In true Larrivee fashion, I opted not to go the easy way, which would be to buy a modern, race-prepped machine, but instead to outfit my truly archaic KDX200 from the previous millennium to compete in what are known as "hare scrambles", which as the name implies is like a bunch of bunnies hopping and tearing around in the forest, except these bunnies have knobby tires and drink race fuel.
Bolstering my decision to race such an antediluvian machine was the timeworn adage: "It's 80 percent rider, 20 percent bike". I also read somewhere that when most people feel ready to physically quit, they really are only 40 percent expended. So that leaves something like another 60 percent out there, using a little Enron math, standard deviation, rounding up and that puts me somewhere around 120%!
In all seriousness, it seemed like a worthwhile theory to test. Was it really 80 percent rider? Could a physically fit forty-something getting several hours seat time per week hope for a reasonable showing on a well-prepared, if somewhat long in the tooth motorcycle or would the onslaught of technology prove too much to bear? It promised to be an interesting and possibly eye-opening experience.
Two things I knew going in:
1. As it had proven with roadracing, I was going to have a lot to learn.
2. If I was aware of what I was getting into, I probably wouldn't do it.
 |
| Machine, vintage 1989. Scrapheap fodder or worthy mount? |
 |
| Rider, vintage 1974. Too old to rock and roll? Too young to die? |
No comments:
Post a Comment