This is my first GNCC race, (Grand National Cross Country) This is the series that made Shane Watts a household name in the States.
Round 2 is in Georgia. "The General" It is also a round of our local harescramble series for Setra.
The "C" and older "B" riders race at 10.00am and the younger "B", "A" and Pro's run at 1.00pm.
In the local Setra series there is usually 5 or 6 riders in my class 45+C. Here there are 35 entered in 45+C
In fact there was 900 bike entries on the day..
Dead engine start, kick and go when the flag is dropped. I have an auto clutch in my bike but the clutch lever will still over ride.. I strat the bike, put it second gear. pull the clutch lever, then rev the motor a lot. Hit the kill switch and dont let go of the clutch lever. I hold the clutch lever until our row gets to start. I use a small step stool on the left side to stand on, so I can get a good kick. Ten seconds, dab at the kick starter until it feels like it is at the top of the stroke. Flag moves and I kick as hard as I can. Motors fires, I hold the throttle wide open and let go of the cluch lever. Pull 3rd gear after about twenty feet, then 4th. Then the first turn to the left, I was on the inside of the wide and grassy corner. I was about the 4th or 5th bike into that turn, the next corner almost straight away is a right hander, I stay wide for that and aim at the inside of the next left hander, then another left dogleg, I stay to the inside and when the dust settles and we all head into the tree line, I was in second place. The trails here are red clay and they are still slick at this time of the morning.
The 45+C class was about ten rows back so there are plenty people ahead of us. The first creek crossing we come across has bikes everywhere, several stuck with mud to the top of their wheels. Spend a little time trying to find a good line through the mud. continue on half a mile later and there is another mudhole to get through. Then into some tighter single track, catch up to some slower riders had to be patient to get through.. then some open 4 wheeler type trails for a while. We went through a section of motorcross track, some table tops and whoops, none of which I'm comfortable on.. One lap was 9.5 miles. The ruts and roots grew bigger every lap, the course was beaten up pretty good. On the third lap I had a bad meeting with a tree, I had some unintended full throttle, and a tree brought me to a halt instantly
I had to grab my rear wheel and pull the bike backwards to untangle it from the tree, that's when I noticed the barb wire in my back wheel, one piece around the sprocket side and another piece around the rear brake caliper. I tried for about thirty seconds to untangle the wire then gave up and jumped back on to continue. Hoping the brakes wouldnt be damaged.
I went on to finish four laps.
I finished 5th out of 35. I was very happy with that. I did finish ahead of Greg Wallace, he is the chap chasing me in the points for the Setra harescramble series.
This is the barbed wire I cut out of my rear wheel.
Tomorrow we head off to Morganton, North Carolina for the next GNCC "Steel Creek" which is also part of our local series. It is set in the Smokey Mountains near the NC-Tennassee border.
