21J's 2nd Hangtown Adventure

From a different prospective part 2

 

At last year’s HangTown National I was an “Event Security” volunteer assigned to the Husqvarna Factory pits, my choice. I was looking forward to seeing Zac Osborne who was at the time the defending 450 outdoor champion and Dean Wilson with whom I wanted to talk about grandpa Earl. They also had some fast young 250 riders. Well, that didn’t work out so well Osborne retired, Wilson was hurt and the only healthy 250 rider was RJ Hampshire.

Well, I had my choice again this year and I chose the Husky pits and again it didn’t work out so well. I still wanted to talk with Dean Wilson about Grandpa Earl but he poked a huge hole in his butt and was out again. I was also looking forward to meeting Malcolm Stewart; I’m a fan of his. Was never a fan of his brother though? Well he’s out with an injured knee. At least this year there was a full complement of 250 riders. And RJ Hampshire is one of my favorite 250 riders, he’s tough, he never gives up and he’s fast enough to compete, but he falls down a lot. There was also Jalek Swool and Stilez Robertson. Swool was banged up from the first round at Fox Raceway. The other reason I chose Husky again was the people most of the same mechanics were there as last year as well as other personnel. And I like the way they work, if something needs to be done they just do it. And their pit area is at least as clean as any other factory team. Although Honda’s pits are pretty dam clean.

I may have mentioned Paul last year he’s the one who politely told me to get my parked Kawasaki motorcycle out of their pits, duh on my part. He turned out to be a really nice person. He was there again this year. I don’t know what his last name is but I know he was in the past a team manager. But he enjoys his current roll which is a team hauler driver and the resident chef. I call him a chef because man oh man can he cook. It’s as good as any food I’ve had anywhere. I felt a little more comfortable this year and actually begged for a little food.

I did things a little differently this year. After the pits were closed to the public without the proper creds, I walked around the pits and checked out all the other teams. I went to the starting line with the riders and mechanics and after the gate drop went with the mechanics to the mechanics area where I watched the races. With my wrist ban color I could go anywhere that was cool. After each moto I’d go back to the pits and do it all over again there was only one 450 rider on the team Shane McElrath who was filling in for Dean Wilson.

I need to say something about the team riders. RJ Hampshire and his wife both actually remembered me from last year as did some of the mechanics and other personnel that was very cool. Shane was very friendly and easy to talk with. Jalek Swool was also easy to talk with, his longtime girlfriend came over and introduced herself, she had a great personality, I told Jalek she was a keeper and he agreed. I did not talk with Stilez Robertson he pretty much kept to himself with what looked like his folks, but I think was probably a nice young man. (Turns out he has signed with Star Yamaha for 2023)

As I did last year I really enjoy watching the mechanics working, repeating over and over after each practice and moto. Cleaning the bikes, changing out certain of parts on the bikes, doing whatever needed to be done so they always looked brand new the next time they went to the line. The mechanic for Stilez Robertson was chasing an issue with the engine after both practices and finally got it fixed just before the first moto. Electronic issue can be the worst, after the first practice he checked certain things after the second practice he changed out the wiring harness and finally at the last minute changed the ECU and solved the problem literally five minutes before they had to line up, a little stressful to say the least. 

The weather was about as good as it gets, it was overcast all day so the temp was mild, and it  sprinkled a little bit. The racing was from my perspective anyway very good.

I had told RJ in the morning I thought he was one of the few who could give the Lawrence brothers a battle. In the first moto he was hanging right in there but went off the course and down the side of a steep hill. He  ran into Austin Forkner’s mechanic who hurt his leg. RJ got back up fairly early in the moto and finished sixteenth. By the time I got back to the pits he had left for a checkup at the hospital. His wife was gathering up their stuff I assume go to the hospital. Her demeanor indicated to me he wasn’t too bad. But I as well as she found out later a stick had broken off and punctured and collapsed a lung and had broken some ribs. They operated on him later that night for something and he was expected to stay in the hospital for a couple of days. I’ve always admired RJ because he was tough and never ever gives up, but man oh man this goes way beyond that. He is my hero.

