blog

Cat Scratch Harescrambles

Fri, 11 May 2012 02:29:14 +0100

Last weekend the usual group of racers rolled into Squamish to see if they could maybe take their bikes for a walk through the woods! The Squamish motorcycle clubs “Cat Scratch Fever” Hare Scrambles has a reputation of being extremely difficult, particularly for the “A” level racers in the Pro, expert, and intermediate classes who compete on a separate more challenging course. The last time I raced in Squamish was several years ago, and I don’t remember much about, but there is photographic evidence of me pushing my bike up a root infested up-hill. Perhaps I wiped the experience from my memory so I could sleep at night. That being said, I don’t know any BC racer who shies away from a challenge, and so there was quite a turn out at this years race. I pre-rode the “A” course with brother Malcolm on Saturday once we arrived and got semi-unpacked. A short 11 km loop is what we were told to expect. An hour later we arrived back at camp and all I could say about the course was that it was a true “A” loop, and there aren’t many of those left these days! The weather was beautiful, but a coastal dampness made the night a bit chilly, especially for Malcolm who slept in his van and only brought one blanket and was convinced he had a touch of hypothermia the next morning. The expressionless stare on his face was somewhat disturbing when I told him he should have said something, I had to take two sleeping bags off of me because I was sweating so much sleeping in the bike trailer!

The race started at 11:00 am on Sunday. Good friend Ryan Langley got the holeshot on his Big Red Forest Creature (a Gas Gas 300) despite several death threats uttered his way prior to the start of the race. I guess he though he could out-run the inherent danger, and in the end he did. I was 2^nd off the start, and after 2 laps of swapping positions and pulling a nice strong lead on the rest of the class, I came into the check point 2 hours into the race and stopped. A shoulder injury only 1 week previous led to several physio, acupuncture and doctors appointments to enable me to race the Squamish race, and the thought of lifting and pushing my bike for another hour and pushing the still injured and recovering shoulder scared me enough to decide to play it smart and safe. I pulled out and watched my 1^st place turn into a 2^nd place, then a 3^rd…..all the way down to 10^th place before I could cross the finish line at my cut off time. The entire time I coached myself from going crazy by saying “it’s okay, you’re doing the right thing, you are riding smart, making sure you don’t do permanent damage, thinking about the bigger picture and racing the ISDE in Germany in September blah blah blah” Anyone who races knows that it’s an ugly feeling to just sit and wait. It feels like your giving up and being a baby no matter what the circumstances normally. Regardless, I did accomplish my mail goal that weekend, which was to finish the race and not get injured further. My shoulder is feeling better every day now, and I am glad I made the decision I did. My next goal is to fatten up my physiotherapists bank account for the next two weeks at least and be as prepared as I can for the May long weekend race in Vernon two Sunday’s from now!

On a side note, I would like to say a very big THANK YOU to all of the friends and fellow racers, and supporters who bought ISDE hoodies at the Squamish race to help send me to Germany on the women’s trophy team this year! I can’t express my thanks enough.

I also want to send the most genuine Get Well wishes to Barry (you know who you are) you have the spirit of a fighter and it was inspiring to see you with your up-beat attitude hitting up the races and also showing your support for me as well. People such as yourself are bound for success.

Thank you to my generous sponsors: Gas Gas Pacific, Gamma Sales, Gnarly Parts (who also lent my brother a bike to race on that day!!!), Scorpion racing, Rider’s Edge Suspension, Fasstco Flexx bars, A Vicious Cycle (Ego Barkbusters), Inside Moto X & Off-road Magazine, Alpinestars, Adrenaline Distribution, North Okanagan Gas Gas, and long time supporters Valley Motosports.

