I RACED MOTOCROSS: ARX R1

I raced motocross and it was AWESOME!

I raced motocross at the first round of 2024 American Retrocross, Jan 7th! I entered beginner class since it was my first race (ever) and first time on the motocross track. Earl, my neighbor who is also up to his ears in motorcycle activities, has been taking us to Gorman where we met a couple who races motocross with an organization originally created for retired racers and people 40+ who want to do motocross in a supportive and respectful environment to race.

Earl is an ex-motocross champ so as soon as he heard about it, naturally invited Mark and myself to the motocross track stating "if you can ride that hill (on Lower Brome) you can do motocross 'no problem'! The problem was, we didn't know what we were in for.

We arrived at the Arroyo Vet Track at Glen Helen Raceway on Sunday morning, to find the motocross track was wet, slightly muddy and they incorporated the big hill! Not anticipated since Earl had gone to practice on Tuesday and gave us the rundown of the track orientation of the shorter hill. BUT THIS IS MOTOCROSS!! This didn't discourage us one bit, practice was about 20mins for each of the 4 bike type groups. I spend about half of my run group trying to kick start my bike after dropping it in the hairpin right hand and I, like an amateur street biker, hit the kill switch to make sure not to flood the engine (too bad). Big mistake I learned, since it took precious time away from riding to kick start the RMZ.

Race 1:  I made it around the track a total of 3 times. Not enough to finish the race. I kept crashing at the base of the tall hill. Not enough brakes - lowside. Entering too fast - run wide, lowside. Since I had learned my lesson from the past crash, I kept my hand on the clutch and picked it up RIGHT AWAY and was like 'BITCH NO, WE ARE NOT DYING TODAY'; and continued my laps until the checkered flag came out.

Race 2:  Slightly more successful but I hit into N instead of 1 going up the small hill before the right hairpin. Another lesson learned!! 

 

Lessons of the day:

1.Crashing ruins the fun since you can't ride when you're not riding 

2.Go faster in the fast bits

3.Old dudes, even on the vintage bikes, can give you a run for your money

Throughout the day, luckily for me, everyone staffing the track at American Retrocross was helpful and supportive. One of the flaggers helped me get out of the mud and another helped kick start my bike during practice. The entire day was filled with old'timers having fun, smiles, and wheelies! SO MANY WHEELIES!! It definitely was intimidating to be on the track for the first time, but since the organization was so respectful, supportive and fun, I'll be back for R2!