Do you believe in Murphy's law? I don't believe in lots of things, but
Murphy was a genious. <g>
Saturday I had to take car to mechanic and install the new starter
relay on bike so I could go race an enduro sunday. It looked too easy:
the race was in the same metro area I live, just slightly above 50km,
meaning no expense with hotels would be needed, less gas for the car
and I could have saturday dinner and sunday breakfast at home, saving
further more. Well, the motor mounts for the car weren't an exact
match and that costed me more for the mechanic to adapt the ones I
bought, because I was risking motor fall down and had to have car
right! And on the bike, I did a stupid move: I had only one good 10A
fuse for the starter (manual says 15A) and this fuse blowed right away
with new starter. I thought "well, I guess those 5A are needed" and
bypassed the fuse with a piece of wire. Of course - "I knew it", was
my other thougth - the smoke escaped from my 12USD brand new starter
relay early evening saturday when *all* bike shops are closed.
The race organization staff told us, during the saturday evening meet,
that "there is a problem with the roll charts" (the map) and "you
please arrive early, 7AM, on the start line so we can give you the
charts". The first rider was going to start by 9AM, so there was
enough time for them to fix the "problem" they had and for us to
prepare the enduro computers and roll chart holder.
Well, the thing started to go sour when we knew only 11 riders on the
my (main) class signed for the race. I heard while on the car mechanic
that the guy who was the organization master director was known for
fiascos, so I figured people decided not to take chances with that
guy... They were right. I was the 11th to start on my class, the last,
which is always a good thing. But the master director only gave my
chart when almost everybody on my class already started and I had only
2 minutes before my start minute to fix the chart that belonged to the
novice class, with the times all different "another chalenge for you",
he said. Hell, yea.... When I finally fitted the chart, I discovered
the odo on my bike refused to turn! I removed speedo cable end from
the sensor and re-attached and it worked, but I was already over15
minutes late! Did I tell you that when the 20 minute mark come you're
out of the race? Not completely out, but the check points close after
20min, the same as if you miss the CP. You have to get back on your
time, or at least within the 20min window, riding like crazy.
Things weren't wrong enough: the chart was pure crazyness! Every
reference to turns were wrong, the kilometrage all wrong... I got lost
<sigh> and slipped out of the 20min window. To make matters worse, I
was in a suburban area, not a pleasant part to be, if you understand
what I mean. I met two other guys from the Over 40 class who were lost
as well. We decided to cut to a cookie factory that was mentioned on
the chart, not before having iced cane sugar juice :). "Alredy in
hell? Hug the devil!" one of the guys kept saying...
Do you think things would get straight after? Nooooo.... Of course no!
We got lost again... and again... and again... And we kept meeting
other racers from all classes, lost like a blind in a hurricane. When
we gathered a bunch of about 30 riders of every class, we decided to
head back to the start line and cut to the second "moto" - sidenote: I
can't believe the guy did an enduro in two motos like a motocross
race, but that wasn't a problem, if you consider the other decisions
that deranged director made. In this bunch was Eduardo, who lives near
me and went to the race with me and Tulio, the guy who's winning every
race in novice class. I had it enough, so did Eduardo and Tulio. We
decided to ride the long dirt road back to the start line, put bikes
on the trailer and go home...
Tulio had a flat rear tire and Eduardo's frame cracked. We limped back
- oh, did I tell how I was starting my bike? Short circuiting the
starter relay with a screw driver. I was subject of every honda
engineer joke enduro racers can come with. Besides not starting,
battery wasn't getting a charge. By this time, I was noticing the
starter turning slower and slower...
After arriving, we decided to go eat a huge steak with beans and beer
and wait for the prize party while checking out the hot chicks on the
beach (clothed sin, one of the jokers who claim to be enduro racer
like to refer them)... Party? The race director was in tears,
literally. One guy got lost on the woods and it was night when he was
found. Every rider got lost. Lots of DNF! The rule states that you
have to clear at least half of the check points for the race to be
included on the season rank. Nobody did it on novice, junior and over
40 classes. In my class only three or four did it. Of course, having a
troblesome start and getting myself lost within 10 minutes of riding
didn't help me: I was 11th out of 11 riders in my class... And they
invited Murphy for the prizing: The company who was to build the
trophies promised to deliver them sunday morning and they didn't!
Nobody got a trophy, director said he will "mail them" later, well, he
mumbled it, he was genuinelly crying like a little girl. We learned
that "the problem" was the guy losing the checked and corrected chart
because he had a computer crash on thursday and the backup was from a
previous version of the chart, full of mistakes and errors... He
*knew* it three long days before the race and decided to carry on! I
mean, he should have cancelled the race, gone checking it all over
again and backup the damn thing *after* finishing... It's easy to
explain why less and less bikers are willing to race this kind of
timed enduro!
