Kind of a dream coming true. Knocking one off the bucket list! Glen Helen...YeeHaww!

jeffro503
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St Helens, OR US
10/6/2017 3:17pm
TeamGreen wrote:
You better put some water on that shit!
There is no water here Manny!! Barron desert wasteland haha.
jeffro503
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10/6/2017 3:24pm
TeamGreen wrote:
You better put some water on that shit!
Btw...you coming down to see me this weekend?
dkg
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Rancho Cucamonga, CA US
10/6/2017 7:11pm Edited Date/Time 10/6/2017 7:12pm
jeffro503 wrote:
First ever Glen Helen ride report : This track is sick! The wind storms we are getting here are something I've never experienced. But love this...
First ever Glen Helen ride report :

This track is sick! The wind storms we are getting here are something I've never experienced. But love this place. Dirt was awesome up until noon.....then got dry and slick as hell.

The wind here though....Jesus!! Gets sketchy when your on the track. Me and Bvm111 were riding with about 5 other guys behind us , dust storm hit us....we couldn't see shit! We all came to a complete stop because I couldn't even see my bars on my bike. I was like " holy shit!! ".......never ridden in something like that.

Other than that , practice was awesome. And definitely coming back here again. Hope to meet up with some more vital dudes!!

You’re dealing with a Santa Ana wind event. It can really get howling.
bvm111
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10/6/2017 7:38pm Edited Date/Time 10/6/2017 7:39pm
Jeff,

Awesome day of riding today.... I am thoroughly exhausted from the rough breaking bumps and chop that developed over the entire track. Those hills gave me a new respect to what the pro's do during the national! The winds were unreal but I still had a blast... slight pun intended. Tongue

I can't believe I was ripping down the start and through talladega first turn... I swear I was going as fast as Eli Silly



The Shop

ob
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Carlsbad, CA US
10/6/2017 7:38pm Edited Date/Time 10/6/2017 7:39pm
jeffro503 wrote:
First ever Glen Helen ride report : This track is sick! The wind storms we are getting here are something I've never experienced. But love this...
First ever Glen Helen ride report :

This track is sick! The wind storms we are getting here are something I've never experienced. But love this place. Dirt was awesome up until noon.....then got dry and slick as hell.

The wind here though....Jesus!! Gets sketchy when your on the track. Me and Bvm111 were riding with about 5 other guys behind us , dust storm hit us....we couldn't see shit! We all came to a complete stop because I couldn't even see my bars on my bike. I was like " holy shit!! ".......never ridden in something like that.

Other than that , practice was awesome. And definitely coming back here again. Hope to meet up with some more vital dudes!!

The weather can get really crazy at GH. Welcome to the armpit of Southern California. Have a great time Jeffro! Tell me who wins the 40a race.
swtwtwtw
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Apple Valley, CA US
10/6/2017 7:50pm Edited Date/Time 10/6/2017 7:58pm
From 10am on thru Sunday at 4pm, weather is going to be golden. Have fun
500guy
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10/7/2017 7:16pm
Any updates ?
jeffro503
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St Helens, OR US
10/7/2017 8:34pm
Well my little race repo23rd for day 1.

The 125 wasn't a real good choice for the starts and the hills haha. But.....I'm having a blast , because the main goal was to have fun and just get a chance to finally ride here.

Being able to ride twice in 4 months didn't help me what so ever. In the first moto I got off the gate first , for about 30 feet....then about 10 big 450's blew by me , I swept the outside when they got bottled up , had to take the outside leading up the hill....and the guys I just passed blew my doors off up the hill. I only made it 4 laps before my arms exploded and had to pull off before I went down. The hills are sketchy as hell when you can't hold onto your bike.

2nd moto....again I was the first off the line , and it was basically the exact same outcome , but this time I hammered a bit harder , got a few guys at the bottom of the hill and then when we reached the flats I caught and passed 3 more dudes , and then another guy when he ate shit. I moved up to ( I think ) 4th and was there until about lap 5.....then bam!! My freakin arms again!!

