WARNING, LONG RAMBLING POST.
ECXC started on Thursday for me. Met up with everyone at the park in the am. Ran blues and blacks with Mike (Swampwrecker) leading. Lots of fun, ran trail 20 that kicked my ass. Brent (OffroadX) lost one rear shock and popped a bead, Terry (TCRallye) bent up his bottom rear spring plate/shock mount and I busted a motor mount. We ran a few more trails, with me taking it easy. Afterwards Brent helped me big time by going with me to find a welder to fix up my motor mount. Apparently Brent broke his mount a few years ago and had it welded. So we found a welder a few miles from camp and he showed him his truck and told him to ?do that to this truck?. They did, $15 and it ?s still holding. Thanks Brent!
Friday morning was the ?challenge? so the group I was to lead split up and ran with other groups. Sorry guys. The team I was part of consisted of two trucks, two drivers, Mike (Svendog) and myself, and our spotter Gene (RIXterra). The ?challenge? consisted of a three leg timed course. The first leg was up one of those steep hills behind the office. This is where I slid into a tree and dented up my rear door and back quarter panel.
I blame the spotter.
Just breaking ?em Gene, it was my fault.
I had to winch up the rest of the hill and then we winched up Mike. The second part was over some hairy terrain up in the new competition area at Rausch. It was very rocky and Gene was running back and forth to spot Mike and myself. For a big guy he is very nimble on his feet, I later learned from his wife that she refers to him as ?twinkle toes?.
In one section we had to simulate a recovery and I dragged Mike and his truck through part of the trail. During this Mikes truck popped a bead and we had to change his tire on the spot. I?m not bragging when I tell you that we looked like a racing car pit crew, had that shit changed in no time and finished that section. The last part was down a different hill behind the office that had a rock garden at the base.
I must give credit to the ECXC organizers, Mike, Will, Mehdi and Brad for mapping out the course and thinking this up. It was a great ?thinking? course that required a team effort, you couldn?t just bomb through. Awesome job guys.
Oh, we ended up wining the challenge...
Sweet!
Went to the camp site that night and had a few cocktails, saw some old friends and met some new. What a great day! I have, however, developed a banging right under the floorboard/firewall on the drivers side that I think might be a bent torsion bar hitting the cross member. Had a few guys look at it and feel that it will be ok but should be changed soon. I?m hoping it?s not something to do with the motor mount having be busted but I don?t think so ?cause it only happens when the suspension is unloaded and doesn?t matter if I?m on or off the gas. I?ll drop the skids latter today and have a better look.
Saturday I lead an ?Intermediate/Advanced? group. We started with a new trail that was cut off of ?B? and not yet on the map. It?s a up and down that I saw some guys do on Thursday. The first truck in after me took the one bad line entering the trail and needed to winch himself out. The second guy in squashed his tail pipe shut on the one stump coming down the first hill and we had to saw off a peace of it so his truck could run.
[Just a side note; when one of the group you are in goes down proper trail etiquette dictates that you help fix the problem if you can. If a few more people besides Smittey and myself helped take turns to saw off the crushed end of his tail pipe we would have been done and rolling in less than half the time. No biggie, I?m not pissed or anything, I?m just saying... for next time.]
We then did the short Blue section of ?Pole Line?, ?C?, where some did the log bridge and over to ?Yellow Jacket Ridge?, a short Black. a few guys did that including Dave (inliner) who I could not get over this one section that Dan (Spalind) had just done. I was stymied until I asked what he had aired downed that morning...
40psi.
After airing down to a proper 18 he climbed right over. We then did the first part of ?4", a blue, at the end of which the weld holding the drag link on John?s (jonnyshapX) SAS broke ending his day. I called Will (Phoenix) who got Mehdi (killerX) and Brad (RedX) to come and help me because they are part of the crew that runs ECXC and I didn?t know WTF to do. I must have looked like a retard staring at the damage and asked that nobody try to fix anything or move the truck until those guys got there. This was all before lunch so we ate while we waited. When they got there they figured that we should try to stabilize the axle with straps so the truck would steer and could be pulled out. So we got under the truck and did that. Will and Brad said that they would take care of John from that point and that I should continue with the rest of my group. I felt really bad leaving, like I was shirking my responsibility to John and dumping him on Will and Brad but the two of them insisted that it was part of their job and cool so I left.
We did the rest of ?4" to ?B?, then ?2" to 1. On one there is a great little tight up and down that we did and then a really fun large bowl. Dave?s (XterraVT) ?05 must have caught about four feet of air coming out of it. It was Awesome.
We then went over to the new competition area, messed around and called it a day.
The Saturday night party was a blast. All the food was great but the pulled pork was outstanding. It was then announced that Mike, Twinkle Toes and I had won the 2007 1st Annual ECXC Challenge, a nice little plaque, $100 from 4X4Parts and most important, a permanent place in ECXC history. ?Oh you won the Challenge this year, great, who won the first one??, ?Mike, Twinkle Toes and Tom? sweet.
I have never won anything at the ECXC giveaway in the past but this year I hit on 5 out of my 9 tickets, SCORE! A nice Xterra hat, 2 tee shirts (I gave away), a day pass to Rausch and a tool box. Hung out at the UNYX bar and enjoyed a few cocktails. George (geo17pip) and his sister, Olivia, cooked up some fantastic Kielbasa. Shot the shit, drank and ate with some of the coolest people I know, great way to end the event.
Thanks Mike, Will, Mehdi, Brad, Dana and anyone else the helped put this together. You guys are the greatest. I had an unbelievably great time, I felt it was the best ECXC to date and by far the best large event I?ve ever had the pleasure of attending! If you have an Xterra and don?t attend this event every year you?re missing out on one of the best reasons to own one. You should just sell it and buy a sedan.
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