Tonight I'll wash my bike clean... Maybe clean the air filter and oil
the chain... And park it... For a couple weeks... Then I'll check
what's happening with bike's electricity... That thing has a few too
many wires... :-) And to think I wished to be an electrical engineer
when I was 5... Kids... <g>
Nothing all was bad though: The steak was something out of this world.
Really great and the prizing party was in a hotel on the beach front
with lots of dressed sin walking by. Everybody was very pissed with
the race, but joking with each other, bragging "I ride better than
you"... aaahhh, the race atmosphere... :-) I can't say I didn't have
fun.
-- T
> Do you believe in Murphy's law? I don't believe in lots of things, but
> Murphy was a genious. <g>
> Saturday I had to take car to mechanic and install the new starter
> relay on bike so I could go race an enduro sunday. It looked too easy:
> the race was in the same metro area I live, just slightly above 50km,
> meaning no expense with hotels would be needed, less gas for the car
> and I could have saturday dinner and sunday breakfast at home, saving
> further more. Well, the motor mounts for the car weren't an exact
> match and that costed me more for the mechanic to adapt the ones I
> bought, because I was risking motor fall down and had to have car
> right! And on the bike, I did a stupid move: I had only one good 10A
> fuse for the starter (manual says 15A) and this fuse blowed right away
> with new starter. I thought "well, I guess those 5A are needed" and
> bypassed the fuse with a piece of wire. Of course - "I knew it", was
> my other thougth - the smoke escaped from my 12USD brand new starter
> relay early evening saturday when *all* bike shops are closed.
> The race organization staff told us, during the saturday evening meet,
> that "there is a problem with the roll charts" (the map) and "you
> please arrive early, 7AM, on the start line so we can give you the
> charts". The first rider was going to start by 9AM, so there was
> enough time for them to fix the "problem" they had and for us to
> prepare the enduro computers and roll chart holder.
> Well, the thing started to go sour when we knew only 11 riders on the
> my (main) class signed for the race. I heard while on the car mechanic
> that the guy who was the organization master director was known for
> fiascos, so I figured people decided not to take chances with that
> guy... They were right. I was the 11th to start on my class, the last,
> which is always a good thing. But the master director only gave my
> chart when almost everybody on my class already started and I had only
> 2 minutes before my start minute to fix the chart that belonged to the
> novice class, with the times all different "another chalenge for you",
> he said. Hell, yea.... When I finally fitted the chart, I discovered
> the odo on my bike refused to turn! I removed speedo cable end from
> the sensor and re-attached and it worked, but I was already over15
> minutes late! Did I tell you that when the 20 minute mark come you're
> out of the race? Not completely out, but the check points close after
> 20min, the same as if you miss the CP. You have to get back on your
> time, or at least within the 20min window, riding like crazy.
> Things weren't wrong enough: the chart was pure crazyness! Every
> reference to turns were wrong, the kilometrage all wrong... I got lost
> <sigh> and slipped out of the 20min window. To make matters worse, I
> was in a suburban area, not a pleasant part to be, if you understand
> what I mean. I met two other guys from the Over 40 class who were lost
> as well. We decided to cut to a cookie factory that was mentioned on
> the chart, not before having iced cane sugar juice :). "Alredy in
> hell? Hug the devil!" one of the guys kept saying...
> Do you think things would get straight after? Nooooo.... Of course no!
> We got lost again... and again... and again... And we kept meeting
> other racers from all classes, lost like a blind in a hurricane. When
> we gathered a bunch of about 30 riders of every class, we decided to
> head back to the start line and cut to the second "moto" - sidenote: I
> can't believe the guy did an enduro in two motos like a motocross
> race, but that wasn't a problem, if you consider the other decisions
> that deranged director made. In this bunch was Eduardo, who lives near
> me and went to the race with me and Tulio, the guy who's winning every
> race in novice class. I had it enough, so did Eduardo and Tulio. We
> decided to ride the long dirt road back to the start line, put bikes
> on the trailer and go home...
> Tulio had a flat rear tire and Eduardo's frame cracked. We limped back
> - oh, did I tell how I was starting my bike? Short circuiting the
> starter relay with a screw driver. I was subject of every honda
> engineer joke enduro racers can come with. Besides not starting,
> battery wasn't getting a charge. By this time, I was noticing the
> starter turning slower and slower...
