Raced my Twin Peaks in another XC race
#1
08-20-2007, 06:44 PM
Raced my Twin Peaks in another XC race
Yesterday was our first XC race following the summer break, and I was very glad to get back to racin'. It was definitely NOT the most exciting race of my career, but it was a good time nevertheless. Below is my race write-up...hope you enjoy!
THE TRACK
The race was held in Cisco, TX (way out in West TX - almost 6 hours to drive there from my house), and the track was different than our typical XC course (which is normally heavily wooded with thick underbrush, etc.). Instead, this track is more desert-like... complete with lots of cactus on the edges of the trails, plenty of jagged rocks (especially in the creek crossings) and some occasional bolders to climb over too. This place tested our skid plates and tires as much as our physical stamina.
The track was about 8.5 miles long and primarily consisted of 90 to 180 degree left-hand and right-hand turns thru the trees...I'm talking about LOTS of sharp left and right turns and some windy S curves EVERYWHERE! It was a very fun course if you like to dodge trees at 30 mph (I do!). On the other hand, it was also a physically demanding course...I raced 3 laps (approx 90 minutes) in 90 degree heat with the trees blocking much of the breeze. With no long straight-aways, there was simply no place to relax your muscles for even a moment. So you had to stay on your toes the entire time. There were no tight sections to deal with, but it did have some technical areas, especially the rocky creek crossings. The scariest creek crossing that I recall was downhill into the creek and the trail led you over some large, flat rocks with 8" to 12" drop-offs past each rock...it was narrow and you had to put your wheels in just the right places as you made a sharp right, then sharp left turn down this steep embankment...too much front brake or putting a front tire on a loose bolder and then you could easily endo into the bottom of the creek below that was filled with more rocks.
THE UTE CLASS
The Ute Class had strong turn-out with 13 quads lined up for the race, including 2 Renegade 800s, 1 Outy 800, my Twin Peaks 800, 1 Grizzly 700, 1 Prairie 700, 2 Grizzly 660s, 1 BF650sra and an assortment of other mid-sized utes. One fella who recently started racing in the ute class this season (normally on a Griz 700) parked right next to me on the starting line...but this time he was on a brand new Renegade 800 with ALL the bells and whistles! His quad was only 3 weeks old and was decked out with every XC accessory imaginable...It was decked out so nice for XC, you would have thought he stole the quad from Mike Penland or Scott Kilby! lol As I recall, it had OMF beadlock rims, Terracross tires, Mike Penland pipe, FASST flexible handle bars (or whatever they are called), Elka shocks on all 4 corners, etc. His Renegade was very sharp looking, and all I could think was "I have just been OUT WHATABURGER'D! lol (in case you don't know, this is a reference to recent commercials for a local hamburger chain called What-a-burger)
THE START
The class that took off from the starting line immediately in front of the ute class had a serious accident involving 2 atvs that were going thru a narrow gate opening (one racer broke his collar bone and had to be life-flighted to a hospital). They post-poned our ute class start approx. 5 minutes while they tended to the injured riders and looked for a new route for the ute class to cross the fence and get back onto the track...knowing there were some ATV racers in a serious accident and enduring another 5 minute wait made everyone in the ute class (including me) a bit nervous about our start. I couldn't help but think of the reason we are all there (just to have fun) and that my family is depending on me to show up for work Monday morning! lol
On the starting line, I was lined up in the center of the ute class with both Renegade 800s sitting to the right side of me and the Outy 800 to my far left. They raised the green flag and off I went. Luckily, I pulled off the line with no problems, and I won the holeshot easily. I'm not sure where everyone else was b/c they were behind me...I'm told the P700 was in second place around the barrel. I found out later that the brand new Renegade on my immediate right had a bad start b/c he accidentally started it up in neutral. I'm not sure why the other Renegade (driven by a GNCC Pro Class racer) had a slow start.
After I made first turn, I was a bit nervous b/c they re-routed us thru an unmarked area with knee-high weeds, and I had no idea if those weeds were hiding rocks, logs, cactus, etc....luckily I blew thru there with no problems and worked my way thru the re-routed area (filled with spectators on both sides) and got back on the regular track.