Tory

The Rock Hound

Fri, 04 May 2012 23:59:31 +0100

Salmon Arm – Rock Hound Harescrambles

After pre-riding the course on Saturday I realized that one endurocross and a desert race are not adequate training for a rocky and demanding Okanagan hare scrambles race! The course was a delight to ride, and much different that I remember from the faster dusty terrain of the past. Tight trails littered with small boulders and logs put a big smile on my face and catered to my style or riding quite nicely. I have to admit though that half way through the course there was a section of very loose rock strewn up hills and being that I dreaded. It became evident that I was not in 100% race shape yet as I screamed up those hills in a full-out PN Style which in case you’re wondering goes something like this: Sit down, feet off the pegs paddling next to you, throttle pinned, and god forbid you go up the hill in a straight line! I call it PN Style because usually by hour 3 of a PN race that is all anybody is humanly capable of doing in your desperate attempts to make it up the more challenging hills. Sunday came and after getting gassing up LRFC, gearing up and taping my hands I did my pre-race stretching and headed for the starting line. I decided to put LRFC on the stand and walk up to the front of the pack to watch my brother Malcolm Hett start on the Pro line. I turned the gas off on LRFC so that nothing leaked out while it stood leaning over on the stand. Malcolm had an amazing start with 2^nd off the line just shy of the holeshot! I watched him fly up the rocky start hill and come around the top corner and duck into the woods with the rest of the Pro’s chasing him down. I walked back to my bike and rolled up to my start line several minutes later. My hands were on my helmet, everything was complete silence, I was staring up the trail waiting for the signal to start my bike and go……….GO!!!! Yelled the race organizer and I kicked my bike over and slammed it down into gear expecting a holeshot start!!! Nothing. I kicked and kicked to no avail and then looked down and realized Ahhhhhh I forgot to turn my gas back on! The rest of the intermediate class was up and over the first hill and ducking into the woods already and finally I got LRFC going and took off like a bat out of hell! I had so much determination to catch my class and make it to the top and that fired me up that first lap and allowed me to start picking off all of the racers in front of me. By the end of the first lap, I had passed almost my entire class and was running in the top three. My goal on the second lap around was to just hold it together and not crash. I had one incident where I didn’t make it up a steep climb after a creek crossing and had to back down into the creek, turn around, ride backwards on the course to turn around and get another run at the hill. I was panicking because it was taking up a TON of time to do this and four people passed me during the process. I wasn’t sure if they were in my class or not, and I was tired after the ordeal! I got going again and started to catch up. By the end of the second lap and 2 hour of racing (thank goodness there was not a 3^rd lap required!) I finished in 2^nd place. Chantelle and I joked on the podium about pushing the young fellow who got 1^st place off the top and taking over the entire stand, but of course even if we were serious, we were all too tired to make a move!

On a side note, I have to say a very big thank you to Ian at Rider’s Edge suspension. Ian, there were four separate occasions during the race when I actually shouted out loud “Thank you Ian!” as I misjudged a few rocks and slammed into them in such a manner that I should have been sent sailing into a world of hurt! You’re amazing suspension knowledge and work truly did save me and earn me my second place finish this weekend!

I would like to thank North Okanagan Gas Gas for their support at the race, and all of my sponsors who have been so loyal and helpful throughout the years: Gas Gas Pacific, Gamma Sales, Scorpion Racing, Fasstco Flexx bars, Rider’s Edge Suspension, Gnarly Parts, Valley Motosport, A Vicious Cycle, Adrenaline Distribution, Alpinestars, and Inside Moto X & Off-road Magazine!

Desert 100

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 04:06:16 +0100

Desert 100

The 2012 Desert 100 took place April 1^st this year. I left work at 5:00 pm and after wrapping about 50 feet of rope and a boat tarp around LRFC on the hitch carrier I hit the road. The drive is supposed to take 6 hours, but after stopping for groceries in Oroville, and getting pulled over by the cops in Omak and having to cut holes in my tarps to reveal my tail lights, I made it 20 miles from the race site when I could go no more. I pulled over on the side of the road and slept for half an hour and then got going again. I arrived at the race site and paid my gate fee. The fellows at the gate were trying to make jokes with me all of which I was too tired to understand. After half an hour of unwrapping the bike so that I could get into the box of the truck under the canopy I crawled onto my bed and passed out at 2:00 am. I woke up at 7am to the sound of 100’s of kids revving their bikes up getting ready for the poker run. It rained the entire day and night off and on and after signing up for the race and triple checking nuts and bolts on the bike I went to bed. The next morning brought more rain but about an hour before the start of the race, the sun came out! It was partially sunny and cloudy all day with no dust – conditions couldn’t have been better. It got really muddy in some sections and there were fields of ruts that formed but nothing like what we’re used to up here, they were all manageable. The women’s division starts on the second start wave which is usually around 600 riders long. Everyone lines up 50 feet behind their bikes and at the blast of a cannon, you run to the bike start it up and head all out across the desert where there are no trails aiming for the top of a hill in the distance where everyone has to pass through a wide gate at the top. From there you funnel into the trails. Normally I am mid-pack going through the gates, but to my surprise I got the gates within the top 10! I couldn’t believe what a great start I got! I stayed up front and started catching and passing people in the 100 mile class that had started on the wave ahead of us. I must have passed over 300 people during the event! It was great fun!

