It’s raining … the weather report said we should receive an inch of rain by late morning then it will clear out. The hill climb was moved to mid week and is now part of Bike Week as a "ride to" event. This was the last week of school for Kevin so I decided to go myself. 
I arrived around 11:15AM. The rain stopped … humidity was high … the clouds moved in and out … it warmed up ... and I got a sun burn on my neck. It turned out to be a nice day. There was some mud around mainly in the parking lots but the hill was in good shape. No dust which was good.
Many bikers showed up. Good crowd … nothing wild … still kid friendly … although I didn’t see many kids around being mid week near the end of the school year. There were some excellent motorcycles parked in the lots. Next year I will take some pictures of them.
The Verticross has 2 riders in each heat. The first one to the top advances. The final had 3 riders. If you end up behind another rider the rocks and dirt being kicked up at you must hurt.
They had the Pro Sport Class (under 450cc), Xtreme Class, and the Unlimited Class.
Because of the paddle tires or chains on the rear tires previous bikes leave big ruts at the starting line. The teams roll their bike to the line and pick a takeoff spot. Many Xtreme and Unlimited bikes are started in the pit staging area before being rolled to the line. I like the rooster tails at take off. 
During the nitro racing there was a very loud bang in the pit staging area. One of the motorcycles exploded. Bike parts went flying but no one was hurt. Running nitro methane means the crews and riders need to be careful. 
The riders come to the first small jump right off the line. This keeps their initial speed down so they can set up for the bottom section of the hill.
Huge acceleration to the next jump causing “Big Air”. These bikes have long suspension. With speed and big air I saw hard landings with shocks compressed and skid plates dragging on the ground. It’s pretty easy to say that bottoming out may cause your feet to get knocked off the foot pegs and loss of control. After that landing more speed for the charge to the finish line and final jump to the last part of the hill and over the top. 
Last year the finish line was after the final jump in the middle of the last part of the hill going over the top. Going for the win, riders were charging over the top experiencing a very hard landing. They moved the finish line to the top of the last jump before the final part of the hill. That was a smart move to be safe but there were still several crack ups throughout the day. 
I headed for home after the last race but many stayed to listen to the 3 bands playing. 
Kevin and I have gone to some fun events through the years. He will tell you his favorite is the hill climb so he really missed going this year and I missed having him with me.
Go to: "Search This Blog" at the top of my page and type in AMA Hillclimb to see past posts.
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