SATURDAY, 7/19/08,
High-Noon
It’s Saturday and my day-off-duty
from work. I know I have been extremely delinquent in keeping up with
my Diary entries but my world since January has been WORK-WORK-WORK and
then catch up on sleep and R&R during the weekend. That is if I don’t
have to go into the office on the weekend as well. Anyway, as I sit
here today reading Uncle E’s Journal it hits me that he is speaking
right through me. First off, I have been thinking all weeklong how this
is the first FPMN/FPMX race that I have ever attended that did not
include Ed in the overall picture. I was at the first race in November
1989 and with the exception of a few missed races due to work (and a few
due to injury) I have been to nearly all of our races. I guess because
Sue was doing such a great job and with Russell and Marco (and many
others) stepping up with the basics it was all run with little or no
problems. It wasn’t until the next day that it hit me that Big-E wasn’t
there. I am not saying that this is a
good thing but I would think that it makes Ed proud to know that he can
miss a round of FPMX and we as a group will step up to help keep the
race on track. I will however leave the promoting and coordinating to
Ed because I sure wouldn’t want that headache on a permanent basis.
Sorry Ed, you are hereby precluded from ever leaving us on our own
again. Oh by the way, I think that deep down Sue is also MX positive
blood type.
I get a lot people pushing me
toward a 450 these days. Most of the ones that have known me for a
number of years say that they assumed I would only spend a year or two
on the 250F to get used to riding again. I will admit that after coming
back from my injuries and not riding for 30 months that it was my plan
to start on the 250F and then transition to the 450 after a season or
two. I think it was because I, and maybe a few others out there, assume
that a 250F is like riding a 125. The obvious move would be to go back
to the 450. I no longer feel that way about the 250F. You really can’t
compare a 125 to a 250F. The technology of a 250F is at the stage now
where the power to weight ratio has far surpassed that of the 125 two-stroker.
The power of a 125 has always been a light switch but the 250F is more
of a traditional grunt and go power band. Similar to the 450 only with
1/3 less the horsepower. While it may not have the raw power of the 450
it also doesn’t have the weight and arm-pulling rev. You really can
ride a 250F hard for 20+ minutes and still feel good enough to go right
back out again. The traits of riding a 250F are all appealing to me but
it’s the racing that I really enjoy. The FPMX Lites class has
traditionally been a dogfight each and every year. In addition, I
always look forward to the AMA Big-6 GP races. The long 45-minute races
are perfectly suited to riding the 250F. I will be riding a 45 0 (as
well as my 250F) at the Western States Games in Boise, ID. next month.
I will reassess this 250 vs. 450 dilemma and report on it then.
Unfortunately, this means I will have to miss the last round of the
Summer Series.
STAY SAFE, more later.
FRIDAY,
6/6/08, 6AM
It’s the dog days of summer. So
far the weather has not really been a factor for riding. I am sure that
we will see the usual scorching temps as we move farther into June.
After the last AMA D-37 round at LACR and the last rounds of the FPMX
series at Comp Edge I decided to take a few weeks off he bike. At the
LACR race I popped my right shoulder out of socket for like the fourth
time in the last five years. It really made hanging on at Comp Edge a
difficult task. It’s a low grade separation and it usually takes 3-5
weeks of little or no use/exercise before it starts feeling good again.
Last week was the first time I could actually do pull-ups and push-ups
without a major amount of pain.
Last weekend Dee and I went out
with a few friends (the Fitch family) to Big Bear for a fun relaxing
trail ride day. We parked at the Miller Canyon trailhead. That’s the
first (and the last) time that I have ever parked at that trailhead. We
usually just go all the way up the mountain to Big Pine Flats or Crab
Flats. I have even tried the Pinnacles trailhead a few times. Anyway,
the Miller Canyon spot was really nice as far as trees and shade but
there were so many SCUMBAGS that park there that I thought I was going
to have to go into enforcement mode. I mean these people would just
throw trash (kids diapers, water bottles, food bags, etc.) anywhere they
felt and we wont even talk about the bathroom facility. It’s situated
close to Silverwood Lake so we rode down to the shoreline and to my
surprise that place looked even worse. There wasn’t even a hundred
yards of shoreline that wasn’t trashed out. I remember fishing there
with my Grandpa when I was kid and it was a pristine lake back then. Oh
well, I guess that’s the price of progress.
Last night I was finally able to
do something that I have had on my radar for several years now. I was
able to visit Tom White’s Early Years of Motocross Museum. I had been
invited on two other occasions but something always came up at the last
minute to get in the way. This time, the invite came at the last minute
so I said yes and how glad I am that I went. That place is
spectacular. A lot of people know that I think racing vintage or what
ever you want to call it is a joke. If it were 1975 then maybe I would
ride a 1975 or even 1974 bike. With modern technology why in the hell
would I want to ride something that is 20+ years old? Now the flip side
of this is that I have a deep appreciation for the restoration of these
old dogs. I just think that when they get that old they should be
admired and looked at but not ridden or heard. There was a couple of
the old Yamaha DT-1 enduros that I sure would have liked to have.
That’s definitely a bike that I would own and ride. But only on
weekends and only down to the local café or In & Out for a burger.
STAY SAFE, more later.
-
It would be tough to choose
between the mighty Bultaco or the Yamaha DT. Hmmmm
-
This other pic is a flyer from
a 1968 International race at Carlsbad. Check out the names on this
list.
TUESDAY, 5/13/08, 7PM
WORK: That word has become a four
letter curse word in my vocabulary lately. Not to alarm anyone but the
Department of Homeland Security is hopelessly lost in a myriad of
paperwork. There was a lot of superfluous celebration when they
announced after 9/11 that numerous federal agencies (22) and over
180,000 employees would be melded into one great agency, DHS. What
might not have been contemplated was how all these entities were going
to work together, and that includes the communication part. DHS was
officially inaugurated in late 2002 and has seen several reorganizations
in that time frame. While I am not downplaying the significance of
having one centralized department responsible for the overall security
of our nation it has become more than clear that special interests such
as the Customs Service have pronounced themselves as the all knowing and
all encompassing leaders of the pack. That is fine but the results are
that in a normal/typical arrest by a Border Patrol Agent or ICE
Investigator it will now take that agent out of the field for nearly the
entire shift. Let’s look at the numbers: USBP = 18,000 Agents and
approximately 19,000 US border miles. ICE Special Agents = 8,500 and
the entire interior of the US. Now let’s do a comparison: NYPD
Officers = 37,000 for one city. How much sense does it make to turn a
basic arrest and deportation of a criminal (be it misdemeanor of felon)
into a mountain of paperwork. No wonder there is an estimated 20
million illegal aliens residing within the continental United
StatesL
Okay, enough of that stuff. I
will turn my mind to happier thoughts. Motocross racing, Grand Prix
racing, Motocross racing, Grand Prix racing, Motocross racing, Grand
Prix racing, Motocross racing, Grand Prix racing. That’s better. The
FPMX rounds 5 & 6 at Comp Edge turned out to be good and bad. I REALLY
hate the wind so that is my only complaint. After all the talk about
the facility operators (Comp Edge) not taking care of the course I think
they did the best job they could with the wind blowing all day and all
night. I would say that they needed to disc the track a little deeper
in order for some of the moisture to stay in the ground a little
longer. I would say that but for all practical purposes in the last
several years I only remember two races where they provided that type of
service specifically for our FPMX race. That would be the last rounds
that we ran at Perris Raceway for 2008 and the rounds from Frozen Ocean
Raceway in Auburn New York back on September 11-12, 2006. Those were
great rounds. Anyway, I continue to get my butt beat good in the 40+
expert class this year. After six rounds I still don’t even have a moto
win. I am the defending #1 plate in that class so I am a little
disappointed so far in my performance. With the exception of rounds 1 &
2 at ACP the Lites class so far has seen small turn outs. My main
competition has been Damian Lys and he didn’t even make the trip from
his home in Arizona to compete in the Perris rounds. Steve West has
been consistent but the points last year went down to the last round
between Damien and me. So what I thought would be a nock down drag out
fight this year for Lites supremacy may turn out to be a yawner. The
last race of the second day was a lot of fun as young Matt Fitch
(14-years old) and I rode on each others wheels for most of the moto.