> After arriving, we decided to go eat a huge steak with beans and beer
> and wait for the prize party while checking out the hot chicks on the
> beach (clothed sin, one of the jokers who claim to be enduro racer
> like to refer them)... Party? The race director was in tears,
> literally. One guy got lost on the woods and it was night when he was
> found. Every rider got lost. Lots of DNF! The rule states that you
> have to clear at least half of the check points for the race to be
> included on the season rank. Nobody did it on novice, junior and over
> 40 classes. In my class only three or four did it. Of course, having a
> troblesome start and getting myself lost within 10 minutes of riding
> didn't help me: I was 11th out of 11 riders in my class... And they
> invited Murphy for the prizing: The company who was to build the
> trophies promised to deliver them sunday morning and they didn't!
> Nobody got a trophy, director said he will "mail them" later, well, he
> mumbled it, he was genuinelly crying like a little girl. We learned
> that "the problem" was the guy losing the checked and corrected chart
> because he had a computer crash on thursday and the backup was from a
> previous version of the chart, full of mistakes and errors... He
> *knew* it three long days before the race and decided to carry on! I
> mean, he should have cancelled the race, gone checking it all over
> again and backup the damn thing *after* finishing... It's easy to
> explain why less and less bikers are willing to race this kind of
> timed enduro!
> Tonight I'll wash my bike clean... Maybe clean the air filter and oil
> the chain... And park it... For a couple weeks... Then I'll check
> what's happening with bike's electricity... That thing has a few too
> many wires... :-) And to think I wished to be an electrical engineer
> when I was 5... Kids... <g>
> Nothing all was bad though: The steak was something out of this world.
> Really great and the prizing party was in a hotel on the beach front
> with lots of dressed sin walking by. Everybody was very pissed with
> the race, but joking with each other, bragging "I ride better than
> you"... aaahhh, the race atmosphere... :-) I can't say I didn't have
> fun.
> -- T
Damn!
"Already in Hell? Hug the Devil!"
That's a keeper, for some reason I can easily hear that coming from
Jim.
Oh, Jim, you've been spreading stories about me down there? ;)
Dave
Tiago,
Thanks for the ride report. I've had races that were funky, too. Your
report made me question if they were ever that bad because of the
promoter's incompetence. (most bad ones were the result of my
incompetence.)
It was an excellent and entertaining read.
Jim
********************************************************
wrote:
>Do you believe in Murphy's law? I don't believe in lots of things, but
>Murphy was a genious. <g>
>Saturday I had to take car to mechanic and install the new starter
>relay on bike so I could go race an enduro sunday. It looked too easy:
>the race was in the same metro area I live, just slightly above 50km,
>meaning no expense with hotels would be needed, less gas for the car
>and I could have saturday dinner and sunday breakfast at home, saving
>further more. Well, the motor mounts for the car weren't an exact
>match and that costed me more for the mechanic to adapt the ones I
>bought, because I was risking motor fall down and had to have car
>right! And on the bike, I did a stupid move: I had only one good 10A
>fuse for the starter (manual says 15A) and this fuse blowed right away
>with new starter. I thought "well, I guess those 5A are needed" and
>bypassed the fuse with a piece of wire. Of course - "I knew it", was
>my other thougth - the smoke escaped from my 12USD brand new starter
>relay early evening saturday when *all* bike shops are closed.
>The race organization staff told us, during the saturday evening meet,
>that "there is a problem with the roll charts" (the map) and "you
>please arrive early, 7AM, on the start line so we can give you the
>charts". The first rider was going to start by 9AM, so there was
>enough time for them to fix the "problem" they had and for us to
>prepare the enduro computers and roll chart holder.
>Well, the thing started to go sour when we knew only 11 riders on the
>my (main) class signed for the race. I heard while on the car mechanic
>that the guy who was the organization master director was known for
>fiascos, so I figured people decided not to take chances with that
>guy... They were right. I was the 11th to start on my class, the last,
>which is always a good thing. But the master director only gave my
>chart when almost everybody on my class already started and I had only
>2 minutes before my start minute to fix the chart that belonged to the
>novice class, with the times all different "another chalenge for you",
>he said. Hell, yea.... When I finally fitted the chart, I discovered
>the odo on my bike refused to turn! I removed speedo cable end from
>the sensor and re-attached and it worked, but I was already over15
>minutes late! Did I tell you that when the 20 minute mark come you're
>out of the race? Not completely out, but the check points close after
>20min, the same as if you miss the CP. You have to get back on your
>time, or at least within the 20min window, riding like crazy.
