Weekend Racing Update.
The indoor BMX racing season kicked off this weekend at the Legacy Center in Farmington.
10-10-08 – Friday:
Curt and Sheridan made it with Quncie in tow and I was there with the mini-me’s Lucas and Collin. The little ones (Q. and Collin) were a little upset that there wasn’t a “Big Wheels” race but got to play with other kids in the stands and run amok as kids like to do.
Lucas got bumped into the 6 year-old Intermediate class since his buddies Carson and Charlie (Utah’s only 2 other 5 Intermediates) weren’t there. We haven’t had a straight-up 5I race yet… and there’s an amazingly fast 5 year-old Expert in the 6I tonight like other races Lucas has been in since he turned “inter”… so, we can pretty much tell you who’s going to win that one. I know he can hang with at least one of the 6 year-olds but wasn’t into in the second round, but Lucas handled it ok–however he was a little upset that he didn’t make the main.
Sheridan had a pretty full class to race in–in fact, there were 2 racks of qualifiers for the 7 Novice class if I recall correctly. She rode well and made her main! She’s progressing every race, it seems. She’s standing most of the track and keeping her pedals in the right place over the jumps. She’s coming along well! And she looks dang cute doing it in her purple and pink trimmed gear! 
Curt was there for his second ever race. Round 1 Greg went down and Curt tagged him. I was holding second (a qualifying spot) most of the race until the last turn when Anthony went high into the soft stuff and I had to hit the brakes to not hit into him… but then “dude in blue” (sorry, I can’t recall the name) was able to sneak past me–that means I’m coming back for round 2 to qualify. Round 2 I just had to pace myself and keep it “rubber side down”–I came out with a 1st place to qualify for the main. Curt, unfortunately didn’t make the main. For our main we have 5–with Curt the only one from our class not in the main. I got a good start (I’ve been working on that) and charged the first straight hard and didn’t look back… well, I did look back to see where Anthony was as I was sure he was going to be close to keep me from getting my 8th win and turning “inter”… I guess he wanted me out of the class so I’m convinced he let me have this one (he says otherwise… whatever! 
) So, yup, that was my 8th novice win. Time to move up.
Here are photos from the night (thanks to Brian of TrueBMX.com)
10-11-08 – Saturday:
Lucas and I headed out early afternoon on Saturday for more racing action in Farmington. I was excited as I had a good feeling that Carson and Charlie would be there so we could have our first 5 Intermediate class. And, Lucas and I got some sweet new Fly Racing gear to show of in. I also decided to finish my new number plate and put that on my bike. Lucas headed to the track to get some warm-up laps in while I got us registered and put our “luggage” in the stands. We got some compliments on the new gear but at the same time double takes from people who are used to the old gear. Dave told me he didn’t know who this little kid was that was talking to him until he realized he was on Lucas’ bike… It’s funny like that, a guy changes anything and you can’t recognize him any more. Anyway, motos got posted after a bit and sure enough, 3 riders for 5 Inter–Lucas, Charlie, Carson! Sweet! And 3 riders means “total points”–all 3 riders race each round and the one with the best overall score wins. Because the “computer” still had me as a novice I was listed in that class so I notify registration–oh boy! I’m racing in a new class! It’s been a while since I’ve raced Dave, Chris & Kevin and I’m a bit nervous. These guys are fast and I’m hoping to not be embarrassed! Turns out Kevin isn’t here tonight–a little bit of relief! But still, Dave and Chris!
So, it comes time for Lucas to get in the gate for round one in his shiny new gear in the first real 5I race–this is going to be good (and I’m mostly just hoping we don’t have any meltdowns). The gate drops and their off… Charlie has a really good gate and Carson’s close… but Lucas has started this looking around thing at the start which tends to slow a rider down. He’s a pedaler though and makes up any lost ground going into the first turn. Charlie led into the turn but Carson got him into the second straight… and here comes Lucas past Charlie. And going into the second turn Lucas sets up for the move on Carson… I think it might have been there or closer to the last turn but Lucas pulls into the lead and holds it to the line for a round 1 first! SWEET! With each of them having a chance in the lead we can see these kids are going to have some great racing!
