Smithy1 > Smithy1's Blog Posts > Sandblast 2008 part 8

March 04, 2008 18:01

Last service of the day. Just some gas and refreshments. I am first back to the service area so I get dibs on the last banana! Eventually the whole team is there and we all agree that it has been a long day and our energy levels are taking a downward spiral. The game plan for the final two stages is to tone it down a notch, ride safe. Let’s not F—-k it up on the last section.

A long transit and we are at the start of the 6th special of the day, Hunter Pond Reverse. Same track we ran in the morning but in reverse. I doesn’t help at all that we have been on this road already. So much has happened that I have no memory of ever being here. Not much delay and we are out of the gate. This special is 8 miles of real nice roads through the forest. It is late afternoon so the shadows in the woods are getting bigger with a bit of sun glare on occasion.

Timko on stage 6:

Pretty uneventful run. Smooth, nothing scary. Just a casual ride through the woods at speeds well in excess of 90+ mph! Finish the stage, get my time card filled out and hit the road for a short transit to the final special of the 2008 Sandblast, CJ’s Loop.

The entire field lines up and we wait. And wait. Seems like we stand around for an hour. It has been a long day. We rode out of the hotel parking lot at 7am and it is now nearing 5pm.

It is a scene of 50+ chumps hanging out in the middle of nowhere.

Eventually we get the nod that the start is imminent. The sun is well below the tree line and darkness is approaching. It will only be early dusk or those of us lucky enough to start in the front of the pack. Big $$ lights really won’t be needed. The guys in the back of the pack will start 30 minutes behind me in full darkness.

Bike lining up for the start of the final special:

Off the line first is Ely. Damn that little Aprilla 5.5 is small, light, and powerful!

Second off the line is Gilkey, and then me followed by Embro. I hit the first turn hard but under control. Soft and smooth I repeat to myself. Next couple of miles goes by quickly.

I try to wring every last bit of horsepower out of this xchallenge, often bouncing off the rev limiter. By the halfway point I hear a strange metallic vibration at the top of the rpm range. I wonder if the engine is going to hold together (I’m not on a KTM, am I?). What the hell, this is racing and I am not going to let up now. I will deal with the consequences later. Mile after mile the noise gets worse. I keep the bike tapped out and soak up all 9 miles of the final special, cross the finish line and get my time card filled out. I head down the road a mile or so on the transit and pull over to check the bike. The huge aluminum skid plate is missing half the bolts and the remaining ones are real loose! That explains the “strange metallic vibration”. I pull out some tools, tighten the remaining ones and hop back on the bike. By this time Scott Mizerek has pulled up to help out. I turn off the artificial sun (also known as BD Fuego HID’s) and find out that my Hella DOT low beam doesn’t work! Good thing all this shit happens at the end of the day! So I am in for a 12-mile transit on public roads with either no headlight or the Fuego HID’s. First I try the no headlight option following closely to Scott. A mile or so into this I decide to unplug one HID driving light and keep the HID wide cornering light on. This seems to be the best option. I hide behind Scott when a car approaches from the opposite direction so that I don’t temporarily blind anybody. This gets us back to the final check in.

This is a pic of the huge finish line. Lots of fans, all cheering and yelling. (Ok, really just a dimly lit parking lot with two event workers and no one else around).

I turn I my card and ride over to meet our service guys. Ron is waiting with the van and trailer. I take off my helmet/pack and place them on the trailer. Eventually all of the team is back at the service truck. We decide that we are all going to ride back to the hotel to freshen up before heading towards the awards/dinner party. Ron drives out first and the rest of us linger for a few minutes. Eventually I realize that my helmet/pack are nowhere to be found. Yes, Ron drove off with them neatly perched on the open 3-rail trailer… No helmet law in SC. I ride back through town towards the hotel in full gear including the Leatt neck brace and NO HELMET!!! Quite a sight. Amazingly the helmet/pack survived the trailer ride without bouncing off.

An hour or two later we arrive at the awards party indulge in some much needed beer and southern barbeque. None of us have seen any scores since the reseed at the end of the second special. There have been five specials since then and I honestly don’t know how I am going to finish the day. I am pretty sure that I will get first in class only because there is no one towards the front of the pack after the reseed that is in my class. I also know that Embro really picked up the pace towards the end of the day so a podium finish is not likely. Great day and the entire team are quite happy.

Finally the results are posted and I finish first in class and somehow end up 3rd overall! Wow! Not bad for some rookie on a so-so dual sport bike!

They gave me one of these shiny wine glasses:

Each rider on our team finished better than each expected. It was great fun and I can’t wait until next year!

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