Loaded up Friday to drive to the race. Got my KDX, my buddy's YZ250X, and a customer's KTM 350 in the middle that was also going to the race. Oh, if I never mentioned it, I do a lot of bike work to support my dirt bike habit.
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Traffic was brutal! This is I-17 which is 75mph. Not this day! We were down to a dead stop at times in the middle of nowhere. Ugh.
![driving.jpg](./download/file.php?id=893&sid=59696ec0b9076d62724d2d1261bc78af)
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Ah, the beautiful Coconino Forest in Flagstaff, AZ! We don't normally get to ride in the trees in southern AZ so it's a nice change along with cooler temps.
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My humble living quarters
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The race... wow, it was a really rough one. Rocks, rocks, and nastier rocks was the theme for the day. It was on par with the roughest in our series and it wasn't billed to be. I felt bad for the C racers as it was a B or better course IMO. All my C buddies complained about how nasty and technical it was. C's had 3 test sections and us A/B's had 7 tests.
Being my first race back since breaking my neck I decided to take it easy. My endurance isn't what it was before the accident and neither is my speed. So, I just treated it as a trail ride. I started to feel tired during Test 4 so when I completed it I called it quits. I hadn't crashed or dropped my bike all day but I was worried it was going to happen soon as I was getting sloppy. I didn't want to risk another injury. Placed 15th out of 19 in my class so definitely not a strong showing. However, I had fun and that's all that matters! The KDX performed flawlessly as always. It clawed up some seriously nasty step ups and rocky switchbacks without a hiccup.
Saw another guy riding a KDX. Heard it was his very first race. He got hurt pretty bad from what I was told and left by ambulance. That really sucks as it will probably turn him off of racing.