DIRTBIKE CA

Prairie City Dirt Bike School

2008-12-24T11:10:00.000-08:00

DIRT BIKE SCHOOL - PRAIRIE CITY, CA.

Classes are being formed for the 2009 schedule. We do private groups or single persons looking to join a group. Just give us a call.

Check the Training Links on the right sidebar for links to Rob Rickerts Phone numbers or you can call me directly to set up a class. 916-798-8355

DirtBike Basic Training

2008-05-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

The MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) in connection with Honda and many other sponsors provide training at different locations throughout the nation. The MSF is a not-for-profit organization known internationally and has set recognized standards of excellence in motorcycle rider education and training. The MSF works with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), state governments, the military and other organizations to improve motorcyclist education, training and operator licensing.

The Dirtbike School 1 day course offers basic rider skills, teaching of responsible riding practices, understanding the risks of riding and proper management of those risks and also environmental awareness. Ages 6 and 96. If you're over 96 we'll have to get special permission from your parents!!!

For more information you can visit the websites I have added on the right sidebar under "Training Information"

2008 Sierra OTHG NATIONAL

2008-04-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

The Sierra Chapter National was held April 26-27, 2008 at The Oatfield in Turlock, California. This was my second time out there, only the track was changed considerably for this event. Last year I competed as a Beginner in the 45+ age group and this year I competed in the Novice Class in the 45+ age group. Lots of differences!

The dirt out at The Oatfield is some of the best in Northern California, and it is alot of fun to race on. The track has about 11 turns over the entire length with about a 30 bike gate. The track gets all torn up with the ruts, braking bumps and accelleration bumps all get huge but they are pliable and forever changing from race to race. The jumps are mostly double/triple combinations with a couple of areas that were double/double combos. It has a huge step up jump right in the middle and it looks like the matterhorn! There is a whoop section that starts big and gets tighter as you get to the end of it. The nicest banked curves you can imagine for railing the rim make up the last few turns on the course before the finish line.

The weekend weather was hot with just a breeze to cool things off only a bit. The races mostly went off without a hitch and mostly everyone came away no worse for the ware. I know of a few guys (including myself) that came home with more than a fair share of bruises. No major disasters or injuries though really.

The motos went along pretty quickly; I was in the Moto #9 on Saturday and Moto #1 on Sunday. My first moto I got a pretty good start, was about #3 to the top of the hill but fell back before turn #1 and then further back after that. About lap #3 I tried to clear the jump after turn #10 which is the double/double combo right alongside the starting line area. This was a major problem area and I should have rolled it but I didnt. I came up just a bit short, cased out on the landing and the rebound of the bike basically bucked me right off the bike and it went the other direction. Luckily I landed on my side and hip instead of my head and I rolled off to the side of the track as fast as I could. There were a bunch of people there right away to help me out. Another guy got my bike up and even kept it running by just pulling in the clutch before lifting it up instead of killing it. So I said "Keep it running, I'll ride!!!" everyone around me was saying "You sure?"... I guess my 'get-off' looked worse than it felt at the time. My head was ok so it seemed good to go.

Anyway I got back on the bike and finished out my moto, but it wasnt long before my hip and leg were letting me know that there was gonna be more to this story to be told later.... and needless to say that I wasnt going to be making my Moto #2 on Saturday.

So it became relax time and photographer time and IBUPROFEN TIME!!! Whats funny about hanging out with a bunch of old timers is that everybody has some kind of 'prescription pain killer' to offer up when needed. I was offerred everything from 800mg Aspirin to vicodin to darvocet!...

Scott was in Moto #11 and he was running in the "Over 100cc Beginner Class". That is anthing from 100cc to 450cc in that class, so he was really outclassed again. And of course there were many riders that weren't even beginners. It's too bad they dont make up some better classes for the real beginner kids to ride with us because it just discourages them from continuing to 'race'.

There were 12 motos for the days events on Saturday including the support classes, we had a great dinner catered in afterwards and a HUGE raffle all put together by the hard-working people of the Sierra Chapter Board and so many sponsors and shops and just plain folk that wanted to be a part of this gathering. It was a great evening of fun and bench racing among friends. I didn't win a thing at the raffle, but Scott got a bunch of plastics for his 125.

