January 27th, 2010 | Author: NorCal_Tom
It’s as simple as the title reads. Go to the comment section below and give us your review of the AMA District 36 2010 Prairie City Grand Prix which took place Jan. 16th and 17th. All you have to do is give us your very own recount of the race. Ups, downs, slips, slides, however you saw it. Spectators or Racers (in any class) are eligible to win. You must be a Sierra Nevada Adventures member to qualify.
You have from now until February 7th, 2010 to leave your comment for all to enjoy. We will review all comments and based upon our judging criteria (how much we dig it) we will choose a winner and announce it Wenesday February 10th, 2010. What’s in it for you??? How about a brand, spanking, new, pair of SNA Racing Team sponsor’s “One Industries” Drako Gloves? That do anything for you? (The contest is for one pair of men’s large in black)
2010 One Industries - Drako Glove
I was working with NMP ( National Motorcycle Patrol) both saturday and sunday at Prairie City. NMP does the first aid out on the track. This was my first time getting to ride an event doing medical out on the course. Instead of only getting to ride in one event I rode all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Saturday was decent weather. It was a little cool, but at least we saw a little bit of the sunshine. Sunday, what can I say other than it was miserable. The track wasn’t too bad until you got over into the quarry area. There was mud puddles that could swallow my bike. I was thankful when the last race finally ended. There was a gentleman who suggested that my Honda would be parked Sunday due to the bad riding conditions. I made it all day, both days, and didn’t wimp out. So, to him I say, ” don’t judge me based on my gender.”
Very Cool! Thanks for sharing….and thanks for all the NMP does!
I haven’t done a race write up in a while but since you’re offering a pair of gloves for the best story what the heck.. I probably don’t even want the gloves but if it’s a contest then there must be judges who have to read the stories. That’s just one step away from wanting to read my story and its close enough. I wouldn’t miss a captive audience any more than a single guy would skip a date because the girl was too hot and too friendly; If it expands my audience then I’m in. It may not have rained every day before the race but it rained a lot, then it showered on and off the day of the event. I was really on the fence about participating. Last year at E-Street we raced in the rain and it took 40 hours of maintenance to get my bike ready for the following ride. I’m not stupid, 2 hours of fun for 40 hours of work isn’t the best return on my investment. I told myself that if it looked like E-Street in the rain I was going to turn around and go home, but then I’ll tell myself anything to get a ride in, it’s pathetic what I’ll believe. I may not be stupid but I’m sure gullible. Luckily when I pulled in the showers had stopped and the course didn’t look bad. I got signed up, prepped my goggles, and got my gear on, then ½ hour before the race it started dumping rain. We were standing on the start line wringing out our gloves and pulling roll offs just to keep them from jamming. For some reason I thought that 50 degrees and rainy felt like a one jersey, no jacket kind of day so I was out there soaking, doing jumping jacks to keep from shivering. On the bright side I figured there was very little chance of fogging up my goggles with sweat. The Senior class is stacked so I moved myself to the vet class, as a bonus we get to start one row ahead which is 10 less guys I have to pass. Sometimes I’m amped and ready to rage but I wasn’t feeling it at the start on this day so I figured I’d just ease into it and see how I did. That strategy works for me sometimes, I think maybe if I ride less frantic I make fewer mistakes and actually go faster. Of course sometimes I just end up going slower. There was the typical gunshot, we ran through the mud and started our bikes. I got a one kick start but it wasn’t my fastest, I was maybe 5th off the start. We hit a few turns down in the field and then turned right through a gate to go sidehill and skirt the mx track. Before we even got to the gate the string broke on my roll offs which seemed catastrophic but I pulled the ribbon off my goggles and let it hang down by my chin and lucky for me it was raining hard enough to keep the goggles clean. If I got a big chunk of mud on them I would wipe it away and the rain would do the rest. It worked so well I kept the goggles on for two laps – until it stopped raining. Every now and then the wind would slap the dirty ribbon across my goggles and I couldn’t see. It would be kind of sketchy until the trail smoothed out and I could take a hand off the bars to clear the tape. In hindsight I guess I could have slowed down and fixed the problem right away but honestly I didn’t think of that until just right now, I’ll make a note to try that next time, or maybe not – I mean I didn’t crash or anything.
