Round #3 of the AMA National Harescramble Series was held this past weekend at Miles Mountain MX Park in Elkland, PA. We left really early Saturday morning so that we could arrive at the New York – Pennsylvania border in time to watch the pro quad race and walk the track. The facilities at Miles Mountain are remarkable. They have an ATV track, a motocross track, a supercross track under the lights and miles of trails that weave around the surrounding mountains. The only problem we had with the facility is that the parking, with the exception of the new parking deck, was on the side of a mountain, which was a little hard on the ankles and trying to set up camp. I was sleeping on the air mattress in the back of the van and I kept rolling off of it throughout the night because we were on such an angle. It did make for some good laughs as we watch people with trailers and overloaded trucks try to make it back up the mountain where they realized that there were no more spots left at the bottom.
We spent Saturday watching the quad races which were followed by the kid’s races in the evening. Since we have never been to this track before it was important that we inspect the grounds for an idea of how the track was laid out. We only probably walked about 3 or 4 miles or so and that was enough to tell us that we had it coming on Sunday. The track looked awesome when we were walking it but we knew that after all of the quads, the kids and the amateur morning bike race that the track was going to look completely different when we would finally come around. There were about three mountains that were used and in between two of them was a ravine with a creek in it and they dropped us right down in it for about a mile or so.
(See picture below) The one mountain seemed to be all rocks and shale and the other mountain seemed to be all tree roots, and mostly all of the roots were nasty and slick. In between the mountains there were grass field sections that linked the woods together and they were awfully dusty. I’m talking about so dusty you can’t even see in front of you and at times I couldn’t even see my handlebars. It was really thick dust and with light winds it lingered on the trail which made it hard to go fast, pass, or even pick a line. A part of the track that I really liked was the section by the finish where there were hundreds of spectators. They had an awesome creek jump and if you just walked fifty feet or so you would be at the exit to the creek section which was followed by a huge up-hill. You really got a good idea of what the rest of the track was like when you saw riders come through trying to keep their composure on each technical section.
Saturday night was exciting because Miles Mountain used the lighted SX track to put on a pitbike race and a freestyle MX show that entertained the on looking crowd. Sunday we awoke and it was race day. We registered and watched a bit of the morning amateur race just to see how the lines were forming on the tack. After a quick walk around it was back to camp to relax and get ready to go racing.
When we rolled up to the starting line it was packed. The nationals seem to weed out the local racers who show up just for fun and bring in top talent from all over the country. You have a good idea of what to expect at a national race, top notch competition and a very demanding race track.
The first turn was to the left followed by a quick right and then up a screaming uphill. I got a good spot and when the flag dropped I took off. The whole right of the line pushed way out to the right and I snuck right to the inside and took a straight line to the next quick right hand turn. I was about 3rd or fourth heading up the screaming up hill. On the first lap I had crazy arm pump, the first time I got it all year. I think after walking the track the day before I was a little tense and knew what I was about to race through. The track was awesome, it’s probably on of my favorite tracks, besides the fact that it physically beat you down, it was rideable and it had a nice flow to it. I did really like how throughout the 10 mile track there were different sections that were “cool.” For example, like the creek jump, the screaming up hills, the log cabin, the long creek ravine, the shale cave.
After I settled down and my arm pump went away I started to push really hard. For the next 2 laps which was about an hour length wise I found a great flow and managed to stay smooth and not make any mistakes. I didn’t make any big mistakes the whole race as a matter of fact. I pitted with about 2 laps to go and it was about half way through that lap when I realized that I was just about spent. I pushed here and there for the rest of the lap but I was cautious when riding through the really technical sections. When I came around for the last lap I thought that I could, “just get through it.” The scanner showed that I was in 13th place and I knew that I had a little something left to try and pick off another spot. Although it was hot I made some adjustments for this race and they seemed to work out well because I never cramped up once. I ran pretty much the same pace for the last lap, just getting through some sections and going as fast as I could on others. I finally came across the finish line around 3 hours and 30 minutes and on the last lap I passed three guys putting me in
10th place for the day. I was really happy to be in the top ten at a national race!
DHaggs Sr. also ran in the afternoon race and made out well getting the checkers and also finishing around the 3 hour mark. From what I hear he had a little situation at the creek jump and hats off to him for even jumping that gap. I managed to see him out on the trail around the 10 mile mark on the 4th lap. Afterwards in the pits his handlebars were shaking probably due to a broken handlebar bolt – that’s how fierce his landing was at the creek jump.
Thanks to Bub Haggs for making the trip this weekend it was nice to have him in the pits, he filled in some big shoes as pitman but he did a good job, and he even drove home so thanks for his help.
Racing resume this weekend when we head to one of our favorite tracks in Dallas, PA at Back Mountain.
I would like to Thank my Sponsors: DHAGGS Harescramble Racing, MSR Racing, Scott Powersports, Kenda USA, DP Brakes, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Decal Works, Twin Air, IMS, Devol Eng., FMF, TM Designworks, Cycra Racing
GEICO Mountain Ridge - July 5th and 6th 2008
