ROWRACIN - cheeky extra race

[oldboyonrgv]

After the previous weekends race Row decided that he needed more bike time, I offered the choice of practice or racing and he wanted to race (which I think is the right choice because its too easy to just ride around when he practices, the feeling of competition definitely gets him going better)

So after a trawl around the clubs we managed to find a race meeting at Rogershill farm Bere Regis with the Hants and Dorset club.

So after a Saturday night spent at Grandma’s house (luckily she lives in Dorset) we turned up nice and early for Sunday’s meeting.

The track here is quite twisty and narrow with a good gradient supplying some sharp downhill corners (ideal front end washout scenario) on a base of chalk, so once dry and polished by the tyres grip gets quite sketchy, weather was dry and sunny.
Once we arrived Row went for a walk around the track to suss it out, his verdict was that although quite twisty there were no major hazards to worry about.

He completed practice with no problems although looking quite tentative in places where he was unsure of the grip (he always goes slow in practice which drive me to distraction because I think something is wrong!)

We are last in race order so it looks like we are in for a long day…

Race 1 and 33 starters line up on the gate, the start is up a steep hill so getting these little bikes off the line is going to be a real challenge, sure enough the gate drops and Row nearly stalls it, he clutches it and gets away at the back of the pack, coming through at the end of the 1st lap he’s about 26th, 2nd lap and he’s visibly speeding up and starting to cut through the group in front, by now its getting difficult t tell where he is but I can see that he is passing riders each lap, the race finishes and I meet him at the track exit, he give’s me the thumbs up (that means he enjoyed it). He hands the bike to me and gets his lid off, he’s got a beaming smile on his face “that was good fun dad” he says. We wander back to the van to get Rowee fuelled back up before he hops on his BMX and disappears to watch the other races. After fuelling the bike and adjusting the chain I wander down to race control to see where he finished – 19th that’s better than we even thought, I find Row and let him know, his smile gets a bit wider.



Race 2 did I say about the uphill start? well this time Row hits the throttle and has to get out of it quick as the bike nearly flips, he gets it back under control and is about 3rd to last into the first bend, after the previous race we watched the riders braking into a hairpin bend after a long straight and I pointed out to Row how they got their weight to the rear as they applied the front brake, Row has clearly listend to this because he is giving me a heart attack as he flies down the straight and then anchors her up into the same bend ! he’s also hitting the throttle much harder out of the bends and I am wincing as the back end steps out trying to find grip. Because he was so far back after his start line antics I haven’t bothered counting during this race so we don’t have a clue where he finished and Row is none too chuffed when he gets back after the race and takes a bit of cheering up ! Once again I get him fuelled up and he disappears to watch, I wander down to race control to find that he has finished in 20th place only one place lower with a much worse start, I dig him out of the crowd and let him know, his smile re-appears.



Race 3 I make sure Row eats and drinks a lot between these races because he complained of feeling tired after the second race, he’s managed to consume 1 bottle of coke a bag of hula hoops, four pancakes and two penguin bars so he’s well sorted, we also had a chat about the start and I tell him to be slower letting the clutch out and to keep his weight forward until he’s in about 3rd gear. He flew off the line and is right in the thick of it as they come out of the first corner, I count him through in 15th place ! but this time its far harder for him because he’s with faster riders, however he holds his own and although the field spreads out Row keeps up with the group and brings it home in 16th place – we are well pleased with this, Row said he learned loads riding with the faster boys, up one long uphill straight he had the bike popping as it hit its max revs, just as he changed up a gear – excellent. He got off the bike after the race and told me “that was brilliant Dad!”




It was well worth doing this race meet for Row’s confidence as much as anything else and to come away with his best ever set of results on the 65 was a bonus (although the standard of racers in this club may not be as high as the club we usually race with)

I now have to give the bike a good service this week because I have done no maintenance on it for over a month now !!

[oldboyonrgv]

No responses eh - do you want me to continue with the reports ? there's not much point if no one responds.

Anyway Row will be racing again this Sunday at SWANMORE mx track near Droxford, Hampshire
Map here http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x ... search.srf

usual rules apply - free teas at the van if you make it.

[micheleen]

I've been following your posts with interest, I just don't reply .
They add a more personal touch to the forum and I for one would like you to continue

Cheers, Mike