Second round comes and they’re off and racing again. These kids are racing neck and neck around this track! Lucas gets into the lead early and holds it to line! Wow! Some great racing and I’m really excited for Lucas! He has two firsts and Charlie two seconds so I think even if Lucas was to get a 3rd he could still win (I’m not really clear on total points races–I’m going to look that up in the ABA rule book).
Third round and Lucas is riding like he wants this thing! He’s pedaling for all he’s worth and crosses the line in 1st place again! Wow! A sweep of the total points! I’m very stoked for the munchkin and he’s got that grin just beaming from inside his helmet. Each of these kids are so competitive they take it hard when the don’t get the results they want and Charlie was a little upset this time. Very good racing from them all! This should be a great indoor season!
For the 28+ Intermediate class we have a total of 4 riders. This means one of us isn’t going to the main–it’s me, Chris, Dave and guy I don’t recall seeing at the track much–I think his name’s Doug. The gate drops and although I feel like I’ve gotten one of my better starts I can see this is NOT going to be an easy class. We’re taking 1 from the first round and that turns out to be Dave.
2nd round and we’re back to see who doesn’t make the main (I guess I could say that, “we’re here to see who makes the main” but when only one guy’s not going, it’s really the prior). I feel I get another good gate but like I said, this isn’t easy! Chris ends up pulling away and all I want to do is keep the other rider behind me. I could feel he was close the whole race but was able to hold him off.
Now it’s the main event with me, Chris and Dave. Honestly, I figured I was going to come out with a 3rd but wanted to give these guys the best run I could… Chris was in the lead and Dave and I were close towards the end of the 2nd straight but then I bobble trying to get move lined up on Dave and he’s able to pull away and that’s the way we finish. It’s fun to be racing these guys again. Now we just need to get some of the other guys moved up (Anthony, Kye…) and other guys out at the track (Jackie, Kevin…).
Photos from TrueBMX.com:
10-12-08 – Sunday:
Sunday mornings and BMX… Lucas and I got up before the rest of the house, had some breakfast, dusted 3 inches of snow off of the car and headed out around 10 minutes to 9 in the AM. I had loaded our bikes and gear into the Tahoe so I could transport our bikes out of the weather… we get to the track and I send Lucas in with his bike so I can unload the rest of the gear… hmmm, the rest of the gear, yeah… I don’t have Lucas’ helmet! I left it in the truck—at HOME! I get our stuff inside and Lucas is there waiting for me to come in with his helmet so he can warm up. I break the news to him and we check the loaner bin—4 helmets, all too big. Then we stop by the Performance Bike Parts trailer and have Lucas try on some of the helmets–he might need a new one shortly anyhow, right? But I mention to Scott that I left the helmet at home and he sends me out to his car for an extra one he had with–SWEET! Thanks Scott (Scott runs Prestige Carpet Cleaning and is a good guy). Now that Lucas has a helmet, he can get some warm up laps in.
Motos get posted and we have another total points race with 3 riders for the 5 Inter class. Can Lucas repeat? But in my class, bad news! Kevin’s here! AND a 19 year-old kid gets bumped into our class because there aren’t any other kids his age to race… the rules do that sometimes. It’s not a huge deal, we just know who’s going to win already… 
.
Let’s get to the racing!
Round 1 for Lucas–it’s Charlie, Carson and Lucas again. Lucas doesn’t get a very good start but pedals hard as he can and gets right into the mix before the first turn. So the 3 little guys are battling it out. Charlie takes the lead from Carson and Lucas is chasing them but ends up getting past Carson and is closing in on Charlie. He’s cranking hard coming out of the 3rd turn and sees a chance to try and take him down the last straight—but Charlie slides over a little and Lucas tries hard to get around him with little room and slips a pedal over the last obstacle. He crosses the line in second but WOW, he’s having a melt down of biblical proportions! He falls over in a fit of disappointment after crossing the finish. He’s not hurt but I’m trying to get him up and out of the way. He had the bike pinched between his legs so tight and in such a odd fashion that others thought his feet were mangled up in it… he wouldn’t even bump knuckles with Charlie and Carson he was so mad. Charlie was probably thinking “sweet revenge” for beating him yesterday…. so, I console him for a bit and finally get him back to the seats but he’s still very upset.