Before the first 450 moto Alex Martin was sitting on his bike in the start gate with his helmet off, I went up to him and said, “When I first saw you this morning sitting in your pits you didn’t disappoint me you, were eating” He looked at me sort of weird I could tell he didn’t get it, but for those who watch his vlog. “Troll Train” he’s always eating. The look on his face told me he doesn’t realize he’s always eating on his volg.

There were a few other riders who impressed me that day, but for me the one who stood out the most was Chase Sexton. Sure he was caught and passed by two of the best 450 riders today, but they didn’t leave him, he no doubt studied their lines and came back to finish right behind them. He is so smooth it was interesting to watch him and Roczen who is also very smooth out front. Then in the first moto along comes Anderson who is not smooth but also fun to watch catch and pass them both. I watched an interview with Tomac and he said he was very surprised Sexton stayed with him in the second moto, says a lot about Sexton.

Back to the first 250 Jalek Swool hung in there with a sore shoulder and finished very well in the first race. Unfortunately, in the second moto he fell on his injured right shoulder and couldn’t finish. I heard them say he thought he had separated it and it had pooped back in, I wouldn’t expect to see him or RJ next weekend.

Shane had an ok weekend I could tell he wasn’t happy with his performance. I had asked him earlier if he was riding the 2021 KTM’s at Rocky Mountain or 2022’s He was on 2021’s and said the 2022’s were much, much better but he was still trying to adapt to the 2022. I think he’s a much better rider than he’s given credit to be, I hope he figures it out and can put in some good results a little later. I think he deserves it.

Stilez Robertson had a very quiet day and ended up I believe 7^th in the 250 class.

While I was standing next to the rails in the mechanics area literally feet away from the riders as they went by towards the finish line the speed they were carrying was impressive and downright scary.

I had a great time, but this old man was totally wiped and slept off and on all day Sunday.

Don’t know if I will have the opportunity to do it again time will tell.

Doug 21J

Too much time!

All of February and most of March I was dealing with long term COVID even spent a week in the COVID ward, which means total isolation. On top of that a couple of those days my TV didn’t work, well it worked but didn’t have sound. When you’re sick like that you try and find things to think about. Your topics can be somewhat limited based on how you feel. You may already know where I’m going after all this web site is about motorcycles.

First of all I’ve been totally happy with my current collection of motorcycles haven’t bought anything since about this time last year. I bought a Husky FE250S last year which is a 250cc dual sport bike to primarily use as a trail bike, problem was by the time I ended up with all the goodies on it, it felt too heavy, in my mind anyway.  Besides that I found I really enjoyed riding it as a Dual Sport bike. I enjoyed riding it more than the FE350 Dual sport. I don’t understand why the 250 dual sports didn’t sell, it actually has all the power I need. But they didn’t sell and KTM and Husky stopped bringing them in after 2019. Horse power is king I guess. Now I wouldn’t feel real comfortable riding in the sand in the desert, power IS king there.

Some of you know that I have a 2021 Husky TE300i which is all tricked out and only has 31 hrs on it and I don’t ride it. And I don’t have a really good reason except I just don’t ride it.

My first thought was I’ll take my 2020 Yamaha YZ250F t hat I bought for MX practice which I haven’t done much of and use it for trail riding. I had ridden it on the more open trails in Foresthill and it worked great. But there are a couple of things that bug me about the Yamaha, they don’t have much lock to lock steering and on tight trails or switch backs that bothers me a lot. I’m old and my balance isn’t as good as it once was. I’ll also have to soften up the suspension for trail riding.

So at the end of March when I started feeling better and had some energy I started working on transforming the Yamaha. I soften the suspension and took an 1/8” off each side of the bottom triple clamp steering stops, that made a big difference in the lock to lock and I still have a little more room to spare if needed. But doing slow almost lock to lock turns around my house I still didn’t feel quite comfortable. So one day I rode the Yamaha and my Husky FE250 back to back and immediately felt more comfortable on the FE250.

