I've got quite a few photos attached. I think 30 in this email,
so if there are any issues let me know. Not all are great shots, but
I've got them for my record books and wanted to pass them along.
I've got to thank Mark Goldman (Goldmine Photos), Brian Fearnow, my
girlfriend Kelly, and my mom. These are from Full Circle V-twin
Dirt Day, June 11 2016. Good friends of mine Curtis Fisk and Dan
Goldman own the shop here in Hagerstown, and are creating a
tradition with this biannual event. I actually broke my leg at the
first one on Nov 5, 2015, and have been recovering ever since.
Needless to say, it was a big day for me, mentally.
It's been a really wet spring on the East coast, and a lot of
earlier races have been scrapped. I did a few trail rides to get
back in shape and comfortable on the bike again, and made it out for
my first AMA race of the season at Delta, PA on May 28. They do an
early free practice from 11 AM to 2 PM, so my goal was to ride and
get comfortable again. I was surprised how good I felt, so much so
that when I sat down to collect my thoughts in the afternoon, I
realized I had already paid my money and signed up to race, both
classes! That was a giant plastic trophy in my mind, so I reminded
myself to take it easy. I finished 4th in my Adult 150 heat (running
3rd for a bit) and 5th in the main. I was 3rd in the 125 2t / 150 4t
heat, 4th in the main. I was running 3rd off the line, but couldn't
hold it. Riding all day for practice, heats, and all the waiting in
between makes the last race grueling.
So after that, I was read for Dirt Day. They run 4 classes; mini
bikes, amatuer, pro and hooligan streetbike. It's a pretty loose
classification, moreso by bike than rider. Most guys ran multiple
classes with different bike. In my 'amatuer' heat, I got the
holeshot, goon wheelie and all. I've never had that experience, so I
did my best to stay consistent and drop the hammer. I led for about
7 laps, but started thinking too much and lost some ground, running
wide. I was battling it out with a fast guy on a CRF100, I believe
he ended up in second place on a 450 in the 'pro' main. He was a
quick guy on a slow bike. Just as I was gaining on him again, the
guy in last place fell and we did a red flag staggered restart with
2 laps to go. This killed my mojo, as we no longer had a healthy
lead over the rest of the pack. I got a bad start, getting passed
into turn one. I got bunched up and frustrated, dropping to 4th
place into turn 3 of the last lap. I cut the turn tight up the
inside and opened it to the stop, trying to pass #31 on the inside
at the flag. There's a good photo of that. I didn't make it past
him, and unfortunately for me, he rolled way off the throttle right
across my path into 1, rather than riding it out for a cooldown lap.
I went down pretty hard. I didn't land on my bad knee (I don't know
how I landed) but it didn't feel good. For a moment I worried I had
broken it again, but then I stood up. I certainly twisted the hell
out of it, asterisk knee braces and all. I was going to run the
main, but the pain told me it was a bad idea. I've certainly typed
alot, but the feeling of that whole experience is a hard one to put
into words. I can't tell if I did any more damage, but I certainly
set myself back again. However, I feel really good now, considering
it's only been a month. I got back on the bike last Sunday for a
training day with Sammy Halbert! That was definitely cool, and I
picked up some valuable tips. No more goon wheelie starts. Somehow
I'm riding even better! I have those photos to send along shortly.
Thank you FTWCO for the support. It means alot to me!
Travis