>Things weren't wrong enough: the chart was pure crazyness! Every
>reference to turns were wrong, the kilometrage all wrong... I got lost
><sigh> and slipped out of the 20min window. To make matters worse, I
>was in a suburban area, not a pleasant part to be, if you understand
>what I mean. I met two other guys from the Over 40 class who were lost
>as well. We decided to cut to a cookie factory that was mentioned on
>the chart, not before having iced cane sugar juice :). "Alredy in
>hell? Hug the devil!" one of the guys kept saying...
>Do you think things would get straight after? Nooooo.... Of course no!
>We got lost again... and again... and again... And we kept meeting
>other racers from all classes, lost like a blind in a hurricane. When
>we gathered a bunch of about 30 riders of every class, we decided to
>head back to the start line and cut to the second "moto" - sidenote: I
>can't believe the guy did an enduro in two motos like a motocross
>race, but that wasn't a problem, if you consider the other decisions
>that deranged director made. In this bunch was Eduardo, who lives near
>me and went to the race with me and Tulio, the guy who's winning every
>race in novice class. I had it enough, so did Eduardo and Tulio. We
>decided to ride the long dirt road back to the start line, put bikes
>on the trailer and go home...
>Tulio had a flat rear tire and Eduardo's frame cracked. We limped back
>- oh, did I tell how I was starting my bike? Short circuiting the
>starter relay with a screw driver. I was subject of every honda
>engineer joke enduro racers can come with. Besides not starting,
>battery wasn't getting a charge. By this time, I was noticing the
>starter turning slower and slower...
>After arriving, we decided to go eat a huge steak with beans and beer
>and wait for the prize party while checking out the hot chicks on the
>beach (clothed sin, one of the jokers who claim to be enduro racer
>like to refer them)... Party? The race director was in tears,
>literally. One guy got lost on the woods and it was night when he was
>found. Every rider got lost. Lots of DNF! The rule states that you
>have to clear at least half of the check points for the race to be
>included on the season rank. Nobody did it on novice, junior and over
>40 classes. In my class only three or four did it. Of course, having a
>troblesome start and getting myself lost within 10 minutes of riding
>didn't help me: I was 11th out of 11 riders in my class... And they
>invited Murphy for the prizing: The company who was to build the
>trophies promised to deliver them sunday morning and they didn't!
>Nobody got a trophy, director said he will "mail them" later, well, he
>mumbled it, he was genuinelly crying like a little girl. We learned
>that "the problem" was the guy losing the checked and corrected chart
>because he had a computer crash on thursday and the backup was from a
>previous version of the chart, full of mistakes and errors... He
>*knew* it three long days before the race and decided to carry on! I
>mean, he should have cancelled the race, gone checking it all over
>again and backup the damn thing *after* finishing... It's easy to
>explain why less and less bikers are willing to race this kind of
>timed enduro!
>Tonight I'll wash my bike clean... Maybe clean the air filter and oil
>the chain... And park it... For a couple weeks... Then I'll check
>what's happening with bike's electricity... That thing has a few too
>many wires... :-) And to think I wished to be an electrical engineer
>when I was 5... Kids... <g>
>Nothing all was bad though: The steak was something out of this world.
>Really great and the prizing party was in a hotel on the beach front
>with lots of dressed sin walking by. Everybody was very pissed with
>the race, but joking with each other, bragging "I ride better than
>you"... aaahhh, the race atmosphere... :-) I can't say I didn't have
>fun.
>-- T
********************************************
Wudsracer/Jim Cook
Smackover Racing
'06 Gas Gas DE300
'82 Husqvarna XC250
Team LAGNAF
XML Sitemap
> Murphy was a genious. <g>
> Saturday I had to take car to mechanic and install the new starter
> relay on bike so I could go race an enduro sunday. It looked too easy:
> the race was in the same metro area I live, just slightly above 50km,
> meaning no expense with hotels would be needed, less gas for the car
> and I could have saturday dinner and sunday breakfast at home, saving
> further more. Well, the motor mounts for the car weren't an exact
> match and that costed me more for the mechanic to adapt the ones I
> bought, because I was risking motor fall down and had to have car
> right! And on the bike, I did a stupid move: I had only one good 10A
> fuse for the starter (manual says 15A) and this fuse blowed right away
> with new starter. I thought "well, I guess those 5A are needed" and
> bypassed the fuse with a piece of wire. Of course - "I knew it", was
> my other thougth - the smoke escaped from my 12USD brand new starter
> relay early evening saturday when *all* bike shops are closed.
