Oak Ridge MX –Garwin, Iowa …. Home Grown Moto
Super nice area with friendly people –
It truly is the heartbeat of America, they’re traditional, they’re proud and they put forth an effort.
Easy drive, I-80 the entire time with some MAJOR motivation gripping as we take in the views crossing the Mighty Mississippi.
Then to Cedar Rapids and a jump on Rt -30 for another 1/2 hour west.
While on Rt -30, it's mile after mile of lush, green, rolling hills dotted with expansive farms and a skyline like no other.
Take a right on Hwy T47 at and you’ll find yourself in Garwin Iowa.
Quick facts:
Garwin is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States.
The population was 481 at the time of the 2020 census.
Super cool place – Very unique
Not much level ground so they had someone help with parking to make sure we could all get a decent spot.
Track was fluffed but dry when we arrived on Thursday evening because the forecast was calling for rain.
Friday we woke to sunshine and not much, if any precip overnight so the track crew was scrambling to get some water down at daybreak.
Just before practice was set to start things changed and the sky got dark and dreary. Black clouds were hanging so low it looked like you could jump up & touch them.
We ended up battling steady drizzle all day with few random showers thrown in to really mess things up.
The track was destroyed. It kept getting worse and worse. It was Deep, Thick, Sticky, Gooey yet super slick in certain places where the till had been blown off. It was nasty.
With both of us being early in the schedule, we decided to skip all our allotted practice sessions.
The drizzle eventually slowed down and by days end the sky broke open & the sun came out.
Being Home Grown, They came over the P.A. and announced they would give everyone a 3 lap Bonus practice if wanted. We hurried up, got dressed & went out for the Bonus laps.
The track was destroyed – But at least we knew our way around.
Saturday was more of the same. We awoke to sunshine and a beautifully prepped track knowing the rain was coming.
They ripped through the 4 lap AM practice sessions QUICK and we finally got to feel what the track is like at race speed.
SOOOOOO STINKIN FUN -!!!! WHAT A GREAT TRACK!!
They quickly shuffled the running order on a few classes in efforts to beat the rain and we were off racing.
Rich (+50) was moto one.
I (+60) was moto six.
+50 was the largest class of the weekend.
Rich got his first moto in with the track still in good condition but under a slight drizzle.
By moto 6 the track was getting soaked and showing its teeth.
Throughout the day, it would drizzle then stop, then drizzle some more.
This kept the track on the borderline of being a disaster yet still passable.
Moto after moto, they just kept running.
The track got completely Torn to Shreds, Bombed Out, Rutted, Blown Up, you name it –
Never a muck fest. It was brutal chop on the up hills and massive bumps on the way back down.
Demanding ruts that combed the valleys as you tried to keep momentum for the next massive climb.
A totally badd ass Old School Moto Track.
They ran us 15 minutes – Pro Sport went 20.
It wasn’t easy to stay off the ground.
In my second moto on Saturday, The track was so beat. Not sloppy just monster bumps, blown out turns and ruts that lead to never-never land.
Three of the guys that started didn’t make all the laps and DNF’d.
Sunday we got lucky and awoke to sunshine.
For practice we got two hot laps on
ONE OF THE MOST FUN TRACKS I’ve ever been at.
WIDE- BIG – FAST – FLOWING – HEAVY THROTTLE – both UP the HILLS and DOWN !!!!
Grabbing a handful on the top of a steep downhill to race a guy to the bottom, then you both go bouncing into the braking bumps trying to find the rut you want.
So much fun on a dirt bike –
Third moto’s were a BLAST – too bad we had to home -
We both wanted to stay and rip the place –
So Fun !
They did awesome - The Schedule was kept on time all weekend long.
With the long motos, a fast & demanding track and difficult conditions there were
great battles and a few good crashes,
Even with that, NO major injuries, No ambulance runs – No delay in the program
Notable names include Fosnock, Peterson, Sheldon, Baumert, Clough, Mercer
A truly spectacular place to hold a Vet Regional -