Road to the Hammers
- Thread starter speedyangie
- Start date
speedyangie
The Need, The Need For SPEED.......UTVUndergroun d
Wow. What an adventure! To all of those who have been following along on this exciting adventure, thank you for all your support. You were all on my mind as I was zipping through the desert and crawling up the rocks! 
Thursday morning couldn't come fast enough. All the anticipation and hard work was just waiting to get a chance out on the race course. I drew 9th out of the almost 40 UTVs running, but found out that I'd be starting 3rd to last (I didn't realize at the time how much this would effect the race...more on that later). I wouldn't say I was nervous at all, more anxious to get out and get moving.
Thursday morning couldn't come fast enough. All the anticipation and hard work was just waiting to get a chance out on the race course. I drew 9th out of the almost 40 UTVs running, but found out that I'd be starting 3rd to last (I didn't realize at the time how much this would effect the race...more on that later). I wouldn't say I was nervous at all, more anxious to get out and get moving.
speedyangie
The Need, The Need For SPEED.......UTVUndergroun d
Start -
We pulled up to the start and I was on it, I didn't want to lose my "Speedy" nickname after all. I told everyone that I wasn't going to jump at all in the start because, in my own words, it was "unnecessary" given the brutality of the desert section to come, but apparently I did. We were off! Leaving the stadium, the course takes you up a small, yet steep hill climb studded with rocks. Problem was I wasn't in 4WD going up and got hung up a bit. After that it was smooth sailing...actually I don't think the word "smooth" could be used at all (well, maybe for the lake bed portions) to describe what the next 50+ miles had in store for us.
Desert -
We traveled along the race course as fast as we could through sandy washes, whooped out desert and flat wide-open lake bed. I remember seeing Mile Marker 15 and thinking to myself, "Only 100 more miles to go. Oye." It was whoop after whoop, rutted out wash after rutted out wash, desert studded with rocks everywhere...rocks just waiting to take out a sidewall. We hit a few of the really deep whoops too fast and got a view of the floor a few times. Once we landed on the front passenger-side tire...hard and we both looked at each other and I promised to be more careful. I swore that I was going to make it through the desert and was reminded of the brutality of the desert every time we passed a car broken on the side of the course. we'd wave, honk and be given a "go and get 'em girls" thumbs up.
Pit 1 -
39 miles into the desert section, we pulled in to Pit 1 for fuel as we were not going to stop again until Pit 2 at almost mile 80. I radioed in to let Dan and Chris know the following - the car was pulling to the right - check the suspension, we're both getting out for bathroom breaks and that lost a contact lens in my helmet and needed it reconstituted. we jumped out, got fuel, got an a-okay on the car and I popped my lens back in and helmet back on. We were off!
More desert, sand hill pile-up -
10 more miles of desert and we lined up to the first rock obstacle. There are two routes that you can take going up, one rocky and the other sandy. Most of the EMC cars were lined up at the rocky side, so we pulled up to the sandy one. Shoot, we have a flat. I pulled out of the sand a bit, grabbed a rock to prop under the jack and got to work while Melissa went and aired down the tires. The change was quick, but there was still a pile-up. We were there forever. I got so frustrated that we pulled up to the rock section instead. I drove up about 3/4 of the way and then Melissa got out to hook up the winch. Easy peasy. We passed three cars there. Problem is we were there for so long waiting for the other UTVs and the EMCs. It was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.
McGyver -
More desert and then across the lake bed pinned. I couldn't get the car to go any faster even though I was willing it to. We got up to a steep, sandy, rutted hill and got kicked off of it landing on the side of a shale and sand mountain. Oh boy. I tried to back up to get a better shot at the hill, but ended up hanging the rear passenger a-arm on a rock and the car on another. Two rocks holding up the passenger side of the car and both driver's side tires dug in all the way...not good. At this point, I was thinking, "What to do? What to do? What do I have that might help us get out of this?" Jack, good ol' muscle and winch...BINGO! We jacked up the a-arm and muscled out the boulder that was underneath the a-arm. Now, we just have to get the driver's side out of the hole I dug us in and the passenger side over the boulder. Easier said than done when you're on the side of a mountain facing a roll that would not be pretty.
Flashback to a few hours ago at the start of the race. One of my beloved pit crew, Slacker, asked me - "Have you ever winched backwards?" What? Haha. "Just throw your winch line under the car and voila."
Click, click, click. The wheels turned inside my head. We threw the winch line under the car, put a cloth to cushion where the line rubs on the skidplate and gosh darn it, it worked! McGyver status! Woo!
I floored it up the mountain and made poor Melissa walk a quarter mile up a steep sandy hill, but we were just excited to be moving again.
Rocks -
Finally! Some rocks! We pull up to Aftershock ready to take on the rocks. I tried to crawl along without having to winch as much as possible. Melissa walked alongside the car spotting any potential hang-ups. Ooooo...waterfall.
Pulling up to the waterfall section wasn't a big deal as we had done it before. What was a big deal was having to wait for a few EMC cars and an Artic Cat to get up it. "Gas it!" I yelled to the driver to no avail. So then I tried the co-driver, "Tell your driver to hit the gas!" Fail. Finally, it was our turn. I drove up until the waterfall makes a sharp left turn, at that point we winched up and were on our way.