We passed and re-passed each other several times and I think he beat me
to line (photo finish) by a slim half a wheel.
One thing I did notice is that
after the Comp Edge rounds I found myself seriously thinking about a 450
for next year. Normally I only get a new bike on even years but after
that long up-hill start and having to start from way behind and eating
loads of dirt and rocks I find myself daydreaming about the power of a
YZ-450F on the start. I was even doing the Chad Reed/Ryan Villapoto -
Thor commercial thing where I was standing there with my eyes closed and
my arms in the air as I was being introduced to the crowd as being the
greatest starter/hole-shot artist in the history of FPMX. The roar of
the crowd was deafening. Then I think it was one of the Fitch’s (Donnie
or Matt) that reached over and slapped me back to reality, “Hey Mark,
you are still on a 250F”.
STAY SAFE, more later.
WEDNESDAY, 4/9/08, 7PM
Last weekend was the 3rd
round of the AMA District-37 Big-6 GP series. It was held out at
29-Palms rodeo grounds. They have a small rodeo arena and somewhat of a
motocross course. I say somewhat because it looks like they haven’t
rebuilt it, graded it, or worked on it in several months. However, the
desert sections of this course were nothing short of outstanding. The
course was about 6-miles in total length (to include a half mile
pavement section) and a great deal of it was watered and prepped before
the start of each day. Some sections were even smoothed out before the
start of each race. Take for instance race #4 on Saturday. That was my
buddies race (14-year old Matt Fitch) and they really tore up the
course. You know, it’s mostly a sand track so it gets huge bumps from
over 150 riders hammering away at it for 45-minutes. So before my race
took off (race #5) they had the road grader and water truck working on
some of the more challenging areas.
I rolled up to the line and I am
always in row #2 which is for the +40 250 experts as all the 450 experts
are on row #1. There are usually 2-4 more rows behind me for all the
other +40/+50 250/450 intermediates and experts. Anyway, I am sitting
there on the line, waiting for the road grader and water truck to finish
up, and I hear someone hollering my name. I look up and there is none
other than FPMX rider Luke Terry sitting on
the row in front of me (row #1) on his mighty XR-650. Now did I say
this is mostly a sand track! I don’t care how much grading, prepping,
watering, pampering of the course you do because within 30 minutes the
racers turn the place into an absolute mine field of ruts, bumps and
rocks. The only advantage I could see for Luke riding that big 650 was
that it was probably geared to the moon and if he could get out front
early on the smooth course he could build some sort of a buffer before
the place rutted up at the 30 minute mark.
Long story shorter, I caught Luke
somewhere around the 15 minute mark and we ensued in a great battle for
the next 15+ minutes. Even though we are in different classes I think
we both knew that together we could pick-up our pace and gain ground on
the rest of our class. Then, on around lap #3 I began to put a few
seconds on Luke when I came into the finish line chute which has an
“endurocross” section preceding the flag area. I really hate the
“stupidurocross” sections with a passion but I will leave that topic for
another Diary post. Well, I hit the last set of tractor size tires in
this “endurocrap” section and my mighty YZ-250F comes to sputtering
halt. I mean it stalled. Davenport has been known to launch himself
into the ground from time to time, he has been known to blow up his
suspension from time to time, he has even been known to be late for the
gate drop every now and then but he NEVER stalls the motor. So there I
am, first I pulled the dumbbell SX Lites mistake of not taking my time
and finding neutral and then pulling the hot-start. No, I pull in the
clutch and start kicking. By around kick #25 I am gasping for air and I
stop kicking and start to find neutral. Only problem now is that it is
too late for that. This thing is going to take another 25-30 kicks
before she will fire and get me back into the race. I watch in
desperation as all the competitors that I spent the previous 35+ minutes
passing go right on by me. Including Luke, who meant more to me to beat
than the riders in my own class. And they and are worth
$100-$500 Yamabucks for a top five finish.
When she finally relit and I
got going again I was gassed. I felt as though I just finished a long
Glen Helen moto with “The Dogger” (Ed Niemela) chasing me down. It took
me the better part of the next lap to regroup and get my energy level
back to where I was again standing on the pegs and throttling towards
the front. Sure enough, I could see Luke ahead of me and to my delight,
he was banging bars with several other riders who just so happened to be
in my class. I watched this battle in front of me for several minutes
and then started to move up on the sandblaster-650 that Luke was
riding. I seriously think he took a layer of paint off my new EVS
helmet with that 120 rear tire of his. The good part was that none of
the other riders around him wanted anything to do with that tractor he
was riding so as he opened up a hole I would just slip on through and
gain valuable positions on the riders in my class. As we started to
pull away I ended up getting by Luke and the big red 650 near the last
desert section so I knew that I could hold him off in the moto area
before the finish. It was all good as I took my time getting through
the “lamedurocross” section and coasted home a few seconds ahead of Luke
and in third overall for my class. I was a happy (and tired) camper. I
spent the next 2-hours in a lounge chair in front of the “DogHouse” (my
Warrior) trying to recover. However, I did have a smile on my faceJ
Thanks for the great race Luke.
Lets have a rematch at the next Big-6 round at LACR in May.
STAY SAFE, more later.
SUNDAY,
3/23/08, 6PM
Ouch, my knee really hurts. I
still have this lingering pain in my left knee from that get-off at the
Perris FPMX round #4. And now looking at the message board and seeing
Frank Lowers picture of his knee (post knee surgery) and that just gives
me aches all over. I don’t know why but staples always look so much
gnarlier than regular old fashion stitches.
I picked up a new sponsor
the other day. Its a little shop called Race Proven Motorsports (RPM).
They are located right here in Temecula and coincidently it is almost
across the street from Temecula Motorsports. How convenient for meJ.
They are huge supporters of the AMA District-37 Big-6 GP series. I am
really involved with that series and getting closer to the podium in the
40+ 250 expert class. Actually, I did get one podium last season but
that was after a couple of disastrous rounds. I had to start looking
for some additional support since, as most of you know, White Brothers
Racing will be going away at the end of this season. It’s too bad
because they have been around since most of us were kids. I have worked
my way through all their levels of support and have been running their
pipes for almost twenty years. Many of you might even remember the
fully built White Brothers XR-600 that I used to run long before the
four-stroke craze hit. That is still to this day the fastest dirt bike
I have ever ridden. Hole-shots were almost a guarantee on that beast.
Unfortunately, so were broken transmissions. I was told that Vance &
Hines will be looking at all the rider/sponsor packages that the White
Brothers were supporting but that they will probably not be renewing any
contracts during the first year of transition. You know what that
means! Thanks, but no thanks.
I also just recently hooked up
with EVS’s racing division and received a bunch of great products from
them. I used one of their helmets yesterday for the first time out at
Milestone Ranch. I don’t know the exact weight but I swear it is the
lightest helmet I have ever worn. They sent me some gloves and knee
braces as well and so far I am really happy with the performance level.
I have had EVS knee braces for the last two seasons so I am already used
to their products fit and function. They said they are also going to
send me one of their new neck brace devices. It’s called the RC (race
collar) Evolution. It’s similar to the LEATT except they didn’t just
copy the NASCAR HANS device like LEATT did. The EVS race collar was
used for the last two years in Europe on the GP and national circuits so
it should be track proven and race ready. I should have mine next month
but they claim that they won’t be available for purchase until May or
June. Of course, any Fire & Police racer will be welcome to try it out
for fit and comparison.
STAY SAFE, more later.
THURSDAY, 3/6/08, 6PM
I have just lately started to feel
good again after hitting the terra firma at the last round of the FPMX
Nationals at Perris. That crash really rang my bell. I didn’t know how
hard I hit until this last week when Donnie Fitch started to tell me a
little more about it. There is about 20-25 minutes of my life that I
can’t seem to remember. But, a little sore on the left knee and a
sprain in the left wrist is all that lingers. Last week I rode the
Prairie Dogs Big-6 GP out at the Glen. I was a little hesitant before
the race because I wasn’t quite sure that I was ready to throttle the
mighty YZ-250F again. It was a really great course and the dirt was
unbelievable. All the rain for the last month has had time to soak in
and there were no standing puddles and no dust anywhere over the 8-9
mile course. I wish the Glen would let us lengthen our X-Mas GP to
something more comparable to the Big-6 or even an SRA event. It does
take a lot of staff and safety riders to make it happen though.