So now that I had convinced myself the Yamaha wouldn’t do I started thinking about what to get. Husky does not bring into CA at least a FE250E, which would be like the KTM 250XCF. If I wanted the Husky it would have to be the MX version FC250. Which would be ok, but I kind of wanted a six speed a bigger tank and softer suspension. I thought about a Sherco 250SEF or a Gas Gas EX250F. Trying to find a 2021 Red Sticker bike turned out to be a problem I spent weeks looking on FaceBook marketplace and Craigslist. The other problem here in CA is in 2022 they eliminated the Red Sticker program on all new 2022 dirt bikes which means they can be ridden on private property only, or just take a chance you won’t get caught riding on the trails. Most of last year new/used Red Sticker bikes were being sold at premium prices. They are still very high and the demand is not there now. I found a Gas Gas that was priced very well in Reno.

The owner told me he was a good skier and his skiing buddies also rode dirt bikes, so he buys a brand new 2021 Gas Gas EX250F, which is like the KTM250XCF. He was a good skier but a brand new dirt bike rider. He says it didn’t take long before his buddies quit calling him to go riding. The Gas Gas bikes don’t come with an hour meter but he thought he had maybe thirty hours on it. He ended up riding up and down Toll road which in a few miles from his house turned into dirt and you could ride it all the way to Carson City. He would ride it to the top of the hill before you rode down into Carson City and back. The tires were so over inflated only the center knobs had any wear the rest still had the tits of them. When I took it apart I could tell he had never been ridden it in any real mud. I’d say the fenders and the skid plate was about it. I don’t believe the bike had anywhere near thirty hours.

Since it was a dirt bike it wasn’t a hassle getting it registered in CA with a Red Sticker.

So what goodies did I decide to put on it? A Rekluse of course, but only had two choices for the bike which would be the same choices for a KTM or Husky 250cc four stroke and like everything else the price was way up there at $1200, gulp. A graphics kit, Fast Way pegs, a mapping switch, Hour meter, XC gear rubber mounted bar clamps, a Trail Tech speed odometer etc, OX 2.0 Hydro Left Hand rear brake. Some of this stuff I already had, like the tubliss rear tire setup I had on my TE300i which also gave me one black rim. I ordered a black rim with a blue center hub which I put on my FE250 which already had a blue hub on the rear. I then put the black wheel on the front of the Gas Gas, etc.

The EX250F comes with air forks and is much softer than the MX bikes. I also installed a set of my tried and true Air Cells on both forks. I haven’t been able to ride it in the dirt yet so I don’t know how well the suspension will work. So for now it just sits there waiting. There are differences between the KTM, Husky and Gas Gas, especially the Gas Gas they use parts from both KTM and Husky, so I’m anxious to ride it. I’m still having a nerve problem in my Occipital lob area that won’t allow me to wear a helmet; hopefully this will be resolved soon. Until then this was just a project to keep me busy.

When I can finally ride I’ll let you what I think.

Doug 21J

2022 Prairie City Grand Prix

Went to the first Dist 36 Cross Country race of 2022 at Prairie City, the weather was good the course 8.5 miles, was a little dusty in places but a far cry from totally dusty or a total mudder in recent years.

As you can see by the picture the first bike race had some 250 mostly C riders plus about the same number family and friends all hanging out on the starting line plus four riders in the 70 + Pioneer Class. I took a couple of pictures of two perennial riders; Pete is 75+ and Fred who has to be 82+ whom I used to ride against all the time. They are still doing it and I’m taking pictures. In the row right in front of the Pioneer class was the Jr. Sportsman class which had uh; let’s see if I can get this straight my wife’s niece’s 17 year old son Alex, whom I also took a picture of.  