Sunday...

The morning practices got underway about 8:30 am and racing soon thereafter. We would have 15 motos this day due to some extra large gates form the first day. But I was in Moto #1 and ready to have a go at a fresh track and feeling not too bad after my prior crash-out. The hip was feeling ok and I was walking just fine again. I felt ready and able to take on the day. On the start I came within inches of getting the 'holeshot' into corner #1, it was between me and another guy both going into the turn together; he was up high on the outside of the berm and I came in low on the inside. I had to slow quite a bit to make the tight inside turn, he carried his speed and kept on going. I dropped into second and then back to about fourth or fifth with everyone coming around right behind him.

I held my position once I fell back to about 7 or 8th and then ran about 5 of the 7 laps we were doing. I got tired out and lost more places. On the last lap I was battleing with another guy and we kept exchanging positions, (for what position I had no idea at this point) but we were racing and having a great time. Coming into the last high banked berm turn he went to the high side and I went to the low side trying to cut under him for the position and I could've brake checked him right out and kept going, but... this was for fun! and so we drag raced to finish line from there and he got me by a half a front wheel... for 12th position (we found out later)

We congratulataed each other at the end as if we were running for the AMA Championship in Las Vegas!... In our minds, it was just like ole times!

Scott was in the next to last moto again. He had one little mishap but pulled it together and kept it going. He enjoys just being out there and being able to ride any chance he gets I think mostly.

My Final Moto was again a great start off the line, I got into turn #1 in about third position and tried hard to stay with the leaders, but the track had already gone away and there were huge ruts, multiple lines, braking bumps everywhere and it was just fatiguing me really quickly, Oh did I mention it was like 85 degress out too? I was sweating like a pig heading for the bacon shop, and dropping backwards faster then a rockstar on the Country Top 40.

OVERALL: Great Event, Great People, Great Fun. PRICELESS!

I finished: 17 / DNS / 13 / 15 for a 17th overall.

2008 OTHG Race 11

2008-04-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well I missed the Hollister Race Event #10 held on April 5, 2008, so I’m keeping up to my odd number race standard… Only thing is I missed a DOUBLE-POINTS event! Oh well it was for another good cause. I was in Dallas learning to coach our up and coming young (and old) off-road riders to operate dirtbikes safely. Also got to see the Dallas SX Event !

Ok… Event #11 on April 13, 2008 was at Argyll Race Park in Dixon, CA. This track has been changed since the last time we ran it. The track was prepped well, it had some of the original fun parts like the whoop section that you can just sit back and hop across the tops, the grandstand jump and a couple more new doubles. It was about 85 degrees out but with no wind thankfully and we ran 7 laps this time instead of the normal 5. The track rutted out quickly and they hardened into form in most all the turns, but overall it held together throughout the course of the entire race day.

It’s not that this track is very hard and it is not as fast as it was when we first ran it in the beginning of the year, but in my first moto I got out of the gate good, I was on the outside and then turning in I had to hit the brakes and that sent me too the far outside and everyone came inside of me. I ended up about 6 or 7th out. I had a hard time keeping my front wheel in the ruts and getting the bike turned around. I don’t think I was trying hard enough to get down into the turn and making a go at it. That slowed me down a lot. By about the fourth or fifth lap I was way back in the field only finding stragglers that had fallen in front of me once in a while… then the 38+ Novice guys caught up with me and started passing me. I was waiting for the white flag at this point. I was tired.

Moto 2 was much better, I got a good start and was maybe 5th out of the gate, about the fifth turn I connected up with someone’s back tire and it sent me flailing off line but I held it together and didn’t crash out. I dropped back a few more spots and then held my ground until about the third lap and then started losing more spots to the guys behind me. I was attacking the turns much harder, laying the bike into the ruts and keeping on the throttle and rolling thru them under power instead of coasting. This felt much better and way more control. The jumps were feeling really good, some of the braking bumps were hardened up into concrete by this time from the heat but it was still fun. I got passed by the 1,2,3 place 38+ Novice guys right before the finish line and ended up taking the checker flag with them. I was lapped again. Oh well.

