My first try on the hill was on foot. If you are going to try walking the hill, I would recommend shoes with some kind of tread. It was pretty steep and long, but not that much different than some of the hills on the familiar motocross track that was a few hundred yards away. The exception was that the hill had two jumps, the second of which was rather steep. Neither Blair nor I knew how the bike would feel in the air, so the jumps were a cause for concern.

Unlike my usual sport, Motocross, Hillclimb is much older than I am. The first set of competition rules were established in 1919. Although technology and class structures have changed over the years, the basic elements of the sport have endured. Each rider entered gets two timed runs up the hill, your best run counts, the fastest time (or furthest up the hill) wins. Not unlike many things that can be described so simply, it is something that is deceptively difficult to do well.

Like my somewhat successful attempt at Flat Track and much less competitive effort in Quad Motocross, I was going in with no practice before the event. Unlike the other two sports, there is no event day practice. My first attempt was going to be in front of the crowd and Blair’s merciless video camera. At least it was going to be on my own trusty YZ.

The start is quite different from any other racing I had done. Instead of someone waving a flag or tripping a gate, you line up in staging, push the bike to the start area, get it lined up where you want it, and then start when you’re ready. There is some space between where you start and the tripping of the timer, in this case, around 25 feet.

The author’s swerving first run got him very close to the photographer.
Photo courtesy of Col's MotoSports

Like a sheep without a border collie, I was unsure when to start. I finally pretended a gate was dropping and took off. The bike wheelied, got a bit sideways off the line, and I was already heading out of bounds. By letting off drastically for a bit, I stayed on the course and made it to the top with a time that would put me a close second in the 65cc class. Unfortunately, I was competing against other 250s. I was surprised by how much trouble I had simultaneously keeping the back wheel straight and the front wheel down.

Blair would be the first of us to try the CR up the hill. He started well but got sideways after the second jump and was unable to make it up the hill. He recovered well and didn’t hit the dirt, but now I was wishing I could ride my YZ again. Blair told me that he started in second and thought that at the speeds we were going, first might be the better choice.

Page 1   Page 2   Page 3