The True Definition of Big
by Ryan Webb
For those of you, who think that we’ve made it halfway around the track, think again. There is a straightaway after the curve to the right that will take you to another double up by Talladega. Then there is another curve that leads you into the whoop section where many a rider looked like they were stuck on a mechanical bull after a hard night of drinking. A curve back to the left brought you to a long straight through a large mud hole that was made by a bit too much water from the water truck. This was followed immediately by a nice tabletop that led to a left turn towards Mount St. Helen. If you are curious what Mount St. Helen is, it is the largest mountain in North America. If you want to know why the next hill is called Mount St. Helen, just use your imagination and double the size of the hill you imagine.
Mount St. Helen is one of the feature spots of the race, right in front of the stands with a huge American Flag at the top. Most people can’t see this from the stands, but from the top of the hill next to it I could see that the riders that were going up this gargantuan hill were doing so only on their back tires. That’s right, the whole way up the hill; these atv’s had their front tires 8 to 10 inches off of the dirt below. Now, there is one thing you can be thankful for if you are an amateur thinking of going to Glen Helen next year. Only the pro’s and the pro-am’s went up this hill. Everyone else took a detour to the right and went over a double for their laps.
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After Mount St. Helen, there was a large stretch that was started by a step up to a tabletop. Then you would follow a large sweeping turn around to a drop and another tabletop. For those of you who are somewhat out of shape like me, this is probably about the spot where you would have given out on the first lap, but the race sped on. After the tabletop, there was a right turn and a straightaway with the finish in sight. However, before you could reach the finish you had to make a couple of hard turns with high berms. Then you come out to a huge tabletop in front of the stands followed by the always-welcome finish line, but wait kids that was only lap one. Now you have to make the first tabletop that you got to skip on the start and head back into Talladega to do it all over again. Oh yeah, for those of you who stuck with me here, as you can see this track has a little bit of everything, including the Kitchen Sink.