LAPS 1 THRU 3
I continued to hold the lead for the first mile when I heard the Renegade driven by the GNCC Pro yell out behind me. Normally, I would not let anyone in my class go around me without a battle, but there's just no use trying to hold off a GNCC Pro...he is definitely on a riding level WAY above me and everyone else in the B class race. Once he went around me, I tried to see how long I could stay up with him...about 15 seconds later, he was gone and I never saw him again until I crossed the finish line.
Sadly, the rest of my race was not as exciting b/c I never saw anyone else in my class....for most of my 90 minute race, I rode the track by myself (it seemed like it anyway). I pushed myself hard b/c I had no idea how far back the rest of the pack was, but at the same time I took it easy on the areas with sharp rocks to prevent a flat tire. The relentless course and intense heat was starting to get to me at the beginning of lap 2...I could feel my stomach cramping up...I sipped some water from my camel back, but the stomach cramping continued on and off. It was all I could do to stay on my quad as I kept dodging the trees and ducking under low branches. I passed a handful of sport quads (from other classes) along the way...some let me pass while others "suddenly" found their second wind and fought hard for position as if I was in their class! LOL
THE FINISH
The Renegade (driven by the GNCC Pro) took first, I took 2nd, followed by a Griz 660, Griz 700 and Yamaha Bruin (I think). Despite the long drive and not being challenged for 2nd place, I'm still glad I got the opportunity to race on this fun track and to take home another piece of wood to hang in my garage.
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
THE TRACK
The race was held in Cisco, TX (way out in West TX - almost 6 hours to drive there from my house), and the track was different than our typical XC course (which is normally heavily wooded with thick underbrush, etc.). Instead, this track is more desert-like... complete with lots of cactus on the edges of the trails, plenty of jagged rocks (especially in the creek crossings) and some occasional bolders to climb over too. This place tested our skid plates and tires as much as our physical stamina.
The track was about 8.5 miles long and primarily consisted of 90 to 180 degree left-hand and right-hand turns thru the trees...I'm talking about LOTS of sharp left and right turns and some windy S curves EVERYWHERE! It was a very fun course if you like to dodge trees at 30 mph (I do!). On the other hand, it was also a physically demanding course...I raced 3 laps (approx 90 minutes) in 90 degree heat with the trees blocking much of the breeze. With no long straight-aways, there was simply no place to relax your muscles for even a moment. So you had to stay on your toes the entire time. There were no tight sections to deal with, but it did have some technical areas, especially the rocky creek crossings. The scariest creek crossing that I recall was downhill into the creek and the trail led you over some large, flat rocks with 8" to 12" drop-offs past each rock...it was narrow and you had to put your wheels in just the right places as you made a sharp right, then sharp left turn down this steep embankment...too much front brake or putting a front tire on a loose bolder and then you could easily endo into the bottom of the creek below that was filled with more rocks.
