Round #3 Race Recap

Hurricane Hills in Clifford, Pa hosted the third round of the PA State Harescramble Series this past Sunday. Torrential downpours Saturday left conditions for Sunday’s race, to say the least, dreadful. Hurricane Hills is already known for its difficult uneven terrain and rocky conditions, with rain it just made matters worse. The track consisted of: rocks, mud, boulders, deep whoops, slick tree roots, more boulders, hill climbs, downhill’s, soupy mud, and even downed riders who seemed to fall victims to all of thee above.
The rain held up for the whole morning until we were sitting on the starting line. It started to drizzle when the flag was about to drop for the first line. Every class was in the same boat with our bikes stuck in the soupy mud at the starting line. When we were warming up our bikes I did a practice start and my boot actually was getting stuck in the mud like a suction cup.
I got the best start of my career, took the holeshot and didn’t look back for the rest of the motocross track. The motocross track was extremely slick on the lines and if you got beyond that the mud was super thick. I lead the pack around the motocross track and then headed up the mountain into the woods. At first glance the track appeared to be in okay shape. I felt good with the lead and tried to flow where I could. Some sections you had to just take one step at a time because they required some special attention. All of the uphills were particularly difficult due to being whooped out and the amount of exposed boulders and tree roots. Once completing a lap the whole track changed. With the surroundings being as they were they lead to numerous open lines and some of the more popular ones had ruts about 3 feet deep. So basically you were dealing with the deep rut, the slick tree roots that could wash your front wheel out on and the slick boulders that could spin you upside-down if you tried to crack your throttle. Oh yeah did I mention that in some spots you had to go up a huge vertical hill and try and not hit the tress on it?
The track reached up and got me on the second lap; I got squirrelly on an up hill and put the front wheel into a tree. My bike feel over and so did I, but I recovered quickly and tried to get back on pace. What hurt the most when I fell was seeing the second and third riders, which I was holding off for two laps, pass me.
As the race continued to progress the track conditions continued to get poorer. More ruts, more boulders, more tree roots, more riders in the way, and more mud from water running down the mountain. I got a little bit of arm pump when trying to push my way back up to the top of the pack but after it faded I was really working the track, picking awesome lines and flowing where I could. On the last lap I pushed even harder and it wasn’t till about a quarter mile was left when I saw someone in my class in front of me. With circumstances the way they were I was a little uneasy pushing so hard but I was going to fall or I was going to pass him. I was running outta time with only about three turns left. Just before going down the last down hill I was going to make an inside move but the other rider cut off the inside and with my momentum I took it outside. I gassed it down the hill to get in front of him and then threw it into the burm at the bottom. I went back into the woods and was on the gas, when we came out the checkered was 30 yards away and I held him off. When I stopped at the barrel a second later he slammed into my back tire in disgust. Turns out it was Broc, who came in second overall in the series last year. Yeah it was the guy who I battled with for second place last year so it kind felt good to give it to him right at the end. That’s racing...Broc took third while I took 2nd place!
The seasons resumes in two weeks at a more difficult track, Foot of the Mountain. Hopefully it will just be difficult and not insanely difficult if it rains.Thanks to Bub for showing up and seeing how it all goes down. Maybe next time he won’t wear his nice moccasins so that way he can get in the woods and see what it’s really about. With any luck he’ll be out there with us soon!?

PA State Series Round #3 Information

What: Round #3 Hurrican Hills - Clifford, PA

When: This Sunday April 23th / Race Starts 11:30am

Where: Directions - Take PA Turnpike - NE Extension to Route 81 to Exit 206 (Old Exit 63), Lenoxville. Take route 374 East to Route 106 East, go 3 miles to the track.

