With the mantra “make it to the top” running through my head, I launched the red beast off the line pretty good, but let off too much for the first jump, lost momentum, let off too much for the second jump, lost more momentum, and was spinning and swerving like mad as I barely crested the hill. My time was better on the 250, but I made it. In retrospect, my main problems were being too far forward and not being in the powerband. The extended swingarm definitely helped keep the front end down, but this is a bike that needs to be ridden hard to work properly.

The noticeably longer CR500 does not look too taxed by the author’s effort.
Photo courtesy of Col's MotoSports

After riding the first round and watching quite a few runs, I gained even more respect for the riding ability of hillclimbers. While it would be difficult to succeed without a fast, well set-up bike, it still takes a lot of skill and nerve to ride it up the hill for everything it’s worth. On this day, it was 16 year-old on a 500 that had the best time up the hill, showing that sometimes the sharp reflexes of youth can make up the fractions of a second that mark the difference between a good run and a great one. I’m sure that on other days, experience or displacement are the deciding factors.

Going against what I thought would happen, my second run on the 250 was worse than my first, as I zigzagged up the increasingly slippery hill. To make matters worse, Blair beat my time in the second round. On my last run with the 500, I got away pretty straight, stayed further back for traction, was still pretty wimpy off the jumps, and made it up fairly clean, just barely beating my first round 250 time.

Overall, I enjoyed my first try at the sport and would like to try it again. The riders and crew are friendly, it’s excellent for spectators, and it has a pretty relaxed pace. I can see where a modified bike would be better if you wanted to improve at the sport, but to just give it a try, all that is required is a tether kill switch. You can find one for less than $40 anywhere that sells ATV accessories and they are simple to install.

The race within a race between Blair and I did not yield a clear bragging rights winner nor did either of us get in the same neighborhood as a trophy. This may not be over after all.

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