TXC 250 race report (Winter HS)

Well we kicked off the first race of the Netra Hare Scramble series last sunday. I tell you what, eating like a health nut for a few months and hitting the gym religously has really payed off. All that being joined by a new race steed has yielded excellent results. I won right out of the hole on this bike. First race = 1 win in the Expert Vet class against some stacked competition.

The race was a 6 mile course in the snow with frozen ground, bare grass track, snowy trails and some nice fast sections. I had brand new Trelleborgs on my bike that I made with my own rally spike air gun. Between the handling of the Husky 250f, a set of .44 front springs, new spikes and some setup-- I really felt like I had a great setup.

The temps were cold at about 22degrees. So I think I ran a 45pilot and went two sizes up on the main. The jetting was very good but I id the entire race with my new fuel screw set too far open. The bike took a few extra seconds to light at the start which caused me to get a dead last start and on a few stalls out in the woods it took a few seconds to start the bike. This was all due to my improper setting of the fuel screw that I added to the bottom of the carb a few weeks ago. It has sense been adjusted and all is well now.

Soo the start did not go well but I immediately began picking people off in the grass tracks. By the time I had reached the woods I had already passed a few guys and was in about 13th or so. I put my head down and did some serious throttle twisting. I just kept it pinned and would be all over guys in the fast stuff. Unfortunely it was too hairy to pass at that speed in the tight woods, so I made the decision to get on peoples butt's on the straightaways and then make my passes by out hairing them/ out braking them leading up to the turns. I wasnt worried about my physical conditioning because I have become a gym rat. By the end of the 2nd lap I had reached the rear door of 3rd place, he was going good and braking hard, sooo my statagy had to change. We came to a fast jeep cart road that only had one smooth line to the left which he was in and hard on the gas. I took the rough line and pinned it WFO.. Kinda sketchy but it got me even with the guy and I railed the follwoing left turn to make the pass stick. (These Husky's really do handle well in the turns, they are just flatout planted).
After a half lap of twisting it and riding alone I came up on the 2nd place rider,who ironically was a Husky 250f rider and none other than my older brother. Needless to say a battle ensued. There were a few rams, slams, t-bones, some paint swapping by both parties, and I was finally by him after about a 6min battle of pushing at a great pace. Knowing that he was doing soo well and now on my tail, I upped my pace even more and did some serious digging. On the 4th lap I caught the leader and we hooked up for quite a while. My arms started to pump up and I had to just try and keep him in sight. I wasnt going to let him go but I didnt want to push him and make him charge because I was nursing pumped arms, so i stopped pressuring and dropped back. Ended up getting stuck in a mudhole (wtf its winter man?). Shortly after this happened I decided to stop for gas in fear of running out. MAN.............I lost a lot of time in the pits dealing with these Husky gas caps. The thing leaks soo i had it real right, soo pumped up arms could not get it off. Got some help from the new girlfriend who was present in the pits and a few bystanders. Gassed up and took off but I was down a minute.
Ended up getting my arms back and put my head down all the way to the finish. I made the pass for the win in the second to last corner and then took the win. I have been robbed in the past and although I have won expert enduros and races in other series. I had never won an expert harescramble in my series. To do it on a Husky and the way it all went, was just plain sweet. Not only did I get my first win, but now I get to go to the 2009 banquet awards (200 expert champ) with the points lead and feeling great about 2010. Plus I got $150 bucks from Husky.. Good times and a great race bike!!! I had very little issues and all my bike prep and tips from this site really paid off. My bike is stone reliable and is just setup excellent. Too bad the 2nd round isnt till March Im ready to rip and I am hungry to put the Husky back on top of the box.

great job dan,I knew you were gonna do well,sounds like your brother did well also,going to be a good year in vet class!

Good race! I like the part about the arm pump & your girlfriend getting the gas cap off!!! I didn't know Husky still had issues with that! Good story, makes me feel like I'm right there. Keep us posted & keep putting the time in at the gym. Relax & get passed, Right!

That's great...you need to get a helmet cam and rock it during a race!

That 2009 TXC 250 is the bomb!

My studded front tire left claw marks all over his swingarm, and rear master cylinder, he got the point. The TXC's were great. We had a big edge over the two strokes on this course. All day long I was catching A200's and 250's on the hills, they just couldn't hook up.

Nice report! You definitely need a helmet cam!

What is your gym rat routine??

And is the studded tire for hooking up on roots? I was thinking about that the other day when my bike launched me off a 3' diameter cedar log.

I have a helmet cam, just need to start wearing it! The studs are for ice,snow, and frozen ground

Congratulations, great report. The posts on NEDB showing video is worth watching -Youtube. I will see you at the banquet.

Congrats that's the way to put the Husky's on top!

Gym routine os that I go once in the am and once at nite. I do some heart rate interval training but also do some endurance stuff. Basically I am living by the Gary Semics traing video and hand booklet. Its not easy and is a big commitment but I have seen huge gains in the last few months. It is soo time consuming that it is affecting my work ethic and productivity at the work place. But I'm trying to balance it all out. I just wanna win. I'm have changed my eating, sleeping, exercise, basically my life style. Quit drinking too. I wanna finally see what I can do if I am physically fit.

Well you are off to a great start!

Great story and that's what brothers are for! He ain't gonna take that laying down though I bet

I used to be a runner and did the heart rate training and it can really pay off...I have never read what Gary is saying, but 2 things come into play for sure. 1) is consistent training. You gotta hang with this over time and 2) is don't over train and allowing for resting and recovery is a must. You will never gain or your gains will stop or slow down without the easy \ rest days of training. Hard days are important but you gotta rest and allow the body to recover and build up after you have stressed it from previous hard work.

In my case, using the heart rate stuff was a way to ensure I was not working too hard on easy days...Because if you are not careful, all days will be hard days and monitoring the heart is the only way to see how hard you are working. At 52, I have to have 2 complete days of rest before totally recover sometimes..

With all these you will find out that if you totally stop, it will evaporate quickly over time but on the up side, you can return back to a certain level of fitness much easier than the first time because you have a history of it So hang with it and keep U&UR Husky on top!!!1

Good luck and keep up the good work and training

PS -- I did the same thing with my riding buddies..I just got in better shape so at the end of our trail rides, I was going like it was the first hr of riding

and I'm glad to hear some positive things on these 08-09 model TXCs...My 08 is a great bike..motor and suspension...