Wedron, Ill. (Sept. 26, 2004) -- Still a relative newcomer to the off-road scene in Northern Illinois, Fox Valley Off Road hasn't wasted time logging its share of race seasons. The park not only wrapped up 2004 with one of the better harescrambles in its brief history, but it provided a quality backdrop for midwestmotocross.com rider Mike Keefe to follow through on a promise he made last fall, when he was diagnosed with a likely fatal form of cancer.
"I'll race a harescramble before a year has passed, damnit!" Mike vowed. "Not only that, I'll kick Joe's ass, too."
[Frequent readers of midwestmotocross.com should know Joe -- Joe "Carnage" Carnes, who has been doing his best lately to shake the "Carnage" nickname. -- Ed.]
While Mike surprised everyone by being healthy enough to run (well, partially run) the Hill & Gully Rider's Roselawn, Ind., enduro, he still technically hadn't raced a harescramble. He has now and, amazingly considering the obstacles he had to overcome, which you'll read about shortly, he finished -- not last even!
Here are some photographs of Mike's first harescramble since kicking the cancer monkey off his back -- at least one of them showing Mike laying on his own back -- as well as several of midwestmotocross.com riders Noah and Elliot Holter and our frequent riding bros, Carnes, Bob Brooks and Erik Eiseman. (Unfortunately, we missed getting shots of Zach Carnes, who competed in the 85 class; Anne Brooks, who sealed up another series championship in the women's class; and Tom Desideri, who ultimately made Mike his bitch in the Trailrider 250cc-Open class. One $3.99 disposable camera from the local grocery story only goes so far.)
And, no, Mike did not "kick Joe's ass," but the good news is the crafty bastard will survive to get some more chances next year, which is something we didn't think was probable 10 months ago.
The group hangs out in the pits before the big bikes race.
Mike and Eiseman on the line, patiently waiting for promoter/owner Gerhard Ward to
show up and drop his hat so they can ride.
Fortunately for Brooks (#420) and the rest of the +30A class, they get to kick up
the dust before Mike and the rest of the Trailriders hit the woods. Otherwise, Mike
might have found himself used for traction sooner than usual.
Both Mike and Eiseman had trouble firing up their bikes on the line. Lucky for
Mike, he gets his lit up first and held his own through the first corner.
Unlucky for Mike, he biffed at the bottom of the first downhill in
the woods and twisted the shiny new bars midwestmotocross.com Editor James Holter
installed on Mike's 1988 KX250, better known as "Trigger."
The fist lap only got worse for Mike. Somehow, he managed to crash in
this perfectly flat, dry corner. Later, Mike would claim a small rabbit-like
creature with deer antlers winked at him from the weeds and made him lose concentration.
While we were taking our time to get just the right shot, Mike was trying to catch
his breath and agonizing in pain from what x-rays later would show to be three
broken ribs and a torn chest muscle. Amazingly, after Mike was helped to his feet
by promoter Ward and the EMTs, he declared he couldn't quit after "giving Joe
so much shit" before the race, wrestled his bike from Holter and managed to
complete five loops in the 1-1/2 hour race and beat three guys in his class.
"Make sure you point out to Joe that that's one more guy than he beat in
his class,"
Mike would later insist. (The man may be grabbing for straws here, but you have
to admit that he's creative.)
Bob makes short work of the finish-line log.
Joe follows suit, offering more proof that his "Carnage" days are behind him.
This muddy corner offered two lines -- one over the steep bank and one longer
but easier line around a corner. This lap, Joe's opting for the easier route.
The several minutes we stood here, we saw only four riders take the steep bank.
One was the leader. One was a +30A guy. One was a +30B guy who crashed. And,
yes, one was Mike, who cleaned it.
The big bike riders weren't the only ones competing this Sunday, of course. A news brief linked from the top of the midwestmotocross.com homepage includes the mandatory race reports of midwestmotocross.com riders Noah and Elliot Holter. Here are some photographs of their solid efforts.
