Round 1 - VCHSS - Joe Lloyd Memorial @ Oak Ridge MUDDER

First race of the 2023 season did not disappoint. It was snowing all day long and temps in the mid 30s. The course was one of the more challenging courses I have ridden bc of how slick it was. The top 2" was a layer of thick tacky loose mud and underneath was a layer of hard pack clay that acts like ice when wet.
We had a good start, second into the woods, shortly after I made the pass for first and then made a huge mistake shortly after that. I went from 1st to roughly 15th in a matter of seconds. From then on I just tried to chip away. 11th after lap 1, 6th after lap 2 and ended up making a few more passes on the last lap to finish 3rd in Vet B 30+.
Thanks to everyone who put the race on. There was a lot of carnage out there today but I had a blast.

[@DirtBikingwithDonnie]

Brutal conditions, wow. Nice job suffering through it. That course looks awesome, I can only imagine if it wasn’t muddy.

[@SkinnySkinch]

Oh man it woulda been super fun and fast if it was dry. I really enjoyed it even with the conditions but man oh man did I wear me out. I can barley walk right now.

[@hkramer52]

I had a blast on this course just lap 1 I had to ditch my googles and the mixture coming down felt like needles to my eyes . You were moving pretty good .

[@SkinnySkinch]

Man it really did feel like needles in the eyes you could only go so fast on the straights or it hurt too bad and blinded u. I was squinting my eyes the whole race but yeah I agree it was brutal but somehow still super fun at the same time

[@jeffmclean789]

Awesome race! That was as enjoyable as Redbull TV. The hill carnage was something else. That would have dropped me from the race.

[@SkinnySkinch]

Hahaha! I wish they'd sponsor me! LOL. Yeah that hill almost got the best of me but I somehow managed to make it. I was sucking wind for a while after that

[@Tankerman]

I just knew you were fixing to nail that tree head on haha. Man that was one nasty hill. I am starting to think you need to catch the flu before every race, must help with arm pump haha. Who ever laid out that course was pissed off at yall or has a sick mind haha. Congrats buddy on such a good race.

[@SkinnySkinch]

😂😂😂 yeah whoever laid it out sure had it in for us. That hill climb got me good that first lap. I was sucking wind 💨

[@craighoyt125]

good video... and I can sympathize with you! I wear glasses or contacts when I race.. and whenever I wear the glasses I get massive fogging issues and whenever i use the contacts they dry out and get blurry! I have been searching for a solution for years! Lazor Surgery didnt work either! Racing in the mud is hard enough throw in vision challenges and its 100 times harder! Good video!

[@SkinnySkinch]

Yeah man I have same issue with fogging. I dont think I woulda been able to keep my goggles on even if I ddi have tear offs or roll offs sadly. I sweat a lot and I guess that is a bad recipe for foggy goggles. Hope you can fix the eye sight issue. Surprised Lasik didnt help.

[@ThomperBeThompin]

Great work. You were flying considering those conditions and the visibility issues.

[@SkinnySkinch]

Thanks bro! It was nuts. Luckily the C race wore a nice singular rut into the trail which made it easier to ride faster even with how slippery it was. When are we gonna see you line up on B line? Next year you think?

[@ThomperBeThompin]

@@SkinnySkinch oh man, maybe. I don't think I can quite hang with you guys yet. Maybe in the near future ish!

[@SkinnySkinch]

@@ThomperBeThompin All I know is whenever I ride with people faster than me I learn a lot and improve. When you stay with the same or similar skill level you don't learn as much as fast. Any experience out on the course is good experience though. I think you could hang man!

[@ThomperBeThompin]

@@SkinnySkinch I appreciate it brother!

[@dougiep8464]

Safe glasses work well in wet conditions

[@SkinnySkinch]

Never thought of that not a bad idea thanks!

[@tomsears5711]

Nice Job Skinch ! I raced the morning and cant imagine has slick it must have gotten for y'all. What bike are you on now? last vid you were a 150

[@SkinnySkinch]

Thanks haha yeah it sure was slippery! I have a 2022 TE150 and also a 2018 250xc I kind of switch back and fourth not really sure which bike I’m better on. I feel like I am more confident on the 150 but there’s so many scenarios where I could use some extra power the 150 just lacks bottom end big time but it will force you to be a better rider

[@tomsears5711]

@@SkinnySkinch Ah Yes, the question, is it the rider or the bike? I've got a 300 xc and this was a perfect race to click 3rd an lug it ! Love your vids man, I'll look for you at CVTR

[@SkinnySkinch]

@@tomsears5711 Definitely 98% rider haha and yes I was telling my buddy man I bet a 300 woulda been perfect for this race. That thick tacky mud actually bogged my 250 down quite a few times almost like normal mud does to my 150. I had never experienced mud that tacky with such a slick surface underneath.

[@jpp2422]

Moving away from the 150? Always wondered how a 150 would work out after 300’s / 250’s.

[@SkinnySkinch]

I am still not 100% sure. I am definitely faster on the 250 in certain conditions/scenarios but if its really tight woods I am 100% faster on my 150. I feel like I can "ride the shit" out of my 150 but I do not feel that way on the 250. I am still timid on the 250.

[@samw9305]

Hey guys, I've rode with some guys that raced in this before, and Im trying to flip bikes to have money to get back into this stuff. Do y'all have any advice?