Post Race
Roostin
Post RacePhotos By: (Pitboyee) Jimmy B
Welcome to DHAGGS Racing. Primary sponsor of Dennis P. Haggerty Jr. #925. My Past Sponsors: DHAGGSRacing, MSR Racing, Scott Powersports, Kenda USA, T.M. Designworks, DP Brakes, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Decal Works, Twin Air, IMS Products, Elf Oil, FMF, Cycra Racing, Regina Chains, and MotoSport,(Your Company Here). I would also like to thank: My Wife Christina, My Kids Travis & Aubrey, Pit Man Jimmy B, my Friends and Family, my Mother, and my Pops for being my Mechanic!
Monday, June 26, 2006
Round #6 Race Recap
With no East Coast race on the schedule for the weekend the best riders in the area gathered at Dallas, Pa for Round #6 of the PA State Harescramble Series. A challenging 8+ mile track was laid out with a combination of open field, tight trails, sand, tree roots, up hills, mud, down hills, whoops, more tree roots, and thanks to Mother Nature – rain. Unlike the dry dusty conditions in the past this years Back Mountain race was like none I have ever experienced. The track itself was challenging but when we were half way through the first lap and it started to downpour, instead of a race it became survival of the fittest. On top of the coarse being technical and long the humidity also played a huge factor in the endurance and pace that each rider displayed. With this in mind I was well equipped with my camelback under my chest protector and it was time to head to the starting line.
At Back Mountain they make you start “old school.” By this I mean that they make you face the bike and place the front wheel in-between both of your knees. When you get the flag you have to run around the bike, hop on it and kick it, because normally we start with a dead engine. This is where my long legs came into play because I took one big step and threw my leg over the bike gave it a kick and I was off. I got the holeshot and then took off into the woods. The track was slick to begin with and I was pretty conservative the first few miles. Broc was hanging on my back tire pretty good, it’s easier when you follow someone because all’s you have to do is follow their lines, or don’t follow when they take a bad one. I let him past so that I could follow him for a bit and then we came upon a steep up hill where he went to the left of a lapped rider and squeezed by him just before he fell. When he fell he took up the whole hill and I was stuck at the bottom waiting for a line to open up. The rider who was behind me kept up his momentum and barreled through a bush to make it up the right side of the hill, so he slid into second place. I stayed patient knowing that it was hot and I made it a point to conserve some energy for the end of the two hour race. I caught back up to Broc who was in second place and he and I had some good battles going on, both of us switching into the leader roll. He went down one time and I got a bit of a lead and then I went down and he caught back up and took the lead back over. I was back on his tail again on the second to last lap when again a lapped rider was going up the left side of an up-hill and when I tried to pass him he fell on me. His bike was laying on mine and I had my one leg out like a kickstand while I yelled at him to get up and push his bike off of me. He was taking a little longer than I would have liked so I kindly nudged his bike up and gave him a face full of roost while he still lay on the hill.
The coarse was really getting dangerous now with slick exposed tree roots and greasy mud it was a no wonder why so many guys were pulling off the track - some not by choice. With soaked gloves my blistered hands seemed to disagree with wanting to hang on to the handle bars but I managed to keep a safe fast pace, safe and fast enough to catch back up with Broc on the last lap. When I came through the scoring station on the last lap I was scanned as 4th so I knew that Broc had to be third. I caught up to him and waited for him to make a mistake so I could make a move for the finish line. Just before we left the woods he got squirrelly and over shot a turn so I made the pass. I held him off for the rest of the woods and field section, which in the conditions was hard not to make any kind of mistake, and I held on for 3rd place. I was happy with my ride for the day, I did make some mistakes but given the conditions, so did everyone.
DHaggs Sr. put in another good race; a good consistent four laps landed him 8th for the day. Not that I was trying but I never even saw him to try and pass him, it was just too long of a track. He seemed a bit exhausted at the end, and I don’t blame him. I quote “how can this be the hardest thing I’ve ever done every time I do it!” I ask myself the same question, which I usually follow with “how am I gonna run for three hours like this in the upcoming National Harescramble in July!?” The National at Rausch Creek is the next race on the schedule which falls in the middle of summer break. It is going to be hot and it is going to be long, I will be running with the pro guys for three hours. The track last year was over 13+ miles of very rugged terrain. 3hours or 2, I will do the best I can!
