ISDTRR 2004 ZINK RANCH
TEXAS VINTAGE RACING TEAM
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RESULTS
One Gold Medal and Two Bronze Medals for the Texas Vintage Racing Team
Larry Shope also received a Gold Medal
ISDTRR PHOTO 1 ISDTRR PHOTO 2 ISDTRR PHOTO 3
ISDTRR PHOTO 4
Many Thanks to those that helped with taking photos especially Bob Lucas
Skip's ISDTRR Revue
After the previous month of preparing 3 bikes in different degrees I drove all Friday afternoon in varying amounts of rainfall to the Zink Ranch 9 miles north of Sand Springs Oklahoma. Unloading in a slight mist an absolute stranger helped me roll my 1975 Jackpiner out of the bed of my pickup. I apologize to the next stranger I didn't loan my 30 year old milk crate to change a flat. I've never lost anything to a rider in a campground since 1972. After the five hour trip in the rain it took a few kicks but the bike started and cleared out. After tech you impound your bike and the are no more test starts. Passing Tech inspection took a convincing lie that the headlight switch doubles as a kill switch and a 1975 license plate me and the orange dotted bike went to the parc ferme. Last bike prep was to tape on a spare spark plug and a wrench. My teammates Walter and Trevor Parks arrived and quickly before dark we applied backgrounds and race numbers I had prepared to their bikes and sent them through Tech inspection. We were the only Team I could see that had there custom race numbers (except for Doug Wilford) and a tarp over there bikes other than the guy that tried to use and umbrella for protection. It was inside out on the ground the next morning. Any way after all the preparation in the shop  we parked them in a wet field in the rain for the night. Next we talked the 4H club into a late BBQ dinner stuffed it down and left the ranch for a dry motel room. I drew my first blood of the weekend scraping the skin off my knuckle lowering my gear bag too close the air conditioner grate in the motel room. We crashed and woke up to a 5:30 wake up call even though key time had been moved to 9:00 AM due to the rainy conditions. I peeked outside to see if it had stopped raining. It had and Doug Wilford was up shaved and fully dressed walking his dog. I felt behind already. Next was the continental breakfast. There was Larry Mieres reminiscing about Steve McQueen in an historic ISDT. John Penton Dave Mungenast Doug Wilford were there and I was just trying to figure out the waffle iron. Doug said have a waffle Skip and I thought he advised it that must be the ticket. Larry Perkins gave me some waffle iron operation tips when he saw my confusion with the kitchen equipment. I can assemble a KTM motor but I don't know when to use Pam non stick spray. I saw deer the size of ponies on the way into the track that morning but none as big as the Bob Lucas just missed with his Mustang convertible Sunday morning. Dressing for the ride on a split decision I decided to go ahead and wear my chest protector although this was not an MX race, my normal race event.  The cover on our bikes seemed to keep our bikes dry and we rolled them to the work area to line up for our start minute. We didn't have to clean off any cow pies off or seats like Dave Mungenast  had in the sweet spot on his seat applied by his admiring mechanic. All my nervous anticipation disappeared when my bike started on the first kick. That made the first 100 yards feel great. For some reason the bike that had started on the first kick for five days was loaded up would not start. I pushed through next check thinking that a short push would clear it out. 100 feet farther out of breath and in a panic I changed the plug with the only trail tool I packed. Off to the races I was think I could MX ride and make up the lost time. It seemed to work until a slick spot on a fire road put me down when I hit the gas in 4th gear to go though it. I went on a 100 foot skid till the bike stopped. The clutch lever had disengaged buried up in the mud and saved me from having to restart the Jackpiner. I picked up the bike unhurt and took off again. Late for the next check. I waited my turn to go through only a minute off time. I knew I could catch up with some more fast riding. The laid down shocks made the trails and roads feel pretty smooth. My next surprise came as I could see the riders on my minute just ahead I took a different line that they though a mud hole beside the slick road that I saw them cross up in. All the low spots to this point had trailed in and out with no sharp ledges so I down geared and gassed into the water crossing. Much to my surprise the water crossing got deep and the splash through the water had a square edge on the exit. The forks compressed to their stops, my chest pounded the cross bar at fourth gear speed ( remember I decided to wear my chest protector) my feet in a classic flying W. The rear absorbed the bump and the bike never lost gyro and stayed straight and once again the Penton stability saved me. I arrived early to the next check and all seemed to be well but I did not kill my motor . Half way or so through the next section I noticed I had no rear brake. I could see my brake rod dragging with the wing nut and spring so my decision was to wait for the next check to snap it back on. Surprise at the check point which was check 4 home base start finish line. The brake rod was dragging because there was no brake arm on the brake cam to connect it to. First was panic for time then I realized that was a spare lever I did not bring but ever the scavenger I knew any KTM brake arm would work so to the truck I paced to get a 10mm wrench and to find a KTM not being ridden. In the very next pit was a 1979 KTM on Larry Perkins' for sale trailer load. Perfect, someone I knew and as the realtors say location, location, location. I squeezed in between two loaded bikes on a trailer loosed the brake rod and arm and ran back to the work area to attach the borrowed part to my bike. As usual it took mounting it twice to get in in the right position but breathless I was ready to go. Then I woke up to the fact we were on lunch break with another hour or so to the start stop test but I was ready. More ready than in 2000 at the 4th annual RR. After Saturday's trails I didn't check my fuel and I actually ran out in the acceleration test when I gassed it after the turn. I only needed 200 more feet worth. So now I rode my bike to get some gas at the camp and when I got there I my 10 mm wrench was not with me . It was a special wrench from a set my old Penton dealer Gerald Greenhill bought me one day, but that's another story. I take wherever I go for good luck. So I retraced my trail back to the work area hoping to find it along the way. At the work area was a Husky with his tool box open. I asked him if he had seen it and another rider had already tossed in his tool box just a minute ago. He helped me find it amongst his tools as I asked  what he was doing and what he needed. He said I need two more 6 mm Allen screws to have all the bolts for my exhaust flange.  I had some in our rescue kit in camp and he must have thanked me a half dozen more times that weekend. All crisis over for now I went back to camp to refuel my bike and rode back to the work area and it was now time to go the remaining Saturday time tests. I fared well about 1/3 down the list with a 14.25 second start and stop on the 175 when I noticed my team TVRC rider Walter Parks looking strangely at his Jackpiner. He said the clutch won't release. I said I will go run my motocross lap and return to help. Surviving the sight reading lap I returned to Walter. Adjusting the  cable would not fix the problem so our solution with time being of the essence I found the first official I cuold and asked if we could substitute a bike for the speed tests. After a trip on the 4 wheeler up to the main barn a short meeting was held and they said we could even without changing the numbers due to the time element. Cool. Back to the test grounds we told the scorers of the substitution as we went through the tests. I read the event instructions again and thanks to spirit of the rule thing all the rules we broke were tolerated. Hey this is only 2:00 on the first day.