There was a great turnout of OTHG, Sierra Old Timers and The Vintage Clubs. The weather was great! (for boating) and the event/track support by Mike Sexton and his crew at Argyll Park was top notch. Thanks Mike!

I ran the 45+ Novice class and these were my stats:

Moto 1: Finished in 5th Place out of 9 riders
Moto 2: Finished in 9th Place out of 9 riders
Overall: 6th Place Finish for the Day out of 9 riders

VINTAGE BIKES!!! VERY NICE!

2008 OTHG Race 9

2008-04-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

So it appears that I am running the "ODD RACE SCHEDULE" due to the fact that I missed the Club Moto Race Event #8 held on March 15, 2008. Sorry I missed it, the event was very well represented by OTHG in support of CMA. The weather held out and it was a real good event overall from what I have heard.

Event #9 by CMA on March 29, 2008 was again at the LaGrange SVRA track in LaGrange California. This track is really a lot of fun but it is most definitely a workout. The track was prepped really well and it held together throughout the course of the entire race day.

There were a few changes made to the track again, the major change that everyone seemed to like was the removal of the huge step-up jump in the back area that only the Pro’s even bothered to attempt at the last event, (I tried once and almost didn’t make my second moto after casing it into the face). The turn leading to the back stretch along the fenceline was raised with about 6-8 ft of dirt, so that made the jump coming into the turn more level instead of jumping downhill into a hard right hander. Also, the turn did not deteriorate as bad as last time so you could get some traction and some speed together to make the jumps to come. They made a short step-up jump into a double-double setup that if hit properly you could really make up some good time in the air to the other side of the hilltop. Then you go into the downhill leading to the last couple of turns before the Start/Finish line. This was a nice change. I will need more practice on it before gaining my flight time…

It seems like they cut down the height of the whoop section a little bit (not much) because I know I was taking it a bit faster this time then before. But it was still an arm burner!

I did the morning practices, so I had about 3 practices for 20 minutes each and then the Gang practice and then 2 motos. I was pretty much spent! There was a lot of dirt being thrown around from my perspective, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re bringing up the rear! Maybe I’ll try less practice next time and more racing?

There was a good turnout of OTHG folks but not nearly as many as the first event about a month ago.

45+ Novice Class Results
Moto 1: Finished in 7th Place out of 9 riders
Moto 2: Finished in 7th Place out of 9 riders
Overall: 6th Place Finish for the Day out of 9 riders

Not very good numbers, but it was a good time and that’s what I went out there for.

2008 OTHG Race 7

2008-03-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

The Race #6 event by SDMX was cancelled at Riverfront due to track flooding... This next event on our tour was Race #7 at LA GRANGE by CMA on March 1st, 2008. This has always been the track that separates the men from the boys, but on this day I was delivered back to my boyhood. The track has been re-worked and someone thought that extending this already long track was a good idea... well my stamina was nowhere near capable of taking on an extra 1/4 to 1/2 mile of track. In addition to the extra length, they had ripped it extra deep and the ruts and braking bumps that developed over the course of the day were brutal in their dispense on the riders. I for one was thoroughly trashed after both my motos and the second motos had even been shortened by one lap. It was tiring to say the least.

Added to the fray of long laps times and very technical turns that were added, mother nature appeared in the form of healthy wind gusts and blew most of the track into a dustbowl at times. Some of the jumps were running perpendicular to the cross winds which made for some rather uneasy air time. I was in mid-air at one point and felt the bottom of my bike twisting out from underneath me and had no idea what was going on. Eventually I figured out it was the wind taking me off course. I started jumping alot less.

The OTHG turnout for the day was overwhelming, many of the gates were pretty full with the 38+ Novice class having a full 30 riders taking off from the gate at once. I was gated right behind them so it was a quite a site to see all those guys taking off into oblivian.... behind a screen of dirt and dust, then waiting to see who came out on the other side. Awesome racing guys!

My 45+ Novice group had 11 riders at the gate and the 50+ Novice was in the 2nd gate right behind us with another 11 riders. My first moto I got out in about next to last place but made up some positions at the top of the hill. I stayed in position through about the 3rd lap and then did a flat-land on the step up jump and jambed my back. I started falling back at that point. I just couldn't concentrate and keep my focus on what I was doing to keep a racing line. I fell back to 7th position and that's where I finished.

