I went out on a limb yesterday and raced my RM-Z450 at a local District 16 hare scramble. Hixton was the place. Hixton is notorious for its clay soil, nasty ruts, and confusing trail network.
The risk was that I don’t have much time on the 450 so when it rained 6” in the days leading up to the event the chance of competing on a weighty, clay-laden bike in tight and twisty rutted trails was high. Although I was happy with the suspension, the ergonomics, the bolt-on woods parts and all, the 450’s weight was what I feared would be the end of me. The additional power of the 450 was in the back of my mind – and that it could wear me out if I got overly zealous – but I figured I could just turn the throttle less if I got too tired. Heavy mud added to the weight of the bike was what worried me.
Reality set in on the lap I rode on my bicycle. The forest floor was so soggy that I couldn’t ride my bike without sinking in and bogging down. Portions of the motocross track were under water. On the other hand, the sun was out and lots of open field and road sections were quickly drying out.
Pre race cleaness.
The AA row was a good one. Ryan Moss and Brian Lenth came up from down south and three other riders from Illinois were there. Speedy Pete and JD were there. It was a quality field from where I was sitting. My anxiety about getting a good start grew. The 450 starts reliably in neutral but is hit and miss when in gear. And it takes wallop to get the piston and valvetrain to do a lap before firing up. Luckily it all worked out and I was 3rd into the first turn.
I bumped my way into second before we entered the woods and realized I was talking to myself about how a stall or fall would be the end of all this work. I have been focusing on making fewer small errors. I recently read that Charlie Mullins has been doing the same thing inside his helmet and you can see his recent string of quality results because of the effort. Stalling or dropping the 450 would cost me energy I did not want to spend.
A few turns into the woods the guy in front of me fell. I scooted by and lead a train of riders that were all faster than me in the woods; I could hear them stacking up behind me. Then I made a wrong turn and heard the riders behind me go the right way. I cut through the woods to pick up the trail but had riders on my left and right all trying follow arrows that weren’t all that obvious. We were mostly going the right direction but not really on the course. I don’t know how many spots I lost because of my mistake. Worse yet, and something that still confuses me, was that when I did get back on the established and obvious course, I was riding with A group riders. I have no idea how that happened.
From there the race got spread out and we all found our own pace. I was having a great time using the 450 power to get up and over stuff and I also enjoyed the heavier feel of the bike to plow through terrain. The opening hour and half of the race was truly fun. I kept trying to keep from making mistakes (but I did stall 3 times during the race) and I think that having that goal in mind helped me ride a steady race.
The timing equipment was not working so I didn’t know what place I was in. I think we did 12 laps total. I caught JD on about lap 9. I rolled up on him so fast that I thought he was having a problem or that he might have been a lap down but later learned he was in a funk and had a slow lap. I tailed him for a while until he fell and l got by then I messed up and he got by me again. I was having a tough time riding close to JD because we ride so differently. I was trying to ride smooth and carry speed and he is an on and off the gas guy. I lost my rhythm by following him too closely and ultimately make a mistake that caused me to lose contact.
At about that same time I started to feel the effects of the heavy bike. The mud had added several pounds by then. I started to go into get-to-the-finish-alive mode and had at least one full lap of riding much slower than I had been racing. By then the ruts were long and deep in several places. The power of the 450 always got me through – something that I never could manage on the RM or RM-Z250 – so I’m super stoked with learning about that. Momentum goes a long way with getting through ruts but having the power to give me an extra boost of speed was great.
I finished 3rd behind Brian Lenth and JD. That may or may not be the case since the timing wasn’t working and the results were in question for a while after the finish. Others I spoke with after the race were as confused by the same opening lap chaos that I was but no one had answers for what happened. No matter – it is what it is.
Big thanks to Matt Herrington for sacrificing his race day to help make the course a success. Sorry we didn’t get to ride the course he laid out before the rains came.
The 450 isn’t a big bike in size or shape. It has a lot of GO when you ask it to go. That GO is manageable and I like it. The weight is what I felt in the race yesterday and it’s what is making me so sore today. I bet I could ride that thing a few days in a row and be fine with it. As it is, I have just over 5 hours on it and 2 of those hours were racing. I’ll get better on it. Late in the race I projected having a difficult time getting the bike up on the stand and promised myself that if I could get it up there after the race, I would race it again someday. I did get it up but it took everything I had left to do it. Joe can attest to my empty state of mind and body while we packed up and drove home. I was finished.
Post race mess. And I entirely fatigued.
I’m not abandoning the 250 and I may have to take both bikes with me when Joe and I go to races. Then, no matter the weather or terrain, I’ll have the right tool for the task. Stay tuned.
