Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128348
- - - - - - - - - - - - Round 12 OFF-ROAD ~ Rocky Mountain ATV/World Off-Road Champion ship S er ies My Own Hell... Err... Race When I used to follow the WaReS series around as a " full-time" racer. I took it Early on, Nathan Woods (right) led and was followed closely by Bonds (left). seriously - or at least I tried to . I would eat right the night before, you kno w all 01 the carbs and stu ff, make it a po int to get a good night's sleep and wake up the next day ready to twist the throttle. Funny how getting a real job changes th ings. This time, I approached the whole racing thing slightly differently when I decided to come back for the Glen Helen round as a full-time journalist/part-time racer. I didn't race the day before to learn the course. (I went karting instead.) I ate Mexican lood with all the fixings, a nice combo plate of enchiladas with rice and beans - very tasty, but fo r obvious reasons not a good idea. I showed up on a bike that wasn 't set up for me - or lor offroad riding, for that matter. My weapon 01 choice was our 'OS Suzuki RM2S0 in full moto trim , including the stock gas tank, and that would mean multiple stops for fuel - not good, but, hey, who cares? Needless to say, I was in it for the fun, or so I thought belore I pulled up to the gate at the crack of dawn, Sunday morning. When I rolled up to the track, I couldn't help but notice how much water was on the ground. And here I was expecting all week to be racing in dust , not in a cloudburst. It was wet, cold and wet - oh did I already say that? Alii could think about was how much fun I wasn't going to be having in a couple of hours. Basically, I was about to embark on a two-hour race in nothing but sloppy, slimy mud not something that I am particularly lond 01. Alter all, I'm a Southern California kid through and through. The words "mud," "slo ppy" or "slimy" usually don't leave my mouth unless I'm describing... well you get the idea. When the riders' meeting was all done and it was time to line up, I pushed my bike out and watched as the bulldozer scraped away the excess sludge from the start straight, only to reveal more 01 the goop. All the while it began to rain, and I sat there contemplating my fate out on the course. I couldn't decide ill wanted a good start or not. rr I got a good one, I would have to actually try to go fast, but if I got a bad one then I could just "avoid " the mudholes and do my own thing . I hate to say it, but I was kind of leaning toward a bad start, because that way I could attempt to keep clean lor a little while . When the gate dropped my whole grand plan of a bad start went down the drain as I suddenly found myserr tow d" the front of the pack . I tried to stay th as long as I could, but alter only making . through the motocross section of the course, my visions of fame and fortune vanished . Russ Pearson took the lead on the last lap, but unfortunately his bike came to a stop with the finish in sight. 32 NOVEMBER 3, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary As I headed up Yamaha Hill to the offroad section, with my fresh pair or goggles now caked with mud , I bogged down and dropped the bike. Maybe it was because the nearly vertical hill was in the back or my mind from the warning they gave us about it at the riders' meeting. Or it could have been me not thinking... Yeah, come to think or it, that was probably the case; I tend to do that sometimes. One lesson I did learn , though, was just how quick and easy it is to go from the Iront to dead last. It was at that point that I just said to myserr, '1\!right time to just ride around and finish." On the first lap, I pitted for new goggles and gloves . At that point, I wasn't wearing my goggles and my gloves were like soggy dishrags. As the race wore on, I had to pit just about every half hour or so to refuel and grab some new goggles. Toward the end or the race, I actually looked forward to coming into the pits; after all, it was one 01 the only dry places on the course . I would come in, leisurely get gas, maybe grab something to drink and head back out. It's funny how taking that approach can instantly turn an otherwise long two-hour race into some- thing that is actually somewhat enjoy able . And the way I looked at it, when I got lapped, I had the best seat in the house of Russ Pearson and Ty Davis in an all-out battle for the lead . Man those guys really are Iast, When the race was all over, I couldn't have been happier to have actually finished . Yes, I got lapped, and yes, I didn't do so hot . But when all was said and done, I had fun and I got to experience a true mud race for a solid two hours . I haven't raced this entire year and have forgotten just how fast every one or these riders really is - and just how much run it can be riding on a motorcycle for two long hours. As for what place I got ... I was happy because I got my name in the resu lts in Cycle News - and I think I even earned a point Io r my efforts. -Brendan Lutes