My second moto, I was just going to make one lap and take off just to get points for the event. I was pretty beat-up, my back was really hurting and I just figured I couldn't possibly finish a another complete moto. I got a good start and flew up the hill in about 6th place, then I passed another couple guys in the first turn again and I was in about 4th place right behind the leaders. I thought "cool!!!, focus focus focus!!!"... I didnt even think about taking the exit when the first chance came up I just kept on going. I really didn't even think of my back I was getting focused on the guy ahead of me. Everytime that exit came up I just couldn't make myself take that turn.

"Hello, Im Paul... Im an MX addict!.... " Ok so this is what Im thinking to myself after I get off the track after my second moto heading towards my truck, my back aching and dreaming of the 800 mg ibuprofin tablets inside it. This sport is a total rush!, and I am addicted to it, over pain, over debt, over... well.... over almost anything.

45+Novice Results:
Moto 1: Finished 7 out of 10 riders
Moto 2: Finsihed 7 out of 10 riders
Overall: 6th Place of 10 Positions

La Grange.... I'll be back, hopefully in much better condition to take on your new expectations.

I took some pretty good images of the all the riders out there. We also had the honor of having the vintage riders running with us. Many beautiful 'old' bikes still running well.

Photos located here: LA GRANGE 1 PHOTO ALBUM

2008 OTHG Race 5

2008-02-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Round #5 for the OTHG Season was put on by SDMX ESTREET Winter Series at Carnegie SVRA Park near Tracy, California. The #4 Event at Hollister was cancelled due to rains.

Scott Davis and his crew did an awesome job at Carnegie on this weekend (as usual) The track was "EPIC".... it put even his own tracks to shame, the layout was great, jumps were phenominal!, and the turns were so fast, it was incredible. The soils were a bit different than usual. Scott added something to it, it wasnt the typical hard pack of late, that we all know and HATE....

The starting gate went into a chute that was maybe 5 bikes wide handlebar-to-handlebar and it made for alot of holeshot hell!!!! and then into a hard right hander. This led you right into the first jump of a twin camel back double.... if anyone was crazy enough to double this.... (about 120 ft., I measured) it would've been awesome!.... but, I didnt see one person even try it.

After that it was a hard left off the base of the hillside which made for a real fast turn and then a straight away jump into a quick left hander, almost a 120 degree turn. This led to a short table that led you into a very fast section that led you all the way to the first uphill turnaround. It was pretty slippery up there untill about midday. Then downhill into a perfectly lipped small jump that with all the downhill speed sent you flying into the air so effortlessly, you could jump all the way into the next turn..... (and end up in trouble) a hard right turn, up 2 gears into 4th for me and uphill again at full throttle and pounding that hillside. Across the top of the hill and then slam the bank and head downhill again and into a higly banked whip around turn that sets you up for a short, fast double jump. This leads you into a really fun 180 degree right hander that you could run the rim and continue with really good speed on the outside and be able to keep ahead of others going low into the apex trying to gain a position on the inside.

This led into a rut field and a left hander that was pretty soft but lots of fun to just lay the bike down and dig in with a blip of the throttle over another short jump. Then into the front grandstand straights with two big tabletops, the second one being right in front of start/finish and then heading off into the remaining couple of very fast front turns going to the back of the course.

Lap times for the 45+ Pros were at about 1:37, I ran about 1:50 to 1:54 range. It was a nice long course with lots of turns and very fast. I ran Race #5 with the entire Novice class of ages. We had two gates with the 38+ and 45+ starting together in the second gate with about 25 riders total.

45+ Novice Class Results
Moto 1: 8 guys I ended up 6th place.
Moto 2: 8 guys I ended up in 4th place.
Overall: 5th Place Overall for the day.

View all the pics for this event here:

CARNEGIE PHOTO ALBUM

2008 OTHG Race 3

2008-01-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

This event on January 21, 2008 was with SDMX EStreetMX Winter Series put on by Scott Davis and his crew out at Riverfront Park in Marysville. The day started out very cold and with a slight wind blowing. The track was in good shape mostly with only a few places that were just a little sloppy mud-wise. For just having rained for 5 days straight this track was in awesome shape actually.