I’d also like to give a huge thank you to pit boyee Jimmy B who made it to the race despite the weather. He also managed to capture some good pics before it was a torrential downpour. Yes I know that he is starting to get the hang of being our pit boyee which means that we might have to welcome him to the team and yes, eventually get him a shirt. Hopefully he will be in our pits for the remaining fall schedule.
At Back Mountain they make you start “old school.” By this I mean that they make you face the bike and place the front wheel in-between both of your knees. When you get the flag you have to run around the bike, hop on it and kick it, because normally we start with a dead engine. This is where my long legs came into play because I took one big step and threw my leg over the bike gave it a kick and I was off. I got the holeshot and then took off into the woods. The track was slick to begin with and I was pretty conservative the first few miles. Broc was hanging on my back tire pretty good, it’s easier when you follow someone because all’s you have to do is follow their lines, or don’t follow when they take a bad one. I let him past so that I could follow him for a bit and then we came upon a steep up hill where he went to the left of a lapped rider and squeezed by him just before he fell. When he fell he took up the whole hill and I was stuck at the bottom waiting for a line to open up. The rider who was behind me kept up his momentum and barreled through a bush to make it up the right side of the hill, so he slid into second place. I stayed patient knowing that it was hot and I made it a point to conserve some energy for the end of the two hour race. I caught back up to Broc who was in second place and he and I had some good battles going on, both of us switching into the leader roll. He went down one time and I got a bit of a lead and then I went down and he caught back up and took the lead back over. I was back on his tail again on the second to last lap when again a lapped rider was going up the left side of an up-hill and when I tried to pass him he fell on me. His bike was laying on mine and I had my one leg out like a kickstand while I yelled at him to get up and push his bike off of me. He was taking a little longer than I would have liked so I kindly nudged his bike up and gave him a face full of roost while he still lay on the hill.
The coarse was really getting dangerous now with slick exposed tree roots and greasy mud it was a no wonder why so many guys were pulling off the track - some not by choice. With soaked gloves my blistered hands seemed to disagree with wanting to hang on to the handle bars but I managed to keep a safe fast pace, safe and fast enough to catch back up with Broc on the last lap. When I came through the scoring station on the last lap I was scanned as 4th so I knew that Broc had to be third. I caught up to him and waited for him to make a mistake so I could make a move for the finish line. Just before we left the woods he got squirrelly and over shot a turn so I made the pass. I held him off for the rest of the woods and field section, which in the conditions was hard not to make any kind of mistake, and I held on for 3rd place. I was happy with my ride for the day, I did make some mistakes but given the conditions, so did everyone.
DHaggs Sr. put in another good race; a good consistent four laps landed him 8th for the day. Not that I was trying but I never even saw him to try and pass him, it was just too long of a track. He seemed a bit exhausted at the end, and I don’t blame him. I quote “how can this be the hardest thing I’ve ever done every time I do it!” I ask myself the same question, which I usually follow with “how am I gonna run for three hours like this in the upcoming National Harescramble in July!?” The National at Rausch Creek is the next race on the schedule which falls in the middle of summer break. It is going to be hot and it is going to be long, I will be running with the pro guys for three hours. The track last year was over 13+ miles of very rugged terrain. 3hours or 2, I will do the best I can!