I forgot to take a picture of Larry whose job today was to start each row with shot gun blast. Actually I didn’t forget, Larry scared me, he looked a little scary standing their cradling that shot gun. As I walked up I was trying to remember if Larry and I were on good terms.

As has been the case the past quite a few years now the C 200 riders are usually at least the first three or four overall, those kids are fast. I’d say they all ride KTM or Husky 150’s.

The second bike race was the AA, A and B race which had I believe had seventeen rows, two more than the first race, seems to me in years past this race always had between 500 and 700 hundred riders so this year’s event was 602.

On one hand I’d have to say I’ve have been disappointed with the number of AA riders at the races that I have attended the past few years. There are still a few of the younger AA riders who are now getting their chance at the front. For me gone are the grizzled guys I watched come up through the ranks and dominate the AA class for quite a few years? They’ve all moved on, most probably married now some with kids now. I would expect at some point in the future they will show up again as Vet’s or Senior riders. But when you look at the number of riders that are coming up, all’s well, it won’t be long and the AA row will be full of riders whom I also won’t their names.

It was a good day; it’s always good to see some old friends, if some of my aches and pains disappeared I just might get inspired again and line up in the Pioneer class, maybe.

Doug 21J

PS Turns out I can’t even take pictures, of the dozen pictures I took only two came out and they are of the AA, A and B riders lining up. With today’s technology taking pictures should be pretty fool proof, apparently not so. But at least you can see it was a nice day.

2021 Baja 1000

I wrote this for all my fellow NCWR (Nevada County Woods Riders) members. Paul Hart is our National Forest Ranger who is charge of the OHV trails in the National Forest in Nevada and Sierra Counties. We are very lucky to have such a pro OHV activist. Paul spends his time in the trenches working tirelessly for us trail riders.

Earlier this year Paul had said he wanted to compete in the Baja 1000 in the Iron Man class on a motorcycle. The club was all in on supporting him and in the end about a dozen of the club members ended up working pits along the length of the course, which was a point to point this year. Starting in the north in Ensenada and ended in the south at La Pas at end of the Baja peninsula. Paul’s efforts were nothing less than extraordinary and all the support was as well. Paul’s dedication preparation and training were amazing. For one he gave up drinking beer. He spent months riding hour after hour at night up and down dirt roads and trails in the Chalk Bluff area. Paul who is tall thin (About a buck forty five) and a dam good rider, he went to local MX track and road for over two hours solid on several occasions, he was very prepared.   

Doug 21J

Hello everyone,

If you read this you will no doubt come to the conclusion that Doug didn’t have much else going on during Paul’s quest to solo the Baja 1000 and I’d have to agree. Score’s official results showed Paul as a DNF even though he finished the course. Apparently there is a 50 hour time limit. They listed everyone who was in his class. There were six riders who they show finishing in less than fifty hours and there were seven riders, who they listed as a DNF over the fifty hour limit, including Paul.

I not only followed Paul’s Tracks, I followed other riders’ tracks as well. I’m passing this on just because I thought some of you might find it interesting.

725X finished the course in 34 hrs. 39min and in an incredible 101st overall, I think he was one of two KTM riders from Bolivia and they (Score) did celebrate his victory and rightly so.

741X finished in 42 hrs. 2min and 143rd overall

719X finished in 42 hrs. 51min and 149th overall

731X finished in 43hrs 13min and 169th overall

744X finished in 46hrs 37min and 176th overall

What I observed by looking at the tracks of each of these riders was 725X, 741X, 744X all stayed on the course throughout race and did finish in less than fifty hours. 719X, 731X, 785X were all off and on the course starting around mile 800. Paul and 719X were for instance stopped near mile 800 I assumed both pitted to put lights on. Paul left within a reasonable time, 719X did not move for hours and when he did his tracks showed he was on the road not the course he ended up leap froging Paul by hours and hours then went back on the course to finish some eleven plus hours ahead of Paul. I think they knew they weren’t going to make the fifty hour time limit and simply wanted to cross the finish line. Score obviously didn’t take the time to review each rider’s tracks to insure they indeed stayed on the course. First place is probably all that mattered everything after that didn’t.   