In years past, they have a gas truck that brings racers spare gas cans to a remote fill up station half way through the lap for people who can’t make 50 miles. This year they decided not to do that. I was a little nervous about LRFC’s fuel mileage, so I filled up a water bottle full of gas and used a ridiculous amount of duct tape to tape it to my front fender just in case. I held the lead for quite some time, and along a very fast straight away Chantelle passed me. I decided to ride behind and pace her for a while and then pick a time to pass her when the opportunity arose. After about 20 minutes the time came as she went sideways climbing out of small canyon trail. I held the lead after this and put some space between us and was feeling very good about holding the lead until the finish. Then it happened: 10 miles from the finish I ran out of gas. I had it turned onto reserve already so I reached for my back up gas which was gone. It had fallen off at some point during the race! I thought, at least I have my tool pack, I can use some pliers to get someone’s fuel line off and borrow some gas if anyone stops. I reached back for my tool pack, and it was also gone. I parked my bike and did a quick survey of the area, then I decided I would push it forward to a higher spot along the trail so it could be out of the way a bit. After this I just sat there with my helmet on contemplating what to do. Another minute or so later, Chantelle went by. I walked to the top of a near by hill to see if there was anything around. There was nothing. I walked back down to my bike and sat there a bit longer. Then I decided I would take my helmet off and fix my braids because I had nothing else to do. After doing my hair, a sweep rider came by and told me to get set up for a long 3+ hour wait until someone could bring me gas after the event. I sat down and hid from the wind beneath a big sage brush, and a little while later another sweep rider came by. He told me that there was a road crossing that was probably within walking distance. I set off across the desert and after half an hour of walking I found the highway. I hitched a ride to the main pits, and grabbed my gas can and then hitched a ride back to my highway spot. I walked into the desert gas can in hand, and just over half an hour of walking I found the bike and filled up. I rode with my gas can back to the highway and dropped it off there, and then got on the gas to make up some time for the last few miles of the race. There wasn’t much point because I knew I had to be very far behind, but I was excited just to be able to finish the race. I must have passed at least 30 bikes in the last 10 miles who were all out of gas, and who were not going to finish the race. I finished in 19^th place out of 40-50 women.

The weekend wasn’t a total loss though, I did my interview with National Geographic and they said that out of everyone they interviewed, mine was the most professional so that was nice to hear. It was great to be racing the desert 100 again after missing last year’s event, and I can’t wait to go back next year and make sure that I can make the full 50 miles so that I can do my best to reclaim 1^st place. It was wonderful to catch up with old race friends and see everyone after the long winter freeze.

The next race on the calendar is the Roots of Doom on Vancouver Island!

First Race of 2012

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 06:41:46 +0100

Xtreme Indoor Endurocross - Central Point, Oregon

After a long 14 hour drive,myself along with brother Malcolm Hett, and other BC racers Ryan Graffunder, Mike Laycraft, Mark Yaschuk and Daddy Yaschuk, arrived in Central Point Oregon. I signed up to race the men’s Amateur Division on the brand new 2012 GasGas 300. I missed out on the Amateur main event by one spot, but another female missing out on the main event was 2011 WORCS Champion Kacey Martinez. The organizers saw an opportunity to showcase the female talent in a head to head showdown during the night show!

The main events started later that evening under the stadium lights. After the Canadian National Anthem was sung in honor of our visiting Canadian group, the night show got under way. All of our Canadian boys did great in their respective races and the main event for the women's category went just as well. I lined up next to Kacey Martinez to a mass of screaming fans that all ended up on their feet by the end of the shorter womens main event! After swapping positions over 5 times in the race and making contact in several sections I came from behind Martinez on the last straight away and took the win in what fans called the most intense and exciting race of the evening!

