GNCC- Virgin

[Buddy L]

Starting time form the races as on http://www.gncc.co.nz/HomeSet.htm
under classes

Saturday
Clubman/Rookies/Women/Classics
Start Time: 1:30
Sign On: 12:30 >
Duration: 2 - 3 hrs

Youth/Rookie Wommen
Start Time: 11:45
Sign On: 10:15 - 11:30
Duration: 1 - 1.5 hrs

Quads
Start Time: 9:30
Sign On: 8:45 - 9:15
Duration: 1.5 - 2 hrs

Sunday
Elite/Pro/Expert
Start Time: 9:30
Sign On: 8:30 - 9:15
Duration: 2 - 3 hrs

Subject to change.

[Buddy L]

So it looks like i can make it a day trip
head down on saturday morning around 7am
takes about 3 1/2 hours to 4 to get their from auckland
will have to leave around 7 in the morning so im thier to do the race in the clubman class and then cruse home afterwards with a hand full of nana naps along the way.

[dammad1]

Yeah will be doing the same. Lets hope the weather holds up.

[Buddy L]

Not long to go now, just did my pre ride check on the bike on sunday and got it ready for Saturday.
During the check i found that one of the house clamps holding the house on to my water pump had come lose good thing i found it may have poped off and boild my motor.
Also cleaned the air filter, used to do it after every ride, then every secound ride( getting lazy), will mix up some new gas on the friday for the bike, and also have new tyres on the beast, so its all good to go.

Managed to rope my dad into coming down with me as well to help out with driving and also at the pit stops during the race!!
Well mum told him he had to do it and that i wasn't going to drive down all that way with out him. And hes coming down from Dargaville will be a extra long day for him, but will take him to the new 007 movie afterwards.

[xxblackbirdxx]

If you do the trail ride on saturday( paying 35 bucks) you only get charged another 15 bucks to sign up for the race. My experience from last year.

[Buddy L]

They have cut out the trail ride section part of the round, just so they can finish up earlyer on the sunday, and not spend all night taking down arrows and tape and driving back to auckland in the early hours of monday morning

[dammad1]

Yeah not long now, just chucked a new set of barkbusters on that should ensure no broken levers this time & gave the filter a clean, could do with a new rear tyre but it should be fine as long as its dry. I'll be going down by myself, so will have to be my own pit crew.

[Danger]

During the check i found that one of the house clamps holding the house on to my water pump had come lose good thing i found it may have poped off and boild my motor.

You would probably go alot faster Buddy if you unclamped the house from your bike altogether!

[Buddy L]

Ok the weather has turned to poo's for the ride this weekend thunder stroms and heaps of rain, i have been told that this ride has a bit of clay in it, so rain and clay and hills= bad news
But with the new tyres should be able to tractor though it all, will just have to let down the air pressure a bit.
As this round count's big time for me i have to go, as i missed the last one.
Just have to sort out my gear bag and im all set.
Hopefully the weather gods will shine on waimiha this weekend, just for us.

[Buddy L]

Well what do I say…………….didn’t go to plan!!! And bugger
I’ll start from the top.
We’ll Dad came down on Friday night to help me out with the driving down and also being my pit crew.
Dad arrived at about 10pm on Friday and we planed on leaving at 7 in the morning to head down to Waimiha, should have heaps of time to get their for the 1.30pm race start, (as stated on the internet GNCC site) with plenty of time for another pre ride check of the bike.

We turned on Sky telly at about 10.30pm on Friday just to find that the first round of the America Super cross was on ESPN. Some of the best riding from Chard Reed and James Stewet that I have seen with the aussie coming out on top.
We ended up leaving in the morning at 6.45am; with not too much traffic on the road it was a breeze getting out of Auckland. I was driving so we cruised at about 110kph all the way Otorohanga, when dad took over and I had a nana nap until we got to
Te Kuiti, then I was looking after the map navigating the back roads.
Arrived at the GNCC Waimiha round at about 11o’clock, sweet as heaps of time better to be early then rushing the last minute to get ready. Signed on and was ready to go.

Checked my spokes and tightened a couple, check my tyre pressure using the thumb presser guide, the tyres were so stiff as they were new, was hard to get a good reading so had to guess to about half a pound, (was way off) but it sounded good at the time.
Had the singlet on as the sun was pouring out of the sky, could feel the burn coming on. With just a few black clouds in the distance (not looking menacing). Went to the officials to make sure that we be still starting at the 1.30 mark, “nar mate, its been pushed back to 2o’clock” “sweet as cheers bro”.

A bit stink but that’s alright, headed back to the ute, looked above the ute only to find the clouds had combined to become the ultimate fo for a dirt biker, a black thunder cloud, hooped inside my truck in the nick of time as it had just started to rain. But not just any rain but hail!!! Bugger. Soon as it had come it had stoped again. And the sun was shining again.

The youth class was out racing in all the hail, that the track had turned into mush, when their race was over their were heaps of bikes stranded out their in the bush. This pushed the start of our race back another hour back until 3 o’clock as the trails had to be clear of bikes before your race. We had a briefing before the race, it just happened to be hailing again!!! Go line up we got told, race will start when the sweepers get back (still raining). I started in the 8th row of 25 with 5 bikes in each row ( that’s 125 people in the race).

