My goal for this race was just to finish it. It was touted as a real ass kicker race and it was! Even the C-loop had some elements that I know made life hard on the C-riders. My race started out good and I got in to the flow of things pretty quickly. The KDX was running great and I felt good other than all the dust I was breathing in. Did I mention the dust? Man, it was so bad that with the sun right in front of me I was flying blind down a rocky wash! Luckily, it was pretty clear outside of the valleys. Anyways, nothing of note on the C-loop other than stalling my bike a few times and dropping my bike on a loose, silty, hard left uphill turn. Finished the loop and had about 20 minutes to rest up for the start of the B-loop. Didn't have an extra battery for my Gopro so I removed it since it was almost dead.
Ah, the B-loop. Started out with a very long transfer section that was a lot of fun but was working me over fairly good. Finally made it to the first test, got my time, and took off! This section had some really steep and gnarly hill climbs/downhills. I was doing great and so was the KDX. It was climbing like a billy goat! It just seemed to eat up these hill climbs like it was nothing. However, my luck changed rather quickly. I hit one of these steep hills, flying, was climbing like nothing, and BAM! I popped up on a rock and lost all my momentum and came almost to a dead stop. Of course, being in the wrong gear now, I stalled her out about 20ft from the top. I managed to hold my position, get it shifted down to 2nd gear, and get her the old KDX restarted. I had to dog paddle up the rest of the way and expended a lot of energy doing so. I should have stopped at the top and took a break to get myself together but I didn't. I went down the other side and immediately had to climb another hill. This one was even nastier with a small step-up about a 1/3 the way up, two changes in direction, and lots of loose rocks/dirt. I hit it as fast as I could and made the step-up and both direction changes with no problem. About 4ft from the top I caught another that caused the bike to lift and kick out and down I went. Not a hard get off but, after the last hill fiasco, the last thing I needed. Of course the bike fell the wrong way on the hill and I was losing fuel. I had to try to find some traction and get it lifted as quickly as possible. After finally getting it upright, and receiving some help from the sweep riders to get it on top the hill, I was spent. I sat down and tried to catch my breath for a few minutes. When I remounted and grabbed the front brake I realized that the lever came all the way to the bar. Crap, I lost my front brake! I couldn't find any damage or leaks so I don't know what caused it and I haven't looked since getting home. Anyways, my race was done.
Well, even though I was disappointed I couldn't finish the race, I had a great time. I did learn a few things. First is that my KDX is more capable than I am! Second is I know I really need to get out and work on some areas in my skill set to hone and refine them. Lastly, I need to work on my cardio!
OK, here are a few pics and a short vid from the beginning of the C-loop. I'll post up a few more vids as I get them edited down to a shorter.
My buddy Anthony and I getting the bikes ready for the carnage to come!
The KDX ready for battle!
Me after completing the C-loop. Dusted!
Here is my first vid with my new Gopro in full 1080 HD!
[youtube][/youtube]
It is still a little over 30 minutes long. Should have it uploaded later tonight
