Perry Mt. 24 hour Challenge

June 6th and 7th in Maplesville Alabama.

The Motosportz/LTR Racing TXC 450 Leaves Westport Wa at the end of May and I will meet back up with it on June 5th at Perry Mountain.

Any other Cafe Husky Brothers/Sisters going to be there?

Holy cow Scott...all the way to Alabama?!?! Could you have picked a further spot? I have never heard of the Perry Mt. 24 Hr challenge...it must be a good one! Good luck as usual...iron man or team?

David

Come on down....I give you a little tip, be ready for a lot of humidity & dust. The last couple of seasons have been extremely dry. Pray for rain. Great race at a great place that has a lot of history with motorcycle racing. Good luck

if it's even a remote chance for dry conditions, assume you're in a desert event. So have a set up for washed out sandy whoops and tree roots hidden under the sand. If it's a wet race it will turn into a slime fest with the silt and hard pack bottom it will want to slide on. Good luck, it's like no other endurance event if this is your first 24hour one. Bring several spare filters, several pre-filters, and plan running a radiator fan if you're bike has the least little bit of propensity to run hot if jetted lean.

Yeah, maybe don't pray for rain the day of, but a couple of days before would make it perfect. 2 years ago we got a whole lot of percip the day before & the day of the race. I have never, I mean NEVER had a motorcycle stuck in the mud so many times so deep. It took 3.5 hours to do a 2 hour hare scramble. I was 2 dumb 2 quit. Maplesville is a great place to race, I'm sure you've been to their website, the members all ride & know how to lay out a course & the Reynolds have been playing with motorcycles out there since 1938. My old man raced there in the 60's & 70's. I'll be out looking for you before the race starts, and hopefully you will enjoy our finest "southern hospitality" whilst you are here. GL

The conditions sound very similar to the Starvation Ridge course in Washington, High Desert. When it is dry there dust is a major factor, but if you know how to play the wind it is not too bad. When it rains I don't know of ant substance that is slicker than the wet silt over a hard pack. I have seen bikes that have had to be pulled out with tractors after some of the events there.
The temperture change will be a major factor. Out here on the coast of Washington it is currently 51, windy, and raining (Just like yesterday, the days before, the month before, etc.)
I have raced a few 24 hour events in WA. and Canada as both a team member and solo. The oportunity to go to this event was by a chance conversation with one of my team mates at a 24 hour in Canada.
Really looking forward to riding the event and meeting some fine folks in the Southern U.S.
I will be Ironmaning this event, so keep the tips and advice coming

The issue with dry/dusty conditions at Perry Mountain is that the whole course is in the trees with exception of the MX portion of the loop. So there is never a break from the dust or the heat as there is a constant frieght train of dust for 24 hours. I've seen it rain a couple hours on the night before the event and the ground seemed wet only to be in a constant dust bowl after the 1st lap. I'm used to the heat, but unless this venue decides to run the 24hr in the cooler months, it's just too much like torture when I can go out and do 8-10 hour day for my own punishment on my terms.

Might make it by for team/buddy support, but there are about 5 things going on that weekend already so it might be tight trying to squeeze a ride over to say hi.

Good luck

The other issue with the summer months down here is the lack of any wind which makes the heat & humidity a little worse. The "hazy/lazy days of summer". If at all possible if you could come down a week ahead of the race that would give you a little time to get acclimated to the 90 degree plus temps & the 80-99% humidity. I love walking outside during the summer months here & sit in my favorite camp chair in the shade & just sweat, there is no evaporation or dryness in the air. So drink as much as possible, then drink some more. Now I'm not trying to make it sound as if it is an impossible race or you're going riding with the Devil himself, just a little heads up on what to expect weather-wise & track-wise.

Are you staying in an RV or getting a hotel room? I can give you some tips on where to stay or park the RV on-site.

I will be flying into Tampa on the 2nd and then heading a little further south to Sarasota to visit some family. On the morning of Friday the 5th I will head up towards the event site hopefully hooking up with my bike and the other guys from WA who drove there.
If you have a couple of suggestions for hotels I would apreciate it just in case they are running late.

OK you have some options, if you want to stay in the city that has some night life & grocery stores/Walmart close by, then Pelham or Alabaster will be your best bets. This area of Alabama is South of Birmingham but North of Perry Mt, it's only 30-45 minutes away though & traffic will not be an issue early on Saturday morning. Cahaba Valley Rd is also know as Hwy 119, it is a safe, well lit area that runs through the Oak Mt. entertainment district. Dirt Bike Supply is located in Pelham & not far from the Oak Mountain, Bill the owner is a member of Perry Mt. & is a old school guy that's been riding for like a thousand years. Good guy..... Bill will be at the 24 hour race as a marshall or in some other type of offical capacity..... Links below:


http://www.alabama-hotels.org/citie...hotels-Exact&gclid=COywo7vItJoCFVaF7Qodcxeubw

http://maps.google.com/maps?sourcei...&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=1

http://www.dirtbikesupplybham.com/

If you want to stay as close as possible to Maplesville/Perry Mt. then the Clanton, AL hotels will be right on the interstate & in a rural setting. These hotel rooms in Clanton will probably go fast, so just a heads up.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...us&q=Clanton, Alabama hotels&btnG=Search Maps

I hope this helps & if not or if you have any questions then let me know. One day I would like to come out to the NW & ride, I'll need some help getting around. Seems my Southern Boy Compass doesn't work too well north of the Mason-Dixon line.....

Thank you for the suggestions and the information on the hotels
I had the day off so I spent most of the day working on both of the bikes.
Here is a picture of the bike I am using for the 24 hour.

8" Trail Tech
2 Trail Tech MR 11's off of each hand gaurd mount.
2 Trail Tech MR 16 Helmet lights.

Might Change the 11's back to the helmet and the 16's to the bike. We'll see after this weekends testing.



The other bike is being freshend up for the Idaho City Qualifier.

Have fun out there Scott!!

Let me know if you need to borrow any lights or batteries.

I have 2 pair of MR11's, a MR16, a 7800 battery, two 3800's and two chargers.

Later,

Here is the final version, I will be loading it on a Truck tomorrow and hopefully seeing it next Friday in Alabama.


Jake;
I will give you a call about using the MR 16 Light.

Looks like Hall's is sending a team down for their first ever Perry Mountain 24. Looks like HVA will be well represented, I even have a buddy trying to get an '04 TC 450 that he inherited up & running. Good Luck to all you Husky Peeps

It's been raining off & on here.....which is good. Best bet, an easy rain 1-2 days before the race....There will still be a lot of dust in the open spots, but the woods should be nice.

8'' of rainfall so far for the month in Maplesville. Double the average, sounds like it's been on more than off.
10 day forcast calls for a 60% chance of rain going into Saturday.

Best of luck to you Scott & all the Husky competitors

Any news?? Updates???