I would like to thank the 2012 sponsors that made it possible for me to represent our Canadian girls down south: GasGas Pacific, Gamma Sales, Fasst Company, Riders Edge Suspension, Scorpion Racing, Gnarly Parts & Accessories, Alpinestars, A Vicious Cycle, Valley Moto Sport, HearSmart Solutions, Adrenaline Distribution, Bump MX Park, Advanced Pavetech, and of course Inside Moto-X & Off Road Magazine.

Next stop the famous Desert 100!

2012 Season Re-cap

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:09:19 +0100

I wanted to send out a big thank you to all of the sponsors of 2011, it turned out to be a very successful season just as anticipated and thanks to all of the support and hard work there are some very exciting things coming for 2012!

To re-cap the season, I’ll start with British Columbia’s premier race series, the PNWMA (Pacific Northwest Motorcycle Association). As you know I competed in the intermediate class against some of Canada’s fastest guys outside of the Pro classes and finished in a very respectable 3^rd place over-all! This marks the first time in Canadian history a female racer has ever had a podium finish in the intermediate class and it’s largely thanks to all of the amazing support I’ve received! I also competed in the OHSS (Okanagan Hare Scrambles Series) when it did not conflict with other races and in this series I finished in podium spots many times and was awarded with several 1^st place finishes in the Intermediate class as well, marking the first time a female has won their intermediate class as well.

Outside of British Columbia, I competed in two mainstream Endurocross events one being the AMA Geico Endurocross in Washington. The goal behind competing in these events was to draw attention to my skill in these areas in order to obtain an invitation to the 2012 X-Games in L.A. and promote my sponsors on a more international stage. With very respectable finishes in the the Men’s “A” class qualifiers and top finishes and podium finishes in the women’s divisions I am very excited to announce that after the AMA Endurocross in Washington it's looking like there is a good chance I will be able to compete in the 2012 X Games Women’s Endurocross! This will be the first time a Canadian woman has competed at this event and I expect it to be a very important opportunity to showcase my loyal sponsors.

In the world of Enduro, I competed in the well known CEC (Canadian Enduro Championship) series. This presented some tough decisions for me, as I could have chosen to enter the women’s division where my times this year I think would have earned me the championship again, or I could choose to compete in the “B” (Intermediate) or “A” (Expert) division. At the risk of having slightly less podium time, I chose to challenge myself and race in the “A” expert division against many of Canada’s best male competitors. This earned me a great deal of respect amongst the media and fellow racers, and allowed me to noticeably improve my skill and ability on the motorcycle. Racing in the “A” division allowed me to work on my endurance and skill by racing 6 hour + days against Canada’s deepest talent pool. I also feel that it served to better prepare me for my ultimate goal in 2012.

In 2012 my goal is to continue making 1^st records by being the first Canadian woman to bring home a Gold medal for Canada on the world stage at the ISDE which is being held in Saxony Germany in September! In 2010 I became the first Canadian woman to compete in, finish, and earn a medal at the ISDE which allowed me to promote my sponsors more than ever on a world stage, and with continued support, I plan on improving this coverage even more in Germany in 2012.

I’d like to extend my most genuine thanks to all of my friends and family and the sponsors of 2011, it is because of your belief in me and support that I can continue to be successful on the local and world stages of motorcycle racing. I appreciate every word of encouragement, merchandise sponsorship and financial donation. As the competition increases year to year, I am truly thankful for your continued support and I look forward to many great adventures in 2012!

Thank You!!!

Everett Endurocross Excitement!

