Midsummer is a time in Missouri when a hare scramble can devolve into pure survival from heat and dust. After a full year in St. Louis, I'd come to terms with what I called "sweat weather", the kind where merely standing outside doing nothing was more than enough to drench a shirt. Outdoor venues like Busch Stadium were case studies in human tolerance for humidity. If not for baseball and hare scrambles, Missouri people might lock themselves inside air conditioned homes the entire month of July.
In the middle of the state, near the sweaty capital named for our nation's third president, was the Tebbetts round of the Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship (MHSC). The series promoters were not especially concerned about outdoor temperatures or humidity or precipitation. This was racing. If you didn't like heat or dust, you could enter a bridge tournament at a nursing home. I wasn't much of a bridge player, so I loaded up my KTM, drove to a farm near Tebbetts and entered the race.
The event had benefitted from the anomaly of July rain, which left the course in nearly perfect condition. Dust was absent during practice, the laps were a healthy 10 or 11 miles, and even the heat wasn't much of a factor. The trails were rocky of course, but I liked how the day was progressing. And I really liked the MHSC. I'd never seen such organization in a racing series, with its electronic scoring and multitude of sponsors. Several motorcycle manufacturers offered contingency programs and some of the top riders in the Pro class didn't even have to buy their own race bikes. Some of the small things, like marking the starting rows for each class, were luxuries rarely found in those other hare scrambles east of the Mississippi.
When the race began, I was once again amazed with the speeds at which these B-class riders were tearing through the course. Back home in Illinois, the woods simply couldn't be ridden at those speeds. That's what I was still used to, and my Missouri adjustments were slow to take. What did these guys do if they didn't see a rock while flying across a trail in 4th gear? Can they really hang on to the handlebars after an unseen object deflects the front wheel in a nanosecond? So many questions so few answers.
On the first lap, I eased into my usual back-of-the-pack position in the Open B class and moved over time and again for other B class riders catching me from behind. The Tebbetts course was the least technical I'd ever ridden, but for the rocks of all shapes and sizes. These were still giving me fits, especially in the dry creek bed. It seemed every MHSC race included a long run through a rocky creek bed, complete with rock whoops which deepened as the laps passed by. I had been familiar with sand whoops before my move to Missouri, but whoops made from rock piles were completely new and challenging.
Another MHSC must-have was the grass track. Many of the races were staged on free range cattle ranches, with large pastures surrounded by woods. The Tebbetts site was this type of farm. Certain pasture areas had been staked and ribboned for grass tracks, with endless turns across gentle hills. I was unfamiliar with racing on green grass, treating every turn like I was protecting my position on a motocross track. The fast guys attacked the turns with wide angles, maintaining better momentum and going faster while appearing slower. I had read about this technique in dirt bike magazines. I couldn't believe it actually worked.
The remaining laps were a blur of throttle, high gears, and fear. I didn't recall touching first or second gear at any time during the race, but I did remember one section, nearly a mile long, which could be run full throttle in top gear. Naturally, pinning the throttle for the better part of a mile required courage, of which I had none. My Illinois mind would have to be picked apart, torn down and rebuilt, and maybe then this Missouri old-growth woods racing would make sense.
After 4 laps with no significant mistakes, I finished in the bottom of my class. I was still waiting for that illusive trophy, wondering if I'd ever earn it in the B class.
