08-28-2011, 01:28 PM
DPG is up near the Lexington or Asheboro, NC area which is only about an hour from here. A short time later I arrived and began to set everything up, all the while monitoring the conflicting and usually inaccurate weather reports.
Clay got there a couple hours later. I had pre-run the course and was walking the course when he arrived. We walked around for a little bit and ran 2 more laps. The course was mid-sized, probably about 2 miles at my best guess. It had two sections of high speed field running, a few hills to climb, one nasty mud hole (ie- cesspool) that was brutal to the nose, and the main feature, a heavily wooded section with plenty of small rocks, medium sized rocks, and a few BIG rocks.
My first impression of the course was that it was rough. Even the fields had their share of hidden surprises, ready to jerk the steering wheel of my hands at any moment. It wasnât a course where you felt âsettled inâ at any time. What made it worse was the dust. It was insanely dry. Visibility was almost none right behind another vehicle.
After that, we pretty much took it easy. It felt weird to not do anything while everyone else around was busy wrenching on their stuff. Even just pre-running had folks breaking things and having to find creative solutions to improvise (call that what you will).
About time it got dark, we got together for the driverâs meeting and a pig roast. Driverâs meeting was standard stuff. The pig was good and I was hungry! It hit the spot. After that we went back to our pits and hung out and traded war stories and speculated about the weather and what the next day would hold.
All Friday night there was a steady breeze from the north. The hurricane was pulling clouds toward it all night long. It cooled the temperature down nicely and kept the bugs away. About 6am Saturday, the wind really started to pick up. I got up soon after and broke down the sleeping gear, ate, and got ready for our heat race, scheduled for 9. We would be starting in the last row of the 2nd heat. It was nice to have a little time to get everything sorted out and to collect my thoughts.
Clay got there a couple hours later. I had pre-run the course and was walking the course when he arrived. We walked around for a little bit and ran 2 more laps. The course was mid-sized, probably about 2 miles at my best guess. It had two sections of high speed field running, a few hills to climb, one nasty mud hole (ie- cesspool) that was brutal to the nose, and the main feature, a heavily wooded section with plenty of small rocks, medium sized rocks, and a few BIG rocks.
My first impression of the course was that it was rough. Even the fields had their share of hidden surprises, ready to jerk the steering wheel of my hands at any moment. It wasnât a course where you felt âsettled inâ at any time. What made it worse was the dust. It was insanely dry. Visibility was almost none right behind another vehicle.
After that, we pretty much took it easy. It felt weird to not do anything while everyone else around was busy wrenching on their stuff. Even just pre-running had folks breaking things and having to find creative solutions to improvise (call that what you will).
About time it got dark, we got together for the driverâs meeting and a pig roast. Driverâs meeting was standard stuff. The pig was good and I was hungry! It hit the spot. After that we went back to our pits and hung out and traded war stories and speculated about the weather and what the next day would hold.
All Friday night there was a steady breeze from the north. The hurricane was pulling clouds toward it all night long. It cooled the temperature down nicely and kept the bugs away. About 6am Saturday, the wind really started to pick up. I got up soon after and broke down the sleeping gear, ate, and got ready for our heat race, scheduled for 9. We would be starting in the last row of the 2nd heat. It was nice to have a little time to get everything sorted out and to collect my thoughts.