3rd moto.....I didn't line up because I was beat to shit.

I need to get into some what a descent race shape again. Because even on the 125 , I should have done better , but my fitness sucks right now.

BUT.....this whole trip was about just having fun , getting my feet wet behind the gate again.....and riding GH! Mission accomplished!!

I'm coming back here in April with a faster bike and better fitness so I can at least put up a fight.

Going to line up for the last two motos tomorrow and see how far I can go.
jeffro503
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St Helens, OR US
10/7/2017 8:39pm
jeffro503 wrote:
First ever Glen Helen ride report : This track is sick! The wind storms we are getting here are something I've never experienced. But love this...
First ever Glen Helen ride report :

This track is sick! The wind storms we are getting here are something I've never experienced. But love this place. Dirt was awesome up until noon.....then got dry and slick as hell.

The wind here though....Jesus!! Gets sketchy when your on the track. Me and Bvm111 were riding with about 5 other guys behind us , dust storm hit us....we couldn't see shit! We all came to a complete stop because I couldn't even see my bars on my bike. I was like " holy shit!! ".......never ridden in something like that.

Other than that , practice was awesome. And definitely coming back here again. Hope to meet up with some more vital dudes!!

ob wrote:
The weather can get really crazy at GH. Welcome to the armpit of Southern California. Have a great time Jeffro! Tell me who wins the 40a...
The weather can get really crazy at GH. Welcome to the armpit of Southern California. Have a great time Jeffro! Tell me who wins the 40a race.
Hey Ob....my buddy Chuck took 2nd in that class all three motos behind a guy #3 on a Yamaha. I guess it's one of Barcia's old bikes. Full JGR motor and so forth. They battled hard the first two motos , but moto 3 the guy on the Yamaha won by a ways. My buddy Chuck had some bad lines and that guy slipped away a bit.

What do you know about the he/she rider in the women's class #32? Kind of a weird deal there , but that person was ripping a 125 pretty good.
TeamGreen
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Thru-out, CA US
10/7/2017 9:00pm
TeamGreen wrote:
You better put some water on that shit!
jeffro503 wrote:
Btw...you coming down to see me this weekend?
Jeffro, going to Pala in the early am w/some friends (just got home form Nor-Cal/Fleet Week/watching some bad asses shred the blue sky in F-18s...then flew home). I'm looking to hit The Glen mid-day mañana if I can!

Hope to see you.
jeffro503
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St Helens, OR US
10/8/2017 7:12am
TeamGreen wrote:
You better put some water on that shit!
jeffro503 wrote:
Btw...you coming down to see me this weekend?
TeamGreen wrote:
Jeffro, going to Pala in the early am w/some friends (just got home form Nor-Cal/Fleet Week/watching some bad asses shred the blue sky in F-18s...then flew...
Jeffro, going to Pala in the early am w/some friends (just got home form Nor-Cal/Fleet Week/watching some bad asses shred the blue sky in F-18s...then flew home). I'm looking to hit The Glen mid-day mañana if I can!

Hope to see you.
Right on Manny. I'm parked about in the middle of the big parking lot Between the two tracks. Look for #503 , 956 , 417 and 151. Hope to see you brother! Getting ready for practice now....and were running BOTH big uphill today. Uhhgg!!
jeffro503
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St Helens, OR US
10/8/2017 7:18am Edited Date/Time 10/8/2017 7:18am
TeamGreen wrote:
You better put some water on that shit!
jeffro503 wrote:
Btw...you coming down to see me this weekend?
TeamGreen wrote:
Jeffro, going to Pala in the early am w/some friends (just got home form Nor-Cal/Fleet Week/watching some bad asses shred the blue sky in F-18s...then flew...
Jeffro, going to Pala in the early am w/some friends (just got home form Nor-Cal/Fleet Week/watching some bad asses shred the blue sky in F-18s...then flew home). I'm looking to hit The Glen mid-day mañana if I can!