It looks like Comp Edge will
be the target of the FPMX crew for rounds 5 & 6 of the 2008 Nationals.
That place has really fallen out of favor with me. But then again, I
was really down on Perris for a great many years and resisted any
inclinations that Uncle Ed had about returning there. So what it really
comes down to is that it is all about the facilitators of the facility
and not the facility in and of itself. Boy that sounds like double
talk. What I mean to say is that as long as the right people are
running the show then just about any race track can appeal to the riders
and spectators. I will admit though that I was pulling for a switch to
Racetown-395. Actually that would have been my second choice as I was
really hoping for Cahuilla. Well now that’s not right either. What I
was really thinking is that the Mammoth Mountain Motocross track should
be hosting the next FPMX rounds and that would put Comp Edge in fourth
place on the list. Unless you want to change the direction of the
Perris raceway track to run the opposite direction then that would get a
close second place to Mammoth Mountain. Sorry Comp Edge, you are in
fifthL
And isn’t there a new track up there in the Dez that’s located close to
Comp Edge and Racetown. And isn’t it supposed to be away from the noise
of the highway. And it has free camping and hookups for all our
toy-haulers. And half price gate fees for badges. Actually, I just
made all that up. Must be the bump on my head. Let’s just go to Comp
Edge.
STAY SAFE, more later.
MONDAY,
1/28/08, 6PM
I haven’t had much time to
write anything in a while. I thought I would take the Sue Wilson escape
route. But after I saw that she posted up two days in a row I figured I
better make some time for my FPMX family. I also haven’t told many
people about my work schedule either. I have been sitting in for
several of the key players here at my Station. The hours have been
brutal and I am lucky if I get out of here in anything less than 14
hours. I am not one to complain about work because I think I have the
best job in the world. I use to think that being a factory rider was
the best job in the world but those guys are on the chopping block at
the end of every season. And unless you are one of the chosen few you
are lucky just to break even at the end of a long season of racing.
Anyway, Dee will attest that I leave for work before the sun comes up
and don’t get home until long after the sun goes down. When I get home
I spend a few minutes surfing the Speed channel to see when the next SX
race is going to air and then eat a quick dinner and that’s it. Off to
bed and then get up to do it all over again the next day. That’s my
life Monday through Friday. Not mention that with the introduction of
these damn BlackBerries I cant even get away from work on my days off.
No time to work on the bike during the week and then the rain won’t go
away during the weekendLLL
Last Saturday there was a break in
the rain so I decided to head to Perris Raceway for some needed practice
(with a dirty bike). The main FPMX class that I am going after this
year is the Lites Division and I was able to beat Damien Lys on his home
court at ACP (FPMX rounds 1-2). Last year Damien and I took our battle
to the last round at the Glen for the 2007 Lites title and he beat me by
14 points. So, this is a good start for the 2008 season and I figure
this gives me a little advantage since the next rounds are on my home
court, Perris. Anyway, I get to Perris Raceway on Saturday morning and
there are about 300+ riders and probably 600 spectators that are there
for practice. Apparently, Perris is running a series (Gold Cup) that
goes off every other Sunday and they are getting record crowds for the
Saturday practice and then races on Sunday. The pits were full, the lot
across the street from the entrance was full, and the road leading to
the gate was full (on both sides). The place was an absolute zoo and I
turned around and headed home. No practice. This brings me to wonder
what is going to happen the week after next for our FPMX rounds. That
will be the next Perris series race with the same Saturday and Sunday
record crowds. There will be no way to get our FPMX rigs into the pits
until late on Sunday night after the races have concluded. From what
they told me they don’t finish until the sun is going down. The girls
at the gate didn’t even have FPMX down on the calendar for our race
dates. She had Perris closed on Monday the 11th and then
open for practice on Tuesday the 12th. Uncle Ed, HELP, what
are we going to do? The sky is falling. Put the cat on it. Meow…
STAY SAFE, more later.
FPMX Toy Drive GP (Glen
Helen). The right way to take the finish line turn (elbows up, eyes
forward, foot out, finger on clutch) and the wrong way to take the
finish line turn (no comment DonnieJ).
Meow
FRIDAY,
12/21/07, 6PM
Dee and I just recently took a
trip out to Hawaii. It turned out to be a really good vacation. We
really didn’t do too much except relax and lay around on the beach. The
one tourist thing we did was make a trip out to the USS Arizona memorial
site. We were there on the 66th anniversary of the attack on
Pearl Harbor. It was of course very somber but at the same time I was
happy to be there. I met a few of the Pearl Harbor survivors as well as
a couple of the survivors from the USS Arizona. There were even a
handful of Marine survivors from the battle of Iwo Jima that were paying
their respects. As most of you probably figured there is only a few of
the survivors left. The “Greatest Generation” is slowly leaving us
behind.
I knew of my family history and
that my Uncle was a 20 year old Marine that went down with so many
others on the Arizona. I would often hear my Grandmother and
Grandfather talk about him. My Grandfather actually was with him when
he enlisted in the Marine Corps. My Grandfather was denied because of
age and medical reasons. But his cousin, Henry
Kalinowski (PFC USMC), was accepted and station as a shipboard
marine. In case you didn’t know it is common for the Navy to station a
small garrison of Marines on all Navy ships for security. Alright, I
know you are already saying it, “Hey, Davenport is a Pollock”. Yes, I
am about half Polish. I’d like to think the good half. Anyway, as I
stood on the USS Arizona memorial, I was able to listen to a few stories
that these survivors shared with us. When they spoke, EVERYONE would
stop and listen. It’s so difficult to get them to talk about the war.
When you hear them talk and see the tear in their eye you know why. I
felt privileged to be there with them. And I felt a great sense of
pride to look over at the giant marble carving that is located on the
wall of the memorial and see my Uncles name displayed. Merry Christmas
& Happy New Year to all. Especially those serving our country to keep
us safe.
STAY SAFE, more later.
FRIDAY,
11/30/07, 7PM
It’s absolutely pouring rain out
at this moment. I have an AMA D-37 GP first thing in the morning up at
Racetown-395. The weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies but VERY
cold, about 35-40 degrees. Not too sure how much rain they received
today but I know the desert will soak it up. There will be two races
before mine so I anticipate a really good dust free course. I was
hoping that YZErnie would be there as well for this GP but it looks like
he will be skipping it this time. He won his class there last year but
complained about how rough the course got. He complains but he is one
of the fastest riders out on the course. Those fast guys are always
like that, go figure…
Dee and I did the Day in the Dirt
event at LACR last weekend with the Fitch boys, (Donnie and Matt). It
was nice during the day but dropped down to the 20’s at night. My
little “Dog House” toy hauler had some ice cycles hanging off her in the
mornings. The track was one of the BEST TRACKS that I have ever ridden
on. I really love the desert sand and I really don’t mind the big bumps
and roughness that always forms in that kind of terra firma. They say
that although the gravel/sand pit company is digging the area all to
hell that LACR will continue MX/GP throughout 2008. That’s good news.
Maybe more FPMX riders should venture that way for some practice
sessions and then way in on that place for a possible FPMX race? Sorry
Ed, I know you are pulling your hair out already just with me saying
that. Quote from EDub’s sub-conscious, “Noooo, not another track”.
Dee raced as well on the LACR course and had a great finish in the
sand. She knocked down a 5th place in the woman’s 30+
class. This was a lot better than I expected from her because she hates
the sand and was having a heck of a time riding the course during the
Friday open practice sessions. I made her try my TTR-125 in place of
her trusty and mighty XR-100. I thought the torque and e-start button
would help her out in the deeeeeep sand. As it turned out though she
just was not as comfortable with only having minimal time on the TTR to
prepare. Matt is riding my old YZ-250F and really flying on her. He
and Donnie both had some decent top 25 finishes as theirs were
consistently the largest classes to line up each day. They typically
had 50+ riders on their gates. It was a great weekend and great daytime
weather. And did I say that LACR has a GREAT course these days… Oh,
and a really good pit area for the spectator viewing and after race pot
luck and medals…
STAY SAFE, more later.
