The holidays are now over and we are looking at a new year; that means it is time to start to make our riding plans for 2012. In the past week or so, I have been talking to some riding friends to see what their plans are for the coming year.  Some are going racing while others are just planning some recreational riding. Personally, I intend on simply riding more, since another obligation is starting to lighten up for me. Whether it is racing or trail riding, I will be out having fun with family and friends.

ATV

Kyler is the most serious quad rider with whom I regularly ride. He likes racing and has not slowed down in the winter months. This winter he has been running a winter hare scramble series on his four-wheeler with the Valley Dirt Rider’s Series in Berthoud, Colorado. In fact, I had invited him to ride this past Saturday at the Bijou, but he declined since he was preparing his quad for a race the next day.

Hare scramble is not the only form of racing Kyler is going to participate in this year. On January 28, he will be attending an Arenacross race in Denver at the National Western complex. This football field sized track will be a change from the vast desert-like hare scramble courses he has become accustomed to over the past year or so. It will be interesting to see how he fares in this type of race.

Once the warmer months are upon us, Kyler will be racing the Colorado Off-Road Championship Series (CORCS). This is a hare scramble type of race; so it is simple - the fastest rider in each class wins the class, and there is an overall race winner. Kyler has led his class in series points in the past; I’m sure he will be at or near the top of his class in 2012.

The event Kyler is most excited about is the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) event he is going to enter. This is The Mammoth in Park City, Kentucky on April 28 and 29. Since he decided to do this, he has hardly stopped talking about it. Not only is Kyler excited about it, I am excited for him. For many years I have watched these races on television and thought how much fun those trails would be to ride. He is not only going to get to run his ATV tires through these trails, but he is going to get to race against some of the best ATV riders from all over the country. This should turn out to be something he will remember for the rest of his life.

Motocross

My friend Mark will be racing in the Rocky Mountain Motocross Association circuit again this year. He will be piloting his Honda CRF 450R as he navigates the senior class; the senior class means he is on the north end of forty, just like me. Mark tells me that he likes to participate in the races not to win, but to just go out and have some fun. He has established quite the camaraderie with the other fellows in his class. He says that for the most part, these guys are just out to have fun and be outside. Mark doesn’t make every race on the schedule and has no sponsors.  He goes out to test himself against the other racers; also, he likes to just to be outside on Sunday afternoon.

The RMXA is somewhat of a local race circuit here in Colorado; the most that Mark will have to travel for a race will be about 150 miles one way. He usually leaves early in the morning for the track and comes back home late in the evening. He really enjoys what he does and looks forward to spring coming so that he can go racing.

Enduro

Mike, who was at Taylor Park, is looking at running an enduro in the desert near Grand Junction in late March. Originally, we thought this would be a hare scramble; however, we very recently received information that it will be an enduro. The difference being that an enduro has check points and special tests that need to be completed. The person with the fewest points wins the race. As mentioned earlier, in a hare scramble, the fastest rider is the winner.

The Grand Junction race is the event that Mike has been trying to talk me into entering. I am still considering it, since I am eligible for the senior class. The thing to remember about the senior class is that those gentlemen may be the best and fastest riders. These guys have many years of experience on motorcycles. Most did not start riding yesterday; they may have thirty plus years of riding under their belts. I keep thinking I may enjoy writing about racing more than participating. Mike keeps telling me it would be better to race; it would make a better story. I will decide in the next month or so what I want to do.

If this enduro or other Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit events don’t work out for Mike and me, we may look at doing the same series (CORCs) as Kyler.  There are motorcycle classes offered in that series; in fact this may be the series that we put my son Joey in later this year after he has had more time aboard his new Honda motorcycle. Joey keeps asking about racing; a hare scramble may be the way for him to go since he is all about going fast.

Trail Riding

Taylor Park is on the list for this coming summer. Dave, Mike and I who were all at Taylor last summer have already been kicking around some dates. For Dave, he says there will be absolutely no racing for him; he is happy just zipping up and down the trails for recreation. It looks like this year our Taylor trip will be in July, rather than August. The reason for the earlier date is that some others who go to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally would join us in Taylor Park if the dates did not coincide. My old friend Jason, who joined us at the Bijou last week, is one of those folks. He goes to Sturgis every year on his Harley Davidson, but he would also like to go to Taylor a few weeks earlier with us to ride his Honda CRF450X.

Conclusion

It looks like my friends have some fun in store for 2012! It seems like this is going to be an eventful OHV year for my circle of riding buddies. Whether we are racing or just out trail riding, we will enjoy ourselves. With as much wear and tear is ahead of all the machines, winter maintenance will be important to ensure that we have trouble-free trips - especially a thorough check of the ATV and motorcycle tires. I’m already getting tired just thinking about it; but it will be fun!

EnduroCross has become my favorite form of motorcycle racing! We used to go to Arenacross, supercross and motocross races all over the country, but n ow that EnduroCross has become popular, I prefer to watch it over the other forms of dirt bike racing. The reason I am drawn to this new form of racing is because it takes one of my trips to the mountains and puts it into a track the size of a football field. It has rocks, sand, water crossings, logs and tractor tires; it resembles a motocross track designed by some deranged offroader who wants to make mince meat of other riders.

