First Race Report VCGP 2013

Travace · Apr 30, 2013

So a several months back someone had told me about this race the Virgina City Grand Prix and how it was tough but fun. Knowing my long time friend and DBA lurker PBK living near VC i figued hey why not jump into the deep end of the pool and go race as a expert :lol:

. So i started riding a bit more and continuing to try and loose weight or not gain it :lol:

.

we take off on wendsday to get to PBK's house even tho he was working. on the way in bishop tacobell was lunch

we arrived at PBK's house a few hours later. his brother and mother were super cool for putting us up while he was away... i cant thank them all enough.

Thursday We did our own thing taking the kids here and there and educating them about as much as possible.

Then Friday we headed up to VC to spend the day messin around and havin fun. almost got real serious when someone looked like they was a cheatin....

Saturday was race day.

We got up there around 8:30 thinking that was plenty of time for a 10am start and :lol:

we were wrong. in the unloading zone we were being rushed out because the redbull sky divers were landing right there. so i geard up asap and asked where is registration. the guy tells me i just need to get my bike inspected and points me to where. so i go get that done and get my sticker and go to line up. guy at line tells me i have to get my bar code for my helmet at the hotel down that oh way. so i go there. they tell me that the registration people left and to go to the washoe club. so i go back to the guy at the line. he tells me to wait there.. soon enough the lady with the stickers come and i got my bar :clap:

....

so now im lined up waaaaay in the back and people are constantly trying to get by to their spot till its all full...

i will let the only vid of the race i have tell this next part of the story...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96-qBIazT4c&feature=youtu.be

to be continued....

johnrunner · Apr 30, 2013

Oh and consider a lithium ion battery, Shorai ftw!

Rack · Apr 30, 2013

Where did your right hand guard go?

530ktm · May 1, 2013

KTMRack:
Where did your right hand guard go?

Good question, looks like you took a spill at the very beginning. :noidea:

530ktm · May 1, 2013

Not sure what is with the double posting but that place sure looks like a cluster compared to when I was there in October last year. :thinking:

Rack · May 1, 2013

530ktm:
Good question, looks like you took a spill at the very beginning.

I went back am looked at the beginning - I didn't see it there either. :noidea:

James · May 1, 2013

530ktm:
Not sure what is with the double posting

Had a couple server issues, I think I now have it resolved.

Travace · May 1, 2013

the right bark buster was gone before the race.... lostthe bolts and inards out in JV and with the trip costing so much all together i had to save where i could i opted for new tires instead.

Travace · May 1, 2013

so on to after the video. sorry but not many pics of the rest of the race but about a mile after the video stops i came to the first traffic jam. there was a left and a decent sized hill climb that ws rocky and gnarly towards the top. it had bikes lined down the entire thing and almost everyone was walking the bikes up it. litterally tire to tire with a occasional dude flying by or getting stuck spinning the back tire. i attempted to get up and made it past some dude to my right but about half way my bike boils over. so i get as far to the side as i can kill the bike and find some shade under a tree and just enjoyed the show for a min. It didnt take long for the crowd to clear and so i jump on the bike and barely but my magic button gets the bike started on the hill and i make it up.

Now im thinking just take it easy and push on. at this point the riders were pretty spread out and i didnt have any issues even passed a group of 3 riders. I cant remember the mileage but next was a road section. not long at all only seemed like a mile or so to me and i hit a speed of 70 something before getting back on dirt.

This is where it got hard. Not long after that i entered what they call Sutro Canyon. it starts getting gnarly and really fast. I was doing good tho. maybe made it in a 1/4 of a mile in rocky bolder hopping madness, passing the carnage untill :crash:

. i was so gassed i figure ok break time. i look at the bike and the right lever is broke and my bash gaurd is laying on the ground. I look around and there is photographers around and medics are stopping to check on me i give em all the

and they go on. So i get out my zip ties and fix my bashguard and not long later i hear some guy in the crowd who was helping some guys who couldnt get up this gnarly rock climb you had to do yell "WHOOOOOOO #402 YOU GOT THIS ITS YOUR TURN" it motivated me so i got on... battery dead... it kicks over fairly fast tho :rocker:

so BRRAAAAP up the rock i go hearing them all cheer me on :rocker:

Then it really starts to get hard for me. the best way to explain the rest of this section is 3 miles of a trail that someone took a bunch of bowling ball sized rocks and dumped em there. There was kind of a line if you want to call it that :lol:

but not really and sooner or later there was always someone crashed in that line causing me to go out of it into the more gnarly stuff and thats when i dumped the bike. i was so winded at this point. i took a little breather and started trying to get my bike started again. this time it was not so easy but i got it going again. now repeat that 2 more times within 100 yards :cry:

so i post up and find a tree. i could feel my core overheating and i was starting to :puke:

so i just releaxed... took off my jersey and got a sleeve wet and wrapped it around my neck to cool off my main arterys. it worked cause not long i was feeling better so im trying to get the bike started. This is when i notice the first pro go by... which means im being lapped. no biggie it was bound to happen. I talked to a few guys while i was here and no one was having fun. Even some of of the pro's were struggling. one pro went down right next to me and some douche nugget behind him starts yelling at him.... get that HONDUUUURR out the way... the pro was yelling shut the fuck up :lol:

i thought they were gonna fight for a second. so now about a hour ... hour and a half goes by with me in this one 4 mile section and i still have proll2 and a half to go still and my bike wont start. this is when i see the same blue plate #20 go by my again... this means the pros are on lap 3 and lapped me 2 times :cry:

.. then a medic fell next to me and was resting when another guy came and fell and couldnt get his bike started as well. so the medic helped him get the bike way out the way so he could turn around. I told him hey i might need help as well my bike wont start. he was not looking happy about the size of my bike but was ready to do work anyway. I told him first i want to try kicking ONE MORE time so keep your fingers crossed.

