Wildcat OMA

April 22, 2007 - Decatur, Arkansas

After having such long driving distances lately it was really nice to have a race just over an hour from home. I kept telling myself to just take it easy at this race and make sure the bike comes through unscathed. And I really tried!

When the green flag flew, I kicked once and the bike took off towards the first turn. Unfortunately everyone elses bike seemed to get there a little quicker and I was buried in the back of the pack. Did I mention that the first few minutes of racing took place in a dustbowl? It was hard to see anything, much less try to make any passes! To make things even better there were almost 30 pro riders on the line for this one.

We hit the woods and not too far after and rode through some pretty new, tight and twisty trails before finally being dumped out into a creekbed that we rode down for probably a quarter mile. It was in this creek bed that I quickly learned that my plan to "baby" my bike through the race wasn't going to work. I pushed it a little too hard and went down on the hard rock bottom. When I picked my bike up I discovered that half of my right footpeg had been sheared off! I've actually lost complete footpegs before and finished races so I considered myself blessed to have been left with nearly half of this one. Riding with it actually wasn't too bad and after awhile I didn't even notice it.

As the race progressed I just tried to pick up as many positions as possible. Other than the dusty open areas near the beginning, the course was in pretty good shape. There were some technical sections and some steep downhills but it was actually a nice change of pace from the GNCC's I've been doing lately.

Nearing the finish I could see Brian Garrahan ahead of me so I gave it all I had to try and catch him. As we popped out of the woods with just a few turns to the finish I was able to get inside of him and make a pass. As soon as I crossed the line I found out I had made it to 3rd place. I was pretty excited about that! On the downside, however, I also had time to assess the damage to the bike. It looked like this: A bent clutch lever, broken throttle tube, cracked ignition cover, flat tire and the aforementioned footpeg damage. So much for being easy on the bike! Now it's time to get a parts list together and hope we can get everything bandaged up in time for the race at Loretta's next weekend!