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Team
Anderson: |
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"Do I really want to do this?" - I was starting to get the pre-race jitters. There was a lot of riders there and some of them were racing around on some pretty fancy bikes. But my crew was there so I could not show my fears. |
| Crew member Su Richardson - Su provided invaluable support, manned the water bottle/gas can, and checked out the competition. And, all she got in return was a "pat on the back" and a sunburn (which didn't help the pat on the back). |  |
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Claiming my spot - Once I claimed my spot on the starting line 30 minutes prior to race time, there was no turning back. I selected a nice safe middle of the pack position for the start. I did not want this to be a very short afternoon. I kept telling myself "your going to do all right." Besides, wearing those fancy racing duds how could I go wrong? |
| "And they're off" - The start was scary. I had just sat there and watched as four of the five classes starting before me had major pile-ups. One of them sending riders and bikes into the crowd of spectators. My starting strategy was let the flagman signal the start, count to two, and gun it. If there was going to be a pile-up in my race, I was going to be on top. By the way, that's me in the middle of the photograph. |  |
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"Don't think, just go" - As soon as we took off, there was no time to be worried. I just looked ahead and went as fast as I could. My cautious strategy paid off. By the time I was through the first corner, I had moved up into the middle of the pack. Right where I wanted to be. From that point on, I was going to get behind the guy in front of me and not make any stupid mistakes. |
| The Motocross Section - The race was held at a local motocross track. The track wound its way all over the land surrounding the actual track. To complete the lap, the track followed the motocross track (about 3/4 of a mile). This section was definitely my favorite part. I did most of my passing here, and was only passed once. This photo is from lap one, following two wipe-outs, one in the stream crossing and the other in a technical section prior to the motocross section. I was a bit tired, and unsure of the jumps. Later, I was clearing this table-top. |  |
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Nearing the end of lap 1 - I had survived the worst the track could throw at me. From this point on, all I concentrated on was keeping the bike upright, passing the slow guys ahead of me, and staying out of the way of the studs lapping me. If you look close, you can see that I had given up on my goggles, and had pulled them down over my face mask. Without goggles I ate a lot of dirt, but the darn things kept fogging up my glasses. |
| Signaling a pit stop next time around - Unfortunately, before the race I did not know how far I was going to go before I pitted to check my fuel. I didn't even know if the bike could make the whole race without a pit stop. So, I told the "pit crew" to look for my signal. This is the end of lap 2. I'm signaling a pit stop next time around. However, my pit crew thought I was signaling "I'm number 1." |  |
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The Pit Stop - The pit stop did not set any records. I needed the rest anyway. As it turned out, I did need to refuel the bike in order to complete the race. I also discovered why every other rider was wearing a "camel-back" backpack water bottle. I eat a lot of dust during the race. Fortunately, the pit crew was on hand with the water bottle during fueling. |
The Race - I finished the race without further incident. Unfortunately, the team photographer missed my celebratory wheelie (it was probably the highlight of the day). When the results came in, I finished 30th of the 44 starters in my class. Not bad for my first outing. I now have a new goal; the top half. I have definitely been bitten by the race bug.
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Contact Information:
JANA @ jj0003@jove.acs.unt.edu
This page revised on Sunday, June 15, 1997