Race Write-up from Legacy Farms (TORN Round 2)
#1
04-08-2013, 07:55 AM
Race Write-up from Legacy Farms (TORN Round 2)
Last Saturday, I made the LONG road trip to Legacy Farms to compete in a TORN series ATV cross-country race. This was Round 2 for the 2013 TORN series, but my first race of the season due to a minor surgery that I had earlier this year (thankfully, I'm healed up now). Below is my race write-up.
WHERE:
Paradise, TX…it’s a small town just south of Bridgeport, TX. This track was on a nice property with plenty of trees and creeks mixed with a few ponds and pasture areas. The 4.5 hour drive to reach this track made for a long day...9 hours on the road (round trip), 2 hours on my Kawasaki KFX700 (including practice time) and 5 hours visiting with my fellow TORN competitors. Was it worth the long trip??? Absolutely!
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The nearby town of Paradise must have been named after the weather b/c it was picture perfect on this day. We enjoyed sunny skies and temps around 77 degrees during my afternoon race. The wind was a bit gusty at times, but dust was not a problem due to recent rain at this track. The ATV track was almost 4 miles in length according to my quad's odometer, and it was mostly made up of tight, twisty wooded trails covered with several deep ruts in the soft soil. The track also had an occasional creek crossing plus one large pasture area near the beginning/ending of the track. This track was not very technical with the exception of one hill climb located in the woods that had deep ruts in the soft soil, especially near the top (more on this later). Unfortunately, there were no long straight-aways in which you could get up to fast speeds and rest your arms.
I'll be totally honest here. Of all the TORN tracks that I competed on last year, Legacy Farms was my least favorite. In my humble opinion, a good XC track should have to have an alternating mix of tight wooded trails and wide, open areas so that riders can safely pass slower riders in the open areas. On a tight wooded track filled with deep ruts, the winner is largely determined by the person who had a good start and reached the woods first (because it is very difficult to pass anyone once you've reached the woods). Barring an unforeseen event to the leader (such as a mechanical problem or crash), the race is pretty much set in stone once the races enter the woods for the first time and everyone (more or less) plays "follow the leader" throughout the rest of the race. With that said, I still enjoyed racing on this track with my fellow TORN brothers and sisters. Heck, they could set up a track in an empty Walmart parking lot and it would still be a total blast!
OVER 40 B CLASS:
When we lined up at the starting line, I counted a total of 8 quads in the Over 40 B class...including 3 Hon. 450's, 2 Yam. 450's, 1 Honda 250r, 1 Cannondale 440 and my Kaw. KFX700.
PRACTICE:
I arrived at the track with just enough time to lay down 2 quick practice laps. The first thing I noticed was how familiar the track appears b/c I raced at this property last year (June 2012). Although this year's track was not set-up on the exact same course, the terrain and combo of tight woods (filled with deep ruts) and one big pasture (with zig-zag turns) was the same as last year.
THE START:
When my class assembled on the starting line, I was located third from the right and we were facing a short run to the first turn (a hard right turn around a tree). By way of explanation, the MCs race at the same time as the ATVs, but on a different track. The MCs and ATVs take turns starting their classes with the MCs turning LEFT at the first turn to enter their course and the ATVs turning RIGHT to enter our course. The ATV classes were lined up as follows: the first line was for the Open C class (a large class) followed by the Over 30 C class, then the Over 40 B class (mine) plus a few more ATV classes behind me.
Finally, the green flag when up and off we went. I nailed the throttle and had to immediately let off to prevent a big wheelie...got back on the throttle and somehow managed to be tied in 2nd position as we made the first turn and headed into an open pasture area.
LAP 1:
As we continued to run thru the zig-zag turns in the large open pasture area, I maintained the 2nd place position right behind #504 and hoped to hold onto it until we reached the woods. After the zig-zag turns in the open pasture, the track takes the racers in and out of a dry gully a few times...this gully had short, but steep drop offs and hill climbs. After the gully, the track takes the racers into the tight woods.
Not far into the woods, #504 stalled with lots of trees/bushes on either side. I stopped immediately behind him while he tried to re-start his quad, and Mike (cannondale) stopped immediately behind me. When it became apparent that #504 was having trouble getting re-started and a bottleneck was forming. I quickly grabbed reverse and attempted to make a new trail to the immediate left side of the bottleneck. At the same time, Matt Horton (Hon. 450) came from behind Mike (cannondale) and made a new trail to the immediate right side of the bottleneck. Suddenly, #504 fired up and began to move out of the way so that Mike Nichols (cannondale) and the others could get through. That exchange resulted in Matt taking the lead, followed closely by me, Mike (cannondale) and the rest of our class. Unfortunately, #504 was done for the day (I'm guessing due to mechanical problems).
About half-way through lap 1, we crossed a creek/low-lying area and then faced a 10' or so hill climb over very soft/loose soil with and deep ruts that tended to high center some of the 450cc sport quads. As we approached this hill climb, I could see there was a bottleneck. Luckily, there were 2 alternative routes located to the left, and Matt and I took the first alternative which was an 8' hill climb with an offcamber slant near the top of the hill climb (the second alternative was the least steep, but took up the most time).