THE UTE CLASS
The Ute Class had strong turn-out with 13 quads lined up for the race, including 2 Renegade 800s, 1 Outy 800, my Twin Peaks 800, 1 Grizzly 700, 1 Prairie 700, 2 Grizzly 660s, 1 BF650sra and an assortment of other mid-sized utes. One fella who recently started racing in the ute class this season (normally on a Griz 700) parked right next to me on the starting line...but this time he was on a brand new Renegade 800 with ALL the bells and whistles! His quad was only 3 weeks old and was decked out with every XC accessory imaginable...It was decked out so nice for XC, you would have thought he stole the quad from Mike Penland or Scott Kilby! lol As I recall, it had OMF beadlock rims, Terracross tires, Mike Penland pipe, FASST flexible handle bars (or whatever they are called), Elka shocks on all 4 corners, etc. His Renegade was very sharp looking, and all I could think was "I have just been OUT WHATABURGER'D! lol (in case you don't know, this is a reference to recent commercials for a local hamburger chain called What-a-burger)
THE START
The class that took off from the starting line immediately in front of the ute class had a serious accident involving 2 atvs that were going thru a narrow gate opening (one racer broke his collar bone and had to be life-flighted to a hospital). They post-poned our ute class start approx. 5 minutes while they tended to the injured riders and looked for a new route for the ute class to cross the fence and get back onto the track...knowing there were some ATV racers in a serious accident and enduring another 5 minute wait made everyone in the ute class (including me) a bit nervous about our start. I couldn't help but think of the reason we are all there (just to have fun) and that my family is depending on me to show up for work Monday morning! lol
On the starting line, I was lined up in the center of the ute class with both Renegade 800s sitting to the right side of me and the Outy 800 to my far left. They raised the green flag and off I went. Luckily, I pulled off the line with no problems, and I won the holeshot easily. I'm not sure where everyone else was b/c they were behind me...I'm told the P700 was in second place around the barrel. I found out later that the brand new Renegade on my immediate right had a bad start b/c he accidentally started it up in neutral. I'm not sure why the other Renegade (driven by a GNCC Pro Class racer) had a slow start.
After I made first turn, I was a bit nervous b/c they re-routed us thru an unmarked area with knee-high weeds, and I had no idea if those weeds were hiding rocks, logs, cactus, etc....luckily I blew thru there with no problems and worked my way thru the re-routed area (filled with spectators on both sides) and got back on the regular track.
LAPS 1 THRU 3
I continued to hold the lead for the first mile when I heard the Renegade driven by the GNCC Pro yell out behind me. Normally, I would not let anyone in my class go around me without a battle, but there's just no use trying to hold off a GNCC Pro...he is definitely on a riding level WAY above me and everyone else in the B class race. Once he went around me, I tried to see how long I could stay up with him...about 15 seconds later, he was gone and I never saw him again until I crossed the finish line.
Sadly, the rest of my race was not as exciting b/c I never saw anyone else in my class....for most of my 90 minute race, I rode the track by myself (it seemed like it anyway). I pushed myself hard b/c I had no idea how far back the rest of the pack was, but at the same time I took it easy on the areas with sharp rocks to prevent a flat tire. The relentless course and intense heat was starting to get to me at the beginning of lap 2...I could feel my stomach cramping up...I sipped some water from my camel back, but the stomach cramping continued on and off. It was all I could do to stay on my quad as I kept dodging the trees and ducking under low branches. I passed a handful of sport quads (from other classes) along the way...some let me pass while others "suddenly" found their second wind and fought hard for position as if I was in their class! LOL
THE FINISH
The Renegade (driven by the GNCC Pro) took first, I took 2nd, followed by a Griz 660, Griz 700 and Yamaha Bruin (I think). Despite the long drive and not being challenged for 2nd place, I'm still glad I got the opportunity to race on this fun track and to take home another piece of wood to hang in my garage.
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
#2
08-20-2007, 08:31 PM
#3
08-20-2007, 09:51 PM
Raced my Twin Peaks in another XC race
The "Suzuki" Twin Peaks 700 was actually just a clone of the Kaw. Prairie 700 with blue or yellow plastic fenders being the only difference. In fact, the sticker on the frame of the twin peaks says made by Kawasaki. The reason that Kaw. made this quad for Suz to sell under the Suzuki brand was part of an alliance...Suz. made the Z400 and let Kaw. sell it as the KFX 400...again, just part of the old alliance (which I think is no longer in effect).
The Suzuki Twin Peaks was only sold in 2004 and 2005...the didn't sell any after that. Unfortunately, 2006 was the last year model of the Prairie 700...so this quad is now obsolete (very sad!).
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
The Suzuki Twin Peaks was only sold in 2004 and 2005...the didn't sell any after that. Unfortunately, 2006 was the last year model of the Prairie 700...so this quad is now obsolete (very sad!).
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
#4
08-21-2007, 01:37 AM
#5
08-21-2007, 09:59 AM
#6
09-13-2007, 10:17 PM
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