Southwick was superb this year - I got the chance to ride my 1982 KX250!  This bike holds a special place in my history as it was the first motocross bike I bought new from a dealer.  I have been working on this bike for almost a year and a half - parts are tough to find…..

I remember many things about this bike, but what really suprised me is how fast the bike is.  It pulls really hard across a pretty wide RPM range.  I remember my bike back in 82 as being all low end.  Maybe the new generation carb that I put on the bike made the difference.  Also, my original 82 had an Answer Boost Bottle - maybe that was the difference!

This year a core of ACR riders put together a practice day on Friday.  I was not able to make the practice day but everyone told me it was epic in every way…..

I drove the bus to Southwick this year.  Gary and Scott saved me a spot next to them and we had a really nice pit area.  Gary got to debut his RM370 and spanked everybody in the PRE 78 class with it. 

Scott did his usual by running away and racing in a different time zone from everybody else in his class.  That guy is fast in every way……

For the first time out with the KX I was really happy with the way I placed.  The bike ran strong and nothing fell off of it!

Next race is at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ.  See you at there!

My last Honda was a 1993 CR500.  This one is a 1985 CR250 that I bought as an impulse from Rick Doughty of Vintage Iron.  He made me an offer that I could not refuse.

The 250 was fun to ride at Hurricane, but the suspension is waaaaaaaaaay to soft for my girth, plus, the steering stem bearings needed attention.  I have been chasing a zillion little things on this bike - including a painful process figuring out that the carb on the bike had a worn out choke.  No kidding, the bike would warm up fine, then blubber in the middle like I had a needle jet that was 10 sizes to big.  I fooled around with the electrics, jetting, even the air filter.  Rick Claxton of Claxton Powersports figured it out and now the thing runs sweet!

I ran the Honda in practice and the first moto of the +30 Vintage 80’s class.  I bottomed the bike so hard on one of the drop aways that I had to check to make sure I had all my teeth.  The rest of the day I used the trusty 1984 RM500.  That Suzuki has come through for me every time this year.

Hurricane was really interesting for me because I got to travel with Scott alone.  Gary went to visit family in Georgia.  I have written about Scott’s intensity on the track and in the pits, but this is the first time I have had a chance to hang out with him one on one.

I have to say, for all the intensity Scott has at the races, the before and after was super relaxed.  We did not load till the morning of our travel day.  We motored along at a relaxed pace.  We stopped along the way to shop for food and have a bite to eat at a tavern (Maggie McFly’s).  It was fun!

Scott really showed his stuff while racing.  In the 100cc class the announcer was having a hard time finding words that described the lead he built up.

I was happy with my finishes in the 2 classes I am running.  The day was deceptively hot and I managed not to pass out.  Scott took a 2 hour nap after his motos were done - and he woke up refreshed and relaxed.  I spent the time slowly loading my stuff and enjoying the day.

The ride home was filled with good conversation and good music - Scott has the same stations on his XM that I do!  We got home in the wee hours of the morning, parked the trailer, and went home for some shut eye in our own beds……

Next race - SOUTHWICK!

Thanks to Roy for taking the video.  Not only can you see me at the start, but pause the move at 2:15 - that is me laying on the ground!

Mazon, IL, summer of 1982

Southwick, MA, summer of 2010

Where did the 28 years go?

I figured after last year that no one would want to come with me.  Come on, they complained about the heat, the dust, the noise, the porta-potties, EVERYTHING.

But, they insisted that they go, so we filled up the bus with toys, sunscreen, books, food and people.  I was lucky I had room for my bikes and gear.

Central Village is located in what is basically a dry creek bed, next to an active river.  With all of the rain we had over the spring the river came over the banks and washed away 1/2 of the track.  The crew had to scramble to rebuild the track - and they did an excellent job. 

A major portion of the new dirt for the track was removed from the back part of the pit area, creating HUGE hills and cliffs.