MONDAY, 11/19/07, 7AM
It’s nice and early in the
morning and I am sitting hear in my spacious office drinking a
great cup of Starbucks that I just made in my Mr. Coffee maker.
Who the heck is Mr. Coffee anyway? Is it still that famous
baseball player Joe DiMaggio? Is he also the reason that they
call it a cup of Joe? Why can’t Mr. Coffee be Ricky
Carmichael? I heard that RC is a coffee lover and that other
than race days he never starts a day without a big cup of Joe.
Or should that be a big cup of Ricky. You can’t call it a cup
of RC because then everyone would have cola on their minds. Do
they even make RC cola anymore? This conversation with myself
is going nowhere. This morning, I had only written that first
line, “MONDAY, 11/19/07, 6AM”, when I decided to go check my AOL
mail account. What do I behold but a message from Doug Goff
asking why I haven’t been posting anything on the Diary lately?
This is from the guy that only shows up for a couple of races a
year. HmmmmJ
Speaking of only racing a
few times a year, I have my little pit tootsie, Dee, all signed
up for the annual Day in the Dirt GP at LA County Raceway. She
made a pretty good showing last year at Comp Edge, and the year
before that at I-5 MX in Gorman. This has become one of those
cant miss events that we like to hit each year. Especially
since it is one of the only times that Dee can race with a whole
group of woman racers. It is very cool to be holding the pit
board and yelling at her for a change, “stand-up, go faster,
attack, nak-nak, smile you’re on camera, have fun”. She is
usually the only gal out there on an XR-100 but she makes a good
run at the trophy positions. The only thing is that this race
is by far the most expensive race I do all year long. Even
rounds 1 & 2 of the FPMX series at Arizona Cycle Park are
cheaper for me than the Day in the Dirt event.
Long
pause………………………………………………………….
I have interrupted my
thoughts above because as I was typing, “Day in the Dirt event”,
I decided to check the FPMX message board to see who else might
be racing this Thanksgiving weekend. I have not checked it in a
few days and unfortunately I only made it to the first post from
FPMX CEO Ed Wilson, “Tragic News”. I say unfortunately because
this kind of event is one of those that stops you in your tracks
and totally consumes your thoughts, your breath, and every
movement you make for what seems like hours. After I re-read
the post at least 20 times my thoughts go to the Bestwick and
Gonzalez families. I don’t know how you cope with something
like this but I do know they have a great extended family in
that of the men and woman of LA County Fire. I think that this
will make a lot of us slow down to reflect, and I think that
Thanksgiving 2007 will mean a lot more to all of us because of
this tragedy. God Bless.
STAY SAFE, more later.
WEDNESDAY, 10/17/07, 7PM
I think I need to write
something in this Diary today. I have been neglecting it for
some time now. Some of my reasons are legitimate and some are
bulls&*t. Dee and I spent some time in Washington, DC and
attended the Motocross of Nations in Budds Creek, MD. I am
telling you straight up here and now, the MXON is the best race
you will ever attend in your lifetime. And to see it in the
U.S. for only the second time in history was “Priceless”. We
are already planning our trip to next year’s event in Northern
Ireland.
After we left DC we headed
home and then on to the final Fire and Police National rounds
for 2007. This in turn was followed by our now annual banquet
event. That is something that Dee and I really look forward to
each year. It’s just a really nice setting to sit down with all
your friends and competitors for some good food, good bench
racing, and of course a good show. Thanks to Ed and Sue for
making that happen. Oh, and I just heard that after trying
since 1989 (19-years) that I finally earned the #1 plate for
FPMN(X). Actually, I have never tried to earn it because I
figured that I was only good for a couple of classes per event.
Guys like FEN and McKenna have won it multiple times but they
had to ride like iron men and do 3-5 classes per event. I am
however very proud to earn it for 2007, Thank you.
After the Nationals
I took a three day break from riding and then headed out to
Ridgecrest for round #5 of the AMA D-37 Big-6 Grand Prix
series. I really like the Ridgecrest course because of the long
lap times and it gets super rough. I put my new 110x90-19 rear
wheel from PlatinumSpeedEquipment.com (Kris Waters company) to
good use for that race. The only thing that sucked was that
they threw in a dead engine start and I had a 10-kick start. I
guess I need to practice at that for the next round, Nov. 3-4 at
Gorman I-5 MX. Just in case they decide to try that dead engine
crap againL
After the Big-6 GP I took
another long break from riding and had a whole four-days to get
the bike ready and head out to Mesa, AZ for the 2007 Western
States Police and Fire Games. I decided to take along Doug
Goff’s bike as well so that I could maximize my riding
experience in the great state of Arizona. The event was fun but
the rider turnout was pathetic. They cancelled the second day
GP event so all we had was MX and there might have been 50
riders total??? The track was all air-time with jumps
everywhere. Once I figured the course out it was a good time
but it was just something I wasn’t used to. I mean you
seriously needed a pilots license for this track.
Well that pretty much
catches you all up to what’s been going on in my world. I
didn’t want to bore you with the work stuff because I am pretty
much boiling over with this whole DHS-CBP-ICE transition that we
(Border Patrol) are still going through. I wonder if they had
this much trouble when they transitioned over to the U.S. Dept.
of Justice from the Dept. of the Interior back in the 50’s.
On a side note, I
think Uncle E picked up his new green ride today and did a
little moto break-in. I saw him advertising on the message
board for some supporters to come out and ride with him today.
Man, I bet he is one sore puppy tonight. You know how it is
when you haven’t ridden in a while. Lots of sore muscles, sore
butt, and baby soft hands. Well, he is a Fireman so his hands
are probably soft all the time anywaysJ
STAY SAFE, more later.
2007 FPMX Banquet (Greg
Parquette, Matt Fitch, Mark Davenport) #1 plates for "the Compound
crew"
THURSDAY, 9/6/07, 7PM
Hey I got a
question; has anyone ever sold anything through the FPMX “For
Sale” board? Yah, I didn’t think so. I was going to wait until
tomorrow to write this Diary post that way I could say “please
forgive me FPMX, it has been one month since my last Diary
entry”. My jay-o-bee (job) has been seriously getting in the
way of my personal life lately. If you don’t believe me then
just ask Dee when you see her at the 3rd Annual FPMX
Awards and Banquet. And on that note there is a rumor that
someone with the initials of JMc will be attending our races and
banquetJ
I have been getting in
some good practice on my mighty 2008 YZ-250F. I am not quite
feeling it yet but I think I should be up to full-tilt by
October one. I have yet to put an aftermarket pipe on her and I
am not sure if I want to or not. I know that with the White
Bros. pipe my 2006 hit a lot harder in the mid-range than this
2008 does but I am leaning to ride a little differently. I am
trying a new concept on this bike; it is called the flow
method. Kay-Dub (Kevin Windham) described his riding method
like this a few years ago when he came out of retirement and
started beating AreCee (RC=Ricky Carmichael). Rather than just
trying to rip from corner to corner using the power and hit of
the engine I am attempting to flow with the bike and the course
and use momentum to carry me through the corners and over the
obstacles. Sort of like trying to teach an old dog a new trick.
I am leaving for
Washington DC on Sunday. I am scheduled to attend two-weeks of
classroom courses to make myself a better Border Patrol Agent.
At least that’s what they tell me. Someone should tell them
that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Maybe I should tell
myself that and just go get a new pipe for the ‘08. Anyway,
after the course is complete I will be staying an extra weekend
to attend the greatest race that was ever put on the face of
this earth, the Motocross of Nations. Budds Creek is only an
hour south of DC. I just confirmed my tickets to the event and
Dee will be flying out to join me. It should be an epic
battle. I think it was a slam dunk with Bubba in there but now
I am not so sure.
Last noteworthy
item, I say no to the Rhino racing at our events unless the Moto-Rooter
herself (Gigi Frieling) gets her entry in. Then I can stand on
the side of the track waving a towel and yelling at her each lap
to go faster, stand up, get your elbows up, breath through your
nose, look ahead, race the track not the other riders,
concentrate, have funJ
See ya at the Glen.
STAY SAFE, more later.
