Sadly, things started not going my way pretty quick. Firstly, at race start it was already 85 degrees and sunny. After suffering from heat exhaustion last summer my heat tolerance hasn't been nearly as good. This was going to be tough. However, I figured I would just take it easy and try to just finish. next, the minis and C riders had already ridden on parts of the A/B course so some of it was pretty churned up and dusty.
So, we take off and I'm just taking it easy. Quickly I realized I didn't get my suspension dialed in correctly for this race. I was deflecting off rocks like crazy. I should have taken more compression out of the front end for the slower pace I planned to ride. Oh well, I just pushed a little harder so my suspension would work better. That was a bad idea as now I was on the edge of overheating myself but figured if I just kept moving I should be ok.
Now, things go from bad to worse. About half way through my first lap we get get to a very rocky hill climb. Me, being a dumbass, followed two riders up it instead of waiting at the bottom but I really wanted to keep some air flow going. That was a very bad decision on my part. One rider stalled out and the other crashed. I had no where to go on the main line and tried to go up a little bump and looped out. The KDX came down and landed hard on it's left side. After some cussing at myself I picked my bike up and tried to get moving. For some reason my bike ran fine but wouldn't go anywhere so began a lot more cussing. I then checked my bike for damage and found I bent the rear of the frame and kickstand, knocked my front end out of alignment, and even popped the clutch cable out of the perch. Got the cable fixed and now the KDX would go again.
Back in the race I was now in last place. I could feel the front end was tweaked. I tried to adjust to it but it was hard at times to deal with especially now that I was overheated. My energy was tapped at this point. I kept pushing myself anyway and managed to catch the last rider and pass him quickly. I finally cooled down a bit, got my second wind, and was getting used to the front end. I was making some time and had caught up to another rider and got around him. I was feeling like "yeah, I can finish"
My race ended right at the finish of my second lap. I stalled and dropped the KDX in a small rock garden and the tower for my Scotts damper had come loose from the frame. With it being able to move at will, and possibly binding up my steering, I figured the smart move was to pull off.
Yesterday I straightened the front end but discovered my Renthal fat bars are bent. Yea. I also managed to get the rear of the frame mostly straightened but it still isn't perfect. Considering the beating the KDX took it held up well and still hasn't let me down!
Video below. Be warned, I cuss a lot in this one!
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