ROWRACIN - the season continues

[oldboyonrgv]

Once again the Miller team truck (Victoria the Volkswagen !) pounded its way down to Foxholes MX track for Sunday’s race meet.

This was a round of the Meon Valley Clubs summer championship, a club we had not raced with before, we went down on Saturday evening so that Row could get some extra shuteye.

The track had been regraded during the week and looked in good order, Row said it was dryer than the previous week after his usual ride around on the Mountainbike he then disappeared to play on the jumps with his mates while I got the Barby going and drank a few bottles of ale ! Row got to bed at about 21:00 and nothing more was heard from him until 08:00 in the morning (I of course had already been up and about since 07:00) Row then despatched two bowls of corn flakes and a carton of orange juice.

Practice went fine with no drama’s except Row stalled the bike getting away from the line, when he returned he said that the clutch was coming in too early, A quick adjustment on the lever solved that problem and so we settled down to wait for his first race.

Race1 saw Row get a top 15 start and hold the position for two laps until a rider fell in front of Row right in the middle of a series of whoops, Row came round and proceeded to land on the stricken bike (he couldn’t see the bike because it was laying in the bottom) a quick topple over and then the tug of war while Row tried to disentangle the bike ensued and saw Row drop 6 or 7 places. Once going again he was clearly intent on making up the lost time and managed to get back to about 17th place then on the last lap whilst pinning it up a long righthand bend he got into an enormous ‘tank slapper’ and got spat over the front, it took him a little while to get himself up and jump back on but he got going again and completed the lap and the race.

Row arrived back at the van looked at me and said ‘That was crap’ ! His helmet peak and goggles are all askew and he has a nose bleed, he thrusts the bike at me and storms into the awning clearly one annoyed little boy. Both Amanda and I are a little concerned about the nose bleed but Row is not worried about it and just wipes the blood off then sits on a chair and quietly fumes !

The race result shows Row finishing in 19th place out of 31 classified finishers


Race 2 Row has calmed down a little in time for his second race. Sitting in the collecting area he is getting very hot as the sun is now blazing down on us. The tape flies off and they disappear into a haze of dust and two stroke fumes, Amanda counts Row through in 17th place after the first lap and he is just in front of two other riders who are hounding him throughout the race, Row manages to hold them off until the last lap when he picks a wrong rut and they both get past, he arrives back at the van in a slightly batter frame of mind (but not much) than after the 1st race, he consumes ½ a bottle of coke (he won’t eat anything today) then jumps on his MTB and goes off to see how his mates are doing.

Race 3 Tape flies off and Row pins the throttle, the bike heads skywards but Row doesn’t back off, he just clicks it up another gear climbs over the front and get into the first bend in 10th or there about, he gets passed by a few in the first lap during the normal sort out but he’s losing no time on the group he is with, as the race settles down Row is caught in a battle with another rider, they are passing and re-passing each other at every straight and corner, Row is slower on the step ups but is carving some nice tight corners and re-taking the position, the battle drags them up to the next group and some riders which have been finishing ¼ of a lap ahead of Row previously ! around one long left hander Row is hitting the throttle and changing up as the bike drifts out sideways to the edge of the track He’s then pouncing on both brakes to get it to stop at the next bend, excellent ! The race winds down and Rows battle goes right to the end with Row beating the rider he had been battling with. He arrives back at the van dripping with sweat with a huge grin on his face “awesome” about sums up his feeling. It takes Row 5mins to come down from his high after the race by that time my heart has stabilised to a more normal beat as well.
We pack the van up and get ready to go home, just before we leave I go and check the results board to see that Row finished his last race in 15th place with riders behind who are normally some way in front so it’s a particularly happy Miller crew who drive home ……

[micheleen]

Row seems to be learning from his experiences well, which I see as a big positive. He knows he can't run with the best yet but he's trying to work his way up to them so it's really a matter of time and commitment (and also knowing that once in a while you have crap race). I think that enjoyment is also important for a youngster and he certainly seems to have that .
You get the pressure to keep his bike A1 and that's what dad's are for

[gedge]

What it is to be young and fit eh?? I did the solent supermotos trackday on my gas gas yesterday, and today my legs feel like lead and I have forearms like popeye.....Has Row got any tips to get young again????



PS Boysie told me the bad news about the CRM, any sign of it yet?