By Bryce Betts
After looking forward to a break from the national circuit only five weeks ago, I quickly found myself itching to race again. As I checked the results pages from Rockford, and South Park, the anticipation to get on the gate mounted. Luckily the short break flew by, and before I knew it, I found myself packing my ANSR bags, and meeting up with my road trip partner, A-Pro Austin Hiatt.
Since I was scheduled for the Chase/Stay Strong clinic the Thursday before the national, I had to leave on Wednesday for this trip. On Wednesday I made a short (three hour) trip to Fresno California, where I met up with Tony Hoffman, and the Ecuadorian worlds team for some go-kart action, before getting some shuteye for the road trip ahead. Although Austin and I didn’t have to be in Vegas till 6PM, we wanted to leave plenty of time to stop at whatever caught our attention.
At 7:30AM Austin and I hopped on the CA-99 south, and before we knew it, we were merging off the 58, onto the 15, that would eventually take us in to Vegas. The beginning of the drive was un-eventful; our plan to hit a mall on the way backfired, because we got there before it opened. The drive to Vegas is always special to me however; it was my first “solo road trip” when I got my license. Memories are nice, but one can only reminisce on old times for so long before you get bored, especially with the barren desert landscape of the Mojave Desert whizzing by.
Just a few miles past Barstow on Interstate 15, I saw a small shell station in the middle of nowhere. We stopped to pick up some more water and get back on the road, but on the way back to the freeway, something caught my eye. I noticed a 15 foot tall cowboy, with a sign that read “Ghost Town: 3 miles”. I read the sign out loud, and decided that we were going before Austin could even say a word. Not knowing what we were getting into, we drove the opposite way of the freeway, talking about what could lie ahead.
^Photo credit: Cute French female tourist. Upon arriving to “Calico Ghost town” we paid the $8 to get in, and were surprised by the amount of people in the parking lot. As we walked in to the “largest silver mining camp in California,” we thought we were tricked into a tourist trap, as we saw a café and gift shop. But as we got more into the town, we realized what a gem we stumbled upon. This place was huge, with loads of historic buildings, a mine, and even a mock gunfight. After some fun exploring, and filming a mock cribs episode for instagram (will open in new window), we hopped back on the road extremely pleased with our spontaneous decision.
The break in the day made the five and a half hour drive seem even shorter, and before we knew it we were unloading our bags at Connor Fields house just outside of Vegas, in Henderson Nevada. We weren’t there for long though, it was more of a pit stop, before we headed to Trader Joe’s, then on to Boulder City BMX, where Cristian Becerane and I were doing a clinig that evening. I rolled up to the track about an hour early, met the track operator, and helped prep the track. We were a little worried about rain, but luckily it held off, and we had a great clinic. The size was perfect for Cristian and myself to handle, with just about 20 kids, and the extra help from special-guest-star Connor Fields made for an awesome clinic under the lights. After the goody bags were handed out, and pictures taken, Austin and I left to grub on some Chipotle before going back to Connor’s house to turn in for the night.
We knew Friday was going to be the most laid-back day of the weekend, and we definitely took advantage of that. We woke up late, and played Ping-Pong (Austin won) before heading to the track. Once at the track, I picked up a new ANSR helmet (which I immediately dropped on the concrete–an old superstition of mine), and Shimano shoes before heading to practice. The track was nice for the conditions; there was a roller just after the 30-foot line, which was steeper on the inside than the outside. Even though the track builders tried, it was still apparent that there would be a huge inside advantage to the weekend. Once practice wound down, we hightailed it back to Casa del Connor, to make a collaborative effort on an awesome pasta dinner before bed.
On Saturday, the normal national race day routine began. Wake up, shower, make oatmeal/eggs, go to the track, warm up, head to practice, check the moto boards, and race. We do this so often, the long days go by fast because of we (racers) are in autopilot. A long day it was, though, with just under 400 motos–the last of which crossed the line at about 5:30pm. ^Photo credit: James Traylor
With over 100 quarters alone, it was obvious that we weren’t going to get out of the South Point early. Things were going well for me racing-wise though. I made it through first round in class and open, felt great in my quarter, made it through my open semi. All of my momentum halted in the second turn of my 19-27 expert semi, though, due to a slide-out, while battling on the bubble.
Luckily, I didn’t hit my head, and was going to be fine for the next day, but I was definitely frustrated with myself. After spending that long at the track, it’s a bummer to not reap any rewards from your day. There was some sunshine in my day after my crash however, as my good friend Austin won all three mains with a commanding lead in A-Pro.
With the day dragging on for so long, we darted off to chipotle after Austin’s third main, so we could get to sleep at a decent hour.
The MVPs of the Las Vegas Nationals were definitely the announcers, calling over 2,000 motos on the weekend. I remember when I tried to announce a local race at my track, and I couldn’t keep up with their 12 moto race, so I can’t imagine announcing a national of this size (which includes scoring, and calming the occasional distraught parent looking for a video review, by the way).
Only hours after racing ended Saturday, we were back at the track for Sunday’s first round. There were a lot of crashes on day one, so there were a lot of people (myself included), looking to take on day two with a vengeance.
My Sunday started similar to Saturday, making it out first round in both classes, despite having outside gates. After a long break between first round and quarters, I quickly found myself racing my quarter, and before I knew it I was in gate five for my semi in 19/27x. Like most semis in my class, it was full of capable riders. After a slight bobble on the first jump, I found myself looking to make something happen in the first turn. My back up plan failed right in front of my eyes however, as I found myself in a pile up with three other riders in the first turn.
BMX News 2014 race coverage sponsored by Dan’s Comp
Frustrated on not making a main, I was determined to finish the weekend with at least a win in Open. In open I found myself to the outside of the ram, and despite a great start, I couldn’t get inside enough to stop Josh Banuelos who took the lead and didn’t look back after the first turn. Disappointed in myself, I changed into my street clothes, and took a few minutes to shake off what happened on the track, so I could enjoy the main events. Sadly, Austin couldn’t put together the win on Sunday, making some minor mistakes, and taking home a fourth place. To my surprise, there weren’t too many crashes come main event time in the small arena. Although there weren’t many passes (in fact I can’t recall one pass for the win after the first turn), it was awesome to see riders go all out, and have to commit through the tight first turn.
After racing, Austin and I went back to Connor’s to wait out traffic. While the traffic died down, we enjoyed an awesome BBQ joint, and an even better dessert place called “Crepe Shack & Waffles.” After Connor beat us at UNO, we grabbed a few of his Monsters and headed for home. I’m still deciding if leaving late was a good idea, although we didn’t hit any traffic, we didn’t arrive in Fresno until 4AM. Usually getting in late isn’t that bad, but we had to be at Tony Hoffman’s “Freewheel Project” at 7AM (three hours later) to help with the summer camp. Although we were tired at the camp, there were a few kids that made it totally worth the struggle. Seeing the non-racers enjoy the BMX track in Fresno is so awesome, its definitely worth losing a bit of sleep over.
All in all it was a great trip. Even after frustrating results, I can look back and smile. From road trip spontaneity, to clinics, to races, to ping pong tournaments, there weren’t many dull moments on this trip. Things in BMX don’t always go your way, and some times, it’s out of your hands which way they go. That is why it’s important to keep your head up, and enjoy the trip, no matter the results.
—Bryce
“The Freewheel Project” Website
2014 Las Vegas Nationals Results
The post Roadtrip Notebook: Las Vegas 2014 appeared first on BMX Racing News at BMXNEWS.COM.