All the rest of the riders over the 50hr time limit were scored as a DNF. Of this seven rider group Score had Paul fifth, or 224th overall, but I know three of those riders also did not stay on the course and I’m not sure they even crossed the finish line. The other three  riders I didn’t track at all because they were not even close to Paul, so I don’t where one of them got ahead Paul.

So what does all this truly mean, nothing really Paul finished the race staying on the course finishing in 53hrs and 32min. That’s an unbelievable achievement in its self; solo-ing a Baja 1000 race that was in fact 1227 miles makes it an even a greater achievement. What really bothers me is that Score gave him an official DNF, but he did finish, showing him as a DNF in the official results is not respecting his efforts, boo on Score. As far as I’m concerned Paul finished fourth overall of the riders who stayed on course for the entire event. 

Doug McCaleb                    

 21J

Hangtown A Different Look!

From a different prospective

Over the years I have written several stories about Hang Town but this story is from an entirely different prospective I spent the day in the pits.

In the fall of 2019 a friend of mine Steve who is the head of security for the Hang Town National Motocross event put on by the Dirt Diggers Motor Cycle Club. And is still the only motor cycle club putting on a National Motocross event their fifty second annual, Steve asked me if I would be interested in volunteering for the race in 2020, sure I said. Little did any of us know what was in store for the whole world in 2020 and 2021 for that matter? In the end the 2020 version of Hang Town was canceled.

Fast forward to early in 2021 Steve asked me if I was still interested in being a volunteer a sort of a security person where at least one is assigned to every factory team in the pits, hell yes I said. Then he asks which team would I like to be in, well since I own three Husky’s I said Husky. Why not at the time they had Zack Osborne, Jason Anderson and Dean Wilson on the 450’s. RJ Hampshire, Jalek Swool and Styles Robertson on the 250’s and in 2021 Zack Osborne would now be the defending 450 outdoor champion. This year instead of being the first race of the National Outdoor Championship Hang Town would be the last and hopefully would be deciding a couple of championships.  

Well Osborne reinjures his back and is out for the year, Jason Andersons breaks something and is out he eventually heals up but never returns to Husky surrounded by rumors he will be with Kawasaki in 2022 as Tomac’s replacement. Then Jalek Swoll and Styles Robertson get hurt and are out for Hang Town Dean Wilson is not at Pala or Hang Town for unknown reasons. I asked one of the Husky guys and he’s says he’s home in Florida, I ask is he hurt and the guy says no I think he’s just tired has been dealing with Epstein Bar all year. At Pala Husky recruits a young rider named Josh Varize to replace Swoll and Styles for the last two rounds. So now here I am in the Husky pits no 450 riders and only RJ Hampshire and a kid named Varize, woe is me.

I parked my motor home on Tuesday next to Steve’s in the Dirt Diggers compound so I could get a good spot. At this point I thought I would be working on Friday and Saturday so I planned to spend Thursday through Sunday out there. I woke up Wednesday feeling like crap and my back and left thigh hurt as well. I found out I didn’t have anything really to do on Friday so that gave me an extra day to get better.

I went out to the track early Friday afternoon, spent a few minutes introducing myself in the Husky pits, I was surprised when they weren’t very friendly, but who could blame them after all their team was decimated. I wondered around looking in the factory and the privateer’s pits. I stopped in one pit and watched the father working on his son’s 2019 450 Honda. He also had another son who also raced but wasn’t here for the weekend. I’d seen his son before he was one of the riders that Jason Weigant had interviewed on his Weege show, just a father and son working out of an older ford van chasing the dream of trying to make the show then making it into the top twenty overall to earn some points and some of the prize money. They weren’t much different than most of the other privateers in the pits. In watching some YouTube videos and talking to some of the privateers who follow all or as much of the series as they can they get treated like crap from Feld the people who basically own this and other entertainment events? It’s only the factory teams they seem to really care about, but as we all know it’s the privateers and the people who follow them who are the real backbone of the sport.

