What is the most sketchy track you have ever ridden?

billyp330
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billyp330 1/25/2018 8:45am
1/25/2018 8:45am
omalley wrote:
Not exactly a track, but a place where many of the local racers went to get some time in. There was a place off I-5 in...
Not exactly a track, but a place where many of the local racers went to get some time in. There was a place off I-5 in WA in Marysville that had a ton of natural sand whoops, berms, and some natural terrain to jump. Unfortunately after about noon, all the sketchy folks came out in their buggies, quads and pickups...in the few years we rode their, my dad got hit by a gal on a banshee with no brakes (coming out of s blind trail right into his side WFO...did I mention no brakes), as well as almost taking a pickup head-on.
The other problem was when a bunch of folks (usually local racers) would all agree on a “track” (linking a bunch of berms together, etc) only to have some moron go the opposite way.
We got a place like that here too. Everyone refers to as Hillsville in PA. Got some cool hills, good trails, and a couple makeshift sand roller tracks. Really fun place, but if you get there at wrong time there are a bunch of quad and utv goons out there that you really have to watch out for. Also some of the hills on the trails are really steep and on backside there is a blind cliff you can't see until you have completely made it over the crest. Really easy to get seriously messed up there because of stuff like that. Also since its not an official riding area, no trails are marked whatsoever.
FGR01
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FGR01 1/25/2018 8:45am
1/25/2018 8:45am
tempura wrote:
Sounds like most of the tracks here. Sketchy, and ill maintained. Miss a turn or go off the side of the track usually means going off...
Sounds like most of the tracks here. Sketchy, and ill maintained. Miss a turn or go off the side of the track usually means going off a ledge or down a very steep mountainous slope
Be glad. Mainland Japan is mostly better than Okinawa. Guys from down there talk of the awesome tracks up in mainland! They host a one-off big race every year called the Okinawa Bike Festival. Since the island is so small with basically no good land, they usually hold it on some land that has been recently reclaimed from the ocean but hasn't had buildings put on it yet. Unfortunately, one of the main ways of reclaiming land is to dump in all the waste from demolished concrete buildings. So, you routinely have chunks of concrete with long pieces of rebar coming up to greet you.

Back in 2000, they decided they were going to hold a round of the MFJ Nationals in Okinawa. It was the opening round in March. So, they built this makeshift track on this piece of completely flat reclaimed land. As things usually go in Okinawa, it of course rained about 20 inches in the days leading up to the race. Bet you never saw a factory HRC RC250 being pulled out with an excavator.





sumdood
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sumdood 1/25/2018 8:47am
1/25/2018 8:47am
Ridden or rolled ? Laughing I shorted a double and squished a couple discs back when Starwest was nicknamed Star Death, so that one stands out the most for me. That was the beginning of my "fuck that I'll just roll it" phase of my life.
bigmaico
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bigmaico 1/25/2018 8:59am
1/25/2018 8:59am Edited Date/Time 1/25/2018 9:04am
dimetime wrote:
Corona raceway night moto.

Lighting was terrible and it was dusty as hell.

Like riding half the track with your eyes closed.
No shit!

Try it on a loaner bike, My 1974 Penton 250 wouldn't start & Morris Mallone lent me his AJS Soromer 410.

That thing was right side shift & up for first & down for second,

That was a nightmare for a beginner with only 6 or 7 races under my belt, I was scared stiff.

I don't know how I didn't wad it up in the 2 motos I rode.

The Shop

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FWYT
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FWYT 1/25/2018 9:02am
1/25/2018 9:02am
Lake Elsinore after being watered.
Kenny Lingus
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Kenny Lingus 1/25/2018 9:03am
1/25/2018 9:03am
NJKawi913 wrote:
Gotham MX in NY. It is built into the side of a mountain, and this place is actually pretty fun if your the only bike on...
Gotham MX in NY. It is built into the side of a mountain, and this place is actually pretty fun if your the only bike on the track. The amount of loose shale and rocks make riding behind anyone flat out dangerous as they launch rock shaped missles at you.
It's New York man. All the good land is used for farming. Either have to bury them or pick em out.
LumpDog841
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LumpDog841 1/25/2018 9:13am
1/25/2018 9:13am
observeroffacts wrote:
Private tracks tend to have jump faces and landings built by old guys with big guts who don’t ride but enjoy building tracks. Unfortunately this doesn’t...
Private tracks tend to have jump faces and landings built by old guys with big guts who don’t ride but enjoy building tracks. Unfortunately this doesn’t always work, being that they’re unable to jump the stuff themselves.

Abbott Mx in Nebraska comes to mind as far as poorly built jumps/landings.
The shitty part is the original Abbott, was a great track. I believe it was built by Shane Schaefer (I could be wrong). The current design/owner of the track are a joke.
Bennett
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Bennett 1/25/2018 9:16am
1/25/2018 9:16am
observeroffacts wrote:
Private tracks tend to have jump faces and landings built by old guys with big guts who don’t ride but enjoy building tracks. Unfortunately this doesn’t...
Private tracks tend to have jump faces and landings built by old guys with big guts who don’t ride but enjoy building tracks. Unfortunately this doesn’t always work, being that they’re unable to jump the stuff themselves.

