Cliffhanger Virgins report

**Number One** · 16th March 2009, 19:27

Part one of...

Feeling absolutely buggered right now but I need to get this all down before it seems a lifetime ago and I forget all the cool little details that made this weekend so much fun! Heading on into another frantic week of my real and normal life beginning tomorrow morning so this is one last moment to savour the fun and capture it.

My first CliffHanger HillClimb event. What a beauty! Well organised, run and laid out. Fun road, gorgeous location what an awesome event…I still just want that one last run ya know!!

My participation in this years event was only possible because I was the lucky recipient of the ‘Grow Some Balls Girls’ CliffHanger Sponsorship. This was kindly offered up by a bunch of good bitches.

Last year I donated my bike to Sully and went to just hang out and have a good night at the rally. What actually happened was I got involved with the timing and spent the weekend in a small space with my favourite sister wife followed by passing out cold in the middle of the party because I was totally knackered by having not slept leading into the weekend..

This year I was keen to attend but life happens and money was tight and well it was easy for me to defer let Craig enter on his own and save money for the really important things….until

SO FIRSTLY I’d like to thank two wicked bitches…

Str8 Jacket. She raced the CliffHanger for first time last year as ‘a sponsored rider’ and enjoyed it so much she put up entry fees for a girl to grow some balls and give it a go. She jumped onboard a mean FZR750 Stunter and had an awesome time last year and though the CliffHanger was out to rid the world of 150cc two strokes that dared to ride it she was posted faster times than she had last time! WAY TO GO!

Flame. NZ’s fastest woman and recent race winner at Sound of Thunder…Kindly stepped aside for the weekend and didn’t get on her bike out which; coupled with Str8’s machine deciding to throw it’s toys…I was able to claim ‘fastest chick of the day’

**Number One** · 16th March 2009, 19:28

Part 2: Prep
I converted the fairings over Thursday night and thought I had only to put the slicks on the next day. Friday I awoke and the nagging cold I’d had had turned into a flu and I spent the whole day sneezing and feverish and pissed off to be frank! It was decided that I had best change the sprockets and chain as well as the wheels and front brake pads

Oh FFS! All this was done, though I have to admit that I was feeling pretty farken dark about it all at this stage.

Bottle of vitamin c tablets later + Sudafed and Panadol and I was made it through the day. The Sv was ready with much better teeth on it’s newish smaller sprockets. I was geared up - literally!

PRACTISE DAY.
Saturday dawned early – too early but we got on the road bound for Gladstone early enough to drop Sully One at poppas have a quick chat and off we went. Got to the pits and the lush green grass was completely devoid of sheep and cow poohs…ahhhhh bliss. Gorgeous rural surrounds AND we were able to camp out in the pits and wander over to the Saturday night party. BLISS – there would be no packing up and shifting down the road after racing just to have to pack up again in the morning and shift back.

At this point though it was starting sink in that I really was going to have to give this thing a go! And I started to feel anxious

**Number One** · 16th March 2009, 19:28

Part 3:
First run. I hung close to the back of the rider group so that I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone catching me and if the tail end Charlie did we would be kind anyway…I figured

.

I had plied myself with enough Relentless and Sudafed and of course the absolute staple for breakfast on race day a Mrs Macs beef and cheese pie mmmmmmm I ate all the pies so there!

The two sighting runs were good for my nerves. But I was all consumed with where the road was going and how the bike felt. In my second run I pushed myself to use ‘the whole road’ and the bizarre physical/mental result of that mid corner had my nerves ragged and a bit raw

First timed run I tootled along

though thanks to my hubby I didn’t record the slowest time over the whole of the CliffHanger at 3minutes and 23 seconds .478.

Again I caught myself mid corner on blind right handers…on the right hand side of the road freaking out while trying to remind myself the road is closed I’m allowed this is OK…OMG it feels SO unnatural at first but you do actually look at the centre line in a different way than you feel you should be!

Second timed run I managed a 3.16.183 and it was at this point that I started to feel like I was going slower not faster but the times kept coming down! Third run 3.12.039 and fourth and final run for the day I ended up with 3.07.925. Unfortunately at this point our final run of the day had to be put off as there was oil on the road where someone had come a cropper in their final run of the day.

Oh well…Time for a beer! OMG I had two beers and it was time for bedtime! The food was good though I think they were laughing at us by having put all the heavily wrapped dinners in to the opposite marked chilly bins. Those who went for chicken got Mutton and vice versa – haha! How’d ya like them apples the caterers were thinking

Won’t talk about the party because what goes on tour stays on tour but there was much enjoyment and merriment and my lady night in shining armour Str8 played bossy bitch and told everyone to piss off to the party away from our vans and I was then able to tuck myself up and enjoy some shut eye.

