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There is a "fun run" at Westmorland this weekend. Fun if intense bar banging is in your definition, that is. Show time is 12. Sign up probably around 9. Temps look good. The mud in the creek crossings will still be frozen and that mud is worse than Perry clay, FWIW. (On a wet run out there Adrian got stuck in a creek crossing that had only 4' banks and could not get out. He is a AA rider.) Sounds good to me. And you?

Stu

FMHS last raced at Tony's (Westmoreland) about two years ago. That track was a blast. A lot of variety to it. There were a couple creek crossings, one wasn;t too bad as there was a couple option lines on it. The other wasn't bad early but as the day wore on it got downright ugly. There was a hill climb on the I think east end of the course that provided some real carnage. Bikes flipping over backwards, real kodak moments. A fun course for sure. There is a points race there on 3.15.09 as well. Milford is scheduled for 3.8.09, no real water on that course, (I like that). I'm need to go to work Sunday but if Stu wants to ride in the 10's with me and give me a 2 minute head start maybe I'll come on out.......

-Harvey
'06 300XCW
'04 EXC450
'98 RXCe620

Harvey,

I am going to have to miss it. I have a job that came through that I must attend to. I am pre-entered in Milford so I will see you there. Just look for an ancient dirt biker with white hair & a new 300 XC-W WITHOUT an electric starter (what a wussy piece of marketing that adds about 10 worthless lbs. of trash to a bike that starts with one kick in any conditions). My 300 without the electric starter is not much heavier than the 200! Just way cool!

Stu

I'd go watch but he's trying to charge $5 just to watch. That's just silly.

Stu, personally I wouldn't buy an e-start 2T either just because of the added cost but I have killed a bike on a hill side a couple of times with a drop off on the left side with no place to put my left foot down. The button would have been real nice then. I rode Jay Stevensons '08 300XC button bike and you can't even tell the weight is there.

Savage, the $5 is a "gate fee". All race series that I know of charge them, even the racers have to pay it. Most of the entry fees are used for AA payback. What's left over, plus the gate fees are typically used to pay the insurance the promoter has to buy for the event and pay two EMT's and ambulance rental that are required to be on site for the full two hours. Not to mention the cost involved for track set-up; stakes, ribbon, arrows, staples, Porta-potty rental etc, you get the idea. And yes, the promoter gets a cut of the pie as well. You can walk anywhere on the course you want to watch. Believe me, every event will easily provide $5 worth of entertainment if you sit at the right creek crossing or hill climb.

I gotta go load the truck up. I'll give you a race report later.

-Harvey

I've been to 1 HS to watch and I didn't pay a thing and there were no ambulance's or emt's on sight. I know because a guy crashed and I went over to see if he was OK. He wasn't moving and was laying right by the track. Took about 30-45 for emt's toget there.

Stu you should have put your obligation on hold for a day and came to the race. Perfect weather and the soil had the perfect amount of moisture. There was a couple places where the cedar trees shaded the track that was greasy but it was epic. The nice thing about Westy is, each wooded section is seperated by a long open terraced pasture. You can use this to make up time, slow down and get a drink or go for it and launch off the terraces. I saw 57 mph on the speedo a couple times over these sections. Westy flows better than any other FMHS track in my opinion and there is alot of elevation changes too. It's just like riding a roller coaster and YOU determine how fast it goes and how long the ride lasts. Was about 70ish riders. This was nice because it never got congested on the course. For some reason there was a cow and her calf on the course and Donnie got butted by the cow when he got to close on the sight lap. It was hilarious. There was only 4 of us in the 50+ class. Jay took first, I took second and then the other two guys. There was an A rider on a street legal EXC525. The front turn signals were still on it. He honked the horn a few times while he was waiting for the board to drop on his row. I guess that's why they call them "ready to race". I sit behind a desk for all day and any chance I get I want to spend my free time outside, preferably on a Dual Sport or a dirt bike with friends There was no better way than Westy to do that today. As long as it stays reasonably dry, I'll be at Milford.

-Harvey

Harvey,

I'll see you at Milford as long as it is reasonably dry, as you say. Sorry to miss Westy. However, the shoot went really well with some excellent work coming out of that.