TUESDAY, 8/7/07, 6PM
Not a whole lot to write
about lately as far as the riding department goes. Obviously we
(FPMX) have been experiencing an inordinate amount of
crash-N-burns lately. The list is really long and it seems to
grow longer as the summer progresses. So, everybody just take
two steps back, now take two steps forward, okay forget about
that and just take two deep breaths and relax. NO MORE CRASHES…
A couple of weeks
ago Dee and I were doing some beach camping at Del mar Beach on
Camp Pendleton Marine Base with the Fitch family (and a whole
bunch of FBI Agents but we wont talk about them). I really like
camping on the beach at Camp Pendleton. You need some special
connections like friends or family that are active members of
the military in order to camp on the base facility. There is
something about having Military Police Marines in full battle
gear and loaded M-4’s patrolling through the campground that
makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. You know you don’t have to
worry about anyone messing with your truck or trailer. You know
that the kids are fine to wander around without disappearing.
There are no lewd and obnoxious people hanging around the camp
or playing loud music until all hours of the night. They will
only ask you once to change your behavior before they escort you
not only off the beach but off the base entirely. Did I already
mention that they patrol the area with loaded M-4’s. Anyway, we
spent two nights and three days on the beach and found out that
the entire time we were there that we had been parked/camped
next to non other than National Motocross Champion Marty Smith.
It seems that Marty’s son is a Marine so he frequently camps
there at Del Mar Beach. He was there with his family relaxing
and getting in a little surfing on the side. Let’s just say
that he no longer looks like he did back in the day. I was
never a big Marty Smith fan but I can appreciate his talent and
what he did for the sport of MX. I had a brief thought about
calling Mike “Walker Ranger” Dunn to tell him about it. But I
knew that being an ardent MS fan and being a former Marine
himself that he would probably get three speeding tickets and
crash his truck trying to drive from Murrieta to Del Mar Beach
just to sit and bench race with his idol. So I waited till the
next day after I got home to tell him about it. I will tell you
what Marty said about riding vintage bikes though; “I didn’t
like riding them back in the day so why in the hell would I want
to ride one now.” Amen to thatJ
STAY SAFE, more later.
FRIDAY, 7/13/07, 6AM
These are those slow
months in regards to Motocross. Its summer, it’s hot, and the
water always sounds like a better day out playing than the dust
of a Motocross track. However, a couple of weeks ago we made a
weekend trip up to Big Bear for some high altitude camping and
riding. The Fitch family and a few others met us up there and
we had three good days of riding. It had been a number of years
since I had done any trail riding in that area. We ended up
deciding on the Big Pine Flats campground that is located just a
few miles north of Big Bear Lake/Fawnskin Cove. It turned out
to be a really good riding weekend. The weather was cool in the
evening and a nice even 85 during the hottest part of the day.
And come to find out, there is a whole new (new to me anyway)
trail system that is exclusively for bikes and quads. We did
about 2.5 days of riding and I barely saw 25% of the trails in
that area. So needless say, we are planning another trip to
that area before the summer ends.
I see a lot of talk lately
about the so called FPMX “bump list” and next years’ race
schedule. Some people feel that it is disparaging to see/read
the comments/opinions on these recurring matters. I don’t look
at it that way. I feel that it means the FPMX organization is
alive and thriving. It means that you are all caring and
engaged in the direction of this great organization. I was
talking to my boss (Rene G, who is a former FPMN competitor) in
his office the other day about FPMX. Actually, we started the
conversation talking about the 450 and 250 MX Nationals on SPEED
channel. That’s a whole other topic but you gotta admit that
the racing in both classes this year has been phenomenal. I
just hope that RC stays for the whole series. Anyway, I was
telling him that I am pretty much done with racing Motocross
with any other organization than the FPMX. I will still ride
the Western States Games and any World Police and Fire Games
that are not on the other side of the world. But as far as
local MX clubs go, I am staying away. This was actually
solidified last weekend as I accompanied the Fitch boys (Donnie
and his son Matt) out to the Star for some Saturday night local
Motocross. I enjoyed the racing and I enjoyed hanging out with
Donnie and Matt but I was SOOOO disappointed in the MX crowd
that attended this Starwest event. I won’t go into details but
the crowd reminded me of type that attend the Supercross events
and make all the trouble for others. It’s the type of people
that are always going through life saying “everyone owes me
something in life” or “get out my way because I am in a hurry”.
It’s that sense of entitlement that this type of crowd
portrays. There is no courtesy and at least outwardly, no
integrity. That’s not the way I was raised and not the way I
acted when I was learning first-hand about this great sport so
many years ago. I know that I am painting with a broad brush on
this topic but the Motocross crowd that I grew up around seem to
be so hard to find these days. No, I am not turning vintage,
just a little old school in heart and mind.
STAY SAFE, more later.
The other day Dee stopped
by to bring me some lunch and decorate my office. At this nice
new Border Patrol Station here in Murrieta I have a very
spacious office that allows me to actually hang a few pictures
on the wall. Of course, being a Motocross fan and racer most of
my pics are related to that subject. The picture that I like
the best is an artist rendition of Steve McQueen. He is sitting
on a ’67 Triumph twin with the #141 on it. He has a cigarette
hanging out of his mouth and is wearing a Checkers M/C bib over
his racing jersey. I was told that it was from a photo taken of
him while he was heading to the start line at the 1969 Elsinore
GP. I know that it was 1970 that he entered that same race
under the alias of “Harvey Mushman”. Only that year he was on
new Husky 405. I also have a couple (2) of the “Legends”
posters from the Dunlop Legends series. These are really great
posters that benefit the Clayton Memorial Foundation to help
injured motorcycle racers. I’ve got the Bob Hannah poster from
the 1977 Trans-AMA race at Sear Point. It’s the one shot from
the rear that shows the print on the back of Hannah’s leathers.
It simply says “TROUBLE”. The other Legends poster that I have
is of Jeff Ward racing at the 1987 Motocross Des Nations in
Unadilla, NY. That race was basically a survival mud race and
this shot is of Wardy hammering his KX-500 through a deep mud
turn with his open face helmet and no goggles. A true Motocross
warrior picture for sure. If you’ve seen the advertisements for
the “Legends” posters you know that there is a new poster
release of Malcolm Smith. It is a classic shot of Malcolm
hitting top speeds at the Baja 1000 on one of his mighty
Huskey’s. That one is on my Christmas list.
Last week, Sunday, June
17, 2007, marked a somber date for the United States Border
Patrol. It was 40 years ago from that date that the BP lost two
of its Patrol Agents in the line of duty. Although the BP has
lost over 100 agents during our 88 years as an agency this was
that one defining incident that stands out in our history. It
was 1967 and these two Temecula Station Agents, Ted Newton and
George Azrak, were working the Oak Grove checkpoint when they
made a vehicle stop and discovered 800 pounds of marijuana.
Well, during the subsequent minutes/hours that followed this
drug bust they were kidnapped, transported to a shack in the
hills above Anza, handcuffed to an old stove and subsequently
murdered execution style. A few years after this event had past
the United States Border Patrol created the Newton-Azrak Award
for Valor. This is the highest award that a Border Patrol Agent
can be awarded for service to his country. On Monday of last
week we were honored at the Murrieta Station (formerly known as
the Temecula Station) to have over a dozen family members from
these fallen Agents attend the 40th anniversary
memorial event. The children of Agent Ted Newton (now in their
40’s) were in attendance to present the awards to several of our
local agents. It’s hard to really know how people feel or think
after living with this type of family tragedy. But I think
after seeing them here at our station, speaking with them in
person, and looking into their eyes that they are no longer
mourning the loss of their father. Rather, I think they are
celebrating his life, who he was, and what he stood for.
I know that nearly
every law enforcement agency and fire department around the
country has their own tragic stories of fallen comrades. This
is ours and I just wanted to share it with you. Always check
your six. That means look behind you for the fire guysJ
TUESDAY, 6/5/07, 7AM
WOW, race time is almost
upon us. I am a little surprised at the pre-entry list for
rounds 5 and 6 of the 2007 Fire & Police Motocross Nationals.
The list seems a little on the short side. There was a pretty
good turn out of riders at the Glen and I remember telling Uncle
E that I thought we (FPMX) would have a record number of entries
at the next rounds at Competitive Edge. I mean school is going
to be out for summer and CE is a great track/facility to hold an
event like this. June is a little on the warm side to be racing
in the high desert but what the heck. We are all super
physically fit athletes who chase bad guys and run into burning
building for a living. We can handle the extremes of summer. I
am hoping that similarly to Glen Helen we have a large number of
riders that post enter at the track on Monday and Tuesday
morning.