Kick one.... Nothing

Kick two.... Nothing

Kick three.... BRAAAAAAAAP

i hear him and the other guys around me yell WHOOOOOOOOO and the medic says " PICK A LINE AND GOOOOOOO"

i did exactly that. i think i was so scared that my bike wouldnt start and i wouldnt finish that i rode quite well. far from smooth feeling but i didnt go down anymore :rocker:

After the Sutro peak it was the funnest part of the course. some fun ST type stuff on the side of a hill and one more small road section before winding back into town. Would have been funner if i wasnt already dead tired. i got passed by a lot of people in the last 13 miles or so :lol:

but as soon as i could see Virgina City again it was like a surge of energy. Especially when i got close to town and you could hear the crowds cheering ya on. When i got to the redbull arch my family is standing right there at the finish :rocker:

so i head into the pits and PBK and his brother had made friends with someone who let us put our gas there... it was far from needed but good to have them there anyway.

So i didnt go out again which gave me a DNF for my class ... which i had no buisness in anyway but i did place for overall and got my pin...

384 Travis Moreno Poway, CA Over 30 EXP 402 KTM 1 02:48:46
which means i finished 18 positions better then my start. :rocker:

So lets rewind to several months back. i asked myself "would you like racing?" and could not answer that question because i have never done it. Now i have and now i can answer.....

YES!!!!! it was a blast and there will be more of it in my life and plan on training harder and returning next year with more experience and in better shape.

CDA · May 1, 2013

That is Awesome Trav! Great job on concurring this task. Racing is always different than trail riding, you think you are in shape, can run at a good pace, but you forget to factor in the dust, faster people behind you and slower people in front. The thing I found with racing off-road events like these is not to be in a hurry until you get the hang of it. I treated every race like another trail ride, with the only difference is, you're not waiting for anyone.

Great job again! Maybe I will plan this one as well for next year and see you up there...

530ktm · May 1, 2013

Sounds like an experience Trav. Not something I would like to try but you did a good job for the first time.

Travace · May 1, 2013

CDA:
That is Awesome Trav! Great job on concurring this task. Racing is always different than trail riding, you think you are in shape, can run at a good pace, but you forget to factor in the dust, faster people behind you and slower people in front. The thing I found with racing off-road events like these is not to be in a hurry until you get the hang of it. I treated every race like another trail ride, with the only difference is, you're not waiting for anyone.

Great job again! Maybe I will plan this one as well for next year and see you up there...

http://www.district37ama.org/offroad/calendar/2013/may2013/2013_badgers.jpg

CDA · May 1, 2013

Travace:
http://www.district37ama.org/offroad/calendar/2013/may2013/2013_badgers.jpg

The Badger's cop out is a great weekend. I did plenty of them in the day. Are you heading out to this? What class are you going to ride?

Travace · May 1, 2013

dont think i can make that one CDA. my nbike needs love and the squish is getting low. will be trying to keep it close for a bit. Pala has the pay it forward one soon but im not committed. i for sure want to do some of the D38 superstition runs later this year tho.

rezrider · May 1, 2013

Travace:
So a several months back someone had told me about this race the Virgina City Grand Prix and how it was tough but fun. Knowing my long time friend and DBA lurker PBK living near VC i figued hey why not jump into the deep end of the pool and go race as a expert . So i started riding a bit more and continuing to try and loose weight or not gain it .

we take off on wendsday to get to PBK's house even tho he was working. on the way in bishop tacobell was lunch

we arrived at PBK's house a few hours later. his brother and mother were super cool for putting us up while he was away... i cant thank them all enough.

Thursday We did our own thing taking the kids here and there and educating them about as much as possible.

Then Friday we headed up to VC to spend the day messin around and havin fun. almost got real serious when someone looked like they was a cheatin....

Saturday was race day.

We got up there around 8:30 thinking that was plenty of time for a 10am start and we were wrong. in the unloading zone we were being rushed out because the redbull sky divers were landing right there. so i geard up asap and asked where is registration. the guy tells me i just need to get my bike inspected and points me to where. so i go get that done and get my sticker and go to line up. guy at line tells me i have to get my bar code for my helmet at the hotel down that oh way. so i go there. they tell me that the registration people left and to go to the washoe club. so i go back to the guy at the line. he tells me to wait there.. soon enough the lady with the stickers come and i got my bar ....

so now im lined up waaaaay in the back and people are constantly trying to get by to their spot till its all full...

i will let the only vid of the race i have tell this next part of the story...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96-qBIazT4c&feature=youtu.be

to be continued....

I am really surpised you weren't passing those guys and honking your horn in the process... ... PLUS how could you let that kid on the 65 twanger pass you... :smirk: