Hell on Wheels!

We got there pretty early in the day and had fun busting some hot laps before it got seriously hot. BFJosh and I had a little practice with the Bad Idea side car bike and had a blast doing it. That thing has been drop dead reliable, one kick kinda bike since I got it running and tuned. We rolled up a little late to the starting line and *poof* it just quit. No lights, no power all of sudden, nothing. We were going to race in the "Hooligan" run-whatcha-brung class since it didn't fit anywhere else. Having the thing shut down like that was epic fail time, but I ran back and jumped on the T100C, better known as Little Devil Poopy Pants and Meatball let the other guys get in a couple practice laps while I switched bikes. The track had been changed up throughout the day and since I missed the official practice I just lined up in the second row. After one lap I knew the course and poured it on as much as my feeble skills and old machine would allow. I lost a footpeg rubber early in the day and the other one went missing somewhere on lap two. There was two sets of easy doubles that I was never going to make it over so I cased them both pretty hard with terrible style on every lap. This resulted in both pegs bent down pretty bad, the left one hard enough that it kept the brake lever pushed down, effectively locking the rear brake unless I was on the gas. So I stayed on the gas. The handlebars were in my lap by the time the checkers were flying, from the clamps slipping. I still managed to get 3rd place, which was especially sweet since I got a trophy for that. A few things I learned:

1. Old combat boots are not proper MX boots, and the bruises on my right foot prove it.

2. Triumph pegs are made of the most malleable steel known to man.

3. The most reliable bike can still stab you in the back at the starting line.

4. I need a front fork that doesn't go "clank" over every bump.

5. June is hot in Elsinore.

6. I need a knobby front tire.

7. Old dirt bikes on mellow tracks are awesome.

So, after cooling down for a few, I figured out the main fuse had popped on the Bad Idea. Of course I didn't have one. My dad, ruler that he is, ran to town and found one, and the old Chang fired right up. A while later, they called the "Hooligans" back and Josh and I went for it. It takes a lot of work to try and ride one of these things fast. It didn't like the soft stuff with a regular street tire but we made it the whole race without flipping, though I believe we came in dead last. Maybe someone else's bike broke and we beat them, but I'm not really sure.

Once we finished that race, they immediately lined up the "Vintage MX" class. I hopped on the Triumph again and entered that race as well. (We had bent the pegs back into workable position by then.) Two back to back motos in the heat was taxing and my performance proved it. However, I think everyone else signed up as an "Expert" or "Intermediate" because somehow I won 1st Place for the Vintage MX "Novice" class. I've raced in the dirt before, but it was only a couple times and I was a Novice then, and had never ridden a vintage bike in the dirt before, so Novice seemed a logical choice to me. Good call since it netted me the rad trophy and a half gallon of Whisky.

After all the dust settled, crazy hot, pasty-white pin up girls paraded around in their underwear and we drank a few beers and hung out with friends. Pretty much a perfect day! We'll be posting a ton of bike photos on Chop Cult Monday, so be sure to check it out. Big thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put on such a unique event. And, thanks to BFJ for being a good Monkey!

If anyone has decent action shots, post them on the Biltwell Facebook page!