The Leaders

This past weekend, a group of us attended the AMA sanctioned race, partially sponsored by Kenda tires, at the National Western Complex in Denver. After all the heat races and last chance qualifiers, the eventual winner was Taddy Blazusiak; with local favorite and former trials champion Geoff Aaron taking the runner-up spot. While the main event was somewhat of a runaway win for Blazusiak, there were some very close qualifier heats where a win was clinched with a last second pass.

Tractor Tires

This particular track included a water crossing, large boulders and three separate sections where the riders were required to traverse tractors tires. In two of these sections the tires were standing up, and on the other section the tires were laying flat. I hadn’t thought of taking the tires off our tractor and trying different ways of riding my motorcycle over them. The challenge riders face with the vertical tires is having to clear a 6 foot tall obstacle; the challenge on the flat tires was to avoid dropping their motorcycle tires into the center of the tractor tire. Getting stuck in here can send a rider from first place to the middle of the pack in no time. 

Trials

Trials motorcycles have a race class of their own; these simple little motorcycles with no seats actually clear many of the obstacles with what seems like much less effort than the bigger offroad bikes. Recently, the Smage Brothers made these motorcycles famous on the television show “America’s Got Talent.” Phil Smage was in this race, in fact, and leading the trials main event until he had a mishap in the matrix section (where logs lay down in different directions) and fell to the back of the pack.

In the dash for cash race, there were actually two trials bikes racing against offroad bikes; one of the trials riders finished in second place ahead of several of the offroaders. In the first three or four years of the series, the trials bikes were in the same race class as the offroad bikes; the trials became so competitive and so popular that a class of their own was created. These little bikes have become a fan favorite over the short history of EnduroCross and have shown that they can hold their own against the bigger more powerful offroad motorcycles.

Concluding Thoughts

As we were studying the track prior to the race, our group decided that we had ridden over most of the EnduroCross obstacles out on the forest trails; with the exception of the tractor tires. This is what draws me to want to watch this sport; it is how I ride on my trail rides. Many of the obstacles in EnduroCross seem to have been pulled straight from the Colorado trails I describe on this blog. Of course,  I am not out in the woods trying to clear a 60’ table top jump or trying to throw a nac-nac; but I am out there fording streams, riding over basketball size rocks and jumping over fallen trees. 

 Offroad is my world; this is where I feel at home. I do have friends who are motocrossers, and I enjoy talking to them and watching them ride, but if given a choice, I prefer to watch an EnduroCross race. When a rider is fighting his way through the rock garden or having trouble crossing the water hazard, all I can think is, “I feel your pain, Brother.” If the opportunity arises for you to attend EnduroCross , take it - it is well worth the time and money.

James Parker

This past weekend I got my first taste of Supercross racing. I have seen the amateur races at the local fairgrounds and district races, but had yet to see the pro’s race. The race we attended was in St. Louis, MO, at the Edward Jones Dome. We arrived early and watched some of the riders coming in, signing autographs and getting pictures taken with fans. Just the amount of semis hauling all the bikes and gear and pit equipment is enough to stop you in your tracks - and they all have the paint shined and the chrome polished.

We had V.I.P. passes to get into the pits before the general public and had access to all of the sponsored booths, too, like Monster Energy & Rockstar. After an hour and a half each of the V.I.P. areas were closed off to specific V.I.P. passes only, so if you didn’t have a Monster Energy V.I.P. pass, you had to keep walking. Luckily, my son, two other friends and I were invited to the Parts Unlimited V.I.P. section for a fantastic lunch, where we were able to meet some of the other dealers and their families. The best part is that you could come and go as you please from 1:30 to 6:00, meaning you always had a place to rest in between all the places you are running back and forth to.

Once the V.I.P. sections closed, we decided to find our seats and wait for the races to start. Just the opening ceremonies alone we were worth the wait. Between all the flames, lasers and fireworks backed up by some awesome heavy metal, the screaming announcers introduced the riders and the adrenaline was through the roof.

Once the racing started, it was complete chaos on the track. Watching it on tv, you only ever see the top 3 riders and the wrecks. Trying to take in 16 riders all over the track is a system overload on your first race. You have non-stop jumps and riders dumping their bikes after coming into contact with one another, getting jammed into a hay bail or failing to land a jump. The announcer is screaming and the crowd are all pointing to different areas of the track while yelling. By the end of the night you’ve got a much better grasp of how they run, but by that time the race has already come to an end.

After nine hours and what seemed like only 45 minutes of racing (in reality was almost 3 hours), the night was done. It was an absolute rush to see the race in person and I would highly recommend that if you ever get the chance to go, don’t miss it…and bring comfortable walking shoes, because your going to be doing a LOT of it!!!

ATV Maniac

Local motocross is something everyone needs to experience at least once!   I once tried racing motocross years ago and decided that trail riding was more for me.  However, I enjoy attending races to watch my friends.  Last Sunday we had friends racing in classes ranging from the 50cc Peewees to the over 40 class at the local track.  It was a good family offroad outing where we didn’t have to prepare all of our gear.

