Budget Tips

Not all of us know the luxury of chilling at the track in a pristine toy hauler, with fresh gear, and a brand new state of the art bike with all the latest bling. For those of you out there on a budget, here are a few tricks of the trade to keep your wallet from getting in the way of pounding laps.

- Plan ahead: Making a budget and planning out your weeks of riding will help immensely. Knowing where you want to ride will help keep a balance of how you spend what little funds you have.

- Pick and choose: If money is tight, you aren't going to make it to every practice and race. So decide where your priorities are at. Whether it be practice day hero, strictly doing races, or making it a priority to hit up more tracks than just those in your local area. Check the weather ahead of time, and make sure you are going to be getting the best experience for your dollar.

- Be lady like: Shop for sales! Check the clearance racks or the blowout stuff online. If it's something that is ultra cheap, and an item you may not need at the moment, get it anyway. Better to have parts at hand that were inexpensive, than to wait until something breaks and pay full price. Last years gear was cool looking too, and will cost you about half the price.

- Stay safe: Nothing hurts a budget rider like medical bills and costly repairs. Don't ride over your head and risk your body writing checks that you can't cash. Same with your mount. Make sure you stay on top of routine maintenance. It doesn't get much worse than missing prime weeks in the spring and summer because you're saving up to rebuild the top end.

SX Academy

Supercross Academy: Here

Check out Mitch Rask putting down some supercross laps in this video from Racer X, at the SX Academy at the Honolulu Hills MX Park. Good to see him out there working with some very fast guys. Good luck in 2010 Mitch.

Josh Hill to San Manuel

Check it out here

After a rough 2009, Team Yamaha called it quits, and is setting up a lease program, to send out support to L&M, JGR, and Star Yamaha teams, instead of running an official factory effort. But where did that leave J-Hill, after his toughest year as a pro? Luckily he was able to slide into the #2 spot at San Manuel, behind James Stewart, and rumor has it that Larry Brooks (I'll keep my opinions about the man to myself) is trying to sign an aging K-Dub as well. That would be one hell of a blue trio.

I know I'm super pumped to see Josh on the 2010 YZ450 come supercross. Congrats to Josh!

The only thing I am desperately hoping is that Josh is not going SX only so early in his career...

2-Stroke Revival?

I've ranted about the ups and downs of 2-strokes and 4-strokes before. Basically it's whatever floats your boat. Different strokes for different folks. I recently made the switch back to premix, and I find I ride it better. That's just me. Some riders just flat out don't like it.

The point is, I've observed quite a few more pingers around Albany and other tracks lately. I'm hoping it's not just a temporary trend while the economy is in the shitter, but it doesn't appear to be a short term fix. A lot of us, myself included, bought into the 4-stroke hype when all the shiny new thumpers were coming out, with all the new bells and whistles, and double the cc's I might add. But now, after seeing what crap the used bike market is due to ticking time bomb 250F's, I think a lot of people are wising up, and realizing what we had wasn't so bad. Not to mention the fun factor of holding a 2-stroke pinned around a motocross track. Not that I would know what that feels like...

Indoor Motor-Cross

The sun has gone away behind the clouds, and all the riders are moving their pits under the covers for the Winter. Arenacross is starting up in Salem, and Clark County as well. Gone are the days of wet morning practice, the big table tops, and choppy braking bumps, and enter the days of tight bowl turns, and man made triples.

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who preferred the lights compared to the Great Outdoors, but the indoor months always have their own special draw. The racing is tight, and physical, and all the riders get to rub plastic just a little more. 2nd place on the last lap? The only option might be that block pass in one of the 180 bowl turns. Rubbin's racin.

New Management

AlbanyMX.com website captain Wes Hare is now at the helm of nwmoto.com, and is working to keep the northwest moto scene alive and kicking. Make sure to check out both regularly for all the info, and important race dates.

Obviously I'm just doing this for fun still, but hopefully I can provide some insight from a riders standpoint.

Washougal 2009

(YOU BETTER BELIEVE I GOT ME A RACER X BUTT PATCH STICKER!!)

This is gonna be a long one...

As usual, Washougal is the only pro event I get to physically attend each year. I've been trying to make it up to Seattle SX for years, but can never pull it off. Who needs gucci-cross anyway? Also as usual, the entire week leading up to race day, I was super pumped. This was the first Saturday event I had been to, and the first time I had got to see practice too. It was interesting to see riders piece the track together, and ultimately lay down some blisteringly fast laps times.


If there is a God, he blessed us with great weather on on Saturday. Washougal is already the most beautiful track on the tour, and arguably in the world if you ask me, and blue skies just made it that much more picture perfect. The track was good as well. Alot more "jumpy" than in years past, but lets face it, this is 2009. It's still a dinosaur as far as jumps are concerned. People complain about the dirt every year, but like I've said before, diversity is good for Motocross. It mixes things up, keeps riders on their toes, and helps seperate the good riders from the BEST riders.

Enter Chad Reed! Washougal is about as technical and slippery as you are going to get in AMA motocross, and as many expected, Reed rode to the occasion. He has admitted that he is having trouble pushing it to the edge, so I'm sure it was nice to be at somewhat of an advantage in the NW.


As far as the event went, Washougal is always a great facility, and the fans just straight up love MX, myslef included. From what I could tell, turnout was a little low this year. If memory serves me correctly, it was about 28,000 last year, compared to 20,000 this year. The Amateur racing suffered this year as well. Bleak economy? Saturday's? 4-strokes? Not exactly sure what the problem was.

Also the viewing was worse than in years past. In '06 when RC and James battled tooth and nail, me and my dad were able to catch almost all the racing from one spot towards the back. We saw almost all the passing, and screamed our heads off. The same could be said for '08 when Dungey edged out Villopoto for his first win. Same spot, same story. This year? There was a giant hospitality tent, and a few food stands up in the back that completely blocked the view. I love cruising around the track and seeing the spots as much as the next moto fan, but this was a little ridiculous.

A few observations I had:

Chad Reed is a great rider, and ultra smooth and very technical.


Erin Bates is one of the nicest people you will ever meet

The only bike louder than the PC bikes of Pourcel and Wiemer was Ben Evans bike (but that was more than likely due to the fact that his MUFFLER was GONE) not sure how those bikes pass sound?

