Friday, May 16, 2008

Two-stroke Championship Video

Short video of Round 3 of the DEP British Two-stroke Championship. Pretty cool. This makes a hell of a lot more sense than the 4-stroke MX championships now that two-strokes have been all but outlawed from all national and international MX competition.

Chad Reed Interview

Chad Reed did a 50-minute interview with the guys at DMXS Radio this week. It was really good. I'm always amazed at how open and accessible many of our top racing stars are. Only NASCAR fans have a similar level of access to their favorite drivers. I can't imagine getting this kind of interview with an F1, Indy car, or any other racer.

Which brings up another point - why in the world do so many people hate on these guys? I just don't get it. In my not-so-humble opinion it takes a real dweeb to get off on carping, whining, and generally bad-mouthing any of the top MX racers. These guys put so much of themselves on the line, give up so much to achieve their success, and have so much talent it's scary. People whose lives are so small all they can do is complain about this or that racer should go spend their time watching professional wrestling, where they belong.

Super Hunky Fighting Cancer

Reported on the Cousin Weedy Y! forum (and not independently confirmed,) moto-icon and super journalist Rick Sieman (aka Super Hunky) is undergoing radiation treatment for cancer. Almost everyone knows who Rick is from his years at the helm of Dirt Bike magazine. If you are among the tiny minority that don't know Rick, he's was probably the first real journalist to cover dirt biking and is credited with coining the term moto-journalist. Let's all wish Rick a full and speedy recovery.

As an aside, be sure to get your annual prostate exam. If you're VMX age you are old enough to need it. It's not pleasant, but it's not that bad and takes, literally, 5-10 seconds. Get "the finger" every year, whether you think you need it or not. Also, get your PSA (prostrate specific antigen) blood test. This test is cheap ($30-$40) and is usually done as part of a routine physical exam for men. You may also want to consider having both a total PSA and free PSA blood test. The free PSA test is $70-$80.

PSA is a protein produced only by the prostate, but it is measured in two ways - total and free. Total is the normal test. But some PSA is always bound to other cells in the blood and only a limited amount is circulating free. The ratio of this "free" PSA to total may actually matter more than the total according to this video on WebMD. Prostate cancer is a pernicious scourge on men. It is said that sooner or later we all get it. Let's raise the odds in our favor with regular checkups and blood tests.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Strengthening Your Core

Weak core muscles (belly, back, and chest) aren't unusual for guys my age. We don't do much, as a rule, that strengthens the core. If you're going to start strength training, you need to be sure your core is strong first, as it is essential to correctly perform strength training exercises, to lift a maximum amount of weight and to reduce your risk of injuries. If you're going to be racing VMX on a regular basis, it's even more important, because you're going to fall off sooner or later and a strong core is your first defense against injury.

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Sunday, May 11, 2008

One Moto for the Nationals?

Jason Weigandt (the "Weege" - the guy who makes the SPEED commentators sound like total amateurs by comparison) just posted a disturbing rumor - that the nationals will go to a one-moto format for 2009. Man, if true that sucks and completes the emasculation of arguably the toughest sport on the planet. Weege says he got the rumor from the crew at DMXS Radio. Despite the fact that those guys take a perverse pride in sounding like total dufuses, they do know the business of Pro MX.

No doubt such a change would be seen as "TV-friendly" and more understandable to a "mainstream" (i.e. moto-ignorant) audience. After all, it is a lot to ask an American audience to understand a sport that has two starts and two finishes in a day. The two-moto format has survived for more than 50 years because it works - even if we have shortened them a bit over here on the west side of the Atlantic. But it may not work if the goal is to try and make outdoor MX a TV competitor to NASCAR or American football or any of the other sports that saturate our TV screens every weekend.

Personally I hope this never happens. Getting mainstreamed is not the panacea that many seem to think it is. But that's just my opinion. What if the one-moto format was an hour+2? Would that work? I don't know. Weege points out some of the obvious pros and cons of such an arrangement. I don't think such an arrangement could be moved to the amateur ranks, though. The fitness level of most amateurs is just not high enough to handle that, and people are almost certain to balk at paying a high gate and entry fee for one, single, short race a day as an amateur participant.