The start was a 30 meter drag on the grass to a sharp right hair pin turn around a cone then another 40 meters back the other way, then disappear into a bush. With the new tyres on I got a good start second in my grid into the bush (pretty chuffed with that).
But that’s were the fun ended and the race turned in a fight of man and machine verses the mud/ clay/ trees/ hills and other bikers.
Was powering along holding off other bikers while only fulling off every 50meters or so as my front was washing out from underneath me all the time (but as GR81 says if your not coming off your not trying and boy was I trying). But soon got into a good rhythm.

As stated before it was a fight, bikes were stuck on hills making it impassable, so we had to get off and park up the bikes and help the people get their mud-covered bikes up the hills. Once the coast was clear some other dick would push their way through the parked bikes and get stuck on the same hill that we had just cleared. I powered up with no troubles just have to keep up the momentum and have the bike in the power. Flicking clay and mud everywhere.

After about 14 kays of forestry tails we poped back out into the open field where the pits were. Pulled up and got scanned 1 hour and 15 minutes for one lap crap!!!! Pulled into the pits and had a chat with dad, dropped the air pressure down using the thumb guide again to about 6 psi, Dad stated the first bike through was a little KX85 shit, and that most of the bike had pulled out with boiled bikes, I was doing alright so I took off again, the second lap was a lot better with the tyres now with the right pressure in them. Only 3 more laps to go.


Second lap was a bad as the first but there was no bikes in the way, so I didn’t need to stop for anyone and help out just had to stop for the trees that got in my way and help out a damsel in distress that had fulling off her bike I had to stop and pick up her bike would be the gentleman thing to do. This lap was a lot quicker about 40 minutes to cover the 14 kays. Came back to the barcode scanner and on the screen it showed race over, they had cut it down to 2 laps after everyone was getting stuck. Few!!! I had enough anyway. But I didn’t show it.

Went back to the ute and packed up it was about 6.30 by the time we left Waimiha. Another solid 3 hours driving (with me sleeping all the way back to Mercer), Dad pulled over and we stop for dinner at the truck stop their and had dinner at the pub (really good meals) I then drove the rest of the way back to Mt Albert, got home at around 11pm, Then I slepted like a baby on the sofa until the morning when I was faced with the big clean up

One of the longest days ever
8 hours, 600 kms of driving for 2 hours of racing and to have mud ,trees and other biker hit me , but it was worth it in the end just another day out on the bike.
Untill the next round of the GNCC
Buddy L
Cameron.

[dammad1]

Awesome Report buddy and well done for getting through it. I had a last minute change of plans when I bought I new bike on friday and decided not to go as the new bike needed some work and I didn't want to risk braking anything on the KDX before selling it. and it sounded like I made the right choice. Hopefully I will be comfortable on the new bike before the next round.

[Danger]

Sounds like good value eh? Good report though, thanks for that. Glad I don't bother with all that traveling and money for 2 hours of riding these days. I get p'd off when they close the trail rides at 3.00pm when there is still another six hours of daylight left these days.

[Buddy L]

Ran the tyres so soft that the rubber spun a little on the rim and bent over my tub noozles, tryed to straighten them but ended pinching the tub:slap: on the rear, so ill take the rims in and get the guys at the bike shop to sort them out for me.

[Buddy L]

Results as per usual are at www.gncc.co.nz or the short cut link
http://www.gncc.co.nz/Event%20A18-Clubman.htm
in the clubman round i came in 39th over all out of 59 just one place better then the first round at woodhill. And 10th in my age group.
O'well bring on the next round at Maramarua.

[Buddy L]

Maramarua:
Round 4 -
Maramarua -
North Waikato -
6th & 7th January 2007


Maramarua:
Maramarua is fast and open. If you like it fast this is the venue for you. The track is made up of open forest tracks and trails. These have a firm clay base and in some places gravel. Whoops, roots and stumps aren't a regular feature in this terrain. At this location we see the back and middle of the field make big gains on the leaders.
RAIN VENUE: Maramarua's clay is nasty in the wet. If the ground is to wet we will swap to a rain venue. Keep an eye on this site or check Greg's answer phone for updates - 09 410 1498.


From Auckland
Allow about an hour. The turn off to the forest is on the right 8.3 km past the castle dairy (Mangatawhiri) on State Highway 2. The signs and arrows will start here. (turn right into Kopuku Road, then right on to Kopuku Landing Road then continue back onto Kopuku Road then turn left on to Schumacker Road.

Yep it is confusing. Several crew members have been lost getting here. There are lots of roads that look and sound the same so watch the arrows.

OK this one is abit closer to home then the last
so that means less time driving and more time on the bike hopefully.
As per usual the classes are same as the ride at wiamaha
start times are:

:SATURDAY:
Clubman
Rookies
Women
Classis

Start Time: 1:30
Sign On: 12:30

Lets hope that the races start at the times stated this time.