J-Law finally rode good, but is obviously going through a tough year. I was extremely pumped for him to be on the podium in the second moto, but had mixed feelings after his podium presence was less than stellar. Either way good job for J-Law.



Josh Grants YZ250 that he is riding at X-Games is the coolest piece of machinery I have seen in many years. On our way out, one of the JGR guys was riding it back into the pits. Between the smell and the sound, I practically fainted out of sheer horniness, and jealousy.

Nic Wolfer is one of my new heros, for trying to make this big show on an RM-250. I made sure to cheer a little extra every time he came by. He didn't make it this year, but he hadn't in years past either, so in no way do his results have anything to do with his smoker. Go get em next year Nic!

Overall, Washougal '09 was a great day for real motocross fans. See you next year.

Don't crash.... Ok don't crash again...

I had not raced a motocross bike for over a month until yesterday. I wasn't exactly filled with overwhelming pride and confidence in my riding skills a month ago, but as of July 11, 2009, I would say my confidence level is in the negative. If someone could have told me how bad I would have done in my first race back, I would have stayed in bed.

My speed was not the problem, surprisingly. My fitness was a big problem on the other hand. Bad starts didn't exactly make my day any easier, but I felt like I had what it took to comeback from the back and win the race. In my dreams...

I got inside my own head and rode a little too aggressively and took myself out of not just my first moto, but my second as well. All in all, I completed about 6 laps on the day. There's no feeling worse than being away from the sport that I love(d) so much, only to come back, be fast in practice, and do abysmally bad once the gate dropped. I left the racetrack with my head hanging low. I have been trying to view my glass as half full, and I will try this whole motocross racing thing again on Thursday, at Portland International Raceway. Thursday night motocross is a blast.

Silly Season

Normally the Off-season is considered "Silly Season." How about the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Nationals?? The 2 favorites out with injury. One of the favorites trying to make a comeback, with a kneecap that is split like Jon and Kate. Chad Reed's... dominance? First time winners. Crazy stuff this outdoor championship has become. And that's only the 450 class!

I'm not gonna sit here and do race reports or give you anything you can't find everywhere else on the webernet. But the racing this season has been good for sure. The Lakewood moto that got all the TV time was kind of a snoozer, minus Tommy Hahn's great ride. But the 250 motos were great races, and will be exciting to watch when they air on speed.

Considering how stacked the 250 moto is, (and was at the beginning of the season with Trey Canard still ripping it up) there hasn't been quite as much adversity as we all expected. It's pretty much been Pourcel and Dungey. Both were favorites, but how many out there were calling for Rattray or Searle to be surprise winners of this championship. And where is the blazing speed of Barcia that we saw in the early rounds? Wiemer's win was much deserved, and I think everyone is happy for him. Jake is one of those cool, down to earth, potato farmers.

So I have not ridden a motorcycle since I posted those pictures last time. My bike has been in the shop, it has been a Merry-Go round ride of going to different shops to figure out what was really wrong, not to mention my increasingly small paychecks. That's all over now, and I am so pumped to get back out on a bike and blow up some berms... or at least try.

Time off the bike is hell, as anyone out there reading this already knows. But it also re-motivates you. You realize how much more you love hitting the bumps in 4th gear with the throttle twisted all the way in the "on" position, rather than playing XBOX. I did get to work on my golf game a little, and I needed it trust me, but it's time to get back out there and moto away.

Must See

For any motocross fan, you MUST go here and watch the Randall Everett's YZ250 video. It's awe inspiring stuff. There is a version with, and without music. Watch both of course, but if you do ONE thing all day today, skip the shower, neglect your girlfriend, don't worry about the dog dish, watch the version without music. It will make your day. Matt Wozney is the mastermind behind MXPTV, and he is awesome. I could spend a whole day there, just watching the helmet cam videos and rider profiles.

I hope to be throwing up some pictures of my own YZ250 soon, but this economy is bleak. Especially here in Oregon. We have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, so selling my bikes has been a monumental task. But do not doubt my determination.

Mayday Mayday! Riders down!

May and June were not to kind to the sport of motocross. Particularly, front-runners of Ryan Villopoto and Mike Alessi, both out with Knee injuries. Didn't Chad Reed's best friends girlfriend's sister's uncle date Tonya Harding??

Either way it is a major bummer for the 2009 Season. Everyone was so super pumped on the all out war that was going to take place in 12 various battlegrounds across the country. Only San Bernadino in California got to see 800 and 2 go at it. And Sacremento and Wortham were the only ones fortunate enough to see Alessi "doin work."

Whoever wins the title, the earned it. Part of racing is consistency. The beauty of organized racing is there are no ifs ands or butts about it. Whoever has the most points after 24 motos is the champ. I will be more pissed than a gay man in California after a proposition 8 voting day if I hear a bunch of the usual bullshit when a top guy gets injured. "Reed didn't earn it because Bubba wasn't there." That kind of nonsense. This is racing, the most pure form of competition known to the human race.

Cliff took some great pictures from Albany last week!

Yours Truly:

Motocrossed!

It's the year 2000 all over again, and motocross is growing in popularity. How popular you ask? Judging by the release of Motocrossed, a Disney Channel original movie, I'd say pretty popular. If you don't know the story, well your not missing much. I'll fill you in real fast. (note: the following synopsis of motocrossed is not a joke)

Young Andy Carson is big up and coming racer.

Parents go away for the day, so he decides to race against his twin sister, Andy... err Andrea.

Andy and Andrea bang bars and Andy goes down and hurts his knee.

Now Andy can't compete in the big Factory Cup coming up soon.

Andrea gets her valued N*SYNC tickets, but then learns that the big Cup has been moved up a few weeks, and "Carson Racing" might not get a chance at their factory gig.

Andrea cuts her hair, pretends to be brother, gets roosted by all the guys, cries. yada yada yada.

She falls madly in love with the hot 250 rider. yada yada yada. That whole gig.

Where am I going with all this? In the end, after the points battle has gotten so tight, and the race for the coveted factory sponsorship has come down to the final race, it's up to Andrea to take it home for Carson Racing.