I’d also like to give a huge thank you to pit boyee Jimmy B who made it to the race despite the weather. He also managed to capture some good pics before it was a torrential downpour. Yes I know that he is starting to get the hang of being our pit boyee which means that we might have to welcome him to the team and yes, eventually get him a shirt. Hopefully he will be in our pits for the remaining fall schedule.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
PA State Series Round #6 Information
What: Round # 6 Back Mountain Enduro Riders Club - Dallas,PA
When: This Sunday June 25th/Race Starts at 11:00
Where: Directions - I-476 NORTH to BEAR CREEK/WILKES-BARRE, exit #105, take a left onto PA-115 North. At the bottom of the mountain take Exit 1 (Rt 315 & 315 bus). This ramp will end take a right follow the To 81 signs. At the light take a left and stay on the lane from the ramp. This will put you on Interstate 81 South. Interstate 81 to Exit 164 (Nanticoke, old exit 44) to Route 29 North five miles to Route 11 North. The track is about 200 yards on your right.
Pit Fee: $10
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Round #5 Race Recap
Round #5 of the PA State Harescramble Series was back at Foot of the Mountain in Neelyton, PA. Track conditions were questionable after getting a great deal of rain throughout the week. Although the track layout did not change much from Round #4 the conditions were considerably different. In the previous race the conditions were dry, the course was fast, the rocks were rideable, tree roots were no threat, and the up hills were –at times- an enjoyable challenge. This past weekend the previous obstacles that I have mentioned with the addition of mud were, to say the least, treacherous. I found this out when I tried riding the course like the previous race and within the first two minutes of the start I crashed hard, right into a tree. Going down on the first lap is bad news and it’s even worse when you hit a tree that hard and watch the rest of the pack fly by you. My bike was sore to look at, mostly cosmetics it seemed, so I continued on to try and get as many points as I could. With the help of pit boyeee Jimmy B I was told that within the middle of the race I had caught back up to 3rd place. Putting the first crash behind me I managed to move my way through the field by setting a good pace and concentrating on racing the track. Yes I said the first crash, hitting a tree after bouncing around on a boulder packed trail was minimal to the next mistake I made. With about two laps to go I went through the barrels and headed back into the woods, just as I made my second turn and headed down a downhill my front wheel was bounced to the left. I was in an aggressive riding position on the bike and I was expecting to recover from the sudden change of wheel direction like I did the previous 50 times it happened prior in the race, but this time my wheel landed on some slick tree roots. Within a second my front wheel washed out and the next thing I knew my head slammed the ground. I got up and my bike was a little ways down the hill, I regrouped and fired it back up so that I could finish the race. I was a little shaken up after this crash because I was going pretty fast when I hit so I decided to set a “cruse control” pace for the remaining lap. It wasn’t until this lap when I finally saw DHaggs Sr. and I must admit that I passed him and then he passed me back. I got him back on a roller coaster down hill and made the pass stick. I ended up losing a place on the second crash so I ended up coming in 4th for the day. When I returned to the pits after taking the checkered I took my helmet off and the right side of my face was bad news. My cheek bone was black and was swollen like a golf ball. It matched nicely with the big gauge and random cut marks. It could have been much worse and I have some time to recover. After a ride like that I deserve it, to date the swelling has gone down leaving me with some battle wounds to show off for a while.
The HUGE news of the weekend was DHaggs Sr. coming in 3rd place!!! His first podium of his career and I know that it had to feel good. He has been working hard during the week and he is finally starting to seem some good finishes as a result. Some new tires and a good consistent race pace go a long way. Hopefully he can continue his ways and I can make some fewer mistakes so that we can both be on the podium the next round which will be held at Back Mountain in Dallas, PA. This track is awesome and it suits our riding styles well. Until then its gym time, riding time, suspension testing, tire swapping and more riding time. Round #6 is on the 25th of June…see you there!
Pics to follow
The HUGE news of the weekend was DHaggs Sr. coming in 3rd place!!! His first podium of his career and I know that it had to feel good. He has been working hard during the week and he is finally starting to seem some good finishes as a result. Some new tires and a good consistent race pace go a long way. Hopefully he can continue his ways and I can make some fewer mistakes so that we can both be on the podium the next round which will be held at Back Mountain in Dallas, PA. This track is awesome and it suits our riding styles well. Until then its gym time, riding time, suspension testing, tire swapping and more riding time. Round #6 is on the 25th of June…see you there!
Pics to follow
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