Big Sky XC race report with pics and video :D

Well ladies and gentlemen, the (2-stroke) smoke has cleared and results are posted .  I finished 8th place in my class (40+ masters).  It's along story and where do I start?!  It all started when my friend Jim Sprague showed up at the house on Saturday morning at 0-dark thirty.  We had loaded up the bikes and gear the day before.  I took a "short cut", missed a turn and we ended up in Helena, Montana and two hours behind schedule LOL.  But eventually we made it to Big Sky, Montana and this is what we saw as we came around a bend in the road, this is a picture of Lone Peak, elevation 11,116', and the site of the BigSky XC harescrambles race:

 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

The first order of business was to register and take our bikes the sound test.  My bike barely passed with a 96 decible report (the maximum allowed), and Jim's Kawasaki came in at 93 dbs.  The gal who was doing the test made a comment about how "vibraty" my bike was and I had to laugh out loud at that, remembering what Tim Sullivan had said about these KTM 300's.  After the sound test we loaded up the bikes and hauled them down the road to a trailhead for "Buck Creek".  We were told this trail would take us up to roughly the same elevation as the race course, and we wanted to see how our bikes would run at such a high elevation (top of course is over 9,000').     Even though I had dropped my main jet down to a 155 (from a 168), I was still running way to rich on the top end, to the point that I couldn't even get into the power band.  Up to 1/4 throttle I was fine, but when I rolled on to 1/2 throttle the engine would bog, then at full throttle it would practically die, almost like a lean condition where I wasn't getting enough fuel.  I was really confused, and convinced that my main jet was too small, I shanged it up to a 162.  This resulted in the same if not worse response from the engine.  Hmmmm, okay, I put a new spark plug in the bike, and tried it again.  Same thing.  Jim wondered if I had broken a reed because this will cause you to lose top end power, and wanted me to tear it down to check the reeds.  It's funny how confused you can get sometimes when your bike isn't running right...  Still thinking I was not getting enough fuel I put the 168 main jet in and decided to ride back.  Jim's bike was running great by the way.  On the ride back down the mountain I could barely get the bike to run, but had to keep the throttle below a 1/4 turn the whole time     .  Here is a picture of our bikes back at the ski resort:

 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

8th that is great.  where are your bike numbers?  
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"Every time I start thinking the world is all bad, then I start seeing some people out there having fun on motorcycles. It makes me take another look." -Steve McQueen

When we returned to the pit/camping area we learned there were 116 racers who entered the unclassified race on Saturday.  This is a 45 minute race that basically let's you get a preview of the course.  One racer told me the course was a "Mini Erzburg", and on one nasty hill over 50 riders were bottle necked waiting their turn for a crack at making it up   .   We heard lots of comments about "rocks" and "steep hills" and "switchbacks".  Sounds cool    !   Meanwhile I ran into a guy who had a 145 main jet I could borrow for the race and I put that in my bike, then I actually raised the needle, since I figured out I had a lean condition at 1/4 to 1/2 throttle, but too rich condition on the top end.  This proved to be the ticket as I was able to get the bike to hit the power band in 2nd gear down the pit road (kinda broke the rules to do this), and get the front end to come off the ground very easily   .  
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

daggit:
8th that is great.  where are your bike numbers?

I rode with the number 49 (my age).  
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

In addition to lots of rocks, hills and switchbacks we heard about the terrible dust situation, something Jim and I noticed on our own ride that day.  The woods were really dry!  Thunderstorms were in the forcast, but so far we had not seen any decent sized clouds for this to happened.  So we prayed for rain.     We met a father and son duo (Dana and Carson Young) from Great Falls, Montana who helped me with my jetting problems and ate supper with them.  20-year old Carson was signed up to race the AA class, he rides a Gasgas 300.  During our meal it started to rain outside and rained good for over an hour   .  I didn't have enough time to set up my tent, but by the time we returned to the pits for bed, the stars were out and the rain was over.  I rolled out a mattress in the bed of my truck and crawled into my sleeping bag...  
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

