without getting hung up. I looked over and swore I
saw Hawk and the other media guys getting stuck
as we closed in on the riders from the starting row
in front of us. For the next hour, I didn't see anyone
from my group and seriously thought I had this
one in the bag. Ideas for my story, "How I won the
Industry class," were already swirling around in my
head. But I got ahead of myself. On the final lap,
I lost two spots to KTM's Griffin Dexter and TLD's
Max Lee. "How I podiumed the Industry class" still
sounded like a good title, though.
After surviving the final lap, I crossed the finish
line, and then reality set in. Sixth! How on earth could
I have gotten sixth place? That feeling of, "Man, if I
hadn't bobbled on that hill," or "I should've tried a
little harder" vaporized my initial ideas for the story.
But that's how it goes. In the short time after the
race, however, I realized how much fun I had just
had, and we laughed as we swapped tales about our
individual rides. No one had an easy going of it, and
making it out in one piece seemed like a victory in
itself. That sounds like a cheap excuse, right?
NO EXCUSES
Unfortunately, I can't use the bike as an excuse. The
300 XC is good—really good. The 293.2cc pow-
erplant is a godsend in the woods. Third gear is so
long and diverse that I left it there and just feathered
the clutch whenever I needed help. Hillclimbs, wide-
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 8, 2022 P89
(Above) It was good
seeing fellow journo Nic
Garvin (left) on the track
again. (Right) Many
good things have been
said about KTM 300 XC
and they're all true.
