The Triton GNCC

March 6, 2007 - Vero Beach, Florida

This event is a bit unusual for us racers because it is actually raced on a Tuesday.  It's unbelievable how many people are able to get off work and attend this race!  ATV's raced on Sunday so Monday was a practice day for the motorcycles.  They had a small loop set up that everyone could ride and test themselves and their bikes on.  It was fairly whooped out and got pretty rough by the end of the day.  I was having a hard time finding a rhythm and I kept seeing TONS of XC2 riders that were going fast.  Caselli, Williamson, Duvall, Gibson and more were all out there putting in laps and making me wonder if I should have even showed up!  They were hauling!

After a decent nights sleep, it was time to race.  I drew high number so I didn't get the best choice of starting spots but it turned out not to really matter anyways. My bike didn't start on the first kick so I was a little ways back off the start. As we headed into the woods (and dust!) I wondered what I had gotten myself into.  Thankfully, however, the first mile or so was pretty wide and made for good passing opportunities.  By the end of the first lap I had made it up to 4th and was feeling much more comfortable than the day before!  Kurt Caselli, Andy Shea and Justin Williamson were all running really strong up front and I was fortunate to be able to get into 2nd place about halfway through the 2nd lap.  Caselli had a big lead at that point and I knew that it would be virtually impossible to reel him in on a course like Vero Beach.  He is amazing in that type of terrain.  Actually, I guess he's amazing wherever he chooses to ride!  Heading in to lap 4 I was still in 2nd as it came time to pit.  2 gallons of gas and a fresh pair of goggles was all it took to get me on my way again for the last half of the race. 

Unfortunately, this is where the race started to go downhill!  I started feeling cramps in my arms at first and then it seemed to progress throughout my entire body!  I held on to 3rd through lap 5 but shortly thereafter, I hit the wall!  I could barely hang on and wasn't sure if my body would even make it to the finish.  It was painful to even touch the grips, not to mention try to hold on through waist deep whoop sections.  I dropped back to 7th with one lap to go and after an agonizing 42 minute last lap I came through the scoring tent in 10th. 

I'll be honest, after running top 3 for so long early on, it was a disappointment to drop back so far in the final results.  I was so tired that I wasn't sure if my body would be able to recover in time for the Georgia race that upcoming Sunday.  Now that I've had time to rest, I must admit that I had a lot of fun on the course they laid out.  I wish we could race it again sometime this season!  I would definitely be able to prepare my body better for the beating I'd be taking!

Photos by Danny Walker  -   http://www.pbase.com/photo_by_walk/