I
must admit... I didn't think we'd do very well
on my first hare scramble race since 1985. That was
a long time ago and I haven't raced at all since 1994.
What the hell's wrong with me? I was 35 years old
and have only had the time to ride about a dozen times
last year. But with the help of my good friend and
neighbor Arnold (Nub) Puckett, and my trusty 400EX,
we were going to give it a try for the heck of it
and see what happens.
Gilbert's
Party Barn is in Beavercreek, Ohio and has two Hare
Scrambles a year. The track is a short, but challenging,
off road course that features woods, open field
and motocross sections with a nasty mudpit to swallow
the competition. Roger Gilbert, the race
organizer and owner, combines this event with a
pig roast so spectators have some excellent food
and wash it down with a few brewskies to add to
the fun.
Now,
don't misunderstand me... We weren't racing the
all of the top national riders out there running
the national circuit. Most of the racers were local
or tri-state racers honing their skills for regional
competition but that doesn't mean they weren't fast
by any means. There were a lot of racers that were
really flying around that track. There was even
a guy on a three wheeler riding his heart out to
run with the quads. He wins my Ironman Award for
just showing up.
We
showed up in style with a big canopy tent, covered
trailers, and Team Viagra signs scattered around
our pit. My new 400EX was all shined up and ready
to go. The only modifications we made were Renthall
bars, BMX grips, Holeshot tires front and rear and
dropping our front shock's spring settings at maximum
softness for our aging arms. To top it all off I
added some pink and white handlebar tassels to set
us apart from the other red quads we competed against.
The other racers were not impressed. :-(
