Alan Westerfield's Saddleback Race Report (2008)

Race Report: Kentucky Off Road Hare Scrambles Series (KORHS) - Round 5
Rider: Alan Westerfield - Bike 8th Place Heavy A
Bike: 08 KTM 200 XC

By: Alan Westerfield

Round 5 of the KY Off-Road Championship Series was held on August 17th near Bedford in Northern Kentucky.
My travel partner was the faithful Centertown native, Mr. John Stenburg. He has his own points battle brewing the light C class and it becoming increasingly tense. We made our way into Louisville on Saturday through a labyrinth of back-roads due to an accident that clogged I-65 nearly all day. I dropped a truck that we had repaired during the workweek off to one of our valued out of town customers and we were happily on our way in Mr. Race Van.

The best and closest place to shack up near the track is across the Ohio River in Madison, IN. We made our way into town only to realize we had been catapulted into a tourist trap. This town is nice, but Alan Westerfield will NOT pay $190 for a room at the Best Western. It’s just not happening; not in this recession. I’ll jump rope in a sandpaper diaper before I will pay that. We dropped John’s girlfriend off with her parents at Madison, bought a few simple camping necessities, and had a relatively inexpensive dinner at Blob Evans which made our tummies growl and turn.

We made our way back to the track and set up camp…which consisted of parking Mr. Van and shutting the key off. I chose to let John have the bench seat because he is one inch shorter and I would sleep behind the separator wall after unloading my bike. My cushion would be a swimming pool float that I had bought at Wal-Mart for $1.68. Our conversations lasted a bit longer than anticipated and I missed my window of opportunity to fall asleep. Unfortunately, all my tossing and turning had caused the extra thin vinyl float to puncture against a sharp piece of metal in the back. John’s laughter was hysterical upon hearing all of my precious air escaping. After an early morning patch job we managed to get an hour of sleep before waking to the sound of tiny dirt bikes being revved to the moon by Dad’s ensuring their son’s machine’s were… “Crisp.”

It soon became obvious that a win would once again elude me upon seeing New Zealand resident, Paul Whibley. You see, Paul is not in the United States to work, he is here to dominate at the GNCC and OMA series. His background includes racing in the World Enduro Circuit for a few years in Europe. Then Honda hired him for two years to race in the GNCC series…the biggest and most competitive series on the planet. This year Paul is one of Team Suzuki’s hired guns and is sitting in 2nd place in points in the GNCC series, behind none other than The Isle of Man’s David Knight (American Riders haven’t been winning this American Series for a few years now). Paul is also winning the OMA national series…so to say this guy is good is an understatement. It also happens that Paul is a super nice guy and quite pleasant to be around; other than the fact he has just shown up on one of his off weekends to take our money.

I would be riding a KTM 200 XC-W at this race because my suspension on my 250 was still at the shop. The little 2 honey money fired up quickly off the line and left the other 8 or so riders on the front row in the dust. I settled into a quick, but safe pace upon entering the woods and tried to stay smooth until I could get warmed up and ready to rock. I knew my endurance should be decent because I have been running a lot more and trying to ride at least one afternoon through the week. A couple of miles in it was no surprise to hear Paul’s big 450 fuel injected four stroke hammering the earth behind me. It’s quite nerve wrecking and given the reality of the situation, I took an outside line up a hill to let him go. The problem with Saddleback in the summer is that it is ALWAYS dusty and the track is always worn slap out, hard as concrete, and littered with jagged rocks. The bike was working fine… but to be honest my skill level was surpassing my nerve capacity. To recall a dream I was telling Rick and Jesse about before the race that relates to some sleeping issues I have been experiencing. In this dream, I was swinging over a massive precipice on a trapeze, holding on with my hands. I was going higher and higher and a crowd of people were cheering me on. I kept going higher and the ropes would get a lot of slack in them at the top of the stroke, so that when I came back near the bottom there was a jolt that would try to rip the bar from my hands. I would just almost lose my grip and fall into the black oblivion below; but hold on just enough to survive another pass. The next morning my arms were completely sore.

I guess this track kind of reminded me of the dream…that I could keep going faster and faster in such a way that it seemed risky and that I am not the luckiest guy when it comes to rolling the dice. Nathan Alering was riding really well as he passed me. My heart just wasn’t into it. I would have been fine just to trail ride and play around… but it is a race and I just can’t do it. I was even questioning if I want to race anymore at all; so when I start feeling that way its game over. I parked my bike, went and found an interested buyer, and quoted a price.

I think I’m getting a little burned out as I am finding myself becoming bored with racing. I know it sounds like I’m speaking out both sides here but risk doesn’t excite me. Obstacles that require balance, throttle control, and technique are what I enjoy. I guess that pretty much sums up that hare scrambles just isn’t doing it for me anymore. I am going to finish up the next few and see how I feel then. Upon reading an excerpt from cyclenews.com, my feelings about risk were reassured today as I read about Professional Team Green off road racer Josh Morros. Just last month I saw this kids picture in Dirt Bike magazine and he just struck me as a good looking, bright eyed, extremely fast 17 year old. It seems he could really use some prayers about now. http://www.cyclenews.com/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=12818

Over and Out.

Alan Westerfield