> The race organization staff told us, during the saturday evening meet,
> that "there is a problem with the roll charts" (the map) and "you
> please arrive early, 7AM, on the start line so we can give you the
> charts". The first rider was going to start by 9AM, so there was
> enough time for them to fix the "problem" they had and for us to
> prepare the enduro computers and roll chart holder.
> Well, the thing started to go sour when we knew only 11 riders on the
> my (main) class signed for the race. I heard while on the car mechanic
> that the guy who was the organization master director was known for
> fiascos, so I figured people decided not to take chances with that
> guy... They were right. I was the 11th to start on my class, the last,
> which is always a good thing. But the master director only gave my
> chart when almost everybody on my class already started and I had only
> 2 minutes before my start minute to fix the chart that belonged to the
> novice class, with the times all different "another chalenge for you",
> he said. Hell, yea.... When I finally fitted the chart, I discovered
> the odo on my bike refused to turn! I removed speedo cable end from
> the sensor and re-attached and it worked, but I was already over15
> minutes late! Did I tell you that when the 20 minute mark come you're
> out of the race? Not completely out, but the check points close after
> 20min, the same as if you miss the CP. You have to get back on your
> time, or at least within the 20min window, riding like crazy.
> Things weren't wrong enough: the chart was pure crazyness! Every
> reference to turns were wrong, the kilometrage all wrong... I got lost
> <sigh> and slipped out of the 20min window. To make matters worse, I
> was in a suburban area, not a pleasant part to be, if you understand
> what I mean. I met two other guys from the Over 40 class who were lost
> as well. We decided to cut to a cookie factory that was mentioned on
> the chart, not before having iced cane sugar juice :). "Alredy in
> hell? Hug the devil!" one of the guys kept saying...
> Do you think things would get straight after? Nooooo.... Of course no!
> We got lost again... and again... and again... And we kept meeting
> other racers from all classes, lost like a blind in a hurricane. When
> we gathered a bunch of about 30 riders of every class, we decided to
> head back to the start line and cut to the second "moto" - sidenote: I
> can't believe the guy did an enduro in two motos like a motocross
> race, but that wasn't a problem, if you consider the other decisions
> that deranged director made. In this bunch was Eduardo, who lives near
> me and went to the race with me and Tulio, the guy who's winning every
> race in novice class. I had it enough, so did Eduardo and Tulio. We
> decided to ride the long dirt road back to the start line, put bikes
> on the trailer and go home...
> Tulio had a flat rear tire and Eduardo's frame cracked. We limped back
> - oh, did I tell how I was starting my bike? Short circuiting the
> starter relay with a screw driver. I was subject of every honda
> engineer joke enduro racers can come with. Besides not starting,
> battery wasn't getting a charge. By this time, I was noticing the
> starter turning slower and slower...
> After arriving, we decided to go eat a huge steak with beans and beer
> and wait for the prize party while checking out the hot chicks on the
> beach (clothed sin, one of the jokers who claim to be enduro racer
> like to refer them)... Party? The race director was in tears,
> literally. One guy got lost on the woods and it was night when he was
> found. Every rider got lost. Lots of DNF! The rule states that you
> have to clear at least half of the check points for the race to be
> included on the season rank. Nobody did it on novice, junior and over
> 40 classes. In my class only three or four did it. Of course, having a
> troblesome start and getting myself lost within 10 minutes of riding
> didn't help me: I was 11th out of 11 riders in my class... And they
> invited Murphy for the prizing: The company who was to build the
> trophies promised to deliver them sunday morning and they didn't!
> Nobody got a trophy, director said he will "mail them" later, well, he
> mumbled it, he was genuinelly crying like a little girl. We learned
> that "the problem" was the guy losing the checked and corrected chart
> because he had a computer crash on thursday and the backup was from a
> previous version of the chart, full of mistakes and errors... He
> *knew* it three long days before the race and decided to carry on! I
> mean, he should have cancelled the race, gone checking it all over
> again and backup the damn thing *after* finishing... It's easy to
> explain why less and less bikers are willing to race this kind of
> timed enduro!
> Tonight I'll wash my bike clean... Maybe clean the air filter and oil
> the chain... And park it... For a couple weeks... Then I'll check
> what's happening with bike's electricity... That thing has a few too
> many wires... :-) And to think I wished to be an electrical engineer
> when I was 5... Kids... <g>
> Nothing all was bad though: The steak was something out of this world.
> Really great and the prizing party was in a hotel on the beach front
> with lots of dressed sin walking by. Everybody was very pissed with
> the race, but joking with each other, bragging "I ride better than
> you"... aaahhh, the race atmosphere... :-) I can't say I didn't have
> fun.
> -- T
Damn!