1st Podium Finish @ Round # 5 !!!!!

When the video page loads simply click on This media file's URL: LINK which is underneath the video screen.

With temperatures in the mid-70's and periods of warm sunshine, somebody must have known that June 19th was Round # 5 of the PA State Harescramble Series held at Hurricane Hills in Clifford PA. Not only was the weather perfect but the track conditions were as well. Now I know that, "beggars can't be choosers," but all's the track needed was a little bit of rain on Saturday and the track would have been exceptional on Sunday. It was darn close to exceptional if motocross part of the track was a bit more moist to keep the dust down, needless to say the track was beautiful. I want to applaud B/P Promotions for really putting together a great harescramble track. Round # 3 was held at Hurricane Hills a couple of months ago and the changes in the track for Round # 5 were awesome.
I got a really good start, my new Michelin tires hooked up so well I sunk right into the dry dirt before I was out of the gate. When I got to the first turn I was third and as we went up the hill I made an inside move to take second. I held on to second through the first motocross section of the track, as you can see in the video. I was pumped to get a good start and I held onto that second place start for 2 laps into the race. At the end of the second lap arm pump settled in and I felt tired. I reached a really technical section and took a line that I do not usually take and I ended up going down. I was fortunate that my bike was not damaged because it was a really rocky section. I collected myself while a rider in my class passed me then I was back on the trail. For another half of lap I still felt the affect of arm pump and the crash. I don't know if my body was over the adrenaline of the first two laps but I all of a sudden felt great. Just before the half way mark in the race I felt so good despite the arm pump and energy wasted during the crash. From there on out I was really in a groove, I felt smooth and really in control of the track. Now that I had some idea of what to expect this time around, since I have raced here a could months ago, I found a nice pace for every lap and had a some finesse on the track. Instead of barging my way through the main trail I found some sweet lines that were smoother and less brutal. The second half of the race was really great, I put my head down and stayed smooth on the throttle. Some of the new sections that were put in started to expose rocks and tree roots from all of the riders ripping up the soil. Over the 2 hour period those roots and rocks get really slick and when you have to take a line in between two trees you don't have much room to be bouncing or slipping around.
I knew that it was getting close to the end of the race and as I came through the barrels I saw the white flag for one more lap. I made it a point to really put in a good charge but to stay smart and not ride over my head. I want to finish strong but still remain consistent on the trail and that is just what I did. I really felt really good - meaning, fast, smooth, confident and conditioning wise. I now know what I have to do to be competitive at this level and I just want to keep improving each race. That rider that passed me when I fell ended up taking the win, he passed the guy that was in front of me for the first two laps. I stay in 3rd consistently throughout the race and that is where I ended up - 3rd place. I am very happy with being on the podium for the first time in my harescramble career. It was such a big race too, being worth double points and all. I am pumped to get back on the line next weekend at Back Mountain in Dallas, Pa. A huge thank you to Cheri for doing all of the filming throughout the day!