The Shortest Race
30/11/08 16:16 Filed in: Motorcycle
It was a cold, dreary day to start. I had just come from my sister’s place and a fine family outing to see my niece’s wonderful play (The Crucible). I thought, hell.. this is going to be a sloppy, cold, nasty event. I was seriously considering heading for warmer climates!
But I stuck with it. After all, this was the first event at the Bremerton Motorsports park. The first motorcycle event! It wasn’t an NMA event, but I didn’t care. I was cut down by the Shelton Valley Enduro and wasn’t in any sort of contention. I still wanted to ride though, especially after seeing the first ‘kids’ race of the morning. The track looked sweet and I was feeling pretty good about it (Still cold of course).
I got to the line a little later than usual. The Sr. B class was the first row, so that was a good thing (Less traffic). What wasn’t good was the fact that the row was completely packed. No spaces left at all! So I tried to shoe-horn myself into the bushes on the right side, only to find the officials requesting I get in behind the lead row. SUCK!
Alas, fate stepped in and the officials realized the lead row was too crowded. They had mixed the B class with the 15 and under class. Reasonability took hold and they decided to split the row. I was now in the very front, in a perfect starting position! Yeah! Once the flag went up, the 300XCW started like a champ and I was on my way. So much so that, believe it or not, I pulled the hole-shot of my life! Going into the first turn, I was a good 50 feet in front of the 2nd place rider. I couldn’t help but to think I was about to be killed by being run over.
Somehow though, I managed to stay in front for most of the first lap. The bike, the course, and myself all seemed to be getting along fabulously. Better than I could ever have thought. We were having such a great time, that a rock chose to spoil the fun about 5 miles into the race. This rock was obviously not happy for my lead and chose to embed itself into the chain of my bike. It wound up knocking a tooth or two out of my countershaft sprocket. Not long after that, and the remaining 11 teeth decided to give up and leave the party.
Now, I knew none of this at the time. My first indication of problems was when I gassed it and heard the most unbelievably disturbing ratcheting sound I’ve ever heard emanating from somewhere near my left foot. I was petrified! Was it my clutch? Some internal gears? All I could think about was the amount of $$ I would have to pay and the fact that I was slowing down. Slowing down because the noise came back everytime I got on the throttle hard. Unfortunately, slowing down has a very severe side effect for the rider who is leading the race. It took only about 20 seconds for the 2nd place rider to pass me. Another few seconds and there goes three more. By the time I got to the pit area, I was in 7th. It didn’t take long to realize that I would never leave the pit area and my day was done. 6 miles in all, and the shortest race I ever ran.
If you’re curious what a rock and broken teeth do to a countershaft sprocket, check this out...
(The more ‘educated’ dirt bikers out there will notice a strange asymmetry in the sprocket teeth. What’s left of them that is. While I’d like to blame that on racing with the broken teeth, I can’t. Yes. It was time to replace the damn thing. And yes. I’ve learned my lesson!).
You can bet though, on Monday morning I was on the phone with Sidewinder Sprockets! A few hundred $ and the bike should be good as new. In compensation, I opted for the ‘bling’... Maybe I’m getting old? The new setup does look cool though!
But I stuck with it. After all, this was the first event at the Bremerton Motorsports park. The first motorcycle event! It wasn’t an NMA event, but I didn’t care. I was cut down by the Shelton Valley Enduro and wasn’t in any sort of contention. I still wanted to ride though, especially after seeing the first ‘kids’ race of the morning. The track looked sweet and I was feeling pretty good about it (Still cold of course).
I got to the line a little later than usual. The Sr. B class was the first row, so that was a good thing (Less traffic). What wasn’t good was the fact that the row was completely packed. No spaces left at all! So I tried to shoe-horn myself into the bushes on the right side, only to find the officials requesting I get in behind the lead row. SUCK!
Alas, fate stepped in and the officials realized the lead row was too crowded. They had mixed the B class with the 15 and under class. Reasonability took hold and they decided to split the row. I was now in the very front, in a perfect starting position! Yeah! Once the flag went up, the 300XCW started like a champ and I was on my way. So much so that, believe it or not, I pulled the hole-shot of my life! Going into the first turn, I was a good 50 feet in front of the 2nd place rider. I couldn’t help but to think I was about to be killed by being run over.
Somehow though, I managed to stay in front for most of the first lap. The bike, the course, and myself all seemed to be getting along fabulously. Better than I could ever have thought. We were having such a great time, that a rock chose to spoil the fun about 5 miles into the race. This rock was obviously not happy for my lead and chose to embed itself into the chain of my bike. It wound up knocking a tooth or two out of my countershaft sprocket. Not long after that, and the remaining 11 teeth decided to give up and leave the party.
Now, I knew none of this at the time. My first indication of problems was when I gassed it and heard the most unbelievably disturbing ratcheting sound I’ve ever heard emanating from somewhere near my left foot. I was petrified! Was it my clutch? Some internal gears? All I could think about was the amount of $$ I would have to pay and the fact that I was slowing down. Slowing down because the noise came back everytime I got on the throttle hard. Unfortunately, slowing down has a very severe side effect for the rider who is leading the race. It took only about 20 seconds for the 2nd place rider to pass me. Another few seconds and there goes three more. By the time I got to the pit area, I was in 7th. It didn’t take long to realize that I would never leave the pit area and my day was done. 6 miles in all, and the shortest race I ever ran.
If you’re curious what a rock and broken teeth do to a countershaft sprocket, check this out...
(The more ‘educated’ dirt bikers out there will notice a strange asymmetry in the sprocket teeth. What’s left of them that is. While I’d like to blame that on racing with the broken teeth, I can’t. Yes. It was time to replace the damn thing. And yes. I’ve learned my lesson!).
You can bet though, on Monday morning I was on the phone with Sidewinder Sprockets! A few hundred $ and the bike should be good as new. In compensation, I opted for the ‘bling’... Maybe I’m getting old? The new setup does look cool though!