Saturday morning at 5AM I was woken by sirens, horns in the Dirt Diggers compound, time to get up. At 5:15 they repeated it over again but this time they also played the theme song from the Benny Hill show.

I already had my official Event Security (Printed on the back) T-shirt, my yellow wrist band and my official Staff lanyard. I reported for a volunteer meeting at 7AM in the pits where we were given further instructions by Steve and the guy who ran the Pros Pits for Pro Motocross and the TV. We were instructed on where to stand and how to patrol in front of the pits and what to look for. We were told if the Factory team members invited us into their area or offered us something to drink it was ok but if they didn’t stay out. Some teams were more COVID conscious than others and I didn’t see any team set up an autograph session. Husky told me it was pretty much if you could catch the attention of a rider go for it. There was a volunteer driving around the pits offering us volunteer’s water and around 11AM or so they came around with a sack lunch for us. We were expected to stay at our posts for the day, there was another volunteer wandering around and if you needed to take a break they would relieve you so you could relieve yourself. The Pro Pit manager was also driving around looking for a thumps up from us indicating everything was ok. 

Yours truly got his ass in trouble right off the bat when I pulled up to the Husky pits I parked my Kawasaki KLR650 at the front end of the second hauler which was right behind the first hauler which was used as a hospitality suite. I wasn’t there very long when the guy who was in charge of suite rig told me I could park my Kawasaki KLR anywhere just not in front of the Husky pits, oops obviously I wasn’t thinking. I got more acquainted with him as the day went along and of course he was a good guy. 

After the meeting I reported to the Husky pits and at 8:30 the gates were opened to those who had purchased pit passes for $20 they were free to wonder around the pits looking at the bikes and trying to find riders to get autographs from. So my job was to keep an eye on who was going in and out the mechanics area walk up and down in front of mechanics area making sure no one tried to climb over the rails. Since only 250 riders were in the Husky pits I made sure I was on guard so to speak when the riders and mechanics were out qualifying which they did twice. At 12PM the pits were officially closed as a whole gang of law enforcement officers and club personnel walked abreast down each isle and cleared everyone out that didn’t have the right credentials. After that only authorized personnel were allowed in the pits.

In the Husky pits after each qualifying session the mechanics removed the plastics and gas tank and completely cleaned each bike they changed the air filter each time they also change the two batteries as well. After the qualifying was over and each bike had been cleaned they drained the oil changed the air filter again and changed the wheels and tires. It was interesting to watch some of the little things they did like little zip ties here and there. One of the mechanics who was Styles Robertson’s mechanic helped both mechanics it was interesting to watch everything they did had a rhythm and reason behind it. It also interesting to see the difference in the two mechanics they both did an excellent job of course, but RJ Hampshire’s mechanic was constantly checking rechecking and cleaning things on the bike. I asked him about it and he said he was a bit compulsive. The mechanics the truck driver were now starting to warm up to me a little. There were about four other Husky people who never even acknowledge me, interesting. One of the guys who didn’t acknowledge me only job was to clean each riders helmet after each time they were out on the track, who the hell does that guy think was, after all I was “Event Security”

We were right across from the KTM pits so I could just as easily see what was going on over there. So I watched Max Vohland and Cooper Webb all day. And behind us was Kawasaki and Pro Circuit Kawasaki, cool. During the 450 motos I was able to sneak over to the Pro Circuit pits and watch the 450 motos on TV. Here I am sitting near Mitch Payton, next to Joe Shimodo’s mom and his grandparents who flew in from Japan to watch him. They didn’t speak any English but bowed very graciously a lot. I had told Joe that two of my favorite riders in the 250’s were him and RJ Hampshire for totally different reasons. RJ is fierce and a little wild and he was very smooth and controlled. He was a very nice young man. How cool was that.