So, for the first part of the program the kids spent all their time climbing the hills and cliffs.  Then, it began to rain.  They were basically stuck on the top of the largest hill in the pouring rain.  As they began to ease down, they  fell, and turned into large, rolling mud balls.

The second set of motos the girls cleaned up, found all of the blankets, and curled up on the bunk beds in the bus.  I returned from my final moto to find all 3 of them sound asleep, warm and dry.

The track held up really well with the rain.  However, the mixture of the dirt from the pits and the fill that they used turned into cement on the bike.  It took me forever to pressure wash the bike.

Racing was fun and it was cool to take the bus.  Gary and Scott went down Friday night and spent the night in the camper - they were both well rested, relaxed, and ready to race when I arrived Saturday morning.

Gary and Scott totally dominated their classes and I did exactly as I expected.  The real win for me was to see my family having a good time, laughing, and actually enjoying the event and the bus.

Next race, Hurricane Hills!

Broome was a 2 day event this year.  The full crew went - Gary, Scott, and I.  Day one at Broome was normal motos, but day 2 was a GP style, one long moto on a grass track.

The main motocross track at Broome is legendary.  Huge up hills and down hills, off camber corners, and Pro National races that people still remember and talk about to this date.  I remember reading about this track as a kid, seeing the photos, and always thinking how cool it would be to someday race there.

We run about 90% of the original National track.  Some man made sections are added in, but you can tell (and really enjoy) the original parts.  The starting area is covered and is set in cement.  The pits let you see most of the track.  The staff are helpful, friendly and know what they are doing.  Total first class track!

Day one was filled with good racing, with Gary and Scott cleaning house.  Day 2 was a dream sequence - that grass track reminded me so much of the pasture that I rode on as a kid back on our farm in Illinois.  The smells, sounds, and sights brought me back 25+ years.  I even had an epic battle with a guy on a RM125 just like Don Olsen’s, just like when I was a kid!  This is why I keep coming back for more every year……

Next stop, Central Village in CT!

Sorry that it has taken me a while to post anything on my blog.  Berwick was pretty tough on me mentally.  Here is the story…..

Scott was not able to make Berwick this time.  Gary invited another vintage motocross racer to join us and the weekend started much as the last one did - releaxed, lots of motorcycle talk on the way to the track, and generally a good time.

This was the first time that I had met Gary’s friend.  Ken was nice enough in the truck, talking and laughing with us.  From what I gathered Gary and Ken raced together back in the day, and recently Ken decided to try the vintage motocross thing.

The evening was nice and Gary even let me use the big bed in the trailer!

Berwick was a 2 day event this year.  Day one was normal motocross classes, with day 2 being a one hour GP style race with 10 bonus points paid to participants.  Gary and I both brought our normal bikes and Ken brought a EVO bke and a modern bike.

Day one, final moto.  This was also Ken’s final moto of the day.  First lap he tries the big double down at the bottom of the track, comes up short, and breaks his back.  As he is loaded into the ambulance he is shouting to us “Don’t tell my fiance anything!”, knowing that she will be calling Gary when she can not get a hold of him.

What a weird night.  Avoiding calls.  Stressing over what we should do.  Looking at his twisted bike.  Nervous talk.  Finally we got ahold of Ken at the hospital.  He needed more tests and x-rays, so he would not know much till the next day.  Gary and I decided to stay at the track and race.  Then Gary had to spill the story to Ken’s better half.  Wow, awkward.  Uncomfortable.  Un-nerving.

Gary and I did race the next day.  We did manage to have fun.  On the way home we stopped at the hospital to see Ken and drop off all of his clothes and such.  He was not going anywhere for a while…….

Accidents happen.  The question is, do you have a support group around you for after the accident?  What defines an injury that will make you stop racing?  Are you in a position with insurance and such to be out of work for a month, six months, a year - or forever?

Ken is going to be fine.  He is in physical therapy now, and is ready to get back on a bike.  I am happy he will be okay.