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:09:12 +0100

Last night I raced my first ever AMA Endurocross at the Comcast Stadium in Everett Washington. After a long drive after work Friday night, we found the hotel around 1:30 a.m. and hit the hay for a short sleep. At 7 a.m. we ate quickly and jumped into Bugsie to drive to the event just a few minutes down the road. One turn of the truck key revealed that the truck was dead! Thankfully a friendly fellow who oddly resembled jesus drove up in his prius with a pair of jumper cables! After hooking Malcolms Van up to Bugsie, it started up right away, and we returned the jumper cables to our intersting saviour!!! With that out of the way, we drove to the pit area and set up our Gas Gas tent and got everything unloaded. A track walk would turn up the butterflies in my stomach, but after my first few practice laps in the men's amateur class, and womens class, I started to feel a bit better. The course featured a water pit, large log crossings, a very nasty firewood pit, giant tractor tires, an evil rock corner, and a very large boulder field. As the day went on, the spaces between the boulders got dug out by spinning bike tires, holes developed before and after each log, and the course became very challenging. I tired myself out quite a bit battling all the way to third at one point in the men's amateur qualifier, and skipped the last chance qualifier to gain some rest. I was slotted to race in the big night show at 9:40 pm against America's top rider Maria Forsberg, and some of the other American girls that came out. Also entered in the womens category were some of Canada's top female riders like Chantelle Bykerk, and trials pro Christy Williams.

Before the night show got started, I laid down on the pavement by my bike and took a nap in the shade. Turns out my gear bag makes a half decent pillow! I guess I must have been really tired because when I woke up, Steve was checking my bike over, and said that a few people had come by to visit but I was out cold! Some very good friends of mine even made the drive down to support me and enjoy the show! Mike and Arriane and Marcus and Lana were a welcome distraction and having the support of friends at such a big event, meant the world to me. Thank you so much! There was also a big PNWMA gang that came down to cheer for the Canadian contingent which was amazing, and Jim Engle from the now famous "Orofino Loggercross" was there and paid us a visit!

The main event for us girls started at 9:40 pm. I felt really good and had high hopes of taking the win. The second log crossing into the main, misfortune struck as it so often does in endurocross. A racer rolled off a log into my front tire and my tire became lodged in between her rear fender and tire! Over 30 seconds went by before I got loose and by that time, I was in last place! Maria was in 1st and Chantelle wasn't far behind in 2nd place. I had a field of girls to battle through who were scattered throughout the rock corner and firewood pit to get up front again! After pushing way too hard and making some stupid mistakes that I normally would NEVER make, I began making up time. My brother Malcolm could tell I was riding panicky, and leaned out over the track and motioned for me to calm down. After seeing him I knew he was right. I took a deep breath to calm myself and re-focused. I worked my way back up that next lap into second place after making it clean through the firewood pit. I saw Maria stuck in the boulder feild 5 feet from the finish line ahead of me. I was gaining on her and the crowd was going wild!!!! An estimated 10,000+ fans screamed and the echo's blasted through the indoor stadium! As I inched closer and closer Maria got her bike out of the rocks and crossed the finish line all but four feet ahead of me! Ahhh...so close!!!! I was very happy to get 2nd place to Maria who is America's X-Games Gold Medalist and has earned the nickname of "Miss America". She's a very sportsman like racer and a very friendly and helpful person in general. It was an honor to race with her and all of the other girls who are so talented and professional. I'm still shy of my goal of getting a win in woman's endurocross, but I'm more sure than ever I can do it. I have my sights set on the 2012 X Games next summer, and rumors of a possible AMA Pro Women's Endurocross series are floating around. I plan to work hard to make my dream a reality! Thanks to everyone who supported me last weekend, it was a great learning experience, and it only gets better from here!

Xtiction in the Record Books!