On the upside, having just one longer race per day would eliminate a lot of time spent having to gate 37 motos at an amateur event. But I don't know. It just seems unnatural to me. We'll have to see if the rumors persist throughout the 2008 season.

Texas MX in the '70s

Here's another cool site found via Texan Paul Burnett - Rider's Digest. This vintage Texas MX weekly was produced from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s (I think) and followed the MX scene in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. I don't remember ever seeing it, which is odd because '77-'83 were my most active racing years. My '74 Ford Econoline with the straight six and three-speed shuffled me and bikes all over the state to race at Swan MX, Rio Bravo, Burleson, Wolf Creek, Mosier Valley, and Lake Whitney, among others. But it's neat to look back at the race reports from the local tracks I ran as a kid. The site is a bit hard to navigate. It would be nice if the owner could add a "Home" link to each page instead of having to back through all the pages to get to the index. But that's a nit. It's a fun site.

30 Years of Hi-Point Boots

Here's a neat site pointed out by Mike Kincaid - Classic MX Boots. Site owner Jerry Palmer is clearly a boot fanatic. There are six full pages of MX boots, including Hi-Point, Fullbore, and others. Not to mention the thousands of other boots he has stored in his display room. I have no idea what inspires a man to collect such things, but Jerry has an amazing collection. Check it out.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Staying Healthy as an Aging MX Racer

Just got back from my first full physical in a number of years. By full, I mean I had a complete blood workup, a bone scan, body fat measurement, and VO2 max stress test. The good news is I've stayed pretty healthy despite my pathetic exercise regimen. I have good base fitness for a guy who hasn't exercised in five years, and most of my cardio risk factors are quite low. The bad news is that some unfortunate genetic tendencies are catching up with me.

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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Dan Kleen, President of NOHVCC on PitPass Radio

Tonight's PitPass Radio featured Dan Kleen, president of NOHVCC - the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council. Dan did a good job of explaining some of the organization's functions. Specifically, he was on to discuss a legislative victory in Iowa that got the State to return ATV fees that the legislature had confiscated for the past six years. It's a good segment. It's a small victory but an important one that shows we can be successful if we just organize ourselves and take the time to be heard. He's the first guest starting at about the 15-minute mark.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Washington State Gov Vetoes New Trail Ban

According to this press release from the AMA Washington State governor Christine Gregoire vetoed a portion of the state's annual budget that included a last-minute rider to ban all new ORV trail construction until 2009.

The AMA today praised Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire's line-item veto of a measure that would have banned all construction of new trails or facilities for off-road motorized recreation for at least a year.

The measure, which had been inserted in the state budget in a last-minute maneuver, without the opportunity for public debate, would have prohibited the state’s Department of Natural Resources from building or expanding trails or facilities for off-road recreational vehicles until July, 2009. It was one of seven sections of the proposed capital budget that Gov. Gregoire vetoed.

The AMA attributes the veto to activist participation, and credits the 500 members who used the AMA's Rapid Response Center with having an impact on the outcome.

Maybe so. But 500 people - just 500 people - using this simple, easy tool from the AMA is pathetic. There are thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of off-road motorcyclists in Washington State. And only 500 used the system. This is wrong on so many levels. It speaks to the incredibly poor job the AMA has done in serving the off road community. It speaks to the weak nature of the AMA's media reach. And it speaks to a certain amount of apathy on the part of off road riders in Washington.

