After quite a while off the bike due to some injuries
sustained in a practice crash (broken ribs and a cracked L1 vertebrae) I finally
got cleared by the doc to get back on the bike again. I had a few days of
practice time on my new ride and felt pretty comfortable on the new Husky TXC
250, and most importantly, my back felt strong enough to give it a shot. We
decided to hit the GNCC race at Unadilla, NY. I signed up for the B 4-stroke
lites class, which would run in the afternoon with the pro 3 hour race. I can’t
tell you how happy I was to be able to ride again. Conditions for this race
were going to be awesome - a sunny day with a light breeze to blow the
dust away. Dad handled the bike prep and sign up duties (it took him over 3
hours), all I had to do was ride and have fun. I had no expectations as far as
results go…I was really just trying to test my back and learn a little more about
my bike and…as it turns out…my endurance.
The start: Tennnnn Seconds…and up went the flag and we were
off. The TXC has e-start and kick start, we decided to use the e-start button
in neutral, and just slam the bike in gear as soon as it fires. The off camber
starting would have made it a little bit too tough for me to kick it, so this
seemed to be the best solution. It worked. I got a good jump and went into the
right hand turn one in the top 5. In turn 2 there was a bit of a jam as the guy
in the lead crashed, I found my way around it pretty well and went into the
woods in 6th place. Things felt great, I had a blast. I made a few
passes before we got to the nasty slick rail road tracks where many people were
stuck. I kept pushing, got stuck a few times myself but no big deal, and still
felt great. The course was sooo much fun…lots of line choices, plenty of
technical sections, yet plenty of room to pass. Barry Hawk sure knows how to
lay them out. They added a few new sections to our race, one of them was “The
River”. We had to ride up the river for the length of about a football field.
The water was freezing cold, and in some sections as deep as the tires are
tall. When going through it at speed, I actually think I through a wake as big
as a Ski Nautique would…where is a wake board when you need one? Awesome.
People were struggling everywhere, I actually did pretty good through there and
was still hanging with the leaders of my class. The other major obstacle turned
out to be a mud hole that would swallow bikes hole. Even some of the pros were stuck and had to get winched out. Lucky for
me, I picked the only “good” line and really didn’t have a problem, but I felt
bad for the guys that were stuck and out of the race.
The incident: As things go in offroad racing, there is
always an “incident”. Here is mine: Somehow I must have bumped the kill switch
on my bike and moved it to the “off” position. The bike stopped and would not
restart. Think of it as stepping on the gas in your car, but the key is in the
off position. I did not realize the switch was “off”. I ultimately decided to
leave my bike and walk out to get help…quite frustrating. I talked to an
official, he told me they would send a quad to give me a tow eventually. So I
walked back to my bike to wait. When I got back to the bike, I saw some of the
guys in my class come through again, so at that point I was down a lap. I
picked my bike up and sat on it, thinking the tow guys would show up soon, when
I realized my mistake….aarrrrggghhh….I was pretty mad at myself…hit the button,
and the bike started right up. Oh well…let the fun continue. I rode as hard as
I could, pitted a few times, crashed a few times (once
right in front of Kailub Russel’s mom – she said K crashed in the same spot),
got stuck in the mud, forgot to drink on a regular basis…and while totally
dehydrated, I did manage to finish in 12th place. Granted, I could
have done better, and probably should have, but over all I am pleased with the
way I rode and handled adversity. Fact is that I finished a 3 hour race after
being off the bike for a while. 
Yes my back hurt pretty badly when I got done,
but it held up. This gives me loads of confidence forthe upcoming races, I
feel good and am going to continue with my current training to get strong again. The Husky really worked well
– can’t blame the bike for my error – I love the 4 stroke power.
Thank You to my sponsors – Moose Racing, Kenda Tires, Panic
Rev, Summit Clothing
Thank You to the Rummels for all the help – the pasta on
Saturday night was awesome and I had fun camping next to you!!!
Thank You Nani and pops for your help and mom and dad for
letting me continue to do this.
Next Up: JDay GP race next Sunday in Monson, MA
Braaaap,
Hunter “747” Neuwirth
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