DMC AMA National Hare and Hound
This weekend was round #1 of the AMA National Hare and Hound series. I was really looking forward to this race because at the end of last year I had my best finish in the series. I wanted to start off with another great result. My Dad and I left Saturday to go out and ride the bomb and get signed up. We stopped by Mat “Hendo” Henderson’s house to pick him up so he could do the same. The bomb was really long and pretty smooth. They usually use the same start every year. I rode it a couple times and had an idea where I wanted to be and called it a day. We stayed at Mat’s house that night and worked on bikes and went out to dinner.
Sunday we left Apple Valley about 6:30am and headed for beautiful Lucerne valley. I was really surprised when we got there to see Lucerne finally had got some rain. With all the storms going around on Saturday Lucerne was still dusty but today was a different story. The Dirt looked perfect!!! We stopped at the start while Mat’s dad went up to the pits to get set up. Put my bike on the line and waited around. It was finally time to go. They had a Banner roll up for some fellow D37 members that had passed away and then it was time. The banner was up and I was ready. It dropped and I was gone. I was surprised at how fast my bike jumped out. I was almost to the end of the 3-5 mile bomb and thought I might actually lead this one. But my trail ended up in some rocks and whoops and I noticed a lot of the faster riders on the outside trails blowing by. By the time we got on a main trail I was 6th overall. I made a quick pass on Nick Blais and chased after Steve Hengeveld. I made the pass in a rough sand wash and was trying to make it stick. He pushed me for about 5 miles but never got back by. I felt myself start to pull away and I tried to chase the leaders ahead of me. I started to see David Kamo up ahead so I charged harder. I must have been charging too hard because I crashed pretty good going down a steep downhill. I thought for sure I was going to be passed by lots of riders cause it took me a while to get my bearings and get going again. Luckily no one passed me and my bike wasn’t too bent up. I started going again and just tried to ride smooth. I came into the pits 4th overall and about 1 minute behind 3rd. I set out on the 2nd loop to try and catch the leaders but their pace was too much for me. The 2nd loop went smooth with no problems but I did not make any time up on the leaders. I finished 4th overall for the day and it is my best finish so far in this series. I was happy with my finish but I want to be on the podium soon.
I just want to thank the Henderson’s for letting my dad and I stay at their house and giving us a place to prep the bike.
Nick#657