But oh no! The race bike is fried and someone needs to do a full top-end rebuild in between motos. Enter little brother, and ace mechanic, Jason. But surely no 13 year old could do a top end rebuild on a modern 4-stroke race bike, right? But ah, don't forget that this is the year 2000! Suzuki does not make a modern 4-stroke. In fact, no one, excpet Yamaha, does. So Andrea is in luck. Jason swaps the top ends of the RM-125's with time for a "moto-vational" family pep talk.

Of course she wins and gets the boy and they get factory support. yada yada yada.

I had not seen this awesomely corny, yet somehow better and more accurate than "Supercross", movie since I was in middle school. I had forgotten about this part of the movie, and didn't realize the significance it has in today's 4-stroke world. Understand I am not trying to become some 2-stroke advocate, or anything like one. But had this movie been made in the year 2009, this little top-end rebuild scene would have been nothing more than movie magic.

Even the Disney Channel can teach us valuable lessons I guess. Girls who cut their, and pretend to be their motocross racing brothers; not hot.

Sweet Smell of Premix in the Morning

After a few close calls of my 250F, and my increasingly smaller and smaller paychecks, I am considering making the jump to a 250 2-stroke. I love 4-stroke Motocross bikes, and I think they are here to stay, and for good reason. I think people who carry on the two vs. four debate are wasting their time. Both bikes are great in their own regards.

See, they used to ride 250 2-strokes once upon a time. If you know this guy, you also know that they went pretty damn fast.



I'm a budget racer, and a college student. $600 dollars to rebuild my top-end was fun enough the first time. Selling my 250F's may prove to be harder than buying a 250 smoker, but I am determined. I don't believe that 2-strokes are dead. Hopefully I am right, and not just stubborn or naive, but I see a 2-stroke "revival" in the near future. I use the term "revival" loosely because I don't think they are going to be the preferred choice by most racers. But to the weekend warriors, PPR's (Pro Practice Riders) and budget racers, and even those who prefer fun over results, 2-stroke's will be the weapon of choice.

Here's my opinion on the Plus and Minuses of a 250F and a gold old fashioned 250

250F

+ Smooth Power - The Powerband on a 250F is very smooth and can be ridden tough. See Ryan Villopoto 250F.

+ Power Vs. Weight - A Modern stock 250F makes good power for it's size, making it a fast bike that can be ridden hard for a long time. Once again, see Ryan Villopoto 250F

+ Handling - The lightweight of a 250F makes it great in the tight technical stuff, and also, if setup right, stable in the higher speed elements of riding as well.

+ Traction Traction Traction - The 4-stroke powerband and tractability can wreak havoc on the loamiest of motocross tracks, and even manage to hook up in the slick stuff pretty well.

- Maintenance and resale - A 250F requires meticulous maintenance to keep it running, or at least running good. And even if you have taken good care of it, and put the time and money in, a 250F really is a ticking time bomb, and can be tough to sell to anyone who understands the inner workings of a high revving, high temp 250F

- Sound - Like all thumpers, they are noisy, and if you don't re-pack your silencer very often, if at all, the sound will only get nastier.

Big Jump - It'll handle the big gaps fine but that's not what I'm talking about. Most parents don't want their kids going straight from a CR85 to a heavy, 35+ hp CRF250. And with the lack of 125's on the market right now, this is a growing trend

250

+ Power - While not as smooth of delivery as the 250F, the 250's make great power. As they should considering there's one revolution in half the time.

+ Sound - Not only is the sound of a finely tuned 250 enough to get me in the mood, to ride and/or shag, but it is far more quiet than it's 4-stroke counterpart.

+ Weight - Not too much heavier than a 250F, and what it loses in extra weight, it gains in pure scary power.

+ Maintenance - Besides the "grueling" task of mixing gas, top end re-builds are cheap, and can be done in most any riders garage. No need to bother with complicated valves and timing chains.

+ Cost - Full FMF or PC hook-up for less than the price of a 4-stroke header alone!? I'm sold

- Traction? - In the soft loamy stuff, you're set. But at the end of the, when the track is dry and dusty, you might break loose more often than Houdini.

- Outcast - You can't race it in the 250 class. A good rider will almost always be faster on a 450 than a 250. The ideal place to ride would be in the 250 class. But let's remember less than 10 years ago, we had a 125 class and a 250 class. The 250 class was the premiere class, where the best of the best rode, and the 125 class was the support class, for kids to get their feet wet with the big dogs of tomorrow. Now we have $70,000 250f's, turning un-godly amounts of horses, built top to bottom by Mitch Payton and his crew. That's fine and all, but maybe we should look to starting a new support class.

I'm rambling now. If you have read this far, thanks. Hopefully you'll be reading a nice story about my first ride on a new YZ250 very soon. Braap Braaap!

It's On!!

Today is May 24, 2009, and it has been 24 hours since the start of the 2009 AMA National Motocross season. I haven't stopped smiling since. Basically, I'm just going to let out all my thoughts on a great day of racing. Try to keep up...




The 450's were great. I wasn't at Glen Helen, but I don't think it's a bad idea to have the 450's first. As a fan of the sport, for as long as I can remember, I am used to it being little, big, little, big. The racing was exciting to say the least. Who'd a thunk that Mike Alessi would score 2 holeshots on the day? Well I did. But I did not expect Mike Brown to be half a lenghth behind him. I actually didn't know Mike Brown would be racing Glen Helen, but it sure was cool as hell to see him out there. He's the old school, badass type of guy this sport loves.

The track was gnarly! Ruts and bumps and huge jumps everywhere. The ruts got so big that they actually swallowed Mike Alessie's RMZ in the first moto, costing him the early lead that he had so rightfully earned. Some riders complained about it a little, but that was more of a layout gripe. Real men love a rough track like that.

How about the combo of Weigandt and Bailey on SPEED? I about jumped out of my computer chair when I read that those two would be doing all the talking this summer. Bailey's insight is second to none, and Weege is just the Shiz. Too bad they can't fit Ping in there somewhere...

My home region of the country (the pacific Northwest) made a good showing on Saturday (that still feels wierd to say). Ryan Villopoto rode like a man possessed, and went 1-1 in his first ever big bike national. I'm telling you, the comparisons between him, and that GOAT guy, keep piling up every race. But unfortunately, Josh Hill did not fair so well. He hasn't done good at GH yet, and it is a long season. But it did bum me out to see him dropping back as the motos went on. Keep it up Josh and good luck.