By midnight the stars disappeared and I could hear distant thunder.     I pulled my hood over and tried to ignore it...but somewhere around 2:am it started to drizzle.  I stayed put, and thought I could brave it out.  But by 4:00 am the lightning was getting really close (2 seconds from lightning to thunderclap) and it started to pour!     The water came in through the zipper first, and donw my back, so I rolled onto my side and shifted my weight on the mattress.  Then the water started dripping down my neck from the leaking hood.  I shuffled further into the sleeping bag.  The air mattress turned into a bath tub as the hole I had formed in it filled with water     Finally at around 5:00 am I had had enough   and got out of my water bed to go join Jim in the trailer   .  Here is a picture of my sleeping bag and mattress on Sunday morning:

 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

LOL at least the dust problem was gone!  The skies were overcast but beginning to clear as we got up:

 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

Here is another picture showing the surrounding ski area on Sunday morning  

 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

After getting dry, warm and dressed I duct-taped my number plate and score card onto the KTM and antoher score card to the side of my helmet:



 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

The Race:  Our race was to begin at 9:30 am.  They lumped all the B classes into one race, but staggered the classes at the start.  There were over 100 B riders.  The first wave (450B) left right on time.  Wave number two (250B) took off a few minutes later.  Jim's class (30+vetsB) lined up next, and waited for the siren to go off...Jim's class was the largest class of all, and I was lined up right behind Jim and turned my helmet cam on to catch his start.  At the siren Jim's bike burst to life and off he went.  He got a great start and was in third place as the pack hit the 1st turn.  The start was an uphill slope (going up a ski run) and I wasn't sure if I should try a 2nd gear start or leave it in 1st.  I opted for 2nd gear and I'm really glad I did  .  Our siren blew and for the first time in months I kicked my bike over and it didn't start (!).  As the other bikes on my line fired and took off I was kicking my bike over a 2nd time    It fired this time and I was off!  I hit the jetting just right because I had all the power I wanted for the start.  When I shifted up to third from 2nd the front wheel lofted and I held on for the ride.  I ended up passing most of the field before the 1st turn and entered the corner with about 6 riders in front or around me.  One guy on a KTM stalled in the first turn and I got around him, found out later I ran over his foot (sorry)    I entered the single track trail in 3rd place!   Here is a picture of the starting line arch, with the uphill run to the 1st turn (a right hand sweeper):

 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

Some starting line pictures:  






 
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

I don't have any pictures to share from the actual race   .  I was too busy racing.  But the helmet camera was on and I'll post the video in the next couple days as I upload it to youtube.  I did purchase a couple pictures from the on-site photographers, and will post those when I get them downloaded into my computer...so for now you will just have to read about the race from my perspective    

As I mentioned I entered the single-track section in 3rd place (in class).  I didn't run the Saturday race so I had to discover the course as I went.  The first thing I noticed was the rocks   .  In fact, I noticed one big square rock too closely, and got pitched sideways when I hit it and stalled my bike   ,   I restarted and took off after those who got by me .   That's okay, I thought, I've got 2 hours to catch and pass them all.  

It was super tight and technical, so I was kissing trees with my bars as I made my way along with the other racers.  The trail started to climb, and as we came around a hard left hand switchback I rammed into some poor guy's rear tire.  He was sitting there, just sitting there in the trail!  There was no way around him.  The trail was a little deep rut in the side of the mountain, on a steep incline, and this was the ONLY way up the hill.  I lifted my head up and saw the reason why he was stopped...it looked like rush hour traffic on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles!  For as far as my eye could see crisscrossed up the hill, there was a line of riders, each waiting their turn to traverse the switchbacks and make the climb...  
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

...I spent nearly 15 minutes waiting for the line to move.  The other B racers who had gotten early starts (Jim included) had gone through here with no trouble, but once one guy or gal got stuck, everyone behind him or her had to wait, or risk it by trying to get by.  There were a few who tried it, but it didn't work out, so we all waited our turn to go up.  The trail was so steep that it was nearly impossible to start out from a standstill, so most of us were walking our bikes up the hill, with the rear wheels spinning, and I was so exhausted by the time we topped the switchback section I wanted to quit right there   .  So far in this race I had done more pushing than actual riding.  My legs were aching and my arms weren't much better...  
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NW Montana
Where the pavement ends and the fun begins  
2005 KTM300exc

Great RIDE and a GREAT story!!! Thank god your bike got running good and 8th place RIGHT ON!!!!!! I want to go to big sky sometime its just so pretty up there, look at that greenery  
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life in the fast rut!!!!
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my rides- 2008 yz250f fully modified, use to be j-laws bike
        &
IT400 1979 yamaha!!!
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