Perfect weather, BBQ, Crap Shoots...Must be Fernley!

Fernley International OTMX

The International Oldtimer MX at Fernley, Nevada could almost not have asked for better conditions. The weather cooperated by being cool in the mornings with afternoon temps only in the high 80’s. But the most appreciated weather condition was that the normal afternoon desert winds did not materialize. The weather was incredibly perfect for a desert summer day.

The Fernley OTMX chapter put on an event that I think could be classified as their best event ever.  I can’t remember attending one that was run so well. So the unfortunate small turn out meant that the riders that missed the event only hurt themselves. We were treated to a great sand track that was run on the first day and then the club had gone to the effort to run the second day on another completely separate track to give the riders something new and spice the weekend up a bit. It worked because both tracks were very well prepared and run opposite directions from each other. The club also hosted a raffle, provided an awesome dinner consisting of Tri-Tip, Pulled BBQ pork, assorted veggies, soda, beer and sports drinks to keep everyone happy. There was also a slow race that went from the starting line to a designated finish line. The idea being the LAST person to cross the finish line was declared the winner. The rules were simple, you must ride the bike you raced and you couldn’t put a foot down and you could not go any direction but forward. The entry fee became the purse and the winner takes all. It is very difficult to go slow in the sand without putting a foot down as several people discovered. 

Then there was the CRAP SHOOT. Now the game gets interesting. A piece of plywood is laid on the ground and it has been sectioned into small squares numbering from 1 to 200. Each square costs $2 to buy that numbered square. There is a fence placed around it and then a chicken is tossed in and wanders around until it CRAPS on one of the numbers! That is how the CRAP SHOOT works. The chicken cooperated and didn’t take long to make a deposit on #116. Now I don’t know if this is coincidence but the guy that owns the chicken bought one square, the square with the #116.  Wait a minute it gets better.  The chicken owners name is……………Gilbert CHICK.   I couldn’t make this stuff up, it really did happen like that.

The weekend was a huge success and there was some fantastic racing to go with all the festivities. Terry Sage dominated the really old guy class (+60 Master) and the +50 Masters had a good dice between Doug Goodman, John Volk and Ed (sneaky) Marchini.  With Ed coming out on top with the overall win on his Dungey replica KTM just ahead of Doug Goodman of Arizona riding his DAYSTAR sponsored Honda.

A great weekend was had by all and we are already looking forward to next year. Although I am wondering how in the heck the Fernley Oldtimer club will top this year’s effort.

#33

#33...Everyday is a day off!

On any Monday

What happens when you take 2 retired guys, give them a couple of off road worthy dual sport motorcycles and turn them loose on a Monday, when most people are working!  Oops, did I say that out loud…..

You get a long day with a lot of miles covered over some very scenic terrain with some great photo opportunities. There was an abandoned 1960 something station wagon, abandoned mine shafts with bats to scare the two would be explorers, seldom used trails that were in total disrepair and a couple of worn out Geezers from riding all day in 100* heat,  mostly in first and second gear!

Hope you all had a good Monday too!

#33

Dual Sport Fun!

Racers Under The Sun (RUTS)

The Dual Sport ride put on by the RUTS organization on August 18 & 19 was nothing short of spectacular. They started their 2 day event in the Elkins Flat OHV area in northern California at a Resort named “Sopiago Springs Resort” that caters of off road riders.  The event was 2 days of riding with an overnight stay in Minden, Nevada.  RUTS provided a shuttle truck to take an overnight bag for the riders to the lodging in Minden.

The riders were treated to some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable over the 2 days of riding, crossing the Sierra Nevada mountain range at Ebbitts pass on the first day and South Lake Tahoe/Carson pass the second day. The mileage for the event was approximately 300 miles for both days combined. Just enough to make the riders tired and happy but not worn out to the point of exhaustion.  The ride had a variety of terrain from paved roads to dirt roads with a good amount of single track thrown in to challenge everyone.

We were treated to Sunshine, Cool overcast and even a few showers over the 2 days.  The event also had a route mapped out for the Adventure Bike riders that bypassed the tighter more technical sections so there was a course for everyone no matter what type of bike they brought.

 

Thanks to the RUTS crew and see you next year,

#33

Geezer Ride Day....Lot's of Fun!

An Old-Timer Ride Day

The Sierra Chapter of the OTMX race series recently put on one of their Old-Timer only ride days in Marysville, Calif.  At the MMX facility. If you have never been out to one of these ride days you may want to mark the next one on your calendar.

The idea being that you get to ride with a bunch of Geezers that actually enjoy riding together and have a great time battling each other to sharpen their skills. All this without kids trying to cut you off in each turn or over every jump. The added bonus is the lunch was included along with a raffle that provided some pretty cool stuff being handed out just for the privilege of showing up to ride with your friends!