We were moving along and arrived at Highway 19/20. Let me tell you, it was no highway at all. It was miles of rocks headed up a canyon with no end in sight. Pulling into 19/20 we passed three XPs along the way. Looks like they're broken...not a good sign I thought, but I was confident in our car prep and in us, so we sped along. More 'go get 'em girls' thumbs up and we started the climb. We were doing well, until my heavy foot sent the car on a rock, turtled for a bit and spun the car 90degrees into the side of the wash into a rock. Oh boy were we stuck and, on top of that, I heard a crunch. No good. The safety crew tries to push us off of the rocks we were stuck on, three of them and not a budge. Finally a UTV comes through and helps us winch out because we were in the way. We get out and I drive up to the side of the course. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Poor CV.
The fix -
Another co-driver - Josh - comes to help us and removes the front passenger axle. "Can you drive it in three-wheel-drive?" He asks. I responded with an affirmative and he signals us to go ahead. Oh yeah baby, we were, as Willie would say - "On the road again."
We spent the last hour of the race driving and winching and driving and winching up the canyon to get to Pit 2 where there was a fresh axle waiting us. Sadly, the safety crew put an end to our race day and called time. What I would've given to finish the race...I could've raced for another 8 hours, 4WD or no 4WD darnnit!
We pulled up to the start and I was on it, I didn't want to lose my "Speedy" nickname after all. I told everyone that I wasn't going to jump at all in the start because, in my own words, it was "unnecessary" given the brutality of the desert section to come, but apparently I did.
We were off! Leaving the stadium, the course takes you up a small, yet steep hill climb studded with rocks. Problem was I wasn't in 4WD going up and got hung up a bit. After that it was smooth sailing...actually I don't think the word "smooth" could be used at all (well, maybe for the lake bed portions) to describe what the next 50+ miles had in store for us. Desert -
We traveled along the race course as fast as we could through sandy washes, whooped out desert and flat wide-open lake bed. I remember seeing Mile Marker 15 and thinking to myself, "Only 100 more miles to go. Oye." It was whoop after whoop, rutted out wash after rutted out wash, desert studded with rocks everywhere...rocks just waiting to take out a sidewall. We hit a few of the really deep whoops too fast and got a view of the floor a few times. Once we landed on the front passenger-side tire...hard and we both looked at each other and I promised to be more careful. I swore that I was going to make it through the desert and was reminded of the brutality of the desert every time we passed a car broken on the side of the course. we'd wave, honk and be given a "go and get 'em girls" thumbs up.
Pit 1 -
39 miles into the desert section, we pulled in to Pit 1 for fuel as we were not going to stop again until Pit 2 at almost mile 80. I radioed in to let Dan and Chris know the following - the car was pulling to the right - check the suspension, we're both getting out for bathroom breaks and that lost a contact lens in my helmet and needed it reconstituted. we jumped out, got fuel, got an a-okay on the car and I popped my lens back in and helmet back on. We were off!
More desert, sand hill pile-up -
10 more miles of desert and we lined up to the first rock obstacle. There are two routes that you can take going up, one rocky and the other sandy. Most of the EMC cars were lined up at the rocky side, so we pulled up to the sandy one. Shoot, we have a flat. I pulled out of the sand a bit, grabbed a rock to prop under the jack and got to work while Melissa went and aired down the tires. The change was quick, but there was still a pile-up. We were there forever. I got so frustrated that we pulled up to the rock section instead. I drove up about 3/4 of the way and then Melissa got out to hook up the winch. Easy peasy. We passed three cars there. Problem is we were there for so long waiting for the other UTVs and the EMCs. It was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.
McGyver -
More desert and then across the lake bed pinned. I couldn't get the car to go any faster even though I was willing it to. We got up to a steep, sandy, rutted hill and got kicked off of it landing on the side of a shale and sand mountain. Oh boy. I tried to back up to get a better shot at the hill, but ended up hanging the rear passenger a-arm on a rock and the car on another. Two rocks holding up the passenger side of the car and both driver's side tires dug in all the way...not good. At this point, I was thinking, "What to do? What to do? What do I have that might help us get out of this?" Jack, good ol' muscle and winch...BINGO! We jacked up the a-arm and muscled out the boulder that was underneath the a-arm. Now, we just have to get the driver's side out of the hole I dug us in and the passenger side over the boulder. Easier said than done when you're on the side of a mountain facing a roll that would not be pretty.
Flashback to a few hours ago at the start of the race. One of my beloved pit crew, Slacker, asked me - "Have you ever winched backwards?" What? Haha. "Just throw your winch line under the car and voila."
Click, click, click. The wheels turned inside my head. We threw the winch line under the car, put a cloth to cushion where the line rubs on the skidplate and gosh darn it, it worked! McGyver status! Woo!
I floored it up the mountain and made poor Melissa walk a quarter mile up a steep sandy hill, but we were just excited to be moving again.