There were a total of 25 or so motos and the track actually held up very well over the course of the entire day. Scott was in Moto #7 running his first race with the 125cc Beginner Class. I was in Moto #10 running my first race with the OTHG 45+ Novice class. Scott had a mixed group with 125's, 250's and women also. He rode a safe race and ended up last in the class, but he finished. The kid that won the 125 race lapped the entire field at least once and almost twice in his second moto. (Hardly a Beginner, but definately a beginner 'sandbagger') Scott had alot of fun overall.

My Moto was gated with the 30+ and 38+ Novices in Gate #1 and my group of 45+ and 50+ Novices were in Gate #2. Which some of these guys I had ran with in the 45+ Beginner class last year, so it was just like old times again.

The first race I got onto the track in about 6th position and lost ground quickly around some of the sloppy turns. I finished 2nd in class. My only other 45+ class competitor ended up getting bumped into the Intermediate class because he smoked almost everyone in the whole group.

My second race, I was in a three way bike run for the holeshot into the first turn and I made it around the first turn and went a bit wide and ended up third onto the straight, WHAT A RUSH!!!!!... thats what its all about! I kept my place until we got to the back mucky area and I started slipping and sliding around and lost a position almost every single lap in the same areas. I was making great jumps over the tables and jumping the little doubles really well. I was running pretty confidently all around. I think I finished about 5th or 6th overall for the group but I finished first in class... I was the only one left in the class!....

No trophy this time but it wasnt earned. Maybe some more people will show up next time otherwise I will have to move into the younger classes.... ;)

We had a great time, great people, a great track. I just got to get some more muddin' time under by belt for those sloppy turns.

2008 Race Season Starts

2008-01-13T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well a new year has started and things will hopefully be safe and fun for the 2008 race season. I just began racing again in 2007 which started off for me with a broken wrist (non-mx related) and then I had a knee injury right after the first race of the season. I competed in one National this year at The Oatfield during the "mudfest race" and had a blast. Wish I coulda ran a few more Nationals.

I didn't compete in any races during the summer months so it was a restart again from ground zero for me once the weather cooled a bit in September and I got back on the bike again. I ran my last season race at Argyl Park on September 30th and placed well enough to finish the season with a 5th Overall in the 45+ Beginner Class. I only competed in 8 of 29 possible points races.

Soon after that I broke a finger while playing around with Scott's new YZ125 at Club Moto, trying to show the kid a 'few tricks'. That left me out of riding again for awhile until just recently.

Looks like the 2008 race schedule for Sierra OTHG has been setup pretty well this year with 9 races before the Sierra National in April. Should be lots of fun and lots of good competition now that I have moved up to the 45+ Novice Class.

I am going to try and make more of the summer series races this year, attend more of the Nationals and work my way into that coveted "Top 25" for the season ending awards. I know its not much of a payoff to strive for but it's all fun and it's all with good people and just about having a good time.

If I can finish in the top 5 of the 45+ Novice Class (and not break anything trying) I will be extremely happy with myself.

E Street Ride Day for OTHG

2008-01-13T16:11:00.000-08:00

Scott Davis honored the OTHG Chapters with a "Rider Appreciation Day" for all of the support that the Chapters provide to his race series during the past season. He provided a beautifully prepared course and a Bar-B-Que for all the riders that would show up and we had a full list of participants. Thank You Scott and Crew and OTHG certainly does appreciate your support of us also.

Here's just a few photos for the ride day event:

2007 Moto Memories

2007-08-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

2007 began my MX racing again after about 30 years away from the sport, my kids all learned how to ride a dirtbike over the past couple years and they too began racing for the first time in their lives this year. It's been alot of fun and I would love to devote alot more time to the sport if any of them really want to get involved with it. Neither of my girls seem to be 'real interested', but Scott has taken a liking to it and I think that as he progresses in development of skills and time on the seat he will continue on with it. Whatever they want to do, I'm happy with supporting it and enjoying it also. Afterall... I'm the adult now I can go race or ride anytime I want!...