It seems like
everyone is talking about what “new bike” they are leaning
towards. The 2008 offerings from the big five manufacturers is
going to be interesting this year. There has been so much talk
about fuel injection and electric start that I think anything
less will leave a lot of potential buyers disappointed. I for
one am hoping for the magic button. An electric start 4-stroke
is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury. It has already
proven itself on the GP circuit for the last 2+ years. Now you
can indeed have an electric start and still bring the weight
down on a competition 4-stroke race bike. On my free time
J
here at the station I decided to give all the factories a call
and get the real scoop for 2008;
I was told that the Katoom
factory was no longer in business since they were attacked by an
extreme “kamikaze” group from Japan. Apparently they felt that
KTM was taking too much of the Japanese market share from around
the world. I heard that Suckzuki was seriously looking into
re-introducing the Ribi front end on the 2008 RMZ’s. And that
Yamahopper was going back to the mono shock design with the rear
shock running under the gas tank. Kawacloggy is going to stand
pat with their current motor and frame design but they are
bringing back the rear fender-number plate. Apparently they had
a few thousand of them laying around at the factory in Japan.
They did say that to keep the bike balanced they would also be
adding a front fender-number plate to the package as well. The
Hondog is getting the biggest makeover as they have brought Mike
“Texas-Walker-Ranger” Dunn into the factory to advise on
bringing back the nostalgia of the “Red Racer” team. However,
they are going to change from the name “Elsinore” to the name
“Murrieta” since that’s where Walker lives. And last on the
list was Team Harley Davidson. You can expect to see a large
push from the Harley factory to flood the MX starting gates of
America with the Evel Kneivel replica bike. They say it’s a
kidney killer in the braking bumps but that it can jump like no
bike ever made… See ya at the Edge…
STAY SAFE, more later.
SUNDAY, 5/13/07, 6PM
I just can’t get past
looking at those pictures of Uncle Ed holding up various
firearms. Not that I would put our fellow fireman out there
in the same league as a Postal worker but that is what comes
to mind when I see those pictures. Maybe some of the LAPD
or LASO guys out there can invite Ed over to one of your
range days and introduce him to some proper weapons handling
skills. And in turn, maybe Ed will then reciprocate and
invite you guys over to the firehouse for some proper hose
handling drills.
Dee and I
attended the 23rd annual Baker-2-Vegas Law
Enforcement Challenge Cup relay race a few weeks ago. This
is really a great event. Dee and I have been a part of the
Border Patrol Team for the last 15 years. I remember when
we got started with this it was a much smaller event. Less
than 100 teams competed back then. Now it has grown to over
220 teams and more every year petition to get in. The
running route is 20-legs of varying distance and covers a
total of approximately 120 miles. The event is run and
coordinated by members of the Los Angeles Police Revolver
and Athletic Club (LAPRAAC). I have spoken to them on
several occasions about inviting the fire services to
participate as well. The problem is that the race is
already too big to be handled over a 2-day event. For
nearly 24 straight hours the route from Baker, California
through the mountains and down to Las Vegas, Nevada is
jammed with racers and race support personnel and vehicles.
It’s a real nightmare for the two states highway patrols and
local sheriff’s units to handle the traffic control. If you
added a couple of dozen fire departments into the running
mix I think it would get out of control. I do remember a
few years ago (not too long after 911) that they had an
invitational team from the New York City Fire Department (NYFD).
I think they finished lastL…
STAY SAFE, more later.
I too am a total motorsports fan but it kind of scares me to
think of the kind of applicants that we might get from this
type of advertisementJ…
NASCAR Busch Series; Jay Robinson Racing Team
FRIDAY,
5/4/07, 6AM
“Would the rider
from the last race on bike #429 please come to sign-up,
I repeat, would the rider from the 40+ expert class on
blue Yamaha #429 come to sign-up immediately”. That was
me that the announcer was looking for at the last FPMX
round at the Glen. For round #4 on Tuesday I decided to
ride Doug Goff’s 450F (bike #429) in the 40+ expert
class to see if I could run with Chip Howell and his big
“All American KTM”. I think that KTM he rides is like a
750cc or something like that. All I know is that Chip
is the only rider big enough and strong enough to hang
onto that beast. It’s been a while since I threw a leg
over a 450F in a race. I have plenty of hours of desert
and moto practice on Doug’s bike but I don’t have to
tell you all the differences between practice and race
conditions. Anyway, I had a blast on it (Race Tech
suspension) and did pretty well. I even had a handful
of you out there come over and tell me that you thought
I should move back to the 450F from my mighty little
250F. I appreciate the input and I am definitely
thinking hard about which bike and what size to get for
2008. However, unlike Uncle E, I am pretty sure it
won’t be an orange or green one.
It’s been a while
since I have had the time to write in my Diary. I hate
those times when things around the house and job get so
damned busy that I cant even slow down for 20 minutes to
say “hello” to all of you. I am heading out tonight to
LACR for the next round of the Big-6 GP series. I was
talking with some of the agents here yesterday at lunch
about the race this weekend when it dawned on me that
the last time I raced at LACR I broke my leg. It was
also a Big-6 GP round and I think it was like 2002. I
didn’t do the morning practice race that they run
(unclassified race) so I really had no clue on what to
expect on the course they had laid out. The soil at
LACR is always good when it is prepped. It is very
similar to Competitive Edge. The LACR motocross track
is always full of jumps. That GP race was no exception
because they use part of the MX track to complete the
course. A long story short, I was running top-5 on the
first lap and I thought an approaching jump face was a
table-top only to realize (as I was in the air) that it
was actually a double jump. I came up way short and
when I hit the face of the second jump my right lower
tibia gave in to the impact and a nice egg shaped piece
broke completely off. It didn’t cause me to crash but
it was a very hard landing. It took two hours of
surgery to screw the broken piece back together. If
there is any consolation to this story I did find out
from the doctor that the bone had actually been
fractured at the Anaheim Amateur Supercross the weekend
before. Otherwise I don’t think the tibia would have
broken in such a weird way. That’s my story and I am
sticking to it.
STAY SAFE, more
later.
MONDAY, 4/9/07, 6AM
Last week was a tough
one here at the Department of Homeland Security. Well,
maybe I should just say that is was a tough week for MD03.
I didn’t even have time to report on the Big-6 GP that was
out at Twentynine Palms (or is that 29-Palms). I am not
sure what’s wrong with me so far this year but I just can’t
seem to get on track. And by on track I seriously mean
on-track, as in my racing. At 29-Palms (or is that
Twenty-Nine Palms) I had a great start (5th out
of 19) and my first lap was good but then the wheels sort of
fell of the wagon. I had one small crash but I kept the
bike running and was moving forward again in a matter of
seconds. So I can’t use crashing as an excuse. However, I
will be happy when all the 2-strokes are gone. It’s tough
on a fast race course to compete with 250cc 2-strokes. And
most of the guys in my class ride 2-strokes. I ended up
with an 11th overall in my class (0-250cc 40+
expert) and that gives me one DNS and two 11th
place finishes thus far for this seven round series. So
needless to say I am not happy with my GP season to this
point. Oh and the race course was great. About eight miles
long, a little on the fast side and they did have a long
pavement section that was at least a half mile in length.
Next round is at LACR on May 5th so maybe there I
will be able to get my GP season on track.
Moto practice this
last weekend out at Cahuilla was good. We (Donnie & Matt
Fitch and I) went out there on Saturday morning and the
course was groomed like a Mammoth Mountain morning practice
session. Absolutely beautiful.
Writers Note: HEY ED, WE (FPMX)
NEED TO HAVE A RACE OUT THERE! Since it was an off
weekend for the Supercross boys there were a lot of fast
pros showing the rest of us the short way around that very
loamy course. It’s amazing to watch a fast pro click off
laps on a loamy course. They never lift off the throttle.
Even when they are braking they are still running full
throttle only with the clutch in. It’s a thing of beauty.
Besides guys like McGrath, Dubach, Brown and Laninovich, the
Pro Racing FPMX Team was represented by Jonon and Charette.