Ryan Dungey sure did silence his critics, and the Euro boys. At least for now... Like I said before it's a long season. But it was nice to see a Red White and Blue rider top the field in the midst of all the hype of Pourcel, Rattray, Searle, and Antsie.

Chad Reed: Thank you for showing up this summer. Seeing the #22 lined up again felt good. I know he will find the speed as the series moves on. Anyone that thinks that Speedy Reedy isn't going to impact the series, needs to get to the nearest head doctor asap. Yes Chad, it is 1 down 4 up, and the throttle is on the right side. I think he demonstrated that he can handle a dirtbike just as good as the rest of them.

The question I have after round 1 is will he be able to mix it up with Ryan Villopoto and Mike Alessi? I think he can. That was his first outdoor in a long, and he just got done with a heated SX championship fight. Just do not, whatever you do, do not count Skippy out after round 1.

4 motos down, 44 to go!!!

Cold slap to the face

On Saturday, May 9th, I went up to Mountain View, in Sandy Oregon, to help a friend out, as my bike is still MIA. We went up and had a good time, he rode great, and I even did a practice moto on his 450 (which I hated by the way. 450's are not my gig) but it was still a blast nonetheless.

On our way home, I got a text from my dad saying that he heard from a friend in Albany that someone was being air-lifted off the track. We were passing by the track anyway, but all I saw was one lone ambulance. I texted my good friend who was racing that day, and he said 2 riders collided over a jump, and one of them was in bad shape. The rider on the other end walked away with a broken arm. But Stephen was not doing so well and had to be life-flighted to a hospital ASAP. He is now in a coma. His family and friends are waiting eagerly, hoping his condition will improve. He has been in all of our thoughts and prayers since the incident.

Another rider, by the name of Wes Hare, who runs the www.albanymx.com website, broke his femur on Saturday also. I'm not sure if it was bad track conditions or what, but Saturday was one of those days that opens your eyes to what a dangerous sport we all participate in, week in and week out. Of course we all accept the risk, as motocross is what we love. But when things like this happen, you realize that life changing injuries can happen to anyone. Neither Stephen or Wes were pro's or up and coming B riders. No disrespect, as I have been on the track with both of them, and both are talented riders. But this just goes to show that you don't have to be a blazing fast A contender to end up in a hospital bed, with a fate undecided.

Albany Motocross lost Jay Hewett back in 2007. I wrote a piece for him after it happened. In 2008, Washougal lost Rocky Genser. From what I have gathered, Stephen should not be an addition to this horrible horrible list. But I have not stopped wishing him well and praying for him since saturday. There is always that chance that things can take a turn for the worst, and that's what this whole long story is about.

Don't take any moment with friends or family for granted. Don't hang your head after a bad moto, even if you finished in dead last for that matter. You got to do what you love, and whether you want to admit or not because you lost, you know you had a good time. Enjoy it all, because things can change in the blink of an eye.

Good luck

Past Present and Future

Past

Supercross 2009 is now the past. The last 3 rounds saw amazing action, unbelievable turn of events, and surprise winners. Seattle saw Ryan Villopoto take his first 450 win in front of his home crowd, and Chad Reed have his first and only finish off the podium the whole season. WOW.

Next weekend, things got even more insane as Kyle Chisolm stepped in and effected the championship in ways NO ONE would have predicted. That topic seems to be controversial, and get some people pretty heated, and old so I'm not going to go there. I know what I think.

Vegas was the end all be all of vegas finales. All the racing from all 4 heats, both LCQ's and both mains were exciting. Congratulations to Christophe Pourcel for winning the 250 East Title and the Vegas shootout, Ryan Dungey for winning the 250 West title, and riding like a champ in LV. Congrats to James Stewart on his second SX title and coming back from pretty far down, and battling tooth and nail with Chad all season. Huge props to Northwest hero Ryan Villopoto on another win in Las Vegas. And finally big props to Chad for getting out there and riding like he deserved that number 1 plate from 2008, and making this season exciting. Thanks to everyone. The fans loved it!

PRESENT

Now there's 2 weeks off. Time to get out and ride and enjoy the newfound sunny weather, as the season changes. Unless you live in Oregon with me. Then you can enjoy the pouring rain. My good friend and his brother bought "6" old Honda CT 90's. I put quotations around the number 6 because those "6" little bikes are going to be an end result of 3 bikes total. It's definitely going to be a summer project, but I will try to put some before and after pics up sometime later.

FUTURE

The future consists of the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Nationals. What a bright future it is. New sponsor, new management, new day, new riders, and a new 450 Champ!! I cannot express to you through this computer written text how excited I am for the nationals to start. Normally, once the supercross season heads east, I am bored already. Supercross doesn't have that badass allure that makes motocross so great. No big ruts and bumps. No 35 minute motos, let alone 2 of them. It's just a whole different ball game, and the real men will rise to the top.
Will Chad Reed be riding the Nationals? There have been hints at it, and it sounds like he wants to, but it also sounds like it's not up to him. What kind of world do we live in where it's not up to the riders? I'm sure it's more complicated than that, and I'm sounding like a dumbass right now, but it seems ridiculous to me that a rider can't line up at Glen Helen if he doesn't want to. I know there is insane amounts of money involved, but come on. Chad is their star rider. He deserves to mix it up out there if he chooses to. But either way, if Chad is there or not, it is going to be a great outdoor season in both classes. They are both so stacked with talent, bit is not inconceivable to think that every weekend is going to be an all-out crapshoot.

Both images were copied from the fine folks at Racer X, as I am not a real journalist or anything cool like that, and don't have media passes to the races, or secret underground photos of Chad Reeds national bike straight from Suzuki.

Get out and play

It's almost May, and outdoor motocross tracks across the country are opening up again, for all your moto-heads to enjoy. The supercross season is winding down as well, and while it has been one hell of a roller coaster season, the Lucas Oil AMA Nationals will start just 2 weeks after the lights go down in vegas!