As we progressed through the wooded trails, I continued to press on and keep Matt within eye sight. Mike was right behind me and I continued to keep a watchful eye on him as well. Due to the deep ruts and tight woods, it was nearly impossible to pass anyone in the woods unless the slower rider pulled off the trail and made room for the faster rider.
As we neared the end of the first lap, we started to get close to the open pasture area and the trail occasionally widened enough to pass slower riders for short distances. These wider trails allowed Matt to pass a lapper(slower rider), but by the time I caught up to the lapper we were already back in the tight woods and I was stuck behind the lapper until he/she decided to pull off the trail and let me pass. The longer I was stuck behind the lapper, the bigger Matt's lead became. Some lappers cooperated/pulled off the trail as soon as practical, but others did not (sometimes, the tight trails didn't allow room, but other times the lapper was just being stubborn ).
As we finished lap 1, I could see Matt just ahead of me and Mike was still nipping at my heels. However, I was quickly growing tired and unsure if I could maintain my 2nd place position ahead of Mike.
LAPS 2 - 5:
Luckily, I found my second wind on the 2nd lap and felt strong again. As we approached the steep hill climb near the half-way point of lap 2, the trail was clear, and Matt and I climbed up and over the hill without incident. Mike also climbed the hill, but got stuck in the deep ruts/soft sand just as he reached the top. That incident delayed him just enough to give me some breathing room. With Mike no longer on my immediate tail, I could focus solely on catching Matt who was still within eye sight for the most part. For the first 4 laps, I finished each lap about 5 seconds behind Matt and that kept me motivated to push onward.
Unfortunately for me, I started to feel very tired during the last lap (no excuse for this...I'm just out of shape!). As I grew tired on the last lap, I started to bounce off of trees in the tight woods that I was able to easily dodge earlier in the race. Near the very end of lap 5, I was railing around a left turn in the deep ruts when all of the sudden my right hand slipped off the bars...it was all I could do to maintain my grip on the bars with my left hand until I could grab the bar again with my right hand. Came very close to losing control on that turn. Yikes!
As tired as I was feeling, I realized my only hope for catching up to Matt before the finish line was if he got hung up behind a bottleneck, crashed or had mechanical problems.
RACE RESULTS:
According to the results posted at the TORN trailer, I finished in 2nd place out of 8 in my class. If I read the results correctly, I think I was only 10 seconds behind Matt at the finish line. I'm very happy with that result considering it was my best finish in a TORN race so far (3rd place was the best I could do last year). Even though this was not my favorite type of track, I had a great time racing with my fellow TORN racers and it was well-worth the long drive. I have to say a big THANKS to TORN for putting on another fun and well-organized event!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
Happy trails...
WHERE:
Paradise, TX…it’s a small town just south of Bridgeport, TX. This track was on a nice property with plenty of trees and creeks mixed with a few ponds and pasture areas. The 4.5 hour drive to reach this track made for a long day...9 hours on the road (round trip), 2 hours on my Kawasaki KFX700 (including practice time) and 5 hours visiting with my fellow TORN competitors. Was it worth the long trip??? Absolutely!
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The nearby town of Paradise must have been named after the weather b/c it was picture perfect on this day. We enjoyed sunny skies and temps around 77 degrees during my afternoon race. The wind was a bit gusty at times, but dust was not a problem due to recent rain at this track. The ATV track was almost 4 miles in length according to my quad's odometer, and it was mostly made up of tight, twisty wooded trails covered with several deep ruts in the soft soil. The track also had an occasional creek crossing plus one large pasture area near the beginning/ending of the track. This track was not very technical with the exception of one hill climb located in the woods that had deep ruts in the soft soil, especially near the top (more on this later). Unfortunately, there were no long straight-aways in which you could get up to fast speeds and rest your arms.
I'll be totally honest here. Of all the TORN tracks that I competed on last year, Legacy Farms was my least favorite. In my humble opinion, a good XC track should have to have an alternating mix of tight wooded trails and wide, open areas so that riders can safely pass slower riders in the open areas. On a tight wooded track filled with deep ruts, the winner is largely determined by the person who had a good start and reached the woods first (because it is very difficult to pass anyone once you've reached the woods). Barring an unforeseen event to the leader (such as a mechanical problem or crash), the race is pretty much set in stone once the races enter the woods for the first time and everyone (more or less) plays "follow the leader" throughout the rest of the race. With that said, I still enjoyed racing on this track with my fellow TORN brothers and sisters. Heck, they could set up a track in an empty Walmart parking lot and it would still be a total blast!
OVER 40 B CLASS:
When we lined up at the starting line, I counted a total of 8 quads in the Over 40 B class...including 3 Hon. 450's, 2 Yam. 450's, 1 Honda 250r, 1 Cannondale 440 and my Kaw. KFX700.
PRACTICE:
I arrived at the track with just enough time to lay down 2 quick practice laps. The first thing I noticed was how familiar the track appears b/c I raced at this property last year (June 2012). Although this year's track was not set-up on the exact same course, the terrain and combo of tight woods (filled with deep ruts) and one big pasture (with zig-zag turns) was the same as last year.