Pit Fee: $10

Round #2 Race Recap

Flying Dutchmen hosted Round # 2 of the PA State Harescramble Series this past Sunday and let me tell you it was a perfect day for racing. Conditions were much better than the preceding Round #1 two weeks prior, late showers during the week left the remains of a loamy track for race day. Some would argue and say muddy, but with soft soil and some puddles laying on the track it made for some nice lines that formed quickly. I would bet and also say that some would argue with soft, due to the loads of rocks that are supposedly “shipped in.” When it comes down to it, I thought the track was great besides the fact of it getting beat up a little bit by the end of the two hours.
I got a really good jump off the line and kept a good hard push the first few turns. Unlike last week I made it a point to remind myself to stay relaxed. The last thing I wanted was to get all pumped up again and ride over my race pace. And that is exactly what I did - stayed relaxed and set my pace. I felt good for the first lap and then my arms got a little tight for the second lap. I continued to push and it wasn’t long before my forearms were relaxed and started to loosen up. I maintained my focus for running “my race” but it didn’t take much to get sidetracked for a second. As I mentioned the track conditions were muddy and slick and just before the half way point I went down. After I regained my composure I was back on my pace pushing harder after the half way board was up. About a lap into the second hour I was racing hard with two other guys in my class. We had a good fight going on passing each other back and forth until about the third lap of the fight I made a pass and stuck to it. I stepped up my pace knowing that there was about a quarter of the race left. There were a lot of lappers on the track; one of the classes had 55 riders on the line. With such a good turn out for the day it only meant that there would be a lot more racing within the race. As the track got beaten down with deep ruts, braking bumps, and more exposed rocks, riders were begging to feel the wear of a two hour harescramble race. I began to feel a little fatigue myself as a result of giving it all I got for the last lap. With about 4 minutes left in the last lap I went down on a really tight turn. My front wheel rode up on the berm and got washed out because the end part of the berm broke away. By this time in the race I was spent and I had to pick up my mud caked bike, weighing about 300 pounds, with what little energy that I didn’t save for a situation like this. While picking my bike off the berm I placed my foot down to find that there was no ground for about 2 feet and I hit the dirt with the bike falling right on my leg. Again I got up and to make matters worse here comes the two riders that I worked so hard to pass for three laps, they passed me. I kicked my bike about 4 times and it finally started. I managed to find a little bit of strength to try and finish strong and I did. It turns out that I finished 5th in my class, which is good and bad in some aspects. It’s bad because I would have had 3rd considering that I made some little mistakes that cost me two positions on the last lap. It’s good to know that I can run with the top guys and I can disregard my worst outing at Round #1. It’s also good that I have my confidence back and it’s even better that Round #3 is at Hurricane Hills. It’s closer to a true haresrcamble track and in two weeks we are really going to find out how prepared I am.
D. Haggs Sr. also ran at Dutchmen putting in a good race even though he was sick all week long. Unlike myself he would defiantly disagree when I say that track conditions were ideal. He put in his laps and finished 14th in his class, staying consistent in both rounds. DHaggs Harescramble Racing continues in two weeks for the PA State Harescramble Series Round #3 at Hurricane Hills in Clifford, Pa. Until then it is back in the gym and back in the saddle this weekend for practice. I would like to thank Mary Anne, Sean, and Logue for making an appearance this past weekend. It was nice to see you all at trackside and it was nice to have photos available for all too see on the site. Thanks again…

Round #2 Pics

DHaggs #925

DHaggs Sr. #99

Photos By: Mary Anne Wade

PA State Series Round #2 Information

What: Round #2 Flying Dutchmen MC - Pine Grove, PA

When: This Sunday April 9th / Race starts 11:45

Where: Directions - TAKE 309 NORTH to I-78 WEST. CONTINUE ON I-78 WEST TO EXIT 19 (STRAUSSTOWN). MAKE RIGHT OFF THE EXIT RAMP ONTO RT 183 NORTH. CONTINUE ON RT 183 NORTH FOR APPROX. 6 MILES TO BLINKING YELLOW LIGHT. MAKE A LEFT ONTO RT 895 WEST. CONTINUE ON 895 WEST FOR APPROX. 6 MILES TO FDMC ON THE LEFT. (Approximately 1hour and 15minutes from Horsham Area)

Pit Fee: $10