Nothing tops true outdoor motocross. Hopefully there will be a few James Stewart and Chad Reed sightings, but I'm pretty sure this seasons championship will be from the rookie classes from a few years back in either Mike Alessi, Ryan Villopoto, or maybe someone like Davi Millsaps. All 3 are rivals dating back to the radical 90's, with cool shades, and all kinds of hues of green and pink.

Speaking of the 90's, check out www.foxracing.com and view the original Terrafirma videos for free! I can vividly remember being about 7 and 8 years old, and renting all 3 of the original Terrafirma videos from Blockbuster. It's safe to say that those videos got me hooked. How come we can't rent the TGO movies from Blockbuster these days?

If you're too young to remember the Terrafirma vids, or too old for that matter, or you're from another country, or you've lived in a nuclear fallout shelter for the past 2 decades, seeing these old videos is mandatory. Seeing the best of the best like Mcgrath and Lusk and Henry and Reynard just out having a good time, dressing up like Elvis, reminds you of why you got into this crazy sport of broken bones and the consumption of all your paycheck in the first place. For FUN!

Braaap Braaaaap!

Digital Video Recorder

Since the age of DVR, I have missed very few races. I had Washougal 06 on my DVR, where it was supposed to stay until the end of time, til my dad pulled a major bonehead move and accidently deleted it. I haven't forgiven him and neither has he really. It sure is nice knowing that I will not miss a race no matter what my plans entail.

But part of me misses the old days of checking the TV guide the day it came out, and planning my weekend around the races on ESPN2. I remember spending the night at my friends house across the street, and setting a "sub-conscious alarm clock." I woke up right around 7:30, and walked home to catch the SX race that started at 8. It didn't surprise my friend either. Something about making that extra effort to make an excuse to bail on church, or postpone going to lunch with the grandparents just another hour, made it all that much more rewarding. I was only 8 or 9 at the time as well. Not many of my friends were up at 8am on Saturday mornings. Of course I wouldn't want to go back to those days, but looking back on it, it sure was fun, and going through such efforts to make sure I got to see Ricky's first straight up win over MC, and Travis Pastrana's wild outdoor crashes, helped mold me into the die hard moto fan I am today.

Toy's R Congress

If this doesn't make your blood boil, I don't know what will. What a bunch of bullshit!

Leaving Fow Hawaii

I'm leaving for Hawaii tomorrow morning, but there is PLENTY going on in the world of moto right now.

First off, I got to ride an outdoor motocross track on Wednesday for the first time since October! Oregon has some long winters, but man did it feel good to finally hit some ruts, some bumps, some whoops, and and some jumps that don't require landing with the brakes locked up. Too bad I couldn't hold on for more than a few laps. I don't have any pictures yet, but just imagine me gooning it thru the whoops with my bows at my side and my hands on the verge of falling off. It was brutal, and I'm still feeling the effects, but it was a shit load of fun at that. Thanks to my sponsors: SPY, Dunlop, SixSixOne, Tag, Filtron, Braking USA, Sunline, Renthal and AMSOIL for making that goonability possible.

Tom Self, the guy I've been linking to about the Lead Ban, will be a "guest of honor" at the STL Supercross tonight. This guy deserves tons of kudos for the effort he's put into helping the moto industry get past this bullshit lead law, and all of it's "undesired effects." I'm not one to partake in conspiracy theories, but the Gov't has been attacking motocross since before I was even born. This just seems like a small piece to the overall plot to make sure outdoor riding areas are for the elitist, exclusionist jerks that want to hug trees and whipe their asses with leaves.

Travis Pastrana will also be riding STL tonight. He designed the track and it is rad to say the least. When the track maps were first released, STL was the one I was most excited about. Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch the race until next saturday, as I'll be on my way to the big island when the races start on SPEED. I guess unfortunate is a strong word considering I'm going to a tropical island...



KEEP IT ON 2 WHEELS TRAVIS!

N'Awleans

It's hard to go from the awesome unique track under the lights in Daytona, back to the mostly boring, small SX tracks under the domes. But nevertheless New Orleans is this weekend and it is getting interesting. Reed has an 11 point lead over Stewart. This season is coming down to the wire. Bubba has to be nearly flawless from here on out. That's a tall order, and he has somewhat of a habbit of cracking under pressure. He can pull it off, but so can Reed. It's anyones game.

Big thanks to my sponsors: SPY, Dunlop, SixSixOne, Tag, Filtron, Braking USA, Sunline, Renthal and AMSOIL

DAYTONA!

Daytona was Awesome. A real classic for sure, in both classes. Congrats to Davalos and J-Law for making some inspiring and somewhat unexpected rides. Here's some cool youtube vids just to keep it all fresh.

JOSH HILL'S HEAT RACE WIN AND SUBSEQUENT ONE-FOOTED CELEBRATION WAS SUPERB!!!

More Action is Needed!

CLICK HERE to send a letter urging your state officials to approve the petition submitted by the Motorcycle Industry Council and Specialty Vehicle Institute of America to exclude youth OHVs from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) lead content requirements.

Links like this make it quick and easy for you to take action. Huge props to all those out there, trying their best to get this debacle sorted out.

Please! even if your just stopping by, or if you've filled out similar letters, every single bit helps.

Hit the SNOOZE button

The 450 class has officially hit the SNOOZE button. James Stewart, #7, has won 7 of the last 7 rounds. Sounds pretty lucky right? Not so lucky for the fans, who can pretty much expect to see a James Stewart win, no not just a win, a runaway. It's good for James, and he is riding absolutely amazing, so I'm not going to bag on him for riding like the fastest man on the planet. I just wish he would start a lap down or something.

Reed was poised and ready to take it from Stewie in Hot-lanta, but a bad start hindered his run at the #1 spot. He's still winless this season, but he's riding better than ever, and still seems very confident. If it weren't for JBS, he would be the one I'd be complaing about for making the series kind of boring. I do think it would have been a good race, if it weren't for the gate. They had problems with the gate twice saturday night, and I was somewhat expecting them to red-flag the fo fiddy main. Josh Hill jumped the gate, which caused it to flinch, which in turn, caused Reedy and a few others to be quite a bit slower off the line.

