Monroe Arenacross

After an awesome weekend at Sun River with my girlfriend and family over Thanksgiving, I missed 2 races, putting me out of the series. I decided to go to round 4 in Monroe, WA to ride with my friends from Pinnacle. After not racing since the last arenacross, I was struggling with arm pump a little in practice. I finally settled into a good race pace. After crashing in one qualifier and get hit in the head by another rider, I went to the LCQ for the 450 Junior class, making the main in the Plus 25 and BTH.
MAIN 1 (450 Junior)
What a battle this class was! For the most part it was a stuff section in every corner. I accidentally took out 2 riders by being aggressive - I'm pretty sure they wanted to kill me, but hey, I took 2nd. All I had to say was "Welcome to arenacross"!
MAIN 2 (Plus 25)
I had a good start behind the pros and one other Plus 25 rider; passing him clean and running away with it.
Main 3 (BTH)
This was a good race with lots of passing after the start. I was pretty much towards the back of the pack, then moving to 2nd, back to 4th, and then 3rd and back to 4th for my finish. Needless to say, I was not too happy with the overall, but hey, ya can't win them all!

Until next time...

Devol Top Gun Shoot Out: From The Girlfriend's Perspective

I could tell Jeremy was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t make the first day and most of the second day of the Devol Top Gun Shootout, but I braved bad weather and the 96 mile drive from Albany and made it just in time for his second moto of the day.

Finding Jeremy took me 45 minutes of driving around the Washougal track. Then I realized that if I found his 187 pound Great Dane (how hard is THAT?!), I would eventually find him. Which I did. Go figure.

This was my first time watching Jeremy race because I was anything but interested when I first met him at a race in Albany. Needless to say, I was a bit horrified but terribly proud at the same time. He got the hole shot, and of course, he battled it out for a first place finish +25 class.

In the Open 450C class, Jeremy finished 3rd because the pack of 4 he was in got into a bit of a pile-up, sending Scotty Eerkes over the bars. Crazy! Again, I was horrified.

Jeremy rode for the Ritchie Racer/ Rydco team which meant fun, themed potlucks every night! Socializing was great, especially when Zeus (yes, Jeremy’s horse-dog) and some out-of-this-world hot sauce is involved! It’s a long story…

Sunday was the similar – wet, muddy, cold. It started out dry and the track was even dusty! Then it got crappy, soupy and sloppy. Crazy Oregon weather. Jeremy won the +25 class (sweep) and finished 4th in 450C Open junior.

Later that night was the Goon Nationals. For anyone who doesn’t know what that is, it’s just a bunch of guys and gals being goofy on dirt scoots! The great Roger Ducoster showed up as a guest to the Goon Nationals, but there was some doubt amongst the crowd. Turns out, it wasn’t him. Silly imposter.

Monday - Labor Day - was the last day of the Devol Top Gun Shootout. The weather was B-E-A-UTIFUL. Jeremy wiped out in the huge ruts but battled it out for another 1st place finish in the +25 class. Unfortunately, Jeremy finished 15th in the 450C class due to numerous wipe-outs: one that ended in a broken hand. But I kissed it and it’s all better now.

My parents bet that I’d break up with Jeremy after my first time going to a race with him, but they couldn’t be more incorrect. I had the time of my life and I still love it to this day!