2014 Hare Scrambles Awards

It has been 25 years since I participated in a year long motorcycle racing series.  The last one was back in 1988 - Florida Winter Am Series. In 2013 I raced the entire Forward Motion Hare Scramble Series.  Going into the year I had no intention of racing all the events buts felt at home and was having so much fun.

 Saturday night was the FMHSC Awards Banquet.   It was very cool to see so many families.  That is one nice thing about motorcycle racing it is one big family.  The line for the dinner was very very long.

I remember when the Midwest Fat Tire Championship Series was still going on. We had an end of year awards and party.   Being part of that family was very cool also.  Check out the shirt I am wearing above.  Looks like a night shirt?  I somehow forgot to bring my dress cloths for the awards back in 2007 and had to where my pajama top.

Christopher showing off all the cash we won.  Yea, it was Monopoly money to be used to bid on auction items later in the evening.  We ended up getting out bid on everything.  We should have bid on smaller items early on and not wait for the big ticket items. 

Carolynn enjoying the evening.  She was just happy she did not have to bring food for a couple of hundred people like she does during MTB events. 

Jason working hard at training for the 2014 season.  After analyzing his diet, Jason found out that more protein is needed.  It just so happened that Carolynn made her world famous Peanut Butter Cream Pie - 10 grams of protein per wondererful slice.

The #1 Bike of Macon Ezell was on display.  I got to watch the top AA riders a few times while I did some course patrol.  It is amazing how smooth and fast those guys are in the woods. 

The crowd enjoys dinner and eagerly awaits for the awards ceremony to begin.

Christopher ended up 3rd place overall in the Trail Riders class.  Not bad for his first year of racing. Despite never winning a race and still having a percentile that qualifies for the Trail rider class he is moving up to Sport class next year.  One way to get better is by riding with more experienced riders.

The old dudes class.  It was fun racing with the Senior 45+ guys. I developed what I hope will be some lasting friendships.  I will miss racing with them this year.  Moving up to the Vet Advanced class for 2014.

Christopher and I showing off our awards.  Is it just me or is he taller than me?

This year I will be running the #518 in the Vet Advanced class.   I chose a black background color this year so I can participate in some MORE events next year.  Besides, I think the black backgrounds look cool.

The day after the awards banquet we headed out to Challenge Trax to enjoy a day of riding their MX track.  Due to the warm weather they opened up the track for practice.  Christopher is showing some improvement in the whoops. 

Jason came along with us to get some saddle time in on his KX 450. 

Jason let me ride his KX 450. That thing is a beast.  I started getting arm pump after only a lap.  I went out with the Expert/Intermediate riders and felt at home for the most part. 

Jumping is starting to come back to me. Riding Jason's bike really made the jumps easy.  I have to push my little 250X to make the big jumps, but with the KX 450 just sack up and hit the gas.

The Challenge Trax was fun.  The jumps were relatively safe. I can could see myself getting into trouble on that 450 so I only did a handful of laps.  It was very fun riding a MX bike instead of a bike setup for woods.  Suspension was very stiff.