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Nixon I had a chance at finishing 3rd in the D-36 Hare Scrambles so I made the trip for Nevada for the last Hare Scramble of the year. It was supposed to be a neat race with lots of sand and not many rocks. What it really was was cold. At the start it was announced by Motomouth to be 17 Degrees. There was a solid 4 inch sheet of ice over the entire ground. Brian came up with me but decided not to race upon seeing just how frozen the course was. I had one thing going for me in that I put hand warmers on and at least would be able to hold onto the bike. It was hard just making it to the start line. I was just idling in third gear on a straight road and felt like I was going to crash at any moment. Right then I made up my mind I was going to ride smart and not crash my brains out. I was riding the 450 and Brian gave me the start drill. I didn't get off the line too well and spun heavily just like everyone else. I was happy to follow whoever was in front of me. I saw by the line in front of me I was just outside the top ten. I passed a couple of guys but wasn't very comfortable in the ice. About halfway through the loop I saw Brian Spearle in front of me. I passed him down an icy wash. The course looked like it would have been fast and fun without the icy conditions. At the end of the first lap I was just inside the top ten. Leaving the first lap I got passed by a few guys down the icy road. I didn't feel comfortable at race speed so I was happy to trail ride and just follow who was in front of me. During the second lap we came to a downhill. I started slowly down the hill but my bike quickly built up speed. I didn't think I would slow down anytime soon so I jumped off the back. I had a couple more crashes the second lap. The course was even more slippery the second lap. The ice got packed down or melted but refroze and didn't offer much traction. I moved back a few spots on the second lap. At the end of the lap I crashed in the pits going about 3 miles per hour. I couldn't even go straight. The course got a little better the 3rd and final lap. I passed a couple people and had a good run down the frozen sandwash. At the end I saw two guys in front of me. I passed the first at the end of a icy road then had my sights on Spearle for a last minute pass. I passed him on a choppy trail but knew he would want to get me back. There was one more corner before the finish that I had overshot the lap before so I planned to go on the inside. As I slid passed the inside I saw that Spearle had made the corner better as we had a drag race towards the sage brush trail. I had a wheel on Spearle and squeaked by for a twelfth place finish. Jordan Brandt rode hard for the win holding off a hard charging Bryce Olsen. Bryce managed to rip every piece of plastic off his bike from crash damage but still pushed Jordan to the finish. Craig Wesner missed the race because of finals letting me get get by him for third in the series behind first time champ Jordan Brandt and Brian Spearle. |