The whole first lap I trailed Gabe (just don’t) Kilby, the top 3 were in view for about the first ¾ and then they pulled away from us. I missed two corners because of storm damaged markings but nobody capitalized on that so it was all good. I went super slow on the paved supermoto section and the bikes behind me caught up but when we got back in the dirt I turned it up and pulled another gap. Kane (quick) Silverberg came from the Senior row and flew past me like a pro, he’s been doing endurocross and he looked good. I had figured on battling with Nate (long haul) Tucker but he was off the pace even more than me and running 9th. At the start of lap two I got around Gabe but got passed by two other guys. I was running by myself when I pushed the front end and dropped it on some wet rocks. No big deal. This lap guys started getting creative with the course, I can’t blame them much. When it’s just a line of ribbon leading up a hill and then back down again its easy to cut it short. Some of the sloppy sections were getting deep but I chose some good lines and got through everything clean. Much later in the lap, almost at the home check, I reached up to clear my goggles, hit a rock, went sideways and low sided again. At the end of two I came in to pit but couldn’t find my stuff. When I set it up it was next to the first easy-up but since that time two or three new easy-ups had been placed. Finally I spotted it and had to back up to get my stuff. New goggles, gloves, and gas and I was good to go, but it definitely wasn’t my fastest pit. The rain had stopped, my new roll offs worked perfectly, and I was able to use them for two laps, all the way until I ran out of film, which happened maybe 1 minute to the end of the race – that’s efficient planning or maybe just good luck but I’d rather be lucky than good. Lap 3 I felt fast, no mistakes, moved up one position, Lap 4 I started to shiver and get tired and stalled it one time but again no big deal and I moved up another position to finish 4th. I never could catch the 3 who started so quick, Brian (fastrak) Toline took first, finishing lap 4 just over 6 minutes ahead of me, that’s a big gap.
I guess my relax-and-let-the-race-come-to-me attitude didn’t work this weekend. I didn’t push too hard, but instead tried to pick good lines and keep moving forward. It worked on one level, I had fun and didn’t get stuck, but it didn’t put me in a position to win so I’ll have to step it up next time. By the end of the race I was having a ton of fun. I think the rain soaked dirt was the best I’ve ever seen Prairie City, too bad I couldn’t catch the top 3.
Wow, great description Nick. Good luck this season and good luck getting your hands on (or in) those One Industries gloves!
-t
I currently race in the Senior C-plus class. I am relatively new to the sport so I didn’t compete in my first race until I was 45 years old. I have been looking forward to the 2010 PCGP since last spring. Although Prairie City is probably what one would consider my home track (I only live 20 minutes away) it is not my favorite place to ride. It usually hurts when you crash! Two years ago I was practicing at Prairie City for the PCGP that was to take place the following weekend. I had been riding with a couple friends for a few hours when we decided to do just one more lap around the park. At the south end of the park on the opposite side from the Pro-Track there is a long straight away the follows the fence. The trail drops down and then begins a gradual climb. My front suspension had recently been done by Eric at Nor-Cal Motorsports and felt I could really push it over the rough terrain. In hindsight I should have had Eric do my rear suspension as well. I came up on two successive and abrupt bumps. I lightened the front wheel with a slight twist of the throttle to go over the first bump then the rear wheel hit. The rear end bucked and pushed me off the pegs, then the front wheel hit the next bump and I was off the bike but still holding onto the bars. I inadvertently grabbed a full handful of throttle which shot me and my KX-450F forward and into the air. I ended up going through and over the fence. I bent 3 T-posts with my back and landed 30 feet on the other side of the fence. I ended up breaking 3 bones in my back and didn’t race again until the fall season.
Last year I had what was for me a great race at the PCGP, I finished top 5 in my class, and I was looking forward to a full season of racing. I showed up for the next race at Thunderhill. The conditions were good and I was having fun moving up through the pack after a less than optimum start. As I came into the MX track I over-shot a sharp downhill left turn, went over a berm, over my bars and landed headfirst. I broke my brand new roll-offs and my visor. It took me several minutes to get my bike started and I probably should have called it a day but I finished the race. I suffered with a continuous headache for the next four months and a sore neck for eight months. I took the rest of the season off and bought a neck brace.
After my misfortunes in the previous two years I was primed and ready for the 2010 PCGP. I had my bike dialed in and felt good before the race. Unfortunately I had a hard time getting my bike started and I was dead last off the line. Even though I got a terrible start I was having a blast working my way through the pack. The course was so cool; the Polka Dots do a great job of setting up a challenging and fun course at Prairie City. There was a lot of high speed stuff, there was some technical stuff, only a couple bottle necks, it was a really fun course. I knew that I was probably pushing a little too hard trying to make up for my bad start. I kept telling myself to focus on throttle control because the course was so slippery. Towards the end of my first lap I was going up a hard packed gradual hill at speed and I hit the throttle a little too hard. My back tire slid into a deep rut and I went down hard on my shoulder. I knew I had broken my collar bone as soon as I hit the ground. What I didn’t know is that I had broken it into 4 pieces. I picked up my bike and started trying to get it out of the rut. A hand full of riders that I had just passed went by me while I was trying to get my bike out of the rut. I was totally bummed. This is the third year in a row that I was injured at the beginning of the season. I rode my bike through the check and into the pits. Even though I started out dead last and I was passed by a hand full of riders after I crashed, I still came through in 10th place out of 18 in my class.