Abbott Mx in Nebraska comes to mind as far as poorly built jumps/landings.




Broken clavicle 9/3/2016 at Abbott Mx. First time riding there. I would love to blame the track, but I have to be honest here. I was a 46 year old, out of shape trail rider with arthritic wrists, attempting to channel RC on my freshly rebuilt CR500. The day went good, I was riding cautious, not jumping anything big or sketchy. Took a break, and made the Mistake That Should Never Be Made: I decided to go out one more time.


Tracktor
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Tracktor 1/25/2018 9:17am
1/25/2018 9:17am
Goodnoe Hills outside of Goldendale, WA. Huge uphills & downhills with massive holes in them and rock filled gullies at the bottom. I rode it at the end of it's life span and heard it was better in the beginning. Only time I was ever nervous just trying to make it around a track...........
bayodome
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bayodome 1/25/2018 9:59am
1/25/2018 9:59am
REM at Glen Helen. Turrble.
MW19
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MW19 1/25/2018 10:23am
1/25/2018 10:23am
MW19 wrote:
I would have to say mine was an old somewhat private track in South Carolina. Back in the early 200s. It was just behind some guys...
I would have to say mine was an old somewhat private track in South Carolina. Back in the early 200s. It was just behind some guys house. I believe he raced somewhat professionally. You just put a couple bucks in a locked box and then did your thing. Was very rarely groomed. The water run off on the track was really bad. Seemed like someone got hurt pretty bad every time I was there. Track is long gone now.
F150Motocrosser wrote:
Dogwood Hollow, maybe?
Nailed it! Surprised anyone remembers that place. I had fun there as a kid, but damn it got pretty bad there sometimes.
mx510
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mx510 1/25/2018 10:32am
1/25/2018 10:32am
There was a track here in Washington that had a sketchy built Supercross track. Filthy Phil would definitely call this one deathcross. The main track was ok, but the supercross track had landing ramps the builder would only pack from each side (he would never roll the top so the landing was a perfect peak). Back then I was racing the B class and would go and ride this track every weekend. Took me about a month but I was finally able to link the whole track together jumping lines.
navalseabee
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navalseabee 1/25/2018 10:38am
1/25/2018 10:38am
FWYT wrote:
Lake Elsinore after being watered.
I keep seeing this, I rode there a bunch right after the new owner took over and they did that big rebuild
(2009/2010 ish??) and I remember it being really good.
akillerwombat
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akillerwombat 1/25/2018 10:45am
1/25/2018 10:45am
FWYT wrote:
Lake Elsinore after being watered.
navalseabee wrote:
I keep seeing this, I rode there a bunch right after the new owner took over and they did that big rebuild (2009/2010 ish??) and I...
I keep seeing this, I rode there a bunch right after the new owner took over and they did that big rebuild
(2009/2010 ish??) and I remember it being really good.
Elsinore around 00 - 05 after being watered was one of the sketchiest places I've ever ridden.

I don't know how they did it but they managed to make an entire track feel like it was frozen concrete.
bball35
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bball35 1/25/2018 11:06am
1/25/2018 11:06am
MW19 wrote:
I would have to say mine was an old somewhat private track in South Carolina. Back in the early 200s. It was just behind some guys...
I would have to say mine was an old somewhat private track in South Carolina. Back in the early 200s. It was just behind some guys house. I believe he raced somewhat professionally. You just put a couple bucks in a locked box and then did your thing. Was very rarely groomed. The water run off on the track was really bad. Seemed like someone got hurt pretty bad every time I was there. Track is long gone now.
F150Motocrosser wrote:
Dogwood Hollow, maybe?
MW19 wrote:
Nailed it! Surprised anyone remembers that place. I had fun there as a kid, but damn it got pretty bad there sometimes.
I don't remember that one. Where was that track located in South Carolina?
NV825
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NV825 1/25/2018 11:09am
1/25/2018 11:09am
The track in Dixon, CA. I only raced it once and the entire track was pure concrete dirt. I should have raced with slicks on. It was similar to an old Lake Elsinore track, but at least that track had badass jumps to play around on.
MW19
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MW19 1/25/2018 11:12am
1/25/2018 11:12am
F150Motocrosser wrote:
Dogwood Hollow, maybe?
MW19 wrote:
Nailed it! Surprised anyone remembers that place. I had fun there as a kid, but damn it got pretty bad there sometimes.
bball35 wrote:
I don't remember that one. Where was that track located in South Carolina?
It was like south east of the Rock Hill area if I remember correctly.