Back in the Husky pits it was now almost time for the first 250 race. By this time I had met and talked with Josh Varize met his dad and mom and a bunch of Josh’s relatives. Josh and his family live in the bay area. And RJ’s wife and their little almost two year old daughter named Ivy who never once made a fuss and was always on the go and of course was cute as hell.

Josh and his dad had been on the road 20,000 plus miles worth just the two of them, until Josh was asked to fill in the last two rounds with Husky, Josh has been ridding the for the KTM orange brigade. This opportunity was not lost on Josh and his family and in Pala the week before he had performed very well. So Hang Town was another chance to audition. He didn’t seem in awe of what was going on he was focused and professional. He didn’t look anything like his parents, his dad was short and somewhat dark skinned his mother was also short with some freckles and blond hair(She was naturally a redhead)  Josh and his brother were both redheaded and skinny as rails josh was much taller than his brother and both brothers towered over their folks.

During the 250 races I couldn’t sneak over to the Pro Circuit pits to watch everyone was out watching the riders I was there to make sure nothing was taken. I know RJ pressured Justin Cooper most of the first moto and finished 2^nd and Josh finished 7^th. Josh admitted he gotten a little tired at the end. In between motos they both sat in tubs filled with cold water that sure was inviting.

I forgot to mention after the qualifying motos and before the first moto they also changed the mufflers as well. After the first moto and after the bikes were once again cleaned a new air filter and two wheels and new tires I realized the suspension rep from WP had not done a single thing to the suspension except open the air screws on the forks or make a clicker or two adjustments. After Cooper Webs first race his mechanic changed the forks, which put him in a time crunch to get the bike ready for the second moto.

By the time the second motos came around the mechanics and the truck driver had started tearing down the pits and told me I was free to go and thanked me for my help during the day. So free at last I followed the mechanics and the riders down to the starting line and stood behind all the riders as they staged themselves in behind starting gate. I was one of the last to leave the back of the starting gate and got roosted a little by last riders at the end of the gate. I then followed all the mechanics as they made their way over to the mechanics area where I watched the race from that was pretty cool. I was watching the two Husky riders one at the front, Josh had gotten the hole shot and led for about a lap and a half, but as the race went on he faded back to finish 11^th. While Josh faded back RJ Hampshire who finished 2^nd in the first moto had a mishap and was at the back of the pack but steadily moved forward eventually passing his team mate finishing 5^th. It was a lot of fun to watch Hampshire work his way forward he is very fierce. I noticed as I was watching the front runners a good portion of the mechanics and I were out of sync, they were looking for their riders looking in totally different directions than I was. It was kinda strange normally in a crowd most of the spectators would all be looking in the same direction.

As I was walking out of the mechanics area after the race I was passed by the Honda people high fiving each other on their way the podium to celebrate Jet Lawrence’s 250 title. I walked back to the Husky pits which were almost totally dismantled now; the mechanics were once again washing the bikes off so they could be put away in the hauler. That made four times they had washed the bikes that day. They left all eight of the Twin Air filters they had only used once lying on the ground so anyone who wanted one could pick up one or two, or.

I wondered around the pits looking at all the pits being torn down and packed away. I stopped by the pit of the 450 privateer rider and his son I had talked with on Friday and asked how they finished they were both very happy his son had finished 18^th in the first moto and 10^th in the second which meant he earned points plus some hard earned prize money, it was a good day.

I eventually collected up my bike and my chair and went back to my motor home and cooled off. About 6:30 or so I rode back down to the grand stand area where the Dirt Diggers provided a great dinner and open bar for all the club members and volunteers, I’d say there were several hundred people there at least. After a great dinner and a few speeches I rode down through the totally decimated pits one last time and back to my motor home to spend one more night.

This was a totally different view of Hang Town one not many people get to see, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I was totally whipped, that’s a long day for this old man.

Doug 21J