It was a lot of fun to swap bikes and try other guys’ rides. I was lucky enough to ride a new 2012 450 Honda (thanks Terry) and get a pretty good idea of the improvements made to the new bike over the past couple of years. I also got to spend some time on a 2012 WR Yamaha (thanks Doug) even though it was not designed to be on an MX track, it worked pretty damn well! It was actually a lot of fun to ride on the track and had extremely capable suspension. That would be an awesome off road bike with such good suspension and an electric type power from the motor.

I almost got to ride the most beautiful 1980 440 Maico I have seen since……….well, 1980 on the showroom floor. I am not sure the ones on the showroom floor were this clean! The reason I say almost is because the owner, Gino, took it out to warm it up and be first rider since it is his bike and promptly had the rear brake rod snap off. Nothing wrong with the bike, completely mechanic error Gino assured me. He realized he had made a mistake when reassembling after the last detail session. Too bad because that would have been the ride of the day! That bike is beautiful.

 So it may be a good idea to check on the Sierra Old-Timer website and see when their next ride day is so you can make it. Besides the hamburgers and hotdogs that were cooked to perfection, I came away with a Works Connection hour meter from the raffle. I guess now this means I actually have to change the oil on my bike at regular intervals.

See you at the next ride day!

#33

Take Your Uncle To Work Day!

Lucky me, I have a nephew that is now employed by Dirt Bike magazine. So when he called me up and said, “Hey, want to go on a couple of photo shoot/ride days with us?” I said, “Where and what time!”

So I find out that the photo shoot is for the 2012 models of 450cc Off Road bikes. CRF-X Honda, WR Yamaha, TM, Beta factory edition, Husqvarna and KTM xc-w. It had rained 2 days before and there was snow capping the mountains all around the L.A. area. I was a bit excited to say the least and this is coming from a guy that rides an average of 3 to 4 days a week. Can you imagine someone asking you if you want to ride the latest off road dirt bikes out with almost no time on them with new tires (new meats = a Tom Webbism) mounted for the test.

So we meet up at 6:30 am to drive to the area they are going to ride and shoot photos. By the time we make the trip, meet the other riders and get to the riding area it is already in the 10 am part of the day. The other riders include past 250cc World Champion Danny LaPorte, Current GNCC fast guy Josh Strang, long time photographer Karel Kramer, some geezer named Tom Webb (another long time writer photographer), R.J. Wageman, Dirt Bike Honcho Ron Lawson, Mark Tilley and his uncle yours truly, #33.

Bikes are off loaded, riders’ suit up and we are off. I am not sure what to expect since we are heading up, into the mountains with snow still showing on top. The dirt is one notch below perfect, good traction, no mud with occasional wisp of dust to let the guy behind know which way to go in case he gets out of sight. It was just about perfect for riding in a group. We head up and these guys have obviously been here before! They find canyons that are narrow, long, moist and don’t have a straightaway that goes for more than 50 ft! Then they get to the hills. I see some hills and think wow there must be some guys coming up here on hill climb bikes making these monsters. Nope, just obstacles to go up or down on the way to the places they want to take pictures. After first seeing these hills I start to think maybe I should have asked for a bigger bike. Then I remember that I am on a 450 and start to wonder if it is big enough!

We get to the areas that are exactly what these bikes are designed for and the crew starts to take pictures of the bikes doing what they do best, dropping off waterfalls with ledges, climbing back out through the snow and climbing very large hills before they drop down in groups showcasing all the bikes capabilities. I had the chance to ride all of the bikes and now have a very good idea of how they stack up against each other. Since I am not writing the story or shoot out I can’t put these bikes in any order. You will have to wait for the official Dirt Bike story to do that for you. All I will say is that if I were spending my money after riding all these bikes it would be very hard to make a decision between the Beta and the KTM. I’m just sayin’……………

I don’t know about everyone else but I had such a good time riding and watching the other riders all day long I think I may have to go to the doctor to see if he can remove this silly grin from my face!  I wonder if the magazine has a medical plan that covers that?

A big Thanks to the Dirt Bike crew and the other riders. It was very impressive to have Danny LaPorte and Josh Strang there and not act like the stars that they are. Danny is funny and says now that he is old he gets tired too easy. Josh Strang was a very pleasant young man with a lot of talent that rode with everyone instead of ahead of them. Tom Webb gets cranky if someone roosts his camera bag when he sets it down! All I can say to that one is “placement” homie.  Ron Lawson likes to use me as a tripod for his photoflash strobe because I move on command instead of having to physically move it, lol.  My nephew Mark seems to run out of fuel if you go too long without getting him something to eat and starts to get cranky, fortunately I carry a back pack with a bit of food and candy for the sugar. He recovered nicely.  Maybe I should throw in a Sippy cup just in case….

I found out that when I ride with these guys I need to carry a bit of 2 stroke oil in my back pack even though we were all supposed to  be on 450 4-strokes. But that is another story, eh, Ron!

Test rider debutant,                                                                                   

#33