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 05:26:01 +0100

My journey to Xtinction included sleeping in the back of my truck on the side of the road, getting to know a large group of Chinese tourist at McDonalds very late at night, and getting lost on endless straight gravel roads trying to find the race site, but eventually I arrived and got L.R.F.C. unloaded and took in my surroundings. In the afternoon I headed out to walk the qualifier course with Stephen. This I am convinced was a mistake, because I left even more nervous and wondering what the hell I was getting myself into for Sunday morning! After a long stormy Albertan night, I woke up to be treated to an excellent Shannon family breakfast and started getting geared up and ready to face my fears! A lot of encouraging words from racing friends helped to calm my nerves a bit, and at 10:15 a.m. I started my first qualifying lap of Xtinction. I finished 2 laps and with self preservation in mind, I opted out of going for a 3^rd lap and waited for the cut-off time. I wanted to save my bike and body for what was possibly to come that afternoon, if I ended up making it into the main event. 58 riders started the qualifier for Xtinction, the top 40 would move on to the main event. Part of me wanted to make the main event, but after seeing how difficult the main event course would be in the afternoon, I can’t say that I would have been devastated if I fell short and got to be a spectator instead! Finally the time came to see what my fate would be as they posted the results and displayed who would be moving on to the Xtinction main event. There sat my name “Victoria Hett” in 39^th place!!!! Ahhh…half of me was ecstatic that I made it, but the other half of me was down-right horrified! At 2:00 pm I lined up to start the main event, full of excitement and concern, near the back of the pack I started my attack on Xtinction! The first 20 minutes where full of obstacles that I found somewhat challenging, but nothing that left me horror-struck, at about 21 minutes in that all changed. I now know what it feels like to have your body hurdled down a near vertical giant hill climb not knowing whether your bike that is chasing you down the hill was going to come crashing down on top of you or not! I remember thinking to myself as I ducked my head down, curled up in a ball and protected myself with my arms “this is the position school kids are taught to go into under their school desks during an earthquake!” Once my body stopped moving, I figured I must have reached the bottom of the hill, so I looked up to see where my bike was. “Baaahhhhh” I screamed as I noticed it was still coming down the hill and right at me! I jumped out of the way and as my bike landed in a heap, I picked it up and inspected the damage. Severely bent handlebars were the most concerning outcome of the tumble, and as I rode my bike around to get ready for another run up the hill, it became apparent that it was going to be very difficult to continue riding it with the awkward downward bend my handlebars were now sporting on one side! A quick look at Jarett May’s handlebars later in the day left me feeling much better; I guess mine weren’t that bad J Another shot at the hill, and I made it up to the top and continued on my way. As the race went on, I would be faced with many hills and obstacles that would make my first hill-climb incident seem like a walk in the park! Faced with massive sink holes of doom (at least that’s how I saw them) littered along near impossible hill climbs I attempted one obstacle at a time, and slowly made my way through the course. Near the end of the loop, I only made it through thanks to teaming up with fellow racers Matt Coonfer and Chris Sorokovsky, we all helped each other to make it up several sections, and eventually spread out on our own again. A highlight of my day was seeing friend Jarett May on the course and riding with him for a bit. If it weren’t for Jarett helping to pull my bike out of a sink hole that it landed in after cart wheeling down a hill, I do believe I’d still be out there! After making it up that specific hill, I rode behind Jarett and it was such a great feeling after making it up an obstacle, to see him check behind him to make sure I was still alive! Thanks Jarett, you rock!!! I rode alone to the end of the course and was nervous thinking about the finish line hill. A big Red Bull blow up arch waited to greet me at the top of the finish hill and with a 50 foot run up the hill, I pinned it hoping for the best! To my surprise, I made it up fine and gave a good old fist pump of celebration up to the sky as I rolled under those blue arches!!!!! I quick hop down the other side of the hill to the finishing tent, and I had become the first woman to ever make it to the main event of Xtinction, and finish!!!! The cuts, bruises and bike maintenance needed are well worth it.

X-tinction awaits!

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:46:55 +0100

By 5:00 pm tomorrow, August 5th I'll be getting off work and starting my 10 hour drive to the site of the X-tinction Extreme Enduro! Bugsie (my truck) Roost (my dog) and L.R.F.C (my bike) will be hitting the road country music blaring and windows down to try and get as far as we can before I fall asleep. A quick search of where all the Tim Horton's are located along the way helps me determine where my over-night resting spot will be, it will be the second time in a week I've slept in the back seat of my truck, but this time it is by choice! I'm not sure how far I will get in the X-tinction qualifying event that starts at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, but I plan on trying my best to make it through at least one lap, and with a lot of luck, maybe even the main event! Wish me luck as I try my hand at Canada's only extreme event! With sponsors like Red Bull on board this year, and a video crew filming the event, it will be an experience of a lifetime I'm sure! Getting home Sunday night around 3-4 a.m. will put me short on sleep, especially when my alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m for work, but as soon as I'm caught up on sleep I'll get some photo's and hopefully video up of my X-tinction experience!

