So here we are again right in the middle of the super hot and humid summer time blues. The east coast racing scene quiets down for a couple months and so we’re all left a little extra time to sit around and think about the last few races we did and then the start to come up with a strategy to finish off the season strong (or maybe you’re glued to the couch eating cheese puffs and watching the MX Nationals on TV??) If you’re like me, you’ve started to diversify your training routine. I always find myself riding my road bicycle or MTN bike more and even pounding the pavement in my running shoes. I often wonder the age old question in off-road motorcycle racing: Who will win in the end – the person who trains more or the naturally talented rider?
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Eye protection. Have you ever thought about the risks our eyes take at an offroad race? Knobby tire propelled rocks, mud splatter, tree limbs, and roost spray that makes tough men cry like little girls. That’s why we put so much thought into the goggles we wear. The fact is, if they don’t fit good and work right, they aren’t going to stay on your helmet and then our eyes become perfect targets for a laser eye surgery commercial. But then comes the style side of the equation. Will people think I’m factory sponsored because of my goggles? Do the colors match? Do they NOT match? Do these goggles make my butt look big?
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Sometimes more is less. Wait a minute, maybe it’s less is more? Anyway, I think that old saying goes something like that. Either way, sometimes you just need to take a break. And to be honest, I think that applies to every aspect of our lives no matter how you like to spend your free time.
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Have you ever wondered if your opinion or desire for new products actually has an impact? I mean, does anyone really listen? Certainly the manufacturers of new cool pieces of anodized billet and formed carbon fiber don’t really care what we want, right? Continue Reading

What is the deal with MX and woods racers not getting along? Who started this World War III style battle of refusing to agree on just about anything? Woods guys blame it on the MXers and MX guys blame it on everyone that runs bark busters.

MXers have no endurance! Who races for 6 laps anyway??? Woods guys are sissies and get scared if their tires leave the ground. Besides they’re not really racing out there anyway, it‘s just a 2 hour trail ride. The MX races are full of wannabe “pimp daddies” with oversize Lady Gaga sunglasses and saggy britches. But look at those woods guys! It’s nothing but a bunch of flannel shirt and overall wearing rednecks! Continue Reading

Did you ever feel like you were meant for a specific purpose? Even when you tried your best to not do an above average job, somehow, you managed to do it better than anybody else? Either you have it or you don’t. We’ve all heard that expression before. But what if what you have isn’t exactly what you expected? Continue Reading

Inevitable: Impossible to avoid or prevent. Invariably occurring or appearing; predictable: the inevitable changes of the seasons. Insanity: Doing the same thing over and expecting different results.
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Expectations.  Sometimes we set them too high and sometimes not high enough.  Every one of us has been through the ups and downs of life’s expectations.  And then there are the expectations that come with racing. We’ll get into that another time.  One might read the title of this column, “Industry Insider”, and expect to hear breaking news like: “Cannondale is going to make dirt bikes again!”, or “James Stewart quits Supercross to follow his GNCC dreams”, or maybe the revelation of Toyota’s evil plot to destroy America with faulty gas pedals.  Well, here is where those expectations that I was talking about before come into play. If you’re looking for wild internet industry rumors, you will be disappointed.  However, maybe every once in awhile I can shed some light on the inside of this crazy Motorcycle industry and the race scene that we all love and even live for at times.  Looking for hot new product information, Industry shake ups, and how product distribution and your local dirt bike retailer all tie into this wonderful world of mud induced smiles and ultimate gripper seat wedgies? If your answer is yes, then you are in the right place! After all, we are all intertwined into this “mafia”, never going to leave it behind family, whether you like it or not.  Crazy enough to drive 10 hrs on your day off for 2 hours of glory or the occasional 2 hours of anguish?  How about to give up the comforts of your own familiar, clean bathroom and warm accommodating bed for the plastic Porta John with no toilet paper, smells that you can never quite identify and then finish the evening off with the bone chilling metal bedroom that your van has become for the weekend?  Does this sounds like a weekend you dream about and the only time in your life you can get your lazy butt out of bed before 9:00am? Do you get that nervous twitch every Friday after a long work week and all you can think about is the blood flowing so rapidly into your forearms that at any moment they are going to burst wide open and you’ll be nothing more than a chalk outline at your favorite riding spot?  Maybe it’s the Ground Hog Day-like Monday mornings where you tell your riding buddies about your “almost crash” (usually involves dirt bike sounds and lots of hand motions), and of course you make time to call and rub it in to the ones that didn’t get to act out their lusty desires over the weekend.  Then my friend, not only are you in the right place, we are going to get along just fine!