When we got up that day, it was like any other Sunday Morning.  We slept in, got up had some breakfast and sat on the couch for about an hour.  My buddy Mark Franklin had told me the day before that he would text me when he had an idea of what time his race was.  Just as we were finishing breakfast, my phone was chiming that I had a message; it was Mark telling me he would be racing sometime around noon.  Great, that would give us plenty of time to swing by the grocery store and pick up some items for a picnic lunch and get to the track.

When Joey was informed of the day’s plan, he stood up, ran to his room and got dressed in no time at all.  He loves motorcycles; when he rides his mini-bike, he looks like a natural.  He looks as though he was born to ride motorcycles.  He was excited to say the least; but little did I know that he had formed a plan all his own inside that head of his.

When we arrived at the track, we paid our admission fee and proceeded to find Mark.  At this particular track, spectators are allowed to drive into the pits and park and wander through to visit with racers or just look at the bikes and haulers.  Once we found Mark, he had his bike sitting on a stand, out of the trailer.  Obviously, he had been running practice laps, as the motorcycle tires and fenders were muddy.  He was making adjustments like tire pressure, chain tension, and checking cables and linkages. 

At this point we heard the announcer say that the next race would be one of the “mini” races.  The sons of my friend Darin Russell were racing in it - Darin, number 111, and Lucas, number 229 - so we walked over toward the starting stretch and found a spot to stand and watch the racers as they whizzed by.  This is when we learned of Joey’s big idea.  He had decided that he was going to race today and became a little perterbed with me when I told him that wouldn’t be possible.  “Besides,” I asked, “did we bring your motorcycle?”  When he realized that today was not his day; he decided it would be more fun to sit at my feet as I watched the races and play with the toy dump truck he brought along.  We finished watching the mini race; young Darin ended up with a 2^nd place overall and Lucas ended the day with a 4^th place overall.

The next race was Mark’s race; he is in the over forty class.  He tells me he really enjoys riding with this group of guys as they are easy to get along with and they all have a good time.  Mark rode well; however, he finished toward the back of the pack.  Oh well, at least he is out there trying, and most of all, he is having fun.

Following this race we went back to Mark’s trailer and sat inside to eat our picnic lunch.  This was a cold and blustery day; in fact, soon after lunch it began to snow.  Later, while I was helping Mark inspect his bike, the track made the decision to cancel the rest of the race day.  It didn’t matter to us; we had a fun family outing, saw some friends and got to see some motorcycle racing.

Joey saw what other kids his age can do, and it showed us that he may have an interest in motocross racing.  If he wants to give it a shot, we will support him - and perhaps invest in some mini motocross tires for his bike.  If he decides he does not want to race, then that is fine with us as well.  It is his life to live; I have a feeling that ATVs and motorcycles will always be a part of his life.

The End of the Road

Well, we are coming to the end of another year of outdoor motocross action.  It was a pretty good year, with a lot of surprises. One of those was a recent win by veteran Kevin Windham.  It was good to see that he still has that fire in him. Another was just how quick Ryan Dungey wrapped up the championship. Although the leaders take the limelight, I have to admit I enjoyed watching the rest of the racers, too. 

Now we can get ready for an action-packed season of supercross (check out the 2011 season preview video above). I haven’t really caught wind of who will and who won’t be racing, or who will be on which bike, but I am excited for the first gate drop at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA.  That will definitely set the pace for the year.  Too bad we have to wait until January 8^th to do so. 

2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Calendar
January 8 - Angel Stadium - Anaheim, Calif.
January 15 - Chase Field - Phoenix
January 22 - Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles
January 29 - Oak-Alameda City Stadium - Oakland
February 5 - Angel Stadium - Anaheim, Calif.
February 12 - Reliant Stadium - Houston
February 19 - Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego
February 26 - Georgia Dome - Atlanta
March 5 - Daytona Int’l Speedway - Daytona, Fla.
March 12 - Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis
March 19 - Jacksonville Municipal Stadium - Jacksonville, Fla.
March 26 - Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
April 2 - Cowboys Stadium - Arlington, Texas
April 9 - Edward Jones Dome - St. Louis
April 16 - Qwest Field - Seattle
April 30 - Rice-Eccles Stadium - Salt Lake City
May 7 - Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas

Off Road Maniac

I was out in my garage doing some pre-ride checks on my bike when a buddy that recently started riding motocross called. He wanted to know what he needed to check over before we went riding the following day. I listed off the things I always check for, like air pressure, throttle and lever operation, chain tension, brake pad thickness, and so on. But afterward, I began to wonder if there were a better list somewhere. 

I finished my checks and started looking around online to see what I could find and came across Motocross 101.  This is a really nice site that covers a lot more than just maintenance. There are helpful tips on riding, racing and jumps; a nice little section on manufacturer history, and some reviews as well.  I found this website to be very helpful and I wanted to share it with our readers in the hopes that it helps you out as well. 

If you know of any resources that you think our readers would find useful, please let us know. You can also e-mail suggestions to info@webtiresales.com. We’ll be keeping a list of resources for your benefit. Keep checking back and look for a “resources link” in the right-hand menu.

Off Road Maniac