CORCS 2014 Inmate Thread

Tomorrow is the first race - I'm going to watch Raul Duke burn up the dirt!

If anyone else is going - good luck and keep it rubber side down!

http://www.corcs.net/

There, I fixed that for you.

So, Howd you do?

BGG

Not so hot. On the 2nd/3rd lap I endo-ed on a run out of a double and landed on a cactus - don't worry, the bike was fine.
You'd be amazed on how much a dislocated thumb and a bunch of cactus needles in your back effects your lap times. I think I ended up finishing 17th.

I thought I saw FabOneUp there, but didn't get a chance to say hi. Did you race Jason?

Yep! I wish I would have seen this earlier so I would have known you guys were out there. It was an awesome race but two of my friends got hurt. One got a concussion and the other may have a fractured femur (he won't go to the doc's). I can't believe all the carnage. That isn't really a hare scramble anymore. Now it's a full on MX course that we ride for 1.5 or 2 hours.:huh Like I said, I had a blast, but it is frustrating when a lot of people are getting hurt. The medic crews couldn't even keep up. I saw lots of blood and at least three crashes that could have been fatal!

Jason - are you 797?

Yep! You are the most elusive guy I know Ryan. One day I will actually get to shake your hand….the one with the good thumb if you prefer. So, I checked out your lap times and they sort of tell a story. Lap 1 you are hauling along pretty well and feeling good. Lap 2 you settle in a bit and continue to move along pretty well but are held up a little with the slower riders who started in one of the three rows before you. You work your way around them and continue on. You are feeling great, your passing riders left and right, you are smokin! Lap 3 something goes horribly wrong…and you crash…bad. It takes you nearly 10 minutes to gather yourself and your bike! Now you are thoroughly ticked off with a dislocated thumb and cactus in your arse and you ride off in fury. Lap 4 is your fastest lap! You continue on with average lap times faster than the two before your crash!

That’s funny, I was starting to think that you were just Bobby’s imaginary friend.

Yeah, you are very close on the lap time story. Here’s how it went from my POV…

Lap 1 – I told myself to take it easy and pace myself – you know, you’re old, go with the flow. I haven’t been on a track in over 6 years, and thought it best to ease back into it.

Lap 2 – I thought to myself, “That wasn’t so bad, let’s bring it up a notch or 2…” which was fine until I washed out on that off camber left hand sweeper just after the root section in the back. I thought to myself, “Well I got the fall out of the way. That wasn’t too bad, get your shit back together and get movin’” I was off the side of the track for a minute or two emptying the dirt out of my gloves and had to straighten the handlebar/forks so they lined back up. Jason, I’m guessing you probably passed me while I was trying to get my shit straight. I got back on and finished lap 2…

Lap 3 – Kept thinking OK, you got some time to make up! Go! Go! Go! In hindsight, that may be where I may have had bad judgment. I started picking lines I normally wouldn’t to see if I could shave some time, which worked in the front half, but would prove to be painful in the back half. In the middle of the back, I hit the uphill double no problem, ran into the second set and decided if I hugged the inside, it would set me up much better for the fade away right hander just after the landing. It turned out that there was nothing but a sand hole on the landing and the front just tucked and off I went… ass over tea-kettle… with a full gainer… into a cactus patch. :eek1
Damage control mode... the facemask of the helmet was filled with sand, googles, full of who knows what, and then I felt something wet running down my right side. I thought to myself… “Oh shit, this ain’t good… I wonder how long before I bleed out…” then, with a sigh of relief, I realized I ripped the end of my hydration system off and it was emptying fast – so I quickly put the open hose in my mouth to get as much water as I could before it drained out… come to find out I had a mouth full of dirt/sand/cactus which then turned into a mouth full of mud/sand/cactus. Lol I looked over and the bike was still running, and looked to be fine. I stood up and walked over to the bike and pulled it off to the side, that’s when I realized I was probably looking like a porcupine from all of the cactus needles sticking out of my side/back/ass. I spent the next few minutes pilling out needles, emptying dirt and trying to suck down the last of my water.
There was a track medic that ran over to see if I was OK, and I told him everything was fine – I’m guessing they had a busy day too. The thought crossed my mind for a brief second…”Fuck it. Pack it in. You’re done.” Then I was like… “No... Hell no! You pussy, you’re finishing this bitch.” (Yes, it’s true. I swear to/at myself a lot.) After what I would guess to be near 10 min in total, I got the rest of my shit sorted, jumped back on the bike and continued on.
I decided to ease back into it and just roll the next double which had a fairly steep valley between the 2 - that’s when I realized something wasn’t right with my hand, the thumb hurt like a bitch… which really pissed me off.:huh

Lap +3 - From that point on, the laps just melted together in my mind. I am a bit surprised that those ended up being my fastest laps. I remember having very little grip strength in my hand, I could feel the needles digging in, and was in a very “pissed-off zone” until the end of the race.