Lucky for us fans, there's another class that races on saturday night! The 250 class is all but boring so far, on both coasts. I'll try to recap the race as much as I can:

Stroupe gets the holeshot, Pourcel is second.

Stroupe stalls bike, Poucel takes over lead.

Lemoine goes for 4th, get's a charlie horse or some shit and drops back to 7th.

Wharton slowly creeps up from the back, and gets 4th

Lemoine drops back even more, after Stroupe passes him

You get the picture. A lot happened. But the biggest hightlight, or lowlight depending on how you look at it, was Stroupe stalling after the finish line. I was very excited to see that he had nailed a solid holeshot, and I was equally bummed to see him kicking his Kawi over. That race was his for the taking.

Hopefully everyone watched the race LIVE on SPEED, and I'm just telling you what you already know.

Have you contaced your local senators and representatives about the CPSIA act yet? If you haven't, you should asap. I was at my local race saturday night, and I couldn't help but notice all the little tykes having the time of their lives. Half of the racing consisted of mini classes. Robbing those kids of their right to ride is ridiculous, and un-just.

Tom Self

ARRA- Access

Thanks for reading folks, and keep it on 2-wheels!

Take Action! It's easy!

Filling out these 2 online letters takes 5 minutes at max, if you type with 2 fingers. Anything that is done to help, will help.

Click Here! ARRA-Access

Click Here when your done! Tom Self

We, as the moto-lovers of America who bleed premix (for those of you out there still rocking some braap braaap) and get a little horny at the sight of a freshly tilled motocross track in the early morning sunrise, with just a hint of mist rising off the top, must do everything we can to combat this bullshit. How are we supposed to have future stars of the sport, if kids like Eli Tomac, Adam Cinciarulo, and local boy Austin Black don't have bikes to ride?!

Even if you got redirected here by accident, because you spelled your favorite pr0n site wrong, fill out the 2 letters. If you don't I will personally see to it that you ride a 1997 CR250 for the rest of your life...

Headin East

The West is done until Seattle starts up 8 weeks from now. Weimer's gotta be kicking himself a little, but he can still win it no doubt. I don't have a clear favorite as I like both Dungey and Jake a lot. But Weimer has come on so strong this winter, I gotta secretly root for him a little. Not that Mitch Payton needs another number 1 plate... Then again neither does Roger DeCoster!

The one East round in Houston was pretty amazing, as Pourcel rode an unbelievable 20 laps, to let everyone in the U.S. know that he is back, and better than ever. But you can bet that Stroupe, Izzi, and maybe even some surprise winners like Matt Lemoine will stand atop that middle step of the podium during the east stretch. No matter what, we're going to have new champs on each coast when the Vegas shootout rolls around.

Good News?

Wow. Talk about a week full of bad news. First, the tragic news about Jeremy Lusk that I have already covered. Then the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that was put forth this week, banning the sale of all ATV's and OHV's to kid's under the age of 13 with a lead content above 600ppm.

This is a true story: I had just been reading about this, and I got a hold of my dad and told him the bad news, and his exact response was "what are they going to be doing, eating them?" I thought wow, what a perfect response. I can understand some concern about matchbox cars that are glowing with radiation, but Motorcycles??? I fail to see how high lead content in brake cables is going to poison the youth riders. If someone has a good explanation for all this, I would love to hear it.

In the process of this stupid "Act" it has all but completely crippled the youth motocross market, and with LL qualifiers fast approaching, now is not the time for politics. Considering Barack Obama keeps telling me that we're in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, how does putting an entire industry out of business, virtually over night, help in any way? I'm not blaming Obama, I'm just saying, he's so sure that this is the next Depression, so why are these goons in DC robbing us like this?

Not to mention after a long week, I'm flat out broke! I'm sure I'm the only one that cares about that though.

The bad news continued in my eyes Saturday night in the marvelous city of San Diego (which, of course in German means a whale's vagina) when James led another Supercross wire to wire. This may be good news to James, his dad, and all the people that are fans of just James Stewart. To the other racers, and the fans of the sport in general, not such good news...
The track was miserably short, and one-lined. I think I could have finished a long movie in the same amount of time from opening ceremonies to the time the checkers waved in the big bike main. And I would have spent less money, and depending on what movie I watched, I probably would have seen more action.

I'm not turning my back on Reed overnight because of one race. Everyone has an off-weekend. I'm hoping that this trend doesn't continue at hot-lanta, especially because the race is live on SPEED, and we don't want to see a snoozer.

There's alot that could go on to make SX better, that wouldn't require much of anything really. Either bring back Semi's or add some type of Consolation race to the night show. That way we would get to see the guys who aren't mentioned as often, and they would get to go out there and show their skills and plug their sponsors. It would help out the guys that keep this sport going, all the while adding much needed RACE time to the night show.

Do I think any of this is going to happen? No.

If anyone has some good news out there, please, fill me in.

RIP Jeremy Lusk

Most of you know that Jeremy Lusk passed away by now. This is truly horrible news in every single way. I did not know a lot about Jeremy, until the past couple of days, but it sounds like he was a one of a kind guy. One thing about Lusk that was undeniable, were his skills.

I took a letter from Eric Apple that was posted on TWMX.com about Jeremy's final hours. I don't want to contribute to anymore rumors or false stories out there, so here it is right from the source:

"There are so many rumors and questions going around, I think it is time that everyone know the truth. By now the entire action sports community, especially the motocross world, has been hit with the news,that X Games Gold Medalist , Jeremy Lusk, 24, has passed away from traumatic brain injuries incurred while competing in the sport of freestyle motocross that he loved so much. Perhaps the hardest hit, were Jeremy’s families. I say that in the plural sense. Not only is Jeremy survived by his parents and wife, he is survived by another family, that being the Metal Mulisha.
This passed Saturday night, most of our close friends began calling each other, asking if the other had heard about Jeremy’s crash, and if he was OK. Within an hour, I had spoken to some other riders and their wives who were here in San Jose , Costa Rica, where I write this now. Jeremy knocked himself unconscious, and had to be rushed to Calderon Hospital. He underwent emergency brain surgery to relieve massive inter-cranial pressure that had built up from the crash. They were able to remedy the situation for the time being, but apparently, the damage had been done.
Within hours of Jeremy’s emergency surgery, his wife ,Lauren, was by his side. Lauren flew down with her father late Saturday night. Some of us knew that we had to get down here, because Jeremy and Laurenneeded us; they were in trouble. Cameron Steele, Brian Deegan, Ryan Hagy, and myself were on the way Sunday morning. We had no idea what we were getting into, we just knew that our brother was hurt, and it was important for us to be there with him.
Upon landing we went straight to Calderon Hospital. The scene was hard to swallow. It’s tough to see someone you love in that condition. Lauren was waiting for us, ever so strong, next to the love of her life. The wheels in our heads starting turning immediately; we had to make sure Jeremy got the best care possible, or get him back to the U.S. where he could get the best care possible. With the help of countless friends and industry members at home, and especially La Jolla Group CEO Toby Bost, we explored every possibility, including flying in a neurosurgeon to Costa Rica, and transporting Jeremy via a flying intensivecare unit. Jeremy was in a coma, and wasn’t improving at all. We knew we had to act fast.
Jeremy’s parents, were on a plane Monday as we continued frantically to find a solution to the situation Jeremy was in. We met with the head doctor of the Intensive Care Unit, the neurosurgeon , and the director of the entire hospital several times trying to understand the situation and what the best course of action would be.
By Monday afternoon, Jeremy was beginning to deteriorate. His left lung wasn’t working very well, and his blood pressure was falling. These complications were starving his brain of the valuable blood and oxygenit needed to recover from the massive hit he took. The doctors told us there was little hope and that they would be surprised if Jeremy made it through the night. We stayed by Jeremy’s side all evening and afternoon, praying over him, and waiting for any sign of hope.
Jeremy’s parents, along with Lauren’s mother and sister, arrived at the hospital at approximately 11pm. Within seconds of his parents walking into the ICU, alarms were going off on Jeremy’s monitors. His blood pressure was dropping fast , and his body temperature was at 105 degrees and rising. It was the beginning of the end. All of us stood by for the next hour, praying, hugging, crying, and watching as Jeremy Lusk slowly slipped away to Heaven. Being the hard ass that Jeremy is, even in a coma, he had something to prove. And that was that he could hold on, just long enough, for his parents to see him one last time.
This was one of the hardest things I have ever been through in my life. But I hope each of us takes something away from this. For myself, I realized that although Jeremy was very young, he went out on top. He steadily rose through the ranks of the FMX world for the last several years, and achieved some amazing goals in his life that most people could never dream of. He also went out on top in his personal life; he enjoyed an amazing life as a born again Christian with his beautiful wife Lauren.
I also realized that I am part of something that is so special and different. That is the Metal Mulisha. The effort that was put forth by everyone here blew me away. All of us dropped our lives in a heartbeat and gave everything we had over the last 72 hours. I am so proud of the action and work that my friends and colleagues put in. I am truly honored to be considered part of this brotherhood and to be backed up byfriends like this.
I’m honored to have known Jeremy. When I first met him, I knew there was something special about him. I knew he would fit into the Mulisha way before Deegan actually got to know him. Jeremy proved me right. There was something special, he was a champion on and off the bike.
Eric Apple"

RIP JEREMY

A sound of Bee's

After watching Houston, it started to seem like James was back, and had the blue bike dialed. After watching SF, I'm sure of it now. Even though the track was pretty ridiculous and one-lined, James was on a tear. MC's track is this weekend, and it should be pretty exciting, considering both A1 and A2 were thrillers.

What the hell is up with J-Law? I'm not gonna be like the rest of the goons on the internet and sit here and act like I know him or anything. I just want to see the kid ride! He's fast and he can make the races interesting. I really don't care what he does with his rental cars, or who he fights when he's plastered, as long as he shows up on Saturday's. I just heard he had got in a fight during the week. If that's the case, then whatever. But since he missed the race on Saturday, it raises some concerns for me...

Let's talk 2-strokes. What better way to help the average joe rider keep riding during slow economic times, than to bring back smokers? And no I'm not talking about your grandpa who has been smoking since the depression, I'm talking about the bikes that go "Braap." They are cheaper to buy, and maintain, and if you blow the top end, you don't have to give up racing for a month to recover from the empty pockets.

To push the idea even further, I've heard a few suggestions that SX should be all 2-strokes, and Outdoors can be all 4-strokes. I see plenty of advantages to this, the first being, who the hell needs a 450 thumper indoors? A 250 smoker would do just fine, and maybe even make the racing a little more exciting, since the track builders would have to switch things up a little to accomodate for the different bikes.

A 450 is more than suitable outdoors on the big hills of glen helen, or the massive step up that is Larocco's leap. Then the factories could market 2 bikes. A motocross bike and a supercross bike. We all know from going to the local tracks that there will be plenty of rich guys out there with both models.

If that idea is too drastic to ever actually become reality, how about just a 125 Junior division? That way young kids who can't afford to pump thousands of dollars into a 250f monster can somehow try to make a career by starting off in the Junior division. Just simply have one moto at each national. The only downside I see to that is that they already do WMA moto's at a lot of the rounds. But I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we miss that "sound of bees" at the nats.

Either way, something needs to be done to keep the 2-stroke from dying off all together. KTM has gained a lot of respect in my book for keeping a full lineup of 2-smokers going, and even producing a fully electric bike in 2010. That should be interesting.

Golden State Madness!

Raced the Golden State round at the Salem fairgrounds today. Here's a few pics from Cliff over at http://www.mcleoudphotos.net/ He's the champ when it comes to shooting moto

A2 good to be true?

A2 was a great race and Reed rode like the man that he is. I was stoked as hell for him. His ride from that far back, on a track that one lined, was amazing.

Houston was a whole different story. James was the one who looked like he was on his game. I think he finally got that pretty Yamaha figured out. He looked like the Bubba from his championship season. Scrubbin, whippin, roostin, slidin. Just vintage Bubba shit! I was watching him, and he did not look like the same rider that was at Anameim and Phoenix. Not to mention his "James Bon Jovi" entrance was extemely bad-ass.