**Number One** · 16th March 2009, 19:29

4. Race day

I woke up feeling like shite again. The flu was back and after sleeping on the floor of the van my neck was a bit worse for wear also. Anyway after a quick trip into town to collect more water, Relentless + smokes and chocolate we were set for another good day and it was dawning much sunnier than the day before had too – it’s gonna be hot one baby! The Sudafed was helping me to soldier on and washing that stuff down with Relentless is not probably the healthiest thing I can attest that it allowed me to enjoy two good days of racing that I wouldn’t have been able enjoy without their support.

During the sighting laps I found that felt much more comfortable than the day before. As if overnight the track directions had sunk in a little better…however the bike was missing quite badly at 6grand.

First run I managed a 3.07.119 this was a bit of a blow for me as it was only marginally faster than my fastest time from the day before and for some reason I felt I had woken up as Valentino Rossi

I quickly consoled myself that the time at least was a lot slower…which it could have been.

Now after my first run I was feeling in a groove and was even brave enough to decide to go earlier in the group. Deciding that given my times I probably wasn’t going get caught up to before I went through the top timing gate I bravely stepped up when I felt ready to tackle the hill instead of just waiting till there was no one left to go!

Second run I felt really good and when I returned to read my time found I had managed to shave more seconds off and was now running my fastest time at 3.04.504. At this point my original goal of wanting to do it in no more than 5 minutes was looking silly and I set myself the goal of cracking into the ‘twos’

I went out for my third run and felt in the zone, but I also was aware of slowing more than needing to in a few places and knew that I could definitely go faster next time. This was my best time of the weekend at 3.00.018 painfully close to making it into the ‘twos’

Lunch time and after 45 minutes of sitting around waiting for my next run my mojo left the building. I had a small rear end slide and a farting missing machine when I ran a 3.10.000 in the 4th run. For the final run of the day I was determined to crack it but alas alack it wasn’t to be. I had that feeling that I wasn’t quite up for it and though I managed to do a 3.03 (still faster than practise day) I felt tired and slow and between that and the missing I was just not in the zone.

SO I shall have to save the goal of cracking into the twos will be saved for next time but when I look at it in perspective the next quickest F3 person was only 20 seconds faster than me on my first go at it and there were a couple of bigger bikes that I beat as well as a few good racers on little bikes so I am very very happy with my first crack at it. I certainly feel proud to have stepped up and done and now that my bike is finally back in it’s road livery I can just look forward to seeing how this weekend will have improved my road riding and confidence. Oh and buckets next weekend so hopefully I will transfer the whole going into corners faster thing from the SV650 to the RG50!

**Deano** · 16th March 2009, 19:36

Originally Posted by Number One

At this point though it was starting sink in that I really was going to have to give this thing a go! And I started to feel anxious

Great stuff S.

It's funny how the prospect of a 'street race' can turn your blood to ice water. The anxiety normally stops once the green flag drops though.

Well done. See you out there again next year.

**Trudes** · 16th March 2009, 19:44

Good shit sister wife!!

Very proud of you and your wicked good times, just sorry I couldn't get along to cheer you on in person but you know I was thinking of you and knew you'd be doing your bestest!!!

**sinfull** · 16th March 2009, 19:44

Good read oh snotty one ! Ya got balls, i sure as hell wasn't keen sunday morning ! Ok so i was keen to perhaps sleep for another two or three hours, but thats about it !

**Sully60** · 16th March 2009, 19:50

I'm so proud of you babe, you definately stepped up for this one!

It was really cool seeing you get the fever to improve and have that one more run. That to me is the spirit of this event, and I'm quite sure you were feeling it.

Same again next year?

**wharfy** · 16th March 2009, 19:54

It's pretty cool eh ? Good stuff

**Number One** · 16th March 2009, 20:01

Hell yes I will be back next year! Hopefully I will have the miss sorted out though and Sullys bike too I guess - as we can't both do it on one bike.

Only thing I am left wondering is...why the hell more people weren't there!

It really is a cool chance to thrash your bike on the road and a good fun event.

BTW thanks marshalls, organisers and the friendly local banter merchants. As always the likes of Str8, Koba and Flame were good for a laugh and company in general

**flame** · 16th March 2009, 20:12

so SO proud of you!
Stoked that you set your goals and got so so close, you will WHIP them goals next year when we/I/us/them or all the above... sponser you again

Cheers heaps for the laughs and the fun too. It was orrrrsum

and NEXT year we make sure Hels the 'super bitch' gets on a bike that can cope with her 'thrash mode'

**Deano** · 16th March 2009, 20:19

Originally Posted by Number One

Only thing I am left wondering is...why the hell more people weren't there!

I reckon its because they dont know what they are missing.

Spread the word !!

Edit - then again, more people = less runs.

Maybe they should run two per year - a 'fun' event, and a competition one ?