Race weekend double header. Or how I stood in the desert sun for two straight days.

This post is coming in a bit later than a normal one. Usually, I recap the previous weekend's activities when updating the blog. This time, a couple weeks have passed before I was able to capture the events of the weekend. I didn't have time to sit at the computer and get it all written up after the dust had settled. So dear readers, get your self a drink, get comfortable and prepare for a long post with a heavy dose of pictures for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

My double header weekend started out at Round 6 of the SCFTA season. A month and a week had passed since my first race at Round 5 and I was eager to get back out on the track. I did an earlier post about going to do some supermoto because this race had been postponed. This time the races went off as planned and the weather was even a few degrees cooler. I arrived early and got my paddock set up with no issues. The bike was running in tip top shape and I physically felt good. I was eager to go faster and try my luck back out on the dirt oval.

The track staff were hard at work prepping the track for the day's races. When I arrived, the grader and water truck were doing hot laps making sure the dirt had plenty of moisture and grip. You could literally smell the potential for speed in the air! I was salivating at the possibility of using what I learned at my last race to do better than my last place finish. It didn't quite happen that way in the end, but we'll get to that part later.

This time around I entered in two classes; Open Beginner and Vet 35+ Novice. From the heat race list you can see that those races were heat numbers 17 & 18. That means I'd be iron manning doing back-to-back heats! The 35+ Novice class only had two riders so we were combined with the VET 35+ Amateur class. I would be starting in the back row for one race and in the front row for the other. The challenge was on. I forgot to start my helmet mounted GoPro for my heats. When the green light lit I buggered up and came off the line at a snail's pace. Right away I got a face full of roost from one of the front row, faster riders. I entered into the corner the 5th of five riders determined to feel out the track and try to catch the front pack. The race format changed slightly. We only had one practice session, but the heat races would be 6 laps long, two more than last time. During practice, the rear end was getting loose on me so for my heat I dropped the rear tire pressure a few pounds. After the first heat I circled back around and lined up for the Open Beginner class heat. For this race I'd be starting in the middle of the 5 rider front row. I absolutely tanked my start, stalling it off the line. I waddled into the infield and got the bike restarted. By the time that happened I was already a lap down. I got back into the race with the goal to treat it like extra practice to feel out the track. Back in my paddock I chuckled at myself for my rookie mistakes. My wife and kids caught part of my second heat because of delays thanks to Southern California traffic. I realized I'd forgotten to start my camera and noticed that I must have taken a rock to my helmet which ended up cracking my GoPro lens cover. I finished last in both my heats, but was having fun.

In between the heats and mains, I toured through the pits looking at all the great machines you get to see at a club race like this. This race weekend had a smaller turn out than the last round of races. With the format changes and the thinner crowd, things were moving at a good pace. I saw this Yamaha two-stroke powered bike and was a bit smitten. It has such clean, classic lines and a really sweet exhaust pipe. It epitomizes the brutish, purposeful look of a flat track race bike that was a big part of my change to this riding discipline. I really want to find a crusty Yamaha two-stroke from the early 1970's to rebuild as a project bike.

Take a good hard look at the yellow bike on the left above. You might notice something different about the engine area. Yep, that is an Alta electric bike outfitted for flat track racing. I think this is an awesome idea. Many tracks around the country have issues with the neighbors and noise from the races. This has lead to a few tracks closing down. Just think of having a track in your back yard, but every bike being electric. The neighbors might not even know what was going on. For the mains, I'd be in the back and on the outside, meaning I'm starting from from last place. I had dropped the tire pressures even more after the heats as the track was still loose. I had a couple of moments in my heats where the rear of the bike swung extra wide when I got on the gas a bit too aggressively for the traction conditions. I got better starts in both of my mains with my best start of the night in my last race. The only remarkable thing for my 35+ Novice main was that I got lapped by the whole grid. In the open beginner main, I stayed with the pack for turns one and two, though in dead last. By the time they accelerated down the back straight I was half a lap down. I have a video of the whole, sad affair that I will be editing, but don't expect a whole lot of action. I finished both races upright only getting lapped a few times. All in all a successful night. I race, had fun, got faster and walked away healthy and that is what it is all about. Technically in my Vet 35+ race I got second place. When you come in last and there are only two riders does it count as a podium?

The next day I was up and at it bright and early once again. I had to go back the same direction to get to Apex Racing Center for a supermoto race. This time I'd be on the other side of the checkered flag. I volunteered to be a corner worker flagman for the WAR "Summers Almost Over race". I saw an appeal for volunteers on my Facebook page and signed up. Of course this was before I knew the round 6 SCFTA race was going to be postponed a week. Thanks to my understanding wife I was free to indulge in more race related debauchery for the whole weekend. I ended up being the only flagman for the race. I got set up in my designated corner. This was the dirt part of the supermoto track. This was the toughest part of the track and where all the flag action happened. Having only been on the receiving end of flagging, I made a few newbie errors. A few racers didn't agree with my calls, but I was overly cautions as compared to being overly unsafe so I was ok with it. I got a T-Shirt and some pizza as well as a few bucks for my day. There were lots of 450 class supermoto bikes like the 805 Supermoto bike on the right. The race action was pretty good and I literally had a front row seat to some of the best of it.

There were 12 classes for this race. The number of classes brought out a few wild bikes like the two pictured above. The one on the left is an a mini-moto bike not unlike lots of others. It did have some sweet clubman bars that put the young rider in a completely tucked position. The kid just killed it out there and in one of his races I saw him lap the whole field twice! Another really cool bike was this weird JDM Suzuki scooter, bike. This isn't a real scooter as the engine is not attached to the swingarm like most scooters. As you can see from the picture, it has more of a scooter shape and riding position. The rider was a grown man and I saw him in a few races battling it out for the 3rd-4th-5th positions. In one of the finals he got first place after a wreck between the front runners had him start from the front on the restart. He was able to knee drag like a boss and it was cool to see something so different.

Another interesting bike was this Honda, two-stroke thing. I have no idea what it started out as, but when it was running, it was fast. The rider had some troubles keeping it going. It looked like it had had a hard life of racing. There were a few other interesting bikes at the race including a few dual sport bikes with their license plates still attached. It seemed like most of the group knew each other, I was definitely one of the outsiders. I enjoyed my work that day even though it was hot and long. I would volunteer to do it again. I learned a few things about putting on a race event that will be valuable for the future. Now that I have some experience, I will be better at flagging the next time. 

I have a bunch more stuff to write about unrelated to this race weekend when I get the chance. You'll have to wait until the next week to find out what that is. This coming weekend I will be getting some practice up at Milestone MX. I will be racing again the week after and am eager to improve on my multiple last place finishes. Thanks for getting this far. Ride safe friends! Until next time.

Blue