But seriously, back to James and his blazing race. I was surprised that no one had talked about it as much, but he finally looked confortable on the Yamaha. In the heat when he went through the on-off's to the inside and seat bounced the triple, without ever even letting off, I had to pause and rewind real fast. I had to do the same again when he was doing his little parade lap at the end of the heat, and he proceeded to throw the bike over like I hadn't seen him do since he was on a little 125 2-banger. Then a smooth one handed whip over the finish line to cap it all off. It was honestly the first time this season that I remembered that James is from a far away planet. If he can do that every weekend, then I would advise most of the other guys to start training for outdoors...

The 250 east was exciting too. I had called the winner at about 9am that morning. I knew Pourcel had it in the bag when I read that he held the track record at the Kawi test track, over Villo on a 450. I'm pretty sure Stroupe is gonna wear the crown in the end. Mark my words. As far as the #20 goes... Not lookin to hot. He's not one of my personal favorites, but he sure can ride.

That was a pretty cool weekend of racing, and was probably the most "boring" yet. It's been 4 good rounds so far.

The A2 track looks awesome! very technical, and the "outdoor motocross" section should make for good old-school racing. Huge props to the track builders for switching things up this year. S-Turns, flat corners, sand, split lanes. Diversity is key.

This photo is from www.supercrossonline.com

Desert Showdown

Different Race, Same Stuff

Phoenix was another exciting round. It's shaping up to be a very interesting season! Just like last year, there have been 4 main events, and 4 different winners. A2 might see the 5th, and 6th different winners, as Chad Reed won there last year on a technical track similar to what is in store for this weekend, and the 250 class is pretty much a crap shoot.

Wiemer would have won the 250 main, had he not gone down in the tricky sand section. I don't know if SPEED edited the show to have Erin Bates chime in about the sand section taking victims, just seconds before Jake ate dirt, but I found myself laughing at that. Dungey looked good in his new FOX gear, and Brayton and Blose continue to turn heads. Biggest surprise is the defending champs J-Law and self proclaimed, Dr. Tre. Trey went down hard in the heat, and J-Law had a hell of a night. I'm pretty confident both will win a Main before the West Coast is over.

The 450 class was kind of a snoozer if you were just watching a lap chart, as James pretty much led wire to wire. But for anyone there, or watching on TV, it was anything but a snoozer. Very similar to last year, Reed held the #7 honest the entire 20 laps. You know you were on your toes that final lap, when Reed had closed to within a half second. It was also nice to see them high-fiving after the race. Bad blood and rivalries are good for TV, and racing if you think about it, but that was a great battle and both guys rode the shit out of those scooters.

Is the good racing due to the "bad" YZ450F, or the "amazing" RMZ-450? A bunch of people are saying that Bubba just doesn't look good on the new Yamaha. I call BS. The YZ450F has won both races so far, and he's only been on the bike for about 3 months. Reed did just fine on the bike last year, and while Skippy does look light-years better than he did in '08, I don't think it's just because of the new bike, but more so the new team. James has a pretty unique set up, and it takes him a while to get things going just how he likes them. The Cobra was pointing out, over on MotoTalk, that he suspects that James is using an Auto-Clutch as well. The Yamaha also took flak, when Bubba couldn't get it restarted at A1. Anyone out there remember the MXdN's? The only score team USA threw away was the one in which James couldn't get his Kawi restarted. Maybe James just doesn't know how to restart a fallen mount. I'm not just trying to defend the Yamaha 450, or James. I just think it's to early to be pointing fingers at the bike being the difference maker. Give it time people.

J-Law is with ONE, Dungey is with FOX. It's old news now. It was just Business. GET OVER IT

A1, Yeah it's that important.

QUICK RE-CAP

Every year the SX season kicks off at the illustrious Anaheim Stadium, and this year was no different, as 45,000 fans poured in to watch Reed and Stewart do battle, as well as the very hyped J-Law vs. Dungey rivalry. But unlike many years past, A1 was actually very exciting. Josh Grant got his first 450 victory, and scored the first ever win for the JGR team. Stewart DNF'd, but Reed looked fast and the 2 were set to swap the lead a few times. J-Law crashed 2 corners into the race and took Dr. Tre down with him. J-Law was left with a dangling visor, similar to RC from a few years back. Dungey got a bad start and rode his way to the box. And the Idaho kid Jake Wiemer won the race, looking good the whole way. It was an eventful night, and not many people picked the eventual winners. I actually don't know if anyone picked Josh Grant to win the 450 main.


But you already knew all of that since all of you watched it LIVE, on Speed! No need to sit here and re-cap the race for everyone. But I think a lot of moto heads are in agreement that this was the most exciting season opener in recent history, and is hopefully a sign of things to come.

Looking Ahead

Moving on to Phoenix, where James Stewart got his only SX win of the season last year, and Jake Wiemer got his first ever win. I would put a good amount of cash on Bubba for this round. I'm sure he'll be eager to redeem himself. But after A1, who knows what to expect. For those of you doing Fantasy SX anywhere, I'd say looking back to PHX last year, Both Reed and Stewart will be fast on the Fo Fiddy's and K-Dub landed on the podium as well. Josh Hansen finished inside the top 10 in AZ last year. I'd plan on him being the dark horse this weekend, hopefully making up for his lackluster debut with H&H. But I won't throw rocks if your reluctant to put your money on Lil' Hanny.


Wiemer won last year on the 250, and there's really no reason why he won't win this weekend. That's the beauty of the Tiddler class; expect the unexpected. My money is on Dungey for the weekend, with Brayton close to the front, along with the man layin down the Law with the number one plate. Kyle Cunningham is my under dog for Phoenix, as he had a good Top-10 ride there last year.

BRAAAP BRAP

Oregon Weather prevents a lot of riding from November to March, but Normally there are a few places to ride some Arenacross. Well this year hasn't been so cool, and I got to throw a leg over a scooter for the first time in to long on Saturday. The sun came out along the Oregon Coast, and it was the most fun I've had... Well since last time I was on 2-Wheels. Going out to the sand or the local trails, or Ocotillo if your in the area, is really good for the Soul. It reminds us all of why we got into riding in the first place. Pounding out laps at the local track is always fun, but there's still nothing like hitting the sand with my old man.

Back and better than ever.

Supercross has officially begun, and now I'm back to give my "valuable" insights.

I'll be posting some cool stuff at least twice a week.