The paramedics helped me out and got me ready to go to the hospital. Unfortunately they had to cut off my brand new jersey. That was the first and only time I got to wear that jersey.
The following Friday I had surgery to fix my collarbone with 2 titanium plates and 13 screws. It looks like I am finished for the spring season. I am looking forward to the fall season, much to my wife’s dismay. Wilseyville is my favorite place to race; E Street and the Lilliputian are also a blast. I am hoping for better luck in the fall.
My thanks to the District 36 officials for getting the paramedics to help me out so quickly. Thanks to the paramedics for getting me ready to go to the hospital. Thanks to Daniel and Scott for taking care of my bike and gear. Last but certainly not least, thanks to my wife for not getting mad at me for hurting myself again.
A new set of gloves would really help ease the pain.
This was my first race as a “B” rider, which took place at the Prairie City Grand Prix. The start was a lemans style which meant you had to run to your bike when the gun went off. I was in 2nd place after the first turn, and battled with 1st place until we both went through a water puddle. The water from the first place rider splashed and covered me and my bike which caused my bike to quit running. I stood there trying kick my bike back to life watching my whole class race past.
Once my bike started, I was in last place, but knew I couldn’t give up. I started making my way up through the pack when water dripped inside of my goggles, making everything look like a 3-D movie! I could not see very well and made a lot of mistakes, but kept on the gas. Trying to forget about my goggles, I tried to pass the rider ahead of me and took the worst line on the entire course, which was a big, deep, rut.
Before I knew it, my bike and I were swallowed by the biggest mudhole this side of I-5. The only thing sticking out of the water was my hand grip! I tugged and pulled and finally with my last ounce of energy, I was able to push my bike to high ground. I was rescued by a nice course worker in a green John Deere 4×4. We lifted my bike onto the back, and headed for the pits. During the drive back, I thought my dad would be super mad, but to my suprise he just snapped a picture and smiled when he saw me. He said, “Are you alright?” And I responded with a dissapointed “Yes”. He gave me a much needed hug. On the way home, my sister kept showing me her 2nd place trophy which really annoyed me even though I was proud that she did well that day.
When we arrived home, we took my motorcycle completely apart, only to find that the exhaust pipe, engine, and carburator were full of mucky water which had caused major damage. I was very sad, thinking we could not get it running by the next race. A few days later, my dad came home from work and said, “Get in the truck, we’re going somewhere.” After two hours of driving, we pulled up to a dealership that had a beautiful Kawasaki KX100 on the floor. We loaded the bike up and drove home! On the way home my dad told me that I will need to take swimming lessons before the next PCGP.
P.S. I still can’t get all the mud out of my old gloves.
Nick DiNapoli
D-36 youth #45
Wow, great job on all the PCGP descriptions’.
It was a pleasure to read all of the descriptions from, Leslies description on how the mud puddles in the quarry area where large enough to swallow a bike, to Nicks description on how difficult it is to clear your goggles while racing through wet slippery rocks, to Gmahoney’s description on how to survive a bad crash and have the passion to get back on your bike and ride, to Nick DiNapoli’s description on how to go completely under water on a dirt bike.
Stay tuned for the results on who will “win” the “One Industries” Drako Gloves.
Results to be announced Wednesday February 10th 2010.
Thanks: Mark – it’s all about adventure
We have a WINNER! I know we originally said we would wait until tomorrow, but I figured why wait. Ditto what Mark said about everyone’s contributions. Very cool that everyone who took the time to tell their perspective did so and I really enjoyed hearing the different takes on the opening race of the 2010 District 36 XC series.
The One Industries gloves go to “gmahoney” for giving it his all, crashing, and riding out with an unfortunate injury. Inspiring story to anyone who has faced adversity while racing/riding.
To everyone else that contributed I want to thank you by sending you a 100% free SNA Motorcycle Racing Team Beanie hat ($9.99 value). I will be sending an email to everybody to collect your mailing information. Don’t worry, you won’t be put on any mailing list. Maybe just tell a friend about us if you think SierraNevadaadventures would interest them.
As an SNA member you will be receiving a monthly newsletter alerting you to upcoming motorcycle events. Along with that I encourage you to check the site often as we will be holding contests throughout the year and giving away more swag from our sponsors. Also, please come by the SNA Racing compound at any d36 races and say hi anytime.
Thanks: Tom “Chico” – It’s All About Racing!
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