Denver Endurocross 2011

Denver Endurocross, 2010, Amatuer main event. The gate drops, I get a good jump on the competition, and I squeeze out all my competitors to my left, but the riders to the right of me bobbled, and eventually pushed me right into the barrel that marks the turn. Badly broken ankle, surgery, 4 months off the bike. About a year after the crash, I am back on the same starting line for the amateur main looking at the same barrel that smashed my ankle the year before.
My Dad and I rolled into Denver at about ten on Friday night, and woke up early to go sign up at the venue. We hauled our buddy Josh Anthony's bike up there, so we met up with them as well. Practice went great, I felt great, and was nailing all the hard obstacles. I was feeling confident. I set the fastest lap time for my group, and I ended up winning my qualifier with time to spare. I also won a little practice race in my expert group, so I was definitely flowin'. After that, we had a big break until our next practice for the night show. I rolled up to the starting gate like usual, but my bike was having a hard time starting and running. I did about half a lap, and had to push 'er back to the van. We changed spark plugs, a fuel injector, and many other things, but we couldn't figure out what the problem was. We eventually had to begin switching parts from my 290, to the back- up 350. I quickly had to ride the 350 in my expert hot lap. It was the first time that bike had been on an EX course, but I was able to put in a pretty good lap time. Thanks to Stillwell Performance, I was able to get a bigger sprocket on the 350, and switch parts over in time for the main. We rallied, put on my skid plate, unbreakable levers, a special tire, sprockets, and some other stuff, but I was without a Rekluse Clutch on the 350. As the National Anthem was being sung, we rolled our bikes into place on the starting line for the Amateur main. I was able to pull a great start, and was in the lead my the first corner. I stalled my bike, and faded back to third, but quickly got back up to second. I was able to hang onto second throughout the whole race, and finished a solid second place which qualified me for the Dash For Cash! I rolled my bike directly onto the starting line for the expert qualifier. I had Taddy, and Mike brown in my qualifier, not to mention many other big named riders. I got about 3 laps in, and my bike began making a knocking noise. I figured I better quit while I was ahead, and I pulled off. I was unable to ride my bike in the Dash For Cash, so I headed for the stands. We had many ups and downs at this EX, but for the most part, the Denver EX has gotten the best of us for the last two years. Also I saw the EMT who helped me off the track last year, and told her I hope I never see her again. HaHa! I flew home the next day with Josh and Brian Anthony, and it's back to the grind. Thanks for reading,

"The Sheriff" Max Gerston