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mx317
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mx317 1/25/2018 11:34am
1/25/2018 11:34am
Peeryville Raceway night race with 100W lightbulbs on a string like Christmas lights. They were held up by some poles and long 2X4s. My brother hit one of the 2X4s knocking it down. During this the lighting string got caught in his rear wheel winding it up like a banner string popping light bulbs and pulling more down. We were all afraid to help him get it out for fear of electrocution. They had to cut that section of the track off for the night, but continued to race. True story!
Motoxdoc
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Motoxdoc 1/25/2018 11:43am
1/25/2018 11:43am
Ascot Raceway. Flat, no lines and poor lighting.
Sparkey
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Sparkey 1/25/2018 11:50am
1/25/2018 11:50am
JMR1976 wrote:
Glen Helen on Thursday
Two weeks before the GH national Smile Similar to trying to cross US 101 on foot during rush hour
SPODEBOY
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SPODEBOY 1/25/2018 12:08pm
1/25/2018 12:08pm
Baldwin Bros private track in the weeds off El Toro Road.
Taylor415
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Taylor415 1/25/2018 12:33pm
1/25/2018 12:33pm
ktmdan wrote:
Shady grove in dallas. There's a place on cedar creek lake near underground mx where you put $5 in a box and ride. people can't ever...
Shady grove in dallas.
There's a place on cedar creek lake near underground mx where you put $5 in a box and ride. people can't ever figure out which direction the track goes...
Haha sketchy always comes to mind when I hear about that blue grooved shithole
snape99
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snape99 1/25/2018 12:42pm
1/25/2018 12:42pm
Mount Kembla in Australia anytime there is more than 20 bikes on it
Motocross Kid 1/25/2018 12:51pm
1/25/2018 12:51pm
navalseabee wrote:
I keep seeing this, I rode there a bunch right after the new owner took over and they did that big rebuild (2009/2010 ish??) and I...
I keep seeing this, I rode there a bunch right after the new owner took over and they did that big rebuild
(2009/2010 ish??) and I remember it being really good.
The early 2000's Lake Elsinore was a madhouse and pretty much like playing russian roulette on any given weekend. The tracks (they had 3) were slippery and snot post water, so put a bunch of hacks out there and what do you get?

About the only thing that could surprise me more would be a skydiver plummeting to his death, which also happened out there.
Torco1
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Torco1 1/25/2018 1:48pm
1/25/2018 1:48pm
Motocross Kid wrote:
The early 2000's Lake Elsinore was a madhouse and pretty much like playing russian roulette on any given weekend. The tracks (they had 3) were slippery...
The early 2000's Lake Elsinore was a madhouse and pretty much like playing russian roulette on any given weekend. The tracks (they had 3) were slippery and snot post water, so put a bunch of hacks out there and what do you get?

About the only thing that could surprise me more would be a skydiver plummeting to his death, which also happened out there.
That is pretty much the best description of Lake Elsinore in the late 90's early 2000's.

Competition Park was also sketchy as hell after a week of rain. You would sink about 3' into the mud and all of the cow shit that the track was built over would make its way to the surface. I landed off a jump once and my bike literally stopped dead in the mud and threw me over the bars about 10'. Luckily I landed in a pool of mud, rocks, some hay and cow shit......took about an hour to get my bike out though.
Falcon
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Falcon 1/25/2018 2:07pm
1/25/2018 2:07pm
Motocross Kid wrote:
El Cajon Motocross... at night... with the tweakers
Indeed.


Amago was pretty sketchy too, at times. No flaggers, very little maintenance, one dude running the whole show on a Saturday.
I once saw a kid on an 85 jump that big, blind skyshot in the back of the track - straight into the water truck. The operator just decided it was time to water without flagging anybody off the course. He drove right onto the track and started watering. The poor kid didn't even get his wheels down before he hit, although that may have been better for him. There was a LifeFlight helicopter trip involved in that one.
dimetime
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dimetime 1/25/2018 2:11pm
1/25/2018 2:11pm
Elsinore was slippery as hell after watering but not really to different from any predominately clay based track. Cat shit on glass l used to call it. Hard to even walk on.

Carlsbad and Saddleback could get super slippery as well. In fact my buddy got his bike stuck at Saddleback in slick but sticky mud. Had to come back the next day and pull it out with a truck.

Ascot was a joy compared to Coronas night track. There were some dark spots at Ascot but at Corona you'd just ride down hills into pitch black.
Hammer 663s
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Hammer 663s 1/25/2018 2:21pm
1/25/2018 2:21pm
2 years ago, the OTMX race at Washougal. Rained like hell Friday night, but they'd prepped normal, not packing it for rain, so the entire track was a bog Saturday AM. We raced anyway after a 3 hour delay. At least 50% of each class couldn't make it up Horsepower Hill off the start, me included. I did 3 laps in my 20 minute moto, that's how bad it was. I don't know how many times I fell, but I was dead tired at the end. Then it rained even more Saturday night, and they called off the Sunday racing as the track was unrideable. Not the operators fault, just that PNW clay when tilled then flooded. Super sketchy through the trees.

Hammer 663s

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