Edited Date/Time:
Yesterday it was time to race the Alta Redshift MX at the Snow Ridge GP in Turin, NY.
The format was as follows; a 30 minute moto starting at 10:00am, and then a second 30 minute moto starting at 11:30am. Perfect for the Alta, the race time-wise and enough time between motos to recharge the battery.
We assembled at the start, and we got the option to do a parade lap, which I opted to do. About a minute or two in, I came to a huge mud pit. There were a couple riders already stuck, but I told myself, self, you got this. But I didn't. I chose a line where halfway through my front wheel got sucked down about 2 feet, and I came to a sudden stop. The bike was completely stuck, and it even stood upright when I got off it.
This is one of the first times that I noticed the weight of the Alta. It is a heavy bike to begin with, but you don't notice the weight of it when you ride it. It feels as light and nimble as a 250F, maybe more. That is, until you are trying to get it unstuck, and then you fall over, and then the bike falls on top of you. Yep, I was pinned underneath my Alta. And I though we were besties. I couldn't move for a little bit, but eventually the Crossfit kicked in, and I was able to leg-press the bike off of me. Another rider helped me pull it out, and I thanked him over and over. In the meantime, sweat was streaming down my face, my googles were wasted, and I was exhausted, and the race hadn't even started yet!
I rode back down to the start, with the mud hole in the back of my mind, wondering how I was going to get through it.
The turnout was a little light, so my class, 45-51 B (the fastest and most competitive... OK, maybe the most enthusiastic) lined up with the am riders. We put our left hands on our heads, with engines running, or in my case, the motor on, and when the starter raised his flag, you went. Well he went down the line, pointing at each of us, and then raised the flag, and BAM, the race was on. I got the holeshot, and led until I came to the mud pit. That damn mud pit. I hesitated for a second, got passed, but then I went way to the left and made it through. Hooray! It wasn't so bad if you chose a good line, but there were riders stuck there every lap.
I was fortunate and I made it through the 5 or so laps I did. And, I won my class for moto one!
Moto 2 was similar, and I got the holeshot again, against all of those pesky 250 2-strokes and 450 4-strokes. They seem loud and angry when they are behind you. And the promoter bypassed the mud hole this moto. I was actually a little sad about this, as I had started to like the mud hole, because I was starting to get the hang of it.
I won my class in the second moto, and for my efforts I got a t-shirt and a championship medal. Not sure, but the medal might be solid gold... at least it is to me.
45-51 B Champion!
The Alta worked great for both motos, and we are besties again. There was a bit of everything on the course; fast rough uphills and downhills, a slick tight woods section, a grass field section, and of course a mud hole. I would switch into map 2 for the mud hole and tight woods section, and then switch to map 3 for the fast uphills, downhills, and field sections. The Alta worked great on all of it... when I stayed upright.
418 and counting!
I have 418+ miles on this thing (~30 hours?) and I haven't even had to clean the air filter or change the tranny oil. The owner's manual should say "Ride. Wash. Lube chain. Repeat." My only plans for this thing is to upgrade the software so that the display will show me true hours, which I heard is available now. I will also put on a new pair of grips (stupid mud hole), and I will treat it to some white plastic and new graphics once the season is over.