Rocks -
Finally! Some rocks! We pull up to Aftershock ready to take on the rocks. I tried to crawl along without having to winch as much as possible. Melissa walked alongside the car spotting any potential hang-ups. Ooooo...waterfall.
Pulling up to the waterfall section wasn't a big deal as we had done it before. What was a big deal was having to wait for a few EMC cars and an Artic Cat to get up it. "Gas it!" I yelled to the driver to no avail. So then I tried the co-driver, "Tell your driver to hit the gas!" Fail. Finally, it was our turn. I drove up until the waterfall makes a sharp left turn, at that point we winched up and were on our way.
We were moving along and arrived at Highway 19/20. Let me tell you, it was no highway at all. It was miles of rocks headed up a canyon with no end in sight. Pulling into 19/20 we passed three XPs along the way. Looks like they're broken...not a good sign I thought, but I was confident in our car prep and in us, so we sped along. More 'go get 'em girls' thumbs up and we started the climb. We were doing well, until my heavy foot sent the car on a rock, turtled for a bit and spun the car 90degrees into the side of the wash into a rock. Oh boy were we stuck and, on top of that, I heard a crunch. No good. The safety crew tries to push us off of the rocks we were stuck on, three of them and not a budge. Finally a UTV comes through and helps us winch out because we were in the way. We get out and I drive up to the side of the course. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Poor CV.
The fix -
Another co-driver - Josh - comes to help us and removes the front passenger axle. "Can you drive it in three-wheel-drive?" He asks. I responded with an affirmative and he signals us to go ahead. Oh yeah baby, we were, as Willie would say - "On the road again."
We spent the last hour of the race driving and winching and driving and winching up the canyon to get to Pit 2 where there was a fresh axle waiting us. Sadly, the safety crew put an end to our race day and called time. What I would've given to finish the race...I could've raced for another 8 hours, 4WD or no 4WD darnnit!
speedyangie
The Need, The Need For SPEED.......UTVUndergroun d
Aftermath -
Drove the car over to Pit 2 to thank the crew for waiting us out and believing in us. Then, drove back to camp to lick some wounds and have a much needed drink. The car was still together and we were all in one piece.
We discovered later that the hard landing in the desert broke the upper shock mount. The shock was being held on by one bolt and was causing the suspension to sag. That sag through the desert, whoops and rocks wore down the CV and eventually caused it to fail. Luckily, the bolt held and the shock didn't shoot up through the car. I still think I could have finished the race if we weren't stuck in car bottlenecks at rock obstacles, if only they had started the stock and production cars before the unlimited...whether or not that's true, I still believe it. After all, you can't do it if you don't believe you can.
Drove the car over to Pit 2 to thank the crew for waiting us out and believing in us. Then, drove back to camp to lick some wounds and have a much needed drink. The car was still together and we were all in one piece.
We discovered later that the hard landing in the desert broke the upper shock mount. The shock was being held on by one bolt and was causing the suspension to sag. That sag through the desert, whoops and rocks wore down the CV and eventually caused it to fail. Luckily, the bolt held and the shock didn't shoot up through the car. I still think I could have finished the race if we weren't stuck in car bottlenecks at rock obstacles, if only they had started the stock and production cars before the unlimited...whether or not that's true, I still believe it. After all, you can't do it if you don't believe you can.
speedyangie
The Need, The Need For SPEED.......UTVUndergroun d
Growth -
Was it a rough course? Sure was.
Did I learn a lot about the car and about myself? Sure did.
Would I do it again? Hell yes!
Stay tuned for "Road to the Hammers Part Deux."
Speedy.
Was it a rough course? Sure was.
Did I learn a lot about the car and about myself? Sure did.
Would I do it again? Hell yes!
Stay tuned for "Road to the Hammers Part Deux."
Speedy.
crazywatson
#13 - UTVUnderground Approved
Cool write up Angie!
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Great write up Angie! The pit two mongrels believed in you guys all the way! The discussion in the pit was if you ladies wanted to finish the course we'd be with you as long as it took. You guys were both pretty beat up and did a phenomenal job. We're incredibly proud of you ladies! I'm glad to hear you're not so scarred you can't see doing it again!
RangerBurger
New Member
Big congrats Angie and Melissa. You both did a hell of a job. Here's to next year.
speedyangie
The Need, The Need For SPEED.......UTVUndergroun d
This thread is back! Should've probably started a "Road to the Hammers Part Deux" thread, but oh well...here it goes...
So, I just couldn't stay away. King of the Hammers is THE race. It pretty much just rocks, so here we go again!
Shall we start with a teaser build pic? Check out the car over at J's Racing USA. Ooooo...
So, I just couldn't stay away. King of the Hammers is THE race. It pretty much just rocks, so here we go again!
Shall we start with a teaser build pic? Check out the car over at J's Racing USA. Ooooo...
Attachments
speedyangie
The Need, The Need For SPEED.......UTVUndergroun d
Good luck to you guys! Make us proud!
Thank you Jim! There will be live tracking again this year, would love for you and Sharon to follow along!
speedyangie
The Need, The Need For SPEED.......UTVUndergroun d
Thank you Rich! You've always been in my corner and I really appreciate all your support!
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