4-11-99 Cathey's Creek MX - Carolina Ultra Series Round 3

An overcast morning, with a track in great shape. The weather forecast had a chance of rain in the morning, with clearing to bright sun by noon. I had never been to Cathey's Creek before, and it looked like a challenging, but fun track. I had a cheering section today. Cynthia (the wife), our two kids (David and Kaitlin), and Cynthia's Mom and Dad were there with the RV for a fun day of racing in a family atmosphere

In the first +30A race, the first moto of the day, a light drizzle came on as we moved toward the starting gate. I am a huge fan of my Smith Goggles with roll-offs, that I insisted on trying them for this moto. I should have put on tear-offs, instead of roll-offs, since roll-offs usually do not work when wet. On the starting line of 10 riders, I got a mid-pack start, and was trying to learn the track and go fast. I took my time, and slowly worked my way up and finished 4th for the moto. I wasted alot of time trying to clear my goggles, since the mist was steady. I could see the leaders, and they were not pulling much time on me. I felt that in the second moto, I could run up front if I had a decent start. The track was still in great shape, and I learned some lines for my next moto.

In the first +35 class, again, I got a mid pack start. All rain had stopped, and the weather and track was beginning to dry out. I moved by riders one by one, until I passed Kerry Jones in the long whoop section to take the lead on the 4th lap. I was able to cruise for the win. I was confident that I had made progress today, and could take the remaining motos, barring any misfortune and with hard riding.

Before the 2nd +30A class, it was getting dusty and hot, and the track crew decided to put down some water and plow some of the dusty sections. I appeared to have a good position approaching the first turn, but I felt a wave of bikes pushing me to the outside, as several riders created dominoes in the first turn. I was planted in a pile of bikes, and picked it up and took off. My bike was a little tweaked, and I slowed a little as I approached a set of rockers on the first lap, which were hard packed and wet from water. I landed slightly crossed up on the second set, and my bike slipped right out from under me like I was riding on wet glass. 2 crashes in one lap were two crashes more than I have had in my first 3 races combined. I tried to ride as hard as I could, and only caught up to 7th before running out of time.

I had sorted out my crashing for the day in my last moto, and was ready to repeat my win in the second +35 class. I got a good start, in second place going into the first turn. I tryed to hurry through, to avoid being centerpunched or something, and spun a little, letting someone slip by on the outside. I raced the person to top of the next hill, and was a whell behind and on the outside of the person going into the next right hand turn. We both picked the same line, and his rear wheel took me out, and I was on the ground again!!! A little disgusted, I quickly remounted, and started a charge, since I wasn't too far behind to catch up. I had caught up to 3rd, and was right behind the 2nd place guy and was quickly catching the leader, when I tried an inside line to avoid following and to hopefully pass, and my bike spun out on the hard packed clay. I had fallen for a fourth time for the day! I lost two positions back to fifth, and passed one back before the finish to finish 4th. I did salvage second overall for the day, and although I took a few spills, I was riding aggressive and had a pretty good feel for the track. I did really enjoy this track, my only complaint is a very short start straight, with a sharp 180 degree left hand turn. This is not practical for a large field of riders, and first turn pileups were the norm for the day.

+30A Results

+35 Results