The View From "C" Class - 2010 NCHSA Series

[nobrakes]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments and support.

Here's a neat video someone put together about the race. If you watch close you can see me at about 5:50, #351, at the little step-up section just after the start.

I like the interviews with the kids, though. Those little kids have about 10 times more experience at this stuff than I do, at 44 y/o. lol

NCHSA round 3 Brushy Mountain race recap video from ftiracing on Vimeo.

Some great action, a couple of crashes, young racer's interviews...



As well as an on the spot, just broke my foot interview with Craig Moore!

[nobrakes]

Quick update on the TireBalls I put in a while back. Today I decided an inspection was in order, so I pulled the rear wheel off and removed the tire. After 2 races and 3 or 4 regular rides, all the individual cells were still completely intact, and no mud or grit had entered through the old valve stem and 2nd rim lock holes. I had previously filled those with RTV sealant before taping over the spokes. Good to see it has kept the mud out.

They had lost a little bit of pressure, so I went ahead and topped them off and put the tire back. In the process, I was able to squeeze one more cell into the rear tire. My confidence in these is growing. It's great not having to worry about flats. So far so good.

[Tarheel Wheeler]

NB, Just finished your video. Sweet stuff for sure. U got me stoked for this weekend.

Really enjoyed the ride today.

[nobrakes]

Thanks! Yeah, that was a good ride, looking forward to riding some this week, too.

Looking forward to riding Flat Rock with you, though even though I think you'll be starting from the row behind me, I would expect to see you coming by me in pretty short order. Just give me a whoop-whoop and I'll move aside.

[eatpasta]

Ive finnaly found time to watch your whole lap - and there at the end, I was sitting here in my office and I yelled TREE!!!!



then i looked around to see who heard me



right on! I cant believe you guys race almost exclusively in single track... how the hell do you get the broken down bikes out of there?!?



I wonder what its like to race in the SHADE all day long....

[eatpasta]

oh and good on ya for getting up that bottleneck hill!!



I wouldnt be surprised to see trials bikes out there!

[nobrakes]

Originally Posted by eatpasta

oh and good on ya for getting up that bottleneck hill!!



I wouldnt be surprised to see trials bikes out there!

Thanks! It gets a little crazy in those things. Would have been up a lot quicker if people didn't keep running into me.

Speaking of trials bikes, this was my project for this evening. This at the recommendation of some of the faster "B" class guys in the afternoon race, they seem to swear buy them.




And I replaced my Kenda Southwick II sand tire with something a little more appropriate for the mountains:




I'll admit, those TireBalls are nice when it comes to having to not think about flats, but I think I'm starting to miss tubes when it comes to changing tires.


The next race is the infamous "Flat Rock" this coming Sunday. It's only infamous because last year it was a real tough course, and 12 inches of rain in the days prior sure made it even more interesting. I'm hoping for good weather this time around.

[nobrakes]

Originally Posted by eatpasta

I wonder what its like to race in the SHADE all day long....

It may look shady and cool, but in reality it's 100 degrees in the shade and 99% humidity. Your goggles will fog up just from mild exertion, let alone huffing and puffing on the climbs or god forbid, you drop your bike on one of those hills shooting your heart rate to 190+. Last year at Flat Rock, my goggles were fogging badly in similar conditions and I even stopped for a few minutes while trying to pull the nose guard off them because it was hindering my breathing and catching on my helmet. I couldn't see shite. About that time I was wondering if I could install a tiny little fan on my goggles for some forced air circulation - it was like a sauna back in those woods. The low humidity of the desert would have been welcome.

[eatpasta]

yeah... I can see how that would suck.

Funny how those guys run trails rubber..... that would work there and im sure the Desert IT MAxxis tires probably wouldnt be very good out there.



I have massive chunks out of these MAXXIS tires after two races - not even 100 miles. The desert RUINS tires.

[nobrakes]

As I get ready for the next race which is tomorrow, here is the 2nd part of the helmet cam from the last race, Brushy Mountain, for your viewing enjoyment. This is the 2nd and 3rd laps, trimmed for length. As you'll see, the first bottleneck was not even an issue on these laps, thought he 2nd bottleneck area still caused problems for some.

In case the embed code doesn't work, try this link: http://www.vimeo.com/11756533

2010 NCHSA Rd 3 - Brushy Mountain Hare Scramble, Part II from bsd512 on Vimeo.

The 2nd and 3rd laps from the Brushy Mountain hare scramble.

[DC950]

[nobrakes]

I got back late last night and did not get a chance to update, then had to work today.

I ended up with a 13th out of 18 riders this time around, so no trophy this time, but I still had a great time. The track was pretty tough, and some sections were downright brutal. It was wet and slippery in some places, some had both the front and rear slipping at the same time - like ice, with a few of the tougher uphill sections that had riders struggling on every lap as I came through. There were not as many DNFs as I expected, though, so most of the folks were dealing the conditions pretty well. Only 1 DNF in my class, and only 5 DNFs total for the afternoon race. Contrast to the last race at Brushy Mountain where there were 3 DNFs in my class and 22 DNFs for the afternoon overall. Personally, while the laps were shorter, I thought the conditions were tougher than Brushy, yet the attrition rate was lower. Go figure. There seemed to be about 30 fewer riders in the afternoon race this time around, so maybe the DNF'ers just didn't show up this time around.