Hope to see you.
Double post.
JW381
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Harrisburg, OR US
10/8/2017 7:59am
Right on uncle jeffrO!
jeffro503
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10/8/2017 6:34pm
Ok....were outta here!! Had a freakin' blast!! Met quite a few really cool vital dudes down there too. They don't post much , but said they hang out here. All super cool dudes and was really cool to meet you guys.

Well I had two motos today , 20mins long and I finished both!! Beat some 450 guys ( actually every guy in my class were on 450's ) . I had no chance on the start or the hills but tried to make whatever ground I could. Made some passes in all my motos but kept getting yarded on the hills.

I felt like I was riding at about 50% speed , but 100% effort and pushed till I thought I was going to pass out. Have not raced in a lot of years , and have not had to ride that hard since my last race.

So I ended up taking 6th overall out of 11 guys on my 125 against all 450's. Was better than I expected to do , but it wasn't from my speed ( I could not hold on after lap 3 in any moto ) , so more along the lines of taking advantage of other's misfortunes I guess.

This is one of the most memorable ride /race days I've ever had! Been dreaming of riding here for 20 years.....and I finally got my chance!! Did waaay better than I thought I could with only riding twice in 4 months. Kind of surprised myself , but also motivated myself to get back into shape now that my back isn't injured.

I'll definitely be back at Glen Helen again , along with hitting some other tracks down here too!

Shit guys.....not sure what else to say. Tired and beat to total hell right now....but have a huge smile on my face!

A random shot of the sand section at GH today , looking down from the Talladega first turn. Whole track was brutal.....I mean really brutal!!



500guy
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10/8/2017 7:24pm
The most important thing is you made it out in one piece and had a great time. I call that a win win.
jeffro503
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St Helens, OR US
10/8/2017 9:10pm
500guy wrote:
The most important thing is you made it out in one piece and had a great time. I call that a win win.
Thanks Jay! You're right to....was awesome in every way. Loving this sport my entire life , this was the best kick in the nuts I could have asked for. Motivated to get back up to speed again. I need to get back up into the expert / A classes because that's where I should be. My fitness is going to get pushed a lot harder from here on out. This back injury screwed my summer , but I'm coming out next spring swinging!
TallCan 16
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Bellingham, WA US
10/8/2017 10:49pm
Jeff that's awesome you got to ride down there, been there before to watch and I would only want to ride it if I had been riding a lot the weeks/months before. BTW I think I see Bigfoot sitting on the hill in that pic!
shuggs
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8/6/2008
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Dunfermline GB
10/9/2017 2:31am
Glad you had fun and went home in 1 piece. Jealous as I would love to go through Talledega a few times (even at my slow speed).

Sounds like you have some serious motivation to push on
Bultaco
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Planet, VT US
10/9/2017 4:50am
Sounds awesome. Thanks for sharing your experiences and general vibe. I'd like to race GH once before this life thing is over. Last time I raced/rode in California was at Saddleback in 1974. THUMBS UP!!
jeffro503
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27442
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St Helens, OR US
10/9/2017 8:03am
Thanks guys! And man....if you get the chance , go do it. I waited way to long for this , so if there is any " bummer vibe " in all this....the wait was it.

We left at about 7pm last night from the airport where we had to drop off my buddies wife. We then drove strait through the evening until 3am. Parked at Costco slept for 4hrs and then hit the road. Were about 8hrs from Portland. Too the wood!!

@TC......brother , lets do a horn rapids or two this winter!!
PRM31
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Northern, VA US
10/9/2017 8:47am
Great write up, thanks for sharing! I hear you about the 125s. Those hills would be tough. At my track it's not as bad in terms of horsepower hills so I think I end up being faster on the 125 (144) over the course of a race than I would on a heavier bike.

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