No doubt many riders used some other method for contacting their state representatives, or the bill would not have been defeated. Then again, maybe it was the snowmobilers and 4x4 guys who did all the work. I don't know. But in any case you would think the AMA should muster more than a measly 500. Maybe it's just me, but we have to do better than this if we're ever going to have a prayer of beating the eco-Nazis at their own game.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Another Cool Trailer Conversion and More Diamond Don's Pics

Two cool links today. First is another nice trailer conversion site I found while researching some RV awnings. I don't know the owner's name, but he's done some really nice stuff inside his 7'x14' tandem axle trailer. I especially this idea for a flip-out table that attaches to the E-Track cargo strips along the wall. He can move the table anywhere in the trailer. He's also done some really nice stuff with heating, A/C, cabinetry, etc. Pulls the thing with a Toyota Tacoma with a 3.4L V-6. Says he uses it as support for his grandson who races 50cc and 65cc bikes. Cool. A great source of ideas.

Next up is my friend Tommy Montgomery, who has posted some good pictures from Diamond Don's over at flickr. Nice job, Tommy!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Camping at Diamond Don's 2008

I'm not much of a camper. In fact, I haven't camped at all since about 1982 or so. I'm just not into it, at least not as a lifestyle thing. My compulsion about hygiene and taking showers kinda keeps me in hotel rooms.

But with gas prices climbing to European levels, and the mileage in my old Dodge truck hovering just under the 10mpg mark, I can no longer afford to be so picky. If I'm going to make any vintage races this year I'm going to have to be able to camp at least one night because I just can't afford gas plus a hotel in my race budget. Over the winter I began collecting a little camping gear with the idea that I would camp all weekend at the 6th Annual Diamond Don's Riverport AHRMA National. What you see here is a picture of my campsite.

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Monday, April 14, 2008

Wearing the Leatt

As noted the other day, I spent last weekend at the Diamond Don's Riverport AHRMA national. What a mudfest! I'd like to say that I had a great race and finished in the top three in my class, but that was not to be. I was running well in the first moto of Sportsman 250 Novice when I stalled the bike in a corner. Getting restarted cost me several positions and I ended the moto in 6th. When I went to the line for the 2nd moto the bike died in staging, re-fired after 20-30 kicks, and died on me about 2/3 of the way into the first lap leaving me to push it home. So that didn't go all that well.

But even with that I still put in about 10 good laps wearing the Leatt brace for the first time. I mean it was the very first time, I had not even fitted it onto my neck prior to doing my first lap of practice at DD's.

So, how did it feel? It felt like nothing, really. I didn't even notice it was there. Previously I wore a rather bulky set of hockey-style shoulder pads. These pads offer great protection if you're a hockey player, and they offer good body protection. But the giant shoulder cups always interfered with my head movement, really limiting my ability for left-right rotation. It was always really annoying.

With the Leatt I had absolutely no interference with normal head movement. It was actually a great improvement over the hockey pads. In fact, the Leatt was less restrictive in head movement than even the CE-approved shoulder armor in my street riding jackets. My big complaint about those jackets is just that - I can't rotate my head enough to safely see over my shoulder when I need to.

Given that the Leatt was way less restrictive than any of my previous riding gear I guess it's small wonder that I didn't notice it at all. I felt more comfortable on the bike than I have in a long time. The downside, of course, is that I have less protection for the shoulders. I did wear a smaller, modern chest protector from EVS, and I have an RXR Protect flak jacket-style protector to try. But neither does much for the shoulder area.

Still, that's a trade-off I will make for better neck protection, less restriction, and raising my survivability ratio in the event of a major header.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Diamond Don's Report

Just a brief update since I haven't posted here in a while. I just got back from a week-long trip to Texas where, with a good deal of help from Texan John Putkey, I race-prepped my CZ 250 - the Mean Lady - and competed in my first VMX since 2006. I had a great time. The bike has some teething problems and seems to need some ignition work, but when it ran, it ran great and the handling was excellent in the mud. More on this event to follow in the next few days.

The other thing that's happening is I'm switching the Muddy Waters site to a new web system - WordPress - so I've been holding off on adding new material til the new site is ready. The domain and everything will be the same, just the system behind the site will change. I think this will make it easier for users and will let me give comments a little more exposure. Please bear with the slow updates while I get the new site online.