (Mark Coolidge) went off course. That put me in 6th and directly behind 82s (Kevin Dillard) who was in 5th. I was right-freakin’-there, but once again found myself behind someone I was a bit faster than but not quite good enough to get around. This guy made zero mistakes that I could capitalize on.

Within the next few minutes, the S Train had reassembled. It was Dillard, me, Vasquez and Carthan wheel-to-wheel, hauling ass and each praying we didn’t screw up and that the other guy would. At the same time I was trying to stay focused, I couldn’t help but think how cool it was to be running competitively with these guys after the kind of year I’ve had.

Then it happened. Coming around a turn, I either missed a shift or stalled (don’t remember, doesn’t matter, sucked just as hard either way). Got passed almost immediately by Vasquez but got fired and moving again just in time to keep 37s from getting by also. I set off after Vasquez hard,  but a slower bike from another class was between us, and the guy wouldn’t give me any room.

It’s generally accepted practice that if someone not in your class is in your way, you can yell – typically something like ‘woo-wooooo’ – and they give you room to pass cleanly. This guy wouldn’t move, and instead sped up to try to stay in front of me and ended up riding over his head and beyond his ability. I think I saw the trouble he was getting himself into before he did, but still not quick enough. Before I could preemptively adjust to the crash I knew he was about to have…he crashed, and I slid into him and came to a stop.

chased_by_37s

37s on my tail

So, here comes Carthan with 24s (Ken Plotz) right behind him. Carthan cuts right and tries to short-cut through the woods to get around us but got hung up himself.. In the mean time, Plotz comes around my left and almost takes the spot from me, but I got clear of the crashed rider at the last possible moment and throttled out of there before he could complete the pass (hats off to Plotz, he could easily have pressed the issue and made it ugly for one or both of us). You can see this last-lap mess unfold here courtesy Tony Carthan’s helmet cam @ about the 2-minute mark.

We were maybe a mile or two from the finish; I knew that barring any mistakes by the riders in front of me, the chances of picking up any more spots were slim. With Plotz on my ass and Carthan close behind him, all I could do was ride hard as possible and protect my line, which is exactly what I did.

Through scoring the final time, took the checkers in 7th! Plotz finished 14 seconds behind me and Carthan 4 seconds behind him.

This was an awesome race, and I couldn’t think of a better way to end the season….except to add a few more races to the schedule – It feels like I’m just getting warmed up 🙂

To top it all off, this race also doubled as a fundraiser for Lincoln Charities. We were able to raise over $1000 via pledges on my performance today. My heartfelt thanks to all who contributed and made this possible.

The take-away from this race: If I’m to finish any closer to the front of this highly competitive class, I’ll absolutely have to to get better at passing, and get more aggressive on the starts.

And with that, I think this will be the last post in the “The Comeback” category; it’s safe to say after this run that the road to recovery is fairly complete.