Those guys were holding their own against the bigger 450’s.
Anyone who has been to Cahuilla knows that a 250cc 4-stroke
is at a serious disadvantage when going against a 450. The
loam and the hills really rob the horsepower from the bike.
Practice went good, other than little Fitch “Matt” taking
three soil samples and loosing a fingernail in the process
“OUCH”. The track got really rough as the day progressed
(as all loamy tracks do) so I think it was good practice for
the Glen. The only Motocross that I have done so far this
season was out at ACP for the FPMX rounds 1 & 2. I sure
hope my MX season doesn’t go the way of my GP season.
Otherwise it is going to be a long and frustrating year.
See ya at the Glen (AKA: The Hack).
Hey Uncle Ed, did you
check the garage door before you drove away this morning?
STAY SAFE, more later.
FRIDAY, 3/30/07, 6AM
The “DogHouse” is all
loaded up and ready to roll as soon as I get home from work
today. Dee and I are heading up to Twentynine Palms (or is that
29 Palms, or Twenty-Nine Palms) tonight for round #3 of the AMA
District 37 Big-6 Grand Prix series. It’s been a few years
since I last raced up in the Palms. I have always liked that
course because it usually has a good MotoX section and the
desert has good combinations of terrain (fast and slow sand as
well as a few rocky sections). They also had a pretty good
pavement section the last time I rode this event. I like a
little pavement mixed into the race course so I hope that it is
still part of the layout. For this event, I talked another FPMX
rider, Donnie Fitch, into giving the Big-6 Grand Prix series a
tryout. I was successful in getting him and his family out to a
few specialty GP’s last year (Troy Lee’s “A Day in the Dirt” &
Race Around the Lake) and they really enjoyed them so I am
thinking that once he does the D-37 Big-6 races he will really
be hooked. These are good family events and they are usually
very well organized. So I will give you a full race report next
week.
I wanted to make a comment
on an event that I attended last night here in Temecula. The
local Temecula/Murrieta Valley American Legion Post was giving
awards of recognition out to some of the valley Law Enforcement
and Fire Services personnel. Attending were officers and
firefighters from the many local agencies to include; CHP,
Temecula PD, Murrieta PD, Riverside Sheriff’s Dept, Temecula
Fire Dept, and the U.S. Border Patrol. As it turns out, the
Border Patrol nominee was a classmate of mine from the Border
Patrol Academy many years ago. So, I really had to attend to
show my support. It was a great event and for those of you that
don’t know much about the American Legion history you should go
to their web site and read up about it. They are a great
organization made up of true to life American heroes. I was
talking to several of them last night about the time they served
in the armed forces. Two gentlemen in particular were recalling
the battles they fought during WWII. These guys went to war in
1941 and didn’t come home until 1945. One of them was married
and the other was in college when they left to go to war. They
didn’t complain, they didn’t ask why, and they definitely didn’t
expect to go home until the war was over. Whether it took 5
years or 10 years these guys just knew that they were needed by
this country for the duration of the war. They confided that at
one point of the war when they were sent to Germany after Japan
had surrendered both had thought that they would only return
home in a pine box with a flag over it. They thought for sure
it was going to be their time. And for many of their comrades
it was. This was a great generation of warriors and we are
truly blessed that they were there for us. Next time you see
one of them you will know because they (American Legion members)
always wear a ball cap or patrol cap (AKA: piss-cutter caps)
with various insignias depicting the era they served in. The
WWII guys obviously stand out because of their age. Make it a
point, especially if you are on duty and in uniform, to approach
them, shake their hand and say thank you. You won’t have to
explain a thing as they will know exactly what you are talking
about.
STAY SAFE, more later.
MONDAY, 3/26/07, 6PM
Well, so far no moto practice but I have been getting in some good
desert riding sessions. Calico was a blast but it takes a different
kind of rider to really appreciate that place. I enjoy technical
riding and I would say that Calico ranks right up there in that
category. The place is littered with cat-5 4x4 off-road sections as
well as an ample supply of trails that run along steep ridge tops
(with lots of rocks). There are several long sand-wash trails that
flow up and down through the lower valley areas. And if that isn’t
enough then you can find some natural formation jumping spots to
hone your aerial skills. During the first ride of the day on
Saturday Dee ended up on her head while trying to “side trail” one
of the dusty main trails leading out across the desert to Mule
Canyon. I think she gets that from me. I hate eating someone
else’s dust so whenever I get a chance I will ride “side trail” in
order to avoid this and also to help keep my dust away from those
that are riding behind me. The other good part about “side
trailing” is that it can be very technical and when at speed it
requires some lightning fast reflexes to keep you on two-wheels.
This is great practice for the WORCS or D-37 GP events. Anyway, Dee
sees me ride this style of “side trail” all the time. So I think
she thought that she was the next Ty Davis and started doing the
same thing only to find a washout with a small 2’ step-off leading
into an equally sized step-on. Only problem was that they were
about 3’ apart. The end result was her lying in the sand for about
ten minutes trying to catch her breath. I gotta admit though, she
is getting pretty good on that little XR-100 of hers. Oh, but I did
end up getting a flat tire while running side trail. That’s
probably not the same as an endo thoughJ………
This last weekend Dee and I took a little trip up to Washington
State for a buddies wedding. It was in a little town called
Wenatchee. We (FPMX) have all been reading about Uncle Ed’s
adventures in the sky and I thought I would share my own torture
that I went though last Friday morning. We were flying out of
Ontario Airport at 0600am and heading to Seattle first. I didn’t
get off work until late Thursday night and by the time I was through
completing all my business and getting packed and ready for the trip
it was pushing midnight. I knew we had to leave the house at around
0400am so that meant a wake-up at 0300am. You all following me on
this one. Anyway, I wasn’t too worried about being tired because I
sleep great on plane trips. In my 21 year Border Patrol career I
have flown all over this county and destination beyond more times
than I can count. And, call me paranoid, but business or pleasure I
ALWAYS fly armed (that would be with a large caliber handgun for you
foundation savers). So there we are sitting in the terminal all
checked in and ready to go. We were flying Alaska Air and I knew
they had a good track record as far as being on time, not loosing
your luggage, and just being a nice clean airline to travel on. I
really had no worries at this point. They followed every procedure
to the letter and had us pre-board and meet the captain before
taking our seats. That’s when the lead stewardess told my buddy and
me that there would be no sleeping on the flight. I thought she was
joking and started to joke back with her when she started reciting
the fine print on the back of the armed law enforcement officer’s
paperwork that we had filled out at the check-in counterL
I was now in hell. At first I tried drinking a lot of coffee and
reading my newest editions of MXA and Cycle News. I thought for
sure that that would keep me awake for a measly three hours. I was
fighting it worse than Mouse McCoy at last years Baja 1000. My eyes
were very heavy. Every time I started to dose off she would come by
and bump my seat or just start talking, LOUDLY. Dee thought this
was the funniest thing she had ever seen. And to make matters worse
it was only Dee and I in our row of seats. So had it not bee for
the stewardess sleep Nazi I would have been able to stretch out and
use Dee as my pillow. Those three hours seemed like an eternity.
In all my years I have never had any other airline tell me that I
was not allowed to sleep. Alaska Airlines, cross them off my list.
STAY SAFE, more later.
WEDNESDAY, 3/14/07, 6PM
I was sitting
here writing this long dissertation about how screwed up our
United States Government really is. After 21 years as a
Patrol Agent and many years as a kid living on Air Force
Bases I think I am somewhat qualified to give that
assessment. I am not going to bore you with the long
(2-page) letter that I am writing to the Treasury Department
in regards to US Savings Bonds but I will tell you that they
have no idea of who or even how many savings bonds are out
there in circulation. Not that I am even contemplating
exploiting this discovery but I have found a way to actually
have them re-issue saving bonds with little or no proof that
they were even purchased. However, it would be an
interesting experiment to see how far they would go in
wasting more of our tax dollars by sending me $50, $100, and
even $200 saving bonds that I never bought in the first
placeJ
Stay tuned on that one…
I am heading out to
Calico Ghost Town this weekend for some long overdue rest
and relaxation. Dee and I will be hooking up with the Fitch
family for a little desert riding and some ghost town mine
exploring. The “DogHouse” has been sitting in storage for
too long now and we need to get out and use it. For anyone
interested the Calico OHV area is a lot of fun. Besides the
typical Ghost Town attractions there is 100,000 acres of OHV
and many of the areas are open to shooting target practice.