Stu

Stu, if you were there yestersday and I missed you, sorry about that. My camelback decided to spring a leak right before the start and I was late lining up as I had to monkey with that. There was 160 riders on what during my drive out I thought would be a mud run but was actually perfect. Milford can handle rain better than many areas. I went into the woods in 3rd place behind my nemesis Jay S. Jay and I passed that guy pretty quick and the two of us freight-trained for a lap and half in 1st/2nd place in 50+. Jay got hung up on a rocky climb behind a slower rider and I snuck by on an inside line and was in first. I held 1st for 2 laps. I was pretty jazzed as 2nd is the best I've ever finished in class and that was only once. Things were going well until I smacked a rock head on about the size of a Honda Civic and the bike and I shot straight up in the air, turned sideways and came back down with the bike on top of me. It was on a hill and I had a tree wedged between my front tire and the fender. It took me I'd say about 2 minutes to get rolling again and I saw Jay and another "10" go by me. I was now in third place, gassed and about medium pissed off. I charged as hard as I could and passed the other 10 on a long straight and was back in second. I went thru the scoring tent on the last lap finishing 43 seconds behind 1st place. I only crashed once and had an overall good race. Turned out to be a great day overall. Westy is next week. The land owner is going to use all his property for the points race which will amount to about an 11 mile loop. Milford was 5.5 miles.

-Harvey
'06 300XCW
'04 EXC450
'98 RXCe620

Good job man!
Not too muddy? I might have to see if I can make it to Milford next weekend. I'd think the track would be easy to find after only a week, right?

Since that is a public park, the promoters are required to remove all ribbon and arrows before they leave Sunday afternoon. The race was on the east(?) side. If Milford gets any rain this week I doubt you'd even be able to find the course. The only tell-tale signs would be trees with fresh bark scraped off them.

-Harvey

Harvey,

I was not at Milford, unfortunately. I will be at Westy. (My wife will be out of town.) My Milford score was DNF. Aaargh!

Stu

Might come over to observe you folks. I think I'm missing the crazy gene that would make me consider trying to keep up with you yahoos! If I'm there I'll watch for you.
What are the directions from Westy to get to the course?

Mac, the directions are on the opening page of the FMHS website. Bring that 400 out and ride in the 900, (Trailrider) class. Some guys do every race of the series for points and money, some do a few races a year just for fun, (me). Some guys will ride a lap and stop at an interesting place in the woods and watch for awhile. Ride some more then stop and BS with some other riders. Maybe help out riders at a creek crossing. It can be as intense or as laid back as you make it. The atmosphere is cool and it'a a bunch of good people. Even if you do a trail ride pace for 2 nonstop hours, you will have become a better rider and have a blast doing it. Every muscle in your body may hurt Monday morning but you will have an ear to ear grin on your face driving to work. If you decide to compete, look me up, (#1017 Silver Dodge Dakota). I have a few tips on how to make your day go smoother.

-Harvey

Tempting....I know this area, pretty sure I have ridden by the location. I am itching to get the 400 out, just don't want to look like a idiot, or get run over. Is it a staggered start or a free for all? Definitely want to make sure I'm not in a pack. Is the gate fee the same as the race fee?

You will not look like an idiot. No one is so considered that climbs on their bike and competes. That act puts you in a very unique class with some really good guys. When the top runners come up behind you, you will hear them coming. Just pull over and let them go. If someone yells from behind you, again, just pull over a bit and let them by. They are competing for points in the series and are needing to get around you.

I think you would have a great time and have lots of crazy tales for Monday morning!

Stu

I just checked the FMHS series web site. There is a downloadable PDF file for new riders under the information tab. It pretty much tells you everything except how to behave on the trail. Wild riding. Let faster guys around. If there is any doubt about what the person behind you should do signal with your foot as to which side you want the person behind you to pass on. That also lets them know that you will be aware of them as they go by since the two of you could be inches apart.

Stu

This is something I'm going to do, but I will heading out to Spring Break with the family. I could do Wichita or Warrensburg, anybody else want to give it a try

Do you have to put numbers on your bike?