My buddy Tarheel Wheeler joined me this time around so we rode up together. TW had a great race - came in 4th in his class out of 12, SEN C 45+ - way to go TW! 4th in class the first time out - that's awesome!

I think our results for the overall out of 150 riders were 114th for me and 87th for TW. But this was only TW's first hare scramble, so I'm sure he'll be moving up in the order as he gets a few under his belt and gets it all figured out. He's a very experienced rider and a quick learner and is experienced at other forms of racing, so I figure he'll be running closer up front soon.

TW being there did serve somewhat of a gage for the level of racing in the NCHSA, though. I'm not sure how the series stacks up to others in the region like Mideast and SETRA, but TW is a great rider and leaves me in the dust at will every time we ride, so I had little doubt he would do well. When we all go riding together, he's generally the fastest of the group, unless BC61 shows up. But for comparison, TW finished 2nd in class at last year's SandBlast Rally with an 8th overall in that event, with some pretty darn fast riders from all over the east, even Canada I think. Comparing our times in this hare scramble, I was averaging 12.1 MPH for my 114th out of 150 (not great), TW was averaging 14.3 MPH for his 87th (good), the leaders in my class SEN C 40+ were averaging 16.8 for 24th overall (very good), and the top 10 of the overall afternoon race which is aging "B" riders + "C" class, were averaging 18+ MPH with the overall winner at just under 20 MPH at 19.36 (excellent!). But this was only TW's first hare scramble, so would expect him to improve on that, but even so, the top guys in each of the classes are finishing probably in the top 20 to 30 of the overall, those guys are really hauling the mail! So given what a great rider I know TW to be, that just puts things into perspective a little bit for me, all things considered. I know I'd have to really step it up and improve what seems like an order of magnitude to keep up with TW in the woods. And then that he would have to do that to run with the front runners. So ... dang, I'm just not sure I could ever get to that level, that would take some serious time and dedication. I'd love to get there, though.

But then consider the national level of competition, for example, in the GNCC's, and you're probably talking yet again another whole order of magnitude. The level of riding that those guys do begins to boggle my mind.

At any rate, I felt like I rode OK considering the conditions. There were a few of the greasy slick clay sections where I felt downright sketchy and I basically just nursed it through those. And I did get held up for several minutes on the next to the last lap. Someone got hurt and they held up about 8 of us while the emergency workers got the injured rider out. I'm not sure if it affected my results, but if it did, it would have only been a position or two, which likely would not have changed whether I took home a trophy anyway. Regardless, I'm not at all bothered by having to wait, I hope the injured rider is OK and the emergency crew were able to get him out faster and more safely without having to worry about other riders coming up the trail in the opposite direction.

I used a new helmet cam this time around, and the video quality is markedly improved, but it is taking forever for my computer to convert the format to something that FCE can use. I hope to get that posted soon, I may just post the whole first lap like I did with Brushy Mtn Part I which will save editing time.

All in all, it was a great day, tough course, my arms feel like I did 500 push ups yesterday. It was great carpooling up and pitting with TW - he's a helluva rider and all-round good guy. Hope we can do more of these together, maybe he can teach me his secrets.

[IT 400]

Are we having fun yet??? YOU BETCHA' WE ARE!!! great report, looking forward to the video...+1 on TeeDub always a treat, ridin', racin' or just chillin' and eatin'...

[hobie1dog]

, my goggles were fogging badly in similar conditions and I even stopped for a few minutes while trying to pull the nose guard off them because it was hindering my breathing and catching on my helmet. I couldn't see shite. About that time I was wondering if I could install a tiny little fan on my goggles for some forced air circulation - it was like a sauna back in those woods. The low humidity of the desert would have been welcome. [/quote]

You need a Haber Eliminator fan, made just for that purpose, comes on when needed.
http://www.habervision.com/product/12013.aspx

[nobrakes]

Originally Posted by hobie1dog

You need a Haber Eliminator fan, made just for that purpose, comes on when needed.
http://www.habervision.com/product/12013.aspx

Oh YEAH! That's exactly what I needed. Come to think of it, this same race but last year, the same thing happened. It was hotter and wetter last year, but the humidity in those woods is something fierce especially after the rains in the days prior. This year, my goggles started fogging sitting at the bottom of a bottleneck while not moving for a few minutes, and they never recovered after that, even after several attempts to clear them. I ended up just pulling them down and going without them for the 3 and a half laps remaining, being extra careful to duck my head if anyone was throwing roost. No race is worth losing an eye.

But that Habervision fan is really cool, I'm going to look into that. Price doesn't seem terribly outrageous. Hmmm....