THE START:
When my class assembled on the starting line, I was located third from the right and we were facing a short run to the first turn (a hard right turn around a tree). By way of explanation, the MCs race at the same time as the ATVs, but on a different track. The MCs and ATVs take turns starting their classes with the MCs turning LEFT at the first turn to enter their course and the ATVs turning RIGHT to enter our course. The ATV classes were lined up as follows: the first line was for the Open C class (a large class) followed by the Over 30 C class, then the Over 40 B class (mine) plus a few more ATV classes behind me.
Finally, the green flag when up and off we went. I nailed the throttle and had to immediately let off to prevent a big wheelie...got back on the throttle and somehow managed to be tied in 2nd position as we made the first turn and headed into an open pasture area.
LAP 1:
As we continued to run thru the zig-zag turns in the large open pasture area, I maintained the 2nd place position right behind #504 and hoped to hold onto it until we reached the woods. After the zig-zag turns in the open pasture, the track takes the racers in and out of a dry gully a few times...this gully had short, but steep drop offs and hill climbs. After the gully, the track takes the racers into the tight woods.
Not far into the woods, #504 stalled with lots of trees/bushes on either side. I stopped immediately behind him while he tried to re-start his quad, and Mike (cannondale) stopped immediately behind me. When it became apparent that #504 was having trouble getting re-started and a bottleneck was forming. I quickly grabbed reverse and attempted to make a new trail to the immediate left side of the bottleneck. At the same time, Matt Horton (Hon. 450) came from behind Mike (cannondale) and made a new trail to the immediate right side of the bottleneck. Suddenly, #504 fired up and began to move out of the way so that Mike Nichols (cannondale) and the others could get through. That exchange resulted in Matt taking the lead, followed closely by me, Mike (cannondale) and the rest of our class. Unfortunately, #504 was done for the day (I'm guessing due to mechanical problems).
About half-way through lap 1, we crossed a creek/low-lying area and then faced a 10' or so hill climb over very soft/loose soil with and deep ruts that tended to high center some of the 450cc sport quads. As we approached this hill climb, I could see there was a bottleneck. Luckily, there were 2 alternative routes located to the left, and Matt and I took the first alternative which was an 8' hill climb with an offcamber slant near the top of the hill climb (the second alternative was the least steep, but took up the most time).
As we progressed through the wooded trails, I continued to press on and keep Matt within eye sight. Mike was right behind me and I continued to keep a watchful eye on him as well. Due to the deep ruts and tight woods, it was nearly impossible to pass anyone in the woods unless the slower rider pulled off the trail and made room for the faster rider.
As we neared the end of the first lap, we started to get close to the open pasture area and the trail occasionally widened enough to pass slower riders for short distances. These wider trails allowed Matt to pass a lapper(slower rider), but by the time I caught up to the lapper we were already back in the tight woods and I was stuck behind the lapper until he/she decided to pull off the trail and let me pass. The longer I was stuck behind the lapper, the bigger Matt's lead became. Some lappers cooperated/pulled off the trail as soon as practical, but others did not (sometimes, the tight trails didn't allow room, but other times the lapper was just being stubborn ).
As we finished lap 1, I could see Matt just ahead of me and Mike was still nipping at my heels. However, I was quickly growing tired and unsure if I could maintain my 2nd place position ahead of Mike.
LAPS 2 - 5:
Luckily, I found my second wind on the 2nd lap and felt strong again. As we approached the steep hill climb near the half-way point of lap 2, the trail was clear, and Matt and I climbed up and over the hill without incident. Mike also climbed the hill, but got stuck in the deep ruts/soft sand just as he reached the top. That incident delayed him just enough to give me some breathing room. With Mike no longer on my immediate tail, I could focus solely on catching Matt who was still within eye sight for the most part. For the first 4 laps, I finished each lap about 5 seconds behind Matt and that kept me motivated to push onward.
Unfortunately for me, I started to feel very tired during the last lap (no excuse for this...I'm just out of shape!). As I grew tired on the last lap, I started to bounce off of trees in the tight woods that I was able to easily dodge earlier in the race. Near the very end of lap 5, I was railing around a left turn in the deep ruts when all of the sudden my right hand slipped off the bars...it was all I could do to maintain my grip on the bars with my left hand until I could grab the bar again with my right hand. Came very close to losing control on that turn. Yikes!
As tired as I was feeling, I realized my only hope for catching up to Matt before the finish line was if he got hung up behind a bottleneck, crashed or had mechanical problems.
RACE RESULTS:
According to the results posted at the TORN trailer, I finished in 2nd place out of 8 in my class. If I read the results correctly, I think I was only 10 seconds behind Matt at the finish line. I'm very happy with that result considering it was my best finish in a TORN race so far (3rd place was the best I could do last year). Even though this was not my favorite type of track, I had a great time racing with my fellow TORN racers and it was well-worth the long drive. I have to say a big THANKS to TORN for putting on another fun and well-organized event!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
Happy trails...
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