RACEGUY Rhetoric

Ask a Simple Question…

This all started innocently enough. The question was mostly rhetorical and asked in a very few words in a Facebook message. Chris Estabrooks queried, very simply, “Good day, Sunday?” As I answered, also rhetorically, this runaway train that is my brain began to ponder the question. What IS a good day, and did we have one at Mudrooters? I‘m quite sure the answer would vary a little, depending on who was answering, but it made me think of my observations from my vantage point. “Good day?”

Aside from gusting winds, you couldn’t ask for a nicer morning for a drive. We didn’t encounter any rambling animals and even the road-kill count was unusually low. Combined with a large double-double, that’s a pretty solid start on ANY day.

Traffic on “The Island” was sparse at that time of morning, and Mudrooters is totally hassle-free, both to find and to get to. I assume it’s because so many use the race as an excuse to camp on PEI, that the line at the entry-gate was almost non-existent. I noted this and actually started worrying about a low rider turnout…briefly.

The road into the track was solid and wide enough, and mostly rut free, and because there are actually a number of “pockets in the forest” each containing a somewhat distinct pit/paddock area, there was no way to tell that there would be over 350 signatures already waiting at rider registrations.

There were warm welcomes and “good mornings” and genuine smiles everywhere as I made my way through the beehive around Tammy’s little office-on-wheels. Even Tammy was bright and beaming and animated (possibly because so many had registered the night before), although I wouldn’t have been if I were in her shoes. We are now past the halfway point in our year, and still there are people who have not mastered getting their name, number, and appropriate classes on the same form we’ve been using for years. Tammy Devlin is a saint. I would not be so charitable…especially first thing in the morning. This did not make my good day into a bad one. I, unfortunately, am getting used to it.

Everywhere I went around the track, I found the atmosphere ridiculously relaxed for the first round of a new championship. People were all just … unusually … happy! Everything was going like clockwork. Meetings were happening, wheels put in motion, people in their places, and not a cloud in our happy little sky.

I like people to get an idea of what kind of tracks we race here in Atlantic Canada. This site has readers around the world now, and I’m happy to show ‘em how we roll. I am no photographer. I’m trying to find my way around a brand new auto focus camera, so hazy shots from Mt. Thom and “off” lighting at Pleasant Valley are part of the learning curve. Mudrooters threw me a different kind of curve. As impressive and appealing as that track looks in person, I could not, for the life of me, find a way to photograph it that even comes close to doing it justice. Maybe a helicopter is in order.

It, of course, wasn’t all sunshine and roses. There was a powerful breeze just above track level that had me encouraging a little bit of sun to peek over the roofline and kept me wrapped in a jacket until noon. Then again, that breeze was not strong enough to move riders around in the air and was just cool enough to help them survive motos under the persistent sun.

The moisture that had found its way well into the track held up amazingly well even with the sunshine and wind, but the lesson everyone’s been learning about hydration for riders also applies to race tracks. If you get behind on the depth of dryness, you never catch up. Moving into the afternoon, the surface began to dry, polishing in some spots and becoming silty in others. The dust wasn’t outrageous. As a seasoned race-watcher, I personally like it when the track takes on distinctly different personalities as the day goes on.

Do not be lulled into a false sense of security by the track’s serene setting and long, flowing undulations. Make no mistake, one look from the spectator bowl and it is quite obvious. Mudrooters is an exceptionally fast track, the back straight is a 5^th gear adventure for Pros on 450s and its flow through that entire lower section makes for well above average speeds. If there is an opposite number to tracks riders call “supercrossy”, it is the low amplitude high speed Mudrooters course.

Again, changing hats for a moment and viewing it from the perspective of a casual race-watcher, it’s unfortunate that the main viewing area is totally blind to the start gate and the entire upper plateau. Mudrooters experiment with a triple option-line first turn was unfortunately lost to those of us down at canteen level and below, and there were plenty of position changes on that upper plateau that took place without fanfare because few of us saw it happening. That’s not a knock on Mudrooters in any way. Every track has its weak points. Some are worse than others. It’s the price we pay for riding natural terrain. They do an amazing job making the most of it. (Maybe if I was on a platform about one level higher than the canteen I could see more and keep the crowd informed a little better. Just thinking out loud).

Speaking of casual race-watchers, the gang on “The Island” did a great job at filling the spectator areas with a lot of unfamiliar faces, all of which, were smiling as much as everyone else around the track.

The motos went off on time and on schedule for the most part, and while the few crashes we did see were often spectacular, there was (in a motocross way of speaking) nothing of any consequence until the final Beginner moto of the day. We even managed to work in separate motos for the 50s, two motos for the always entertaining Vintage guys, and a showcase for the “toddlers with training wheels”.

All together, we got to see some amazing real world “second-series” motos. In fact, the Pro class was, without question, the best Pro racing of the year and replete with the drama of Kyle Chatham on a borrowed mount in moto-1 taking a confidence-building first moto win of the new season, and riding a clanking CRF450 “practice bike” to a pair of 2nds for his first overall of the year. We were also treated to an appearance by Johnny Montes who was really the key to the competitive battles amongst the Pros, and Joe (Joe-Show) Doucette who hasn’t lost one iota of his “caveman” charm or ability to bust up a bunch of Pros, even on a Honda 2-stroke from another decade.

The food was good, the porta-potties were spotless, the kids all kept each other well occupied for hours on end. The place had the vibe of a huge family picnic (with motos). I spoke briefly with the master of multi-tasking, Steve Dickieson and he was happy. Relieved, no doubt, that the day had been such a total success, but mostly, simply, peacefully happy. It was a facial expression I saw a lot from the people behind the scenes who make the whole thing work. I think they had a “good day”.

As the various paddocks cleared and the participants began making their way home to regale other friends and family of their exploits and all ‘round “good day” at Mudrooters, I couldn’t help but notice…garbage bags neatly tied up and stacked next to the road just like they’re supposed to be…no tie-ups or traffic jams on the way out…smooth sailing all the way home. Hell! We didn’t even hit that many bugs!

Yeah, Chris, I guess when you really look at it, we ALL had a pretty good day.