So, my first round then… we know Ryan, the kid, is going to take this so let’s see how the old dudes fair behind him. The gate drops and again I feel I get a pretty good gate… but WOW! There goes a yellow blur (Ryan) followed by a blue blur (Kevin). I had a decent line going through turn one and was able to keep the power on and try hard to keep up with them and I’m not too far off of Kevin’s back tire because he’s slipping pedals and I’m secretly thinking, “maybe he’ll mess up enough that I can get past him an qualify out of the first round”. But nope, even a pedal-slipping Kevin is too fast for me… and that’s when I realize that Dave and Chris must be saving some energy for the next round.
Back to Lucas… he’s calmed down now as it’s getting close to his second round. Partly because Dave gave him some “fast fish” (which are really just Swedish fish but whatever keeps the tantrum at bay, right? He loads up in the gate and I give him some encouragement. Again these 3 are racing close into the first turn with Charlie in the lead and I think it was Carson then Lucas. As they reappear from behind the dirt hill of the 3rd turn Lucas has moved ahead of Charlie but where’s Carson? I had wondered if he crashed but then he appears and stops… now I’m thinking he got mad and had a Lucas-sized tantrum… but nope. He just needed some help getting his shoe laces out of his chain. Lucas is able to hold onto the lead through the rest of the lap and finishes ahead of Charlie. That means the racing is all tied up with a 1st for each of Charlie and Lucas… whoever places higher of these two next round should have the overall win.
My 2nd round I battle Chris and Dave and Doug from yesterday. It’s a good race and Chris, Dave and I qualify for the main.
Back again to Lucas… it’s the main event now for 5 Intermediate and Charlie wants a win. Lucas wants a win. And Carson isn’t going to lay down and let either of them have it… Oh, in staging, I got a big chuckle as a noticed Carson’s shoe laces are now duct taped to his shoes! He’s not going to have a repeat of the last moto! As the gate drops I see Lucas taking off with what was probably his best start of the weekend–but still with a little look around as they take off. But he’s able to get out ahead of Charlie and Carson to have his line through the first turn. He pedals with everything he’s got and is able to keep Charlie just off of his rear wheel but heading into the last turn it looks like Charlie is going to set up for his inside pass. Somehow Lucas decides to NOT take the turn high like he usually does and is able to keep Charlie behind him and rides it out to the line for ANOTHER 1st place! Wow! I’m excited and he’s again just beaming… Charlie’s upset but his dad has taught him to be a good sport and the three of them bump knuckles and Lucas takes off to get his trophy.
Now it’s the old guys + kid race. I’ve got lane 1 this time and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not on this track with this big sweeper first turn. The gate drops and I again get a good start but there goes the yellow blur again. I’m pushing it as hard as I can along the inside and there goes Chris. I think I’ve got a pretty good shot still and there goes Kevin… and he wants my line and gets it as he beats me to the first turn. Chris and I are now riding through turn 1 shoulder to should while Kevin’s out there in second now but he bobbles a little, but can drop a foot old school style and correct himself and hit the throttle down the second straight. Chris ends up getting a better line out of the turn than I as Dave comes up on the other side of me and gets past me as I jockey for a new line behind Chris…. and, well, that’s how we finished up. The Kid, Kevin, Chris, Dave and myself.
All in all, good fun racing and now one got hurt! I’m excited to have moved into the intermediate class and even more excited to see Lucas win his first two real 5 Intermediate races. This is going to be a good indoor season!
Now, the pictures a la TrueBMX.com:
But I’m still having a blast! I finished 2nd for the Utah State Championships in 25-35 Boys (yes, it’s called BOYS). 