And then there are the over 200 open mines from the Silver
and Borax mining days of the 1800’s. Bring yourself a
handful of chem-lites and a couple of flashlights and you
can explore for days through mines that run for miles
throughout the Calico Mountain range.
Next, I think I will
be jumping in on some of that moto practice at the “Hack”.
See ya there.
STAY SAFE, more later
THURSDAY, 3/1/07, 7PM
I’m just sitting here at
my work desk wondering where the year has gone already. It’s
March 1st and all the racing series are in full swing. The FPMX
Supercross team is now on the East Coast and seems to be getting
better and better as the weeks past. I am happy not only for
our well traveled CEO (no not the cat) I am talking about EduW,
but also for FPMX in general. I can’t tell you how many times
now when I mention that I am a Motocross racer with the Fire &
Police MX Nationals I get the ten questions about the Supercross
team. When I tell people that the FPMX, formerly known as FPMN,
was established in 1989 they are amazed. Most have no idea that
we have been around for so long. When I tell them that we have
hosted races in California, Arizona, Nevada, and New York they
are even more amazed. They had no idea how big our group of
riders really is. When I tell them that we have former National
Champions as well as former AMA Nationals and Supercross
competitors (Eric McKenna, Donald Upton, etc.) that now ride for
our organization they want to hear even more. We are a very
diverse group that comes from many walks of life. I think many
of the riders from our organization have forgotten just how much
influence a simple term like Fireman or Law Enforcement Officer
can carry. For me, I think that the fact of having the FPMX
Supercross team out there has reminded me of that fact. I
always try and represent FPMX in the same way that I represent
myself as a Border Patrol Agent and that is with professionalism
and courtesy. Good luck in St. Louis Team All American KTM/FPMX,
I will be racing the D-37 Big-6 GP at Glen Helen but I will be
thinking, and talking, about you.
I have been off the bike
(YZ-250F) for a while now. I rode Doug Goff’s 450 and Mike
Dunn’s 250 2-smoke last week out at Ocotillo. Boy, what a
difference in character those two bikes represent. And I don’t
mean the two characters that own them. I am talking about the
450 that hits like a Rocky Marciano punch to the chest and the
250 2-smoke that snaps like a light switch at Anaheim Stadium.
Both bikes are awesome in their own right but when you try a
back-to-back comparison it is very difficult to feel comfortable
with what’s between your legs at that given time. I think I did
manage to walk away with two distinct impressions that will
probably stay with me for a while. The first is that I don’t
think I will ever go back to a 2-stroke. I know that many of
you are saying, “Well, that’s an easy assumption”, since slowly
but surely all the manufacturers are discontinuing those
models. And in today’s time and space you would be right. But
I just don’t think that we have heard the last of 2-stroke dirt
bikes. I know too many old timers out there who thought the
same thing about the 4-strokes some 35+ years ago. The other
impression that I was left with is that I absolutely love the
Race Tech suspension on Doug’s 450. When I am trail riding his
bike and hitting unseen obstacles at eye watering speeds and the
bike tracks perfectly while soaking up every change in altitude,
I can only walk away with a good feeling about our choice of a
suspension shop. And when you throw in the fact that the boys
over at the Race Tech shop give us great discounts and show up
to our races to support their work, I have to give them an A+
grade.
This last mention is for
the suggested “pot luck” get together at the FPMX Compound at
the Glen. The idea is that after the last motos are completed
on Monday, April 16, 2007 (round #3 of the FPMX Nationals)
everyone is invited to come over to the Compound for the awards
presentation and some great food, drink, and bench racing. I
like the idea, tell a friend.
STAY SAFE, more later.
FRIDAY, 2/23/07, 6AM
I have some information that
ALL FPMX RIDERS need to make priority of. Even though my race
season actually started at ACP with rounds #1 and #2 of the Fire &
Police Motocross Nationals I am preparing for an all out assault on
the AMA District 37 Big-6 GP Series. One of the items that I needed
to check off my preparation list was registering my Yamaha for the
2007 contingency program. I completed it on line through the Yamaha
web site. However, before I did this I called the race/rider
support office and talked to them about our FPMX series. To keep it
short, they told me that it was very important that all FPMX riders
who register their bikes for contingency (Yamaha,
Honda,
Kawasaki, Suzuki, or
KTM) that when they fill in the
column for “Series and Classes you are planning to compete in
during the 2007 season”, in addition to stating your desired
series events (WORCS, AMA D-37, Golden State Nationals, etc.), we
need to also add the Fire & Police Motocross Nationals. Even though
it is not on the pay-out schedule for 2007 they stated that if they
see it on the riders registration form we have a better chance of
the factories taking notice and adding it in the future. They even
went as far as saying that ALL FPMX riders that have a contingency
legal bike should register them for their respective manufacturers
program even if you do not plan on entering any of the pay-out
events/series races. This would assure us of maximum exposure for
our FPMX race series.
In other news, I had to miss
out on the first round of the AMA Big-6 GP Series. It was on
February 3, 2007 at Honolulu Hills Raceway in Taft. As I mentioned
in my last Diary post I had to attend a retirement party that
evening down in San Diego. So the schedule just wasn’t going to mix
well. I am not all that disappointed except for the fact that with
the Big-6 Series you only get one (1) throw-away round. So that was
my throw-away. If you have never been to Taft and raced at Honolulu
Hills then you really are not missing much. The track layout is
nice with mostly safe jumps but the soil is complete crap. And the
track prep is almost non existent so it only compounds the poor soil
conditions. In addition, the local track workers that they employ
at that place are from the town of Taft. They are probably
comparable to some of the degenerates that I was exposed to when I
was deployed to New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina. To quote a movie
line, “what are you all, on dope”. I am sure that Uncle Ed knows
which movie that was from. Anyway, that’s why I really wasn’t too
disappointed about not attending that round. Now I just have to
make sure that I don’t get hurt or end up on a duty assignment in
another state or country. Last year I finished just outside the top
ten overall in my class after only attending four (4) total rounds.
I think I can make the top three this year.
STAY SAFE, more later.
TUESDAY, 2/13/07, 6AM
First off I need to respond to
Uncle Ed’s action figure series. Very funny and, since we have to be so
sensitive to others feelings, I am laughing with you not at you. The
action figure that I liked the most was the “Glen Helen dog”. I swear
that dog is at least 27 years old. I say that because that’s how long I
have been riding MX and going to Glen Helen (which used to be known as
“Arroyo” back in the day). Over the years I think I have fed that dog
at least 150 cheeseburgers and 200-300 hotdogs. So I guess I am a
contributor his lioness appearance.
I went to another retirement
party last week for a couple of Agents that I have known and worked with
my entire career. For a Border Patrol Agent it is rare to actually
spend 20+ years working with the same people. I say this because we are
a national agency so chances are that while you may occasionally run
into them from time to time they are more than likely to transfer to
other locations throughout the United States. For those of you who have
been around for a while I am sure you remember going to a retirement
party now and then when you were still young in your career. It just
didn’t mean that much back then. Sure you might have shed a tear or two
for one of your Field Training Officers that showed you the ropes when
you were in your young and impressionable years. But other than that
all you cared about was getting back to work and hunting down some more
bad guys (or saving a few more foundations or rescuing some cat out of a
treeJ).
Now I see many of the people that I grew old with in this agency
retiring and heading out into the sunset. It really hits home and makes
you think and feel old. When I was young it seemed like people didn’t
retire from working until they were like 80 years old. I am not sure if
I just wasn’t paying much attention or if the world has actually changed
and people are now retiring at around 50-55? I have been thinking about
this subject for the last year or so. I even find myself looking at
different states or locations in Cali to setup for retirement. I am 45
now but I wonder if I stay around and continue to race at Glen Helen how
much longer that lion-dog will still be around looking for a
cheeseburger? If only that dog could talk, think of the bench racing
session you could have with him…
STAY SAFE, more later.
PS. Ed, get something for Sue on
Valentines Day!!!
