Ain't Ms Bee Haven

So where did you'all dream up that name, I've been asked? Well this land, at the Fore Ranch, has been a project of original CFTR member Hubert Ray and his association with Norman Fore. The last race, the Virgin Gator, was named in honor of the general area that other races were held in the past but this time on virgin land. Hubert's put in years of work to hold events here and was attacked by bees out on the property as he worked the Saturday race. That earned Hubert a 'bamalance ride and hospital recovery from the stings. Other beehives where found through out the weekend earning the area the stigma of a bee haven. So to honor Hubert and his bee adventure, but since the queen 'rules the roost', the name became MsBeeHaven. We found no bees this time around but the word dust was literally on everyone's lips after practice. Stumps that were hidden in the mud (just ask Lee Daley) stood out by the hundreds to make vision essential for the nearly 600 racers. The 7.2 miles of the Saturday course got my full attention Friday afternoon when I pre-rode as the course layout stewards put the finishing touches on. An additional mile was added for the Sunday riders in a fun little section by the creek. Practice times for the Saturday A riders approached 25 minutes calling for 2 laps for the Minis and 3 laps for the others. Much to our surprise Mini lap times for the race hovered near the 40 minutes total, bringing whines and letters for more laps in the future. I'll say this, CFTR has never been known for making an event easy for anyone. The Minis surprised us on this one. Just look at their laps times compared to Quad A 4 stroke. We prefer that the Minis get all their laps in instead of the slower riders still being on the course during the Vintage A start. Hopefully a new 2-day starting order will make this headache magically go away but in the mean time we are already planning to make adjustments. Sorry Minis, we worry about your safety more than anyone out there. The Vintage class brought us the excitement of the weekend when a fire started next to the course and not far from the camp. Course workers and the property owner were quick to respond to contain the blaze before an army of county firefighters arrived to check out the action. With the fire quickly under control and the course slightly rerouted, the Quads took off in the biggest dust cloud I've ever stood in as the leaders lapped in the sub 15 minute lap times. Peewee riders got a little open field action since their course was moved out of the parking area. Field racing is OK, and all part of the Hare Scramble learning curve, but the section that had been recently plowed was sucking the life out of the little 2 stroke 50s. This of course was to the advantage of the faster 4 stroke riders because their motors just kept on truckin'. All this tends to prove that the trickiest bike is not the best at every event. Keep on plugging you 4 stroke Peewee riders! Sundays practice lap times again hovered in the 25-minute range for the top A riders calling for lap numbers of 3 for ten, 4 for 12, and 3 for 2 o'clock. Even though race times hovered near the 1 hour 30 for 12 o'clock, the 10 and 2 races put on impressive times just over 1 hour. So that's it guys. It'll be a cold day at the Richloam Enduro before racers aren't dragging themselves across the finish line at our next Hare. This I promise. Speaking of the 12 o'clock race, former Series Champions Bobby Moriarty and Dusty Morgan led the charge in AA as the other top riders including Garrett Edmisten and CFTR's own little (huh?) Maynard Paterson set blistering times in their A classes. With a several minute lead Bobby stepped off near the start area to retire the lead to Dusty with Garrett closing within 6 seconds of the overall at the finish. Maynard took an ugly spill before the second road crossing and got the fast ride to the hospital (along with a killer IV) to set a broken leg and plates to his ankle. His Dad said it looks like several months before he can begin training again on his scoot. I'll bet on Maynard coming back stronger than ever. The Patterson's are the rocks of CFTR. Two o'clock racers took to a well opened up course as their lap times fell within the 10 o'clock A racers. Winning the 250 C was my buddy Rich Viggiano (I think you're B now) with lap times just over 20 minutes. All the other C class winners also had excellent times for three laps. Our next Hare won't pan-out so easy and then I won't have any more buddies. Darn. CFTR plans to have two Hares again next season (depending on the sanction meeting of course) on the same property. The Fore family has been very supportive of FTR racing this season and FTR members have shown them how a large group can come on a beautiful piece of property and leave behind nothing but tracks in the sand. Thanks to all. Lane Sheppard