Hey everyone

I have just arrived back in oz from a 2 week assault on the USA {well at least I thought that was what was going to happen}.I flew out on the 29th of May to South Carolina where I stayed with factory Yamaha off-road team manager, Randy Hawkins.http://www.amproracing.com/.

I was there to race Round 6 of the GNCC series (Grand National Cross Country) http://www.gnccracing.com/ at Kentucky. It took me a couple of days to get in the swing of things as I flew out of Australia on Tuesday at 2.30pm. I then had 3 different flights that added up to be around 22 hours of flight time and landed at Greenville airport on Tuesday night at 11.30 pm in the USA. For the first few days I hung out with Jason Raines, who has been injured for the past year. He is just starting to ride again and is mad keen on training. We hit the gym every day doing different programs that he has designed, and man, did I find some new muscles in my body http://www.jasonrainesfullcircletraining.com/.

We went riding at a few different places and I was able to spend a bit of time on a WR 450f as my 250f wasn’t ready yet. It was an unreal bike, which I liked riding a lot. Come Thursday my bike was ready. I actually did a lot of the work myself as I was living in the work shop, which was very handy for that kind of stuff.

I hadn't seen much of Randy at this time as he was busy working with his dad with their business, so I didn't really get to know him very well at that time. He rocks up and asks me what I had planned for the weekend as he was going racing hooter cars (like V8s). I rang Josh Strang, who is living with Glen Kearny in North Carolina. They were more than happy to have me come up and stay for the weekend. After talking about it with Randy, he threw me the keys to his Ford F250 truck and told me to load up.

With my bike, a little bit of gear and a map, I headed off on the wrong side of the road as they do over there. Driving the big rig and finding my way around was a piece of cake. After about 2hrs drive I rolled in at their place and we caught up on some goss. There was a race on that Sunday which was a Hair Scramble. This was the same as a GNCC but you ride for 2 hrs only. We were all keen on that, so after a few days of playing golf, wake boarding and a little bit of riding we headed off to that race on the Sunday morning.

It was about 40mins from their place and it had been raining heavily for days. The boys were calling it a local race but when we got there it looked like a round of the MX Nationals in Australia! There were motor homes and big trailers everywhere. Everyone had the “gun” set up. It was a round of a minor championship and apparently wasn’t that big compared to others.

Then, I went to sign on and (how cool is this!), filled out a form of my details and paid $40. No license, membership or tech inspection on your bike needed- Just show up on the day and race. The race was really muddy. It was just a pro class, didn’t matter what size bike you were on, just all in!

The starting format was a dead engine start. A guy would yell out “10 seconds”, then hold a green flag out straight, then lift it straight up- All hell would then break loose. I was pretty nervous as we were the first class and every one has their bikes off. That 10 seconds has a very still silence as you wait for his arm to move an inch so you can kick your bike in the guts. You then hold it wide and head for the first corner.

My bike started first kick but it wasn't fast enough compared to the 2-strokers, which everyone rides over there, and I was covered in mud before the first corner. I made my way through the pack in the very first few corners, but by this time I was 40kg heavier from all the mud! I went to pull my roll-offs cord but there was too much mud and I was forced to pull off the track and take my goggles off!

By this stage I was last, so I charged into the woods where it was tight as and very hard to pass anyone. With no goggles on, I slowly made my way up the ladder, but a few offs in the very slippery, hard packed track put me back even further. This went on for 2 hours and I ended up 7th outright out of about 15 or so.

Josh was winning through the whole race, after he got the hole-shot, but a crash in the last lap put him back to 5th place and Glenn placed 3rd. Jason Raines was there and finished a very good 2^nd. He was stoked, as it was his first race back on the circuit since his injuries. We went back to a car wash where we spent 2 hours trying to get the bulk of the mud off our bikes, then headed out for tea and called it a day. On the Monday we hit the golf course for one last hit, then I loaded up and headed back to South Carolina.

The GNCC was on the weekend coming at Kentucky. On the Tuesday and Wednesday we rode and trained at the gym. Thursday was the day when we just relaxed and started prepping our bike for the race. I drank 4 litres of water every day till race day as apparently that’s what they do.

We loaded up the 18-wheel prime mover truck on Friday and headed on a 7 hour drive to Kentucky. We arrived in the arvo and set everything up. We then jumped in a little car (that was also carried on the truck!), and headed to a motel.

Saturday was a bit of a waste day. The quads race all day and we weren't allowed on the track until Sunday morning, so you pretty much just chill out, drink plenty of water and talk to everyone. These guys just rip the crap out of the track that we race on the following day for 3hrs!

Finally it was race day- the one day that I flew half way around the world for, costing me a nice four grand! It was huge - To race for 3hrs on a track that not only has already had 1000 machines punishing it for 3 hours, but a race that started at 1 o'clock in the afternoon in the hottest part of the day at the start of their summer. It was hot!

These were just some of the factors that I didn't even give a thought to, as I lined up to race and got caught in the moment. Nothing at that time in the world mattered- I was just so stoked that I actually was there and had made it to the start line in one piece.

The starter called the 10 seconds and that nerve racking silence came around again while you watched for the slightest movement so you could get the jump! He waved his flag and the combination of kick, turn the throttle, let out the clutch and put your feet on the pegs as you hold it pinned for the first turn, all came into play! Well, that almost happened for me, but my bike started on the second kick (damn it) and I was at the back of the pack (damn it!!). I made a lot of passes on the short dusty grass track, so I could head into the bottle neck of riders all pushing and shoving to first to get into the near perfect moisture contented woods, as from there it was a lot tighter and harder to pass.

It was like feeding time at the zoo in the woods- there were lines going everywhere, as well as bikes, and no bunting. It was just follow the arrows, as no one wants to walk 25km before racing for 3 hours. You have no idea what is around the next bend. You have spectators standing in the middle of the track, hiding behind trees, or pointing you to some line that you have no idea where it will end you up. It was awesome! Seeing that many lines snaking through the trees blew me away. It was like a lucky dip. If the guy in front didn't take it, you would try it and chance it if you came out in front, further behind him, or even lose a place.

This went on for the 3 hours as you tried different lines every lap and slowly figured out which ones worked and which ones didn’t. The first lap was definitely the high-light of the race. I crashed a few times during the 40 minute lap, and in one case, broke my rear brake pedal off half way round which easily lost me 10 minutes. I never gave up though, even when I knew my chances of a top 5 finish in the xc2 class (250f) were gone. The last lap was the only time where I didn't have any problems. I had been pushing so hard every other lap to try and make up for my mistakes, that I just lead myself to more.

During the last lap the track seems to get rough all of a sudden and you start feeling the dehydration and it’s really hard to dig deep. I was pretty happy with my fitness considering it was my first one and I had pushed myself for the whole event. I ended up 10th in the class, which I am happy with, considering all my dramas.

It was an awesome learning curve and the experience was something I will cherish. I’m not giving up yet and am going back in October to try again. With the experience and knowledge I now have, I hope to do a lot better.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story. And remember the sky’s the limit.

 Hollis#84

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