Tory :)

Rounds 3 & 4 Canadian Enduro Championships Blairmore Alberta

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:38:42 +0100

I got off work at 2:00 pm Friday afternoon and was picked up by my brother Malcolm in the parking lot. A quick stop off at my house and our 10 hour road trip would begin, taking us from Vernon BC to Blairmore Alberta for the third and fourth rounds of the Canadian Enduro Championships (CEC’s). Probably one of the best parts of the road trip came while we were cruising along to Frank Sinatra, and I woke up yawing. Thinking I’d better check and see how Malcolm was fairing with the long drive, I asked how he was making out and if he needed to switch drivers yet. What followed was a classic Malcolm answer: “Naaaa….I just had a nap on that last straight stretch, I’m good”. Thanks Malcolm! And the trip went on…stopping only for gas and a Walmart fruit bowl, we made it to Blairmore around midnight.

Alberta is unique in that you can find yourself pushing through a trail in a valley bottom swamp, and an hour later, you’re precariously balancing along an alpine ridge trail at over 7,000 feet getting blown around by the strong high altitude winds. My alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. and after a delicious Shannon family breakfast, I got ready and rolled through the starting gates on time at 8:16 a.m. The other two riders on my minute and I followed the designated route through the adjacent residential neighbourhood and within minutes, we were flying up a dirt road and turning off up an embankment onto the first trail of the day. Within 10 minutes we arrived at the motocross test. The test featured very long, and very steep up hills, which inevitably lead to some equally fun down hills! L.R.F.C worked amazing on the wide open course and we made excellent time every lap. The motocross test lead into a very long trail section that tired out even the best of riders. The trail skirted up some very rocky trails to an alpine ridge where I couldn’t help but slow down to take in the scenery. I remember thinking to myself how lucky I was to be able to be riding in the Rocky Mountains at 7,000 feet looking around at all the snow capped peaks right across from me. After the incredible view, the trail drops down a very loose sandy downhill right into a rocky creek. Relaxation get’s thrown out the window and after crossing the creek the trail gets tight again and deliver’s everything from boulders to mud holes before reaching the next special test section.

The starting gates of the enduro test eventually come into view, and after passing through, it’s every man or woman for themselves. The test starts by taking you across a fairly deep and wide creek crossing, and then straight into some of the most slippery, root infested trails you can imagine! It’s hard to go fast when just keeping both wheels on course is challenging in itself! The end of the test finds competitors racing as fast as they can up a stream in a rocky gulch that has been formed by the rushing water, and then down a steep sandy hill onto the finishing gates. I know that I’m my own worst critic, but by the standards I set for myself, I would have to say that my enduro times were not up to par. My tactic for the rest of the weekend on the enduro test would be to slow down, in order to go faster. If I tried to relax and not push so hard, perhaps I could keep the bike on two wheels and in an upright position, thus improving my times! After the enduro test ended, the extreme test followed not far down the trail.

The extreme test took riders into a series of sandy turns, and then down a drop-off into a creek, and up the other side. After climbing out of the creek, several loose rock hills challenged riders to keep their speed up without getting stuck. The pro racers had an alternate line they were made to take up a rock face. The rock face got the better of most of the pro riders, but made for some amazing entertainment for spectators! The test ended with competitors riding through an old crumbling foundation from an abandoned building and down some tight switch back down hills to the finish gate. Once this was over, riders would immediately race back through the trails to try to get to the main staging area with time to prepare for the next lap. We would do this three times Saturday and Sunday making for a very long race weekend. I slept like a log in between each race day only to be awoken by the regular thunder and lightning explosions in the sky.

When the weekend was all said and done, I fell slightly short of my goal of being in the top 10 in the men’s “A” class. I finished 11^th on Saturday, and 12^th on Sunday. Regardless I was happy with my results and we ended the long weekend visiting around a campfire bench racing with riding buddies, and long time friend A.J. who made the drive down to share in a few drinks as well! The CEC’s resume September 10^th and 11^th in Labelle Quebec which I will be flying down for and writing about when the time comes!

