My two friends Whit and Brian would leave Richmond on their dual-sports while I trailered mine to the VCHSS race at Oak Ridge Estate. Once there, I unloaded the KTM and rendezvoused with them at the entrance. From there we set off westward toward Buena Vista.
The fall colors were in full swing, as yellow and red leaves fell from the trees above and littered the gravel roads we were navigating. Along the way we encountered a couple of cyclists pedaling the same gravel road. As we stopped to snap photos they'd catch us, then we'd remount the motos and pass them, leap-frogging a few times along the way.
Once in Buena Vista, we grabbed lunch at JJ's Meat Shak. With full bellies we headed back into the National Forest to explore and find a campsite for the night.
We found a spot off a relatively unused, overgrown trail. Once we'd unloaded our bikes and set up tents & hammocks, we jumped back on the bikes to do more exploring with less weight. Eventually we came across a far better spot with an established fire ring and water nearby, so we decided to abandon our original spot for the new one. Just before dark we had reestablished our home for the night and a few minutes later had a fire started, further bolstered by a passerby in a shortbus that gifted us a bundle of predried wood!
The next morning we rose just before sunrise, struck camp and would have been on our way if my KTM had cooperated. Perhaps because of the cold air, it did not want to fire up. As we were positioned at the bottom of a hill, we decided to tow the KTM to the top and try bump-starting my bike. After two tries it worked, but the time we'd lost meant I'd have to forego breakfast with the guys and head directly to my race back at Oak Ridge Estate. By 9am I was at the site, switching gear and bikes before the 10:45am start.
At the start line I talked with my fellow racers for a few minutes before we set off for three 10 mile loops of the newly-cut trail. As usual, I was kickstarting while most of my class took off, but with a long section in the field, I was back with the group before entering the woods. The course was extremely fun - high speed with good grip and sight lines. During the first lap I picked off a few of my fellow racers, but a stall in traffic meant I'd have to repeat those passes again.
By the end of the lap I was back in 7th place. I gained a couple more spots, but stalled again and fell to the back of the pack. Probably in a but of a rush to catch my class, I clipped a tree, sending me into another for a violent stop.
After the wreck, I gathered myself from the ground and walked to the bike to find both radiators and plastics mangled after the fall. A course marshal came to my aid and guided me out of the woods so I could limp the bike back to the trailer without overheating it too badly.
Although it wasn't the ending I'd have liked, I'm glad to have walked away from the crash without any serious injuries. I'll have some time to repair the bike also, given that the next race won't be until the next season starts in March.
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