May 23rd 2010
Posted by victoria on Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Squealin' Pig Cross Scrambles (or something!)
Sunday morning was accompanied by sore muscles and muddy bikes from the previous night's race. The weather decided to put a damper on the morning by raining down for the first few hours of race day, but like magic the skies parted and the sun came out to make for a beautiful race start. I lined up in the Intermediate class and was treated to a "straddle the front fender" start. Not as easy as you'd think after racing 70km's until close to midnight the night before! There were almost 30 entries in the intermediate class, and I chose a spot near the end of the line so that I could be set up for the inside of the first corner. I had my fingers crossed that the electric start button would make for a good start. The flag was dropped and I jumped over the seat of my bike and hit the button only to hear...."zinnngggg" and nothing. Once again I hit the button and got nothing! I shifted into neutral and the bike started up perfectly but by then I was nearly dead last off the start and the majority of the pack was already around the first corner. I battled through as many people as I could during the short grass track but realized once I hit the first section of trail that I had a lot of work ahead of me if I wanted to make it to the front of the pack. The 40 km course had everything you could possibly want from technical rooty trails to open cruise control sections. The conditions were perfect and the course marking was exceptional. Everything was done to the usual high standards you find at the Bardolph races including a large sign along a fast section warning of a hair pin corner ahead, followed by nearly 20 arrows, blocker ribbon, "W's" and even more arrows allowing racers to perfectly execute the tight corner with no chance of blowing through it. Anything that could be considered even remotely dangerous was marked to the nines with yellow ribbon and warning signs. It allowed for peace of mind while still riding at a person's utmost level. I worked my way through the pack over 3 laps (120kms) of demanding trail to finish on the podium again in 3rd place! I was so happy to get on the podium again and felt a great wave of relief to be finished the long weekend of racing! The night after the race saw an excellent trophy presentation where I was glad to have yet another opportunity to thank the sponsors that are making it possible for me to race this season: Valley Motosports, Gnarly Parts & Accessories, Scorpion Racing, Faast Co., Limenine Graphics, KTM, and Advanced Pavetech. Thank you to everyone who made the Squealin' Pig Cross Scrambles as it's been called, a successful race weekend. My next couple weekends will consist of training and riding. The next race I plan to compete in is the Full Throttle race in Vernon BC. The Full throttle has a good reputation of being a well marked, safe course that runs along the demanding trails above the North Okanagan Valley, and promises to be a great race weekend!
Sunday morning was accompanied by sore muscles and muddy bikes from the previous night's race. The weather decided to put a damper on the morning by raining down for the first few hours of race day, but like magic the skies parted and the sun came out to make for a beautiful race start. I lined up in the Intermediate class and was treated to a "straddle the front fender" start. Not as easy as you'd think after racing 70km's until close to midnight the night before! There were almost 30 entries in the intermediate class, and I chose a spot near the end of the line so that I could be set up for the inside of the first corner. I had my fingers crossed that the electric start button would make for a good start. The flag was dropped and I jumped over the seat of my bike and hit the button only to hear...."zinnngggg" and nothing. Once again I hit the button and got nothing! I shifted into neutral and the bike started up perfectly but by then I was nearly dead last off the start and the majority of the pack was already around the first corner. I battled through as many people as I could during the short grass track but realized once I hit the first section of trail that I had a lot of work ahead of me if I wanted to make it to the front of the pack. The 40 km course had everything you could possibly want from technical rooty trails to open cruise control sections. The conditions were perfect and the course marking was exceptional. Everything was done to the usual high standards you find at the Bardolph races including a large sign along a fast section warning of a hair pin corner ahead, followed by nearly 20 arrows, blocker ribbon, "W's" and even more arrows allowing racers to perfectly execute the tight corner with no chance of blowing through it. Anything that could be considered even remotely dangerous was marked to the nines with yellow ribbon and warning signs. It allowed for peace of mind while still riding at a person's utmost level. I worked my way through the pack over 3 laps (120kms) of demanding trail to finish on the podium again in 3rd place! I was so happy to get on the podium again and felt a great wave of relief to be finished the long weekend of racing! The night after the race saw an excellent trophy presentation where I was glad to have yet another opportunity to thank the sponsors that are making it possible for me to race this season: Valley Motosports, Gnarly Parts & Accessories, Scorpion Racing, Faast Co., Limenine Graphics, KTM, and Advanced Pavetech. Thank you to everyone who made the Squealin' Pig Cross Scrambles as it's been called, a successful race weekend. My next couple weekends will consist of training and riding. The next race I plan to compete in is the Full Throttle race in Vernon BC. The Full throttle has a good reputation of being a well marked, safe course that runs along the demanding trails above the North Okanagan Valley, and promises to be a great race weekend!
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