I got back to the truck and started pulling the rest of the needles out… at least the ones I could reach. Bobby ended up stopping by and pulling a few I couldn’t reach. I was a bit surprised how many of those fucking needles were still in there after riding a handful of laps. I’m still pulling those bastards that broke off even today.

Jason - I agree it is like a full-on +1:30 hr motocross race, and I did see a number of wrecks besides my own. All in all, I thought it was a good time. I did realize I miss competing in that type of environment, but I did come to the conclusion that I am much more at home in the woods. Having said that, I am still planning on hitting a few more of the series.

That's fricken awesome! Well done! I was wondering where I might have passed you and that make sense. I understand where you are coming from about riding in the woods. I did not realize it was you at the time, but I followed you during Brecktrek last year for a few miles when we got back to the 717 trail system. Watching you and Paul in the woods is like watching olympic figure skating…um, not that I like to watch figure skating, but you catch my drift.

Trinidad (Eagle Rock) is the only true hare scramble corse that we have. I think you would have a blast there….if you don't mind some heat. It is one of the four races I did last year. Fountain Creek might be right up your alley. You can ride there anytime if you leave $10 in the shed and sign a waiver. You might know all this already, but just a heads up if you or anyone else doesn't. Bobby might as well ride those races as well. I really think you both would like Trinidad. It is all natural terrain with nothing man made. Only about half of the racers show up for some reason also.

i would really like to do an event this year. If the trinidad venue is the least mx of the lot i will try to target that one!!

I'm on a similar plan... if I go, I'm rolling the jumps and hoping I don't get landed on. Can anyone confirm which venue has the least MX features.

Venues:
RAM (C Springs)
Aztec (C Springs)
Fountain Creek (Fountain)
Eagle Rock (Trinidad)
Corral Bluffs (C Springs)
CORE Offroad Park (Deer Trail)

Aztec and RAM are the two events with the most MX sections. Trinidad and Fountain have none.

Corral Bluffs and Core and a few jumps, but not enough to be an issue.

It is possible to ride safely (ie roll jumps) and still be competitive in the series. I was 3rd overall senior B last year and I'm no jumper. The tabletops at Aztec are very safe. The doubles at RAM are above my confidence level. I'm sure I could jump them, but not every lap for 2hrs. I'd rather be safe and finish. I missed the first round of CORCS to watch my college son wrestle in the D2 National Tournament. I'll make all the rest of them.

The field in the lower classes gets really jumbled when they get to the tighter events. The A/Pro classes don't seem to matter where the event is held. They are fast as hell everywhere. It is imperative to get a good start at Fountain. Tightest course in the series. Once you get behind someone in the woods, its hard to make up time and ground.

just signed up for corcs and looking to race with a buddy in fountain! Very excited.

With this course, how much range do we need to have? Any ideas?

My ktm is an SX, so small tank of 1.9Gal (7.5), trying to determine if i should get a bigger tank for this sort of riding! (We know it would be great for long trail days!)

Tank size is a non-issue for hare scrambles. Just pit at the 45 minute mark and you will be fine.

Fountain is the tightest of the CORCS races. Laps are in the 5 mile range. A couple years ago, I tried to make it all 90 minutes without pitting on my YZ450, stock tank, 2.1 gallons. I came through at about 88 minutes and they waved me through for another lap. Right then, I knew I was in trouble. I ran out of gas within 20' of the finish line and had to push the bike through the sand to finish.

With the loss of most of the sand beach that they used to run us down, it cuts your fuel use dramatically. There used to be 2 sections of long wide open beach. Those may not be used due to the flooding of last summer. You can get down to the beach, but the banks have washed away and there really isn't a good way to get back up off of the beach lap after lap. With slower speeds and tighter terrain, you just might make it.

That being said, if you have a helper to hand you fuel and fresh goggles, you can make a really quick pit stop. My son and I pit for each other and we have it down to about 15 seconds per pit stop. He rides the C race and I pit for him the lap after the 45 minute mark. Then he pits for me in the A/B race at about the hour mark. I bought a mini quick fill tank for about $30 that dumps really fast.

Look us up when you get there. I'm on #404 and my son is on #622. Team ADV!

good to know, i might just pick up a bigger tank for piece of mind also. I have been doing some longer trail rides on the KTM and constantly worrying about gas gets old.

Keep an eye out for us also, your old GG will be there! I guess we are going to have to change his numbers haha!

Anyone going to Aztec this weekend? I am assuming Greco will be there. I guess they added a track (more MX) and might be throwing a part of RAM in as well. Not sure how I feel about that, but it should be a good time as long as we ride within our capabilities. I am getting the bike ready now and getting super stoked!

I don't have the whole story yet, but the plan is to use Aztec Raceway, the dry creek bed south of Hwy 94, Wildrat Raceway, and the western section of Ram Off Road Park. Wildrat is fairly tame as far as jumps go. There is one fairly large step up that I won' attempt and one large table top that is safe to jump as far or as short as you want. Wildrat has a sand roller section that is pretty cool. I hope they find a way to incorporate that.

All 3 tracks are slick as ice when they dry out. I'm actually looking forward to some moisture on Sunday.