Latest News 2006

5-7-06 Fremont, IA Enduro: After stopping by a friend's wedding for my "free" dinner, I set off to Fremont by myself. After 5 1/2 hours on the road, I rolled into the camping area at around 1:00 am. Iowa does not have a VET A class and since I am too "young" to ride the Senior class (by about 10 months), I signed up for 250A.....OK...time to step up the pace. I was holding my own until the second section where I decided to test the cartwheel handling characteristics of the new KTM at the end of a field. Luckily, a wall of saplings at the end of the field prevented me from cart wheeling all the way to Missouri. The crash ripped the left hand guard off and it took me a minute or two to figure out what planet I was on, but I got up and kept going. Finishing the race missing one hand guard make you realize how much you use them. I got tired again, which seems to be the norm, but the trail and terrain were a blast and that kept me going.

5-21-06 Pearson, WI Enduro: I love this race. For those that have never been to this race, you are missing a fun ride. The terrain around Pearson is rocky and technical. I usually do not do well at this race, but the riding is so much fun, it doesn't matter. The Madison Motorcycle club laid out a great course. What made this race fun was that my brother Marc came out of "retirement" to ride with me (See his thoughts below). This was a trip like back in the "old days" when my brother and I traveled the Midwest racing (complete with the stop at Taco John's for supper Sat. night). For the first time this year, I actually felt like I was riding near my former speed and the trips to the gym (both of them) were paying off. While I felt like I was riding well, I could get a break with the checks. At least 3 or 4 of the checks that I should have zeroed, I missed by 2 to 5 seconds. To add insult to injury, I burned a check right after a reset when I set my mileage to the route sheet and not the marker at the reset and when I rode into the check, I was looking at the wrong display on my computer! (SORRY AGAIN SPEEDY FOR MY OUTBURST AT THE CHECK). Well burning the check cost me the win in VET A as the winner beat me by 2 points. The trip even got my brother thinking about trading in his old KDX 200 for a new KTM....but that plan went away when his wife got wind of it.

Pictures from Pearson (Photos by Dan Salton & Crowbait) (click on image for larger view)

Marc Hydrating Fire the night b/4 Brian attacking hill Marc Looking more in control

My brother Marc's take on the weekend as told to our friend Matt who is currently serving in Iraq:

Hey Matt,

Dusted off the dirt bike on Sunday and went to a race with Brian up by Antigo WI. Brian doesn't race midgets anymore so he bought a 2006 KTM 250- it is sweet. He has been to 4-5 races this year, I haven't even STARTED my bike in probably 6 (yes six) years!!!! My dad's cycle club puts on this race, which I raced a long time ago. I remember it being really tough, very rocky terrain. Well this year they decided to make it " easier" because the number of racers drops every year because it is too tough. Back in the day those were the kind of races I did the best at, more skill than speed type of races. THAT WAS SIX YEARS AGO. My arms hurt, my ass hurts, I can't bend over to tie my shoes. They made the race easier by making it shorter, all them rocks that were there 6 years ago ARE STILL THERE! I'm talking the trails were solid rocks varying from golf-ball size to beach- ball size. Even the logging roads and atv trails we rode on were rocky. Just when you thought you could open 'er up a little bit, BAM, I would hit a rock with the front tire and go flying into the brush. Puckered the ass cheeks more than once- put it that way. AS i am typing this i realized i cant straighten my fingers out either! Any way, it was great to see some of the guys again and joke around. Like I told Ken Schuck at the gas stop- once I burn up the 6 year old gas in the tank and get some fresh stuff in there the bike will really scream! To put it into perspective, the race was 45 miles long, it was so rough that my arms were pumping up after 2 miles. 20 miles in I was dead dog tired, then we had a gas stop and could rest for 20 min. This gave me false hope that the remaining 20 + miles wouldn't be too bad. I WAS WRONG! They had a cut-off trail for the beginner and novice classes that I was tempted to take but since I was an "A" rider I rode the extra 10 miles of TRAIL FROM HELL. About a mile into it i said what the hell was i thinking, but no turning back now. Brian beat me by an hour and a half- he had 16 penalty points, I had 107!! The young buck that got the "Overall Winner" had only 3 points. Even Duane Eller who is 55 years young had only 8 points!! Fricken' amazing!Anyway it was a fun trip- the scenery in the Antigo area is beautiful, it would be a neat place to go camping.Now, if I only had a new, up to date bike hmmmmm ....... No, Joni would string me up by my balls. Talk to you later, be safe and don't be naughty!

6-11-06 Castana, IA Enduro: This race was not on my original schedule, but when Iowa (ex-Wisconsin) fast guy Heath "Gus" Drone was looking for someone to travel to the race with, I jumped at the chance. After our 5 hour (7 hours for me) drive, we parked next to fast guy Ryan Moss and told lies (I mean stories) until bedtime. Gus and I signed up for 250A and were on the same minute. It looked like it was going to be a fun day and I was looking forward to seeing if my speed was coming back by trying to keep Gus in sight all day. When we got to the line, it looked like it was going to be a fast day as the other riders on our minute were a AA rider and a 200A rider. Feeling like the "slow" guy of the minute, I decided to let the other 3 riders go into the woods first. As I sat behind the 200A rider, I could see that Gus and the AA rider were getting away. It was time to go!! I got around the 200A rider and managed to reel in Gus (or at least see glimpses of him). I was riding well and the trail was REALLY fast. I stayed with Gus and we zeroed the 1st 3 checks. Near the end of the 2nd section, Gus and the AA rider got around a slower rider and it took me a little longer and they got away. Looking at my computer, I was just out of my minute and figuring that they would zero the next check, I really stepped it up to get back in my minute. I managed to get back in my minute and was riding well, when a big Iowa tree jumped out and block tackled me. This was on a fast section of trail and the tree cleaned me off the back of the bike. Another rider was there and witnessed the get off. He heard my knee pop and though I had broke my leg. I ended up limping to the next check and called it a day at that point. Other than that, the trip was a blast and I felt like I my speed was coming back. As for the knee, I tore the medial meniscus and have a date with the Doc to see if I need surgery. Thanks again to Gus for inviting me along!