 My wife and I have since sat down and answered all of the questions that I posed above.  Next race report - Broome Tioga!!

ACR rounds 1 and 2 were held at Budds Creek on March 27th and 28th.  This is an honest 10-12 hours away from my house and it took even longer in the bus last year. 

If you look back at my posts you will see that I have had the unique opportunity to wrench on my bikes at a very cool shop space owned by my friend Gary.  Every Sunday over the winter we would spend hours in the morning working on bikes and enjoying all the folks that would stop by.

Scott is a part of the team that also wrenches on his stuff at Gary’s shop.  Scott and Gary both are very accomplished riders and both have vast dirt bike “know how” derived from years of racing and riding.  I have learned so much from these 2 - I am in total knowledge debt…..

The really great part is that I like and respect both of these guys.  To be honest, I only have a handful of people like this in my life.  Anyway, they asked me if I wanted to ride with them to Budds Creek - YES!!!

Scott has the right setup - a very comfortable camper with the storage area in the back for the bikes.  His truck is a deluxe Ford crew cab.  Awesome.  Gary puts together all of the logstical type stuff - food, packing the camper with 7 bikes and all our gear, and making sure that we have the tools and spares that make sense with us.

The drive down on Friday was smooth and easy.  Lots of talk about bikes and such, I dozed off here and there, and we made pretty good time.  Unpacking clearly showed that those 2 had a system that was a mystery to me - I was mostly in the way.  Gary cooked and we went to bed early.

Saturday morning was full of energy - there were about 500 total entries for the day.  We signed up early and then off to practice.  Gary and Scott rode 100 and 125’s while I had a 250 and a 500.  After practice we all had some adjusting to do on our bikes.  Watching Gary’s energy and Scott’s intense focus and competitive nature was something to behold.  I really dug what was going on around me.

The day played out with Gary and Scott winning and I did better than I expected.  Dinner that night was rock solid good food. 

The alarm for day 2 came a little early.  I discovered that possibly my training regiment over the winter was not as intense as it should have been.  Everything hurt - like even my earlobes….  Some Excedrin to the rescue, and coffee to wash it down…mmmmm…breakfast of champs!

Gary and I decided to run our normal classes for Sunday.  Scott, realizing that riding 3 classes the day before, plus putting in a final moto that was intense beyond words, made the choice to ride one class.  The day went well for all of us and we collected more trophies.

Packing up the trailer was just like unpacking - Scott and Gary had a system and I did the best I could to help here and there while staying out of the way.  Gary did the final cook out, we did a final check of our site for our stuff and trash, and we hit the road by 4 PM.

On the way home we had to hit one of the rest stops on the Jersey Turnpike.  We all basically fell out of the truck, then hobbled to the main entrance.  We all walked like we were victims of prostrate exams that went horribly wrong, wearing ball caps, t-shirts or sweatshirts, looking a little crusty, with our wrist bands still attached to our wrists.  I am sure we were a sight.

In the main entrance area there was a huge group of what appeared to be exchange students from all over the world waiting for their bus to be filled with diesel.  As we made our way through the group, one of us cracked off a fart that sounded like somebody stepped on a duck.  The three of us giggled like little kids and hobbled away as fast as we could. 

While the group of students recovered from the “vulgar” American men I realized that the shenanigan that took place really was just a mini snapshot of the weekend - Grown men, acting like kids, having totally harmless fun (that others may not understand) bringing smiles to our faces and forgetting about life’s stress for just a little while.

Thank you Gary, Scott and ACR for my weekend of being a kid.

Look back a couple of posts and you will see the “rim lock” that we discovered.  This time, a home made shifter.

The 100cc class has come alive for ACR here in the NE, so Gary decided to pull out a bike he could build for the class.  Upon inspection, he found this:

This is a home made shifter - it is a rear brake arm, a bold and nut, with a stack of washers as the toe area of the shifter!

Clever, very clever.