Thanks for reading,

Tory

Rounds 1 & 2 Canadian Enduro Championships - Kamloops BC

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:59:21 +0100

July 9^th and 10^th brought on the British Columbia round of the Canadian Enduro Championships. Held at Sun Peaks Resort in Kamloops BC, the race slowly came together as Saturday came along. Unfortunately for me, I was working out of town but thanks to an understanding boss, was able to get flown to Kamloops instead of home for Friday night. Much to my surprise a bouquet of beautiful flowers awaited me at the airport and I settled into the front seat of my truck Bugsie for a much needed nap on the way up to the race site! Using my unicorn stuffy as a pillow and my face buried into my flowers I napped off and on until arriving at Sun Peaks. After saying some quick hello’s to both my brothers and my folks, it was time to hit the hay for me because morning was going to come much to early! At 6:00 a.m. I put my gear on and headed for the pit area. Thanks to my mom for feeding all of us, I had time to do a quick tire change that morning and make sure L.R.F.C. was ready to go. My brother Jordon and I were lucky enough to be able to start on the same minute as each other for the event, so at 9:40 we lined up next to each other on the starting ramp and rolled across the gate starting our 2 day adventure. Jordon just recovered from a year of shoulder trouble and surgery, so it was really awesome to be able to ride with him and as we made our way up to the first section of endless mud holes the course had to offer, we blasted through them one after another not missing a beat! Despite having to wait for some racers to dig their bikes out of the various swamps and bogs that formed on the course, we both made it through with little difficulties. The motocross test, enduro test, and extreme test were all very challenging. The motocross test was more of a slimy 1^st or 2^nd gear tight grass/mud track! The enduro test on the first day ended up being throw out because too many people simply couldn’t get through it without teaming up to dig out their bikes from the handle bar deep mud ruts! The Extreme test had a cut off for the “A” class and the Pro classes so both Jordon and I were treated to that. A steep rooted hill complete with switch backs and huge ruts started the fun. After the first uphill we made our way down a creek bed filled with small boulders, and then onto a log section where we coaxed our bikes over numerous mud soaked logs. A rooted uphill corner was my nemesis on the extreme test, and I hit the ground almost every lap there! Afterwards a hop over a metal culvert and tire lead the way into a tight technical trail section. The trail section finally spat us out into the same creek as earlier, but further downstream. We had to turn and ride up the creek bed this time working our way over the rocks as the water streamed down towards us, and then ride up a mud bank to the finish. Judging by the large crowds of people watching it was a very entertaining end to the extreme test! Between laps of the course, we rested waiting for our minute to come around again, and did our best to fight off the hoards of mosquitoes! At the end of the day, I wasn’t happy with my results, but I suspected this after having one hell of a time making it through the extreme test on my second lap of the day. If I could have held it together during that test, I would have placed slightly worse off than Jordon did, so probably around 15^th place out of 40 of the fastest riders in the country. Not too bad when I make myself think of it that way. Despite my best efforts to tell myself that 26^th place out of 40 wasn’t that bad considering I would have done better if it weren’t for my one test, I was still disappointed and hoping for better things on Sunday.

L.R.F.C. did well in the cross test section!

When Sunday came around Jordon and I were ready to go again, but wondering how we were going to make it through some of the mud pits that had formed out on the course. A new enduro test cut out one particularly bad section which helped, but the transfer trails between tests were still extremely challenging even for some of the best riders out there. The day got going on a rather sour note as we made our way to the start gate only to realize we were already one minute late for our start!!!! This may not seem like a huge deal to most, but a 60 second time penalty meant that even if we did amazingly good on each of our tests through out the day and made no mistakes, we were bound to place about 10 or more places worse than what we would have earned. Disappointed but with nothing we could do to fix our situation, we started our long day. We made our way through much as we had the previous day. We both had some tip over’s and mistakes but nothing too serious. For the most part we stayed on pace with each other and managed to laugh and yell in surprise when one of us would pull some extraordinary move to make it through some of the ridiculously crazy sections! We both stayed consistent through our test sections and didn’t get too stuck in any of the disaster zones out there. At the end of the day we both finished our last extreme test in front of crowds of spectators and the welcome relief of knowing it was over was quite nice! Examining the results later that day, Jordon placed 23^rd and I placed 25^th. We subtracted our 60 second penalty to see how we would have faired if we knew how to tell time! Jordon would have placed around 15^th and I would have placed around 17^th: somewhat comforting but not quite enough to dull the upset of the penalty. Regardless of the results we both had a great time, and being able to race 2 days in a row along side my brother was so much fun that this probably will go down as one of my best weekends of the year. Thanks Jord!

Jordon and I waiting to roll down the starting ramp