HANGTOWN RACE 2007

2007-05-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

The whole family went out to the Hangtown Motocross Race this weekend and saw all the Pros in their own world.... This was awesome!... is all I can say, what a great opportunity to see Ricky Carmicheal in my own 'backyard' here in Sacramento and running on such an outrageous track.

We also just got a new digitial camera this weekend also so the mixture made for a great amount of enjoyment overall. I filled a 1 Gigabyte CF card out there this Sunday alone... over 250 photos! Here are some of the "Money Shots"

Heres Ricky!!!

Heres Ryan Villapoto, with his new Lights Championship #1 Plate

And heres Bubba Stewart rippin through the turns in awesome style!

Ill post some more later when I get time to upload them... it takes forever!

OTHG NATIONAL #1

2007-04-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

Sierra OTHG presented Round 1 of the 2007 Nationals at The Oatfield in Turlock, California

Race Report:
This event was off-the-hook in everything imaginable that the promoters and Mother Nature could throw at us. The event was very well represented by the number of pre-entrants (well over 200) from Sierra, Bay, Reno and South Chapters and the gate makeup in almost every class was filled to the brim. This made for some great overall racing for all the riders and the spectators got to see a lot of things going on from their awesome vantage point as well. I got an opportunity to watch a lot of the races in between my motos too. It was very exciting.

First of all it was my very first time out at The Oatfield and I had heard many stories, good and bad, easy and dangerous!... but it all came to pass after experiencing it first hand. The track soil makeup is mostly sandy loam with filtered dirt, it’s not clumpy and it breaks up and moves around very easily. The track design includes a 24 bike starting gate with a wide uphill right hand sweeper that goes from about 100’ wide to about 20’ wide in about 20 yards… and then drops you into the main course on a hard right hand banked turn. This definitely sorts out the leaders from the followers and it turns into almost single file racing immediately when the ruts start to appear. There are five double/triple jumps that you can choose to either clear the double or clear the triple. There is a whoop section that is pretty smooth and manageable at speed without too much trouble and then a huge step-up platform jump right in the middle of the track that is very daunting to look at, but easily do-able from my experience with it as a first timer. The double/triple jumps were harder because they weren’t table tops and you had to either choose to make the jump or roll over it, which was so much slower and more dangerous too with traffic jumping from behind.

Saturday Races: The track was prepped beautiful for Saturdays beginning events and with cloud cover and no wind at the time it was perfect conditions to keep it moist and very pliable. AMP didn’t do any watering at all during the first half of the day. My first moto was good, I got off the line very well and ran the outside of the sweeper all the way around the riders that chose the inside and had to slow down to make the turns. I ended up in about 7th or 8th and then just worked my way up through other riders. The course was already rutted but very easy to lay the bike into the turns and throttle out with lots of traction everywhere. Most of the beginner riders were rolling over all the double/triple jumps and I was too, I flat landed a few times into the bowls below and that was beating me and the bike up like crazy, I had to try something else. I tried jumping one of them and cased it bad and almost went over the bars from the recoil of my rear suspension, but saved it and kept on going. The big step-up was great; I made up a lot of time on it and all the banked turns. I got up to about 5th place and that’s where I finished out Moto #1 in Race #3, 45+ Beginner Class. There were 3 guys from South Chapter that were ‘ringers’ because they had half the track on the rest of the field. They were definitely not beginner riders and I’m not sure exactly how that Chapter defines a beginner, but it’s not the same as ours.

Scott raced in the Under 100cc Support Class in Moto #14 and it was after the rains started coming down. There was an accident in Moto#13 where an Old Timers MX rider tried completing a triple jump on the uphill back side and did a face plant into the ground instead. I understand he has a broken femur and not much memory of what exactly happened at all. He was life-flighted out and that took up a great amount of time. When Scott's race finally got started I told him to just survive and do the best he can and he’ll make it through. He was soaking wet when the starting gate dropped from the rains coming down and the track was already turning to mud and getting slippery in some sections. The kid did a great job out there, he got off to a decent start and I think he finished 6th out of 10 kids in that group.

MUCKFEST: We were all waiting for the call by the "Higher-ups" to end the day before the second round of motos started and I do believe that NO ONE really wanted to go out in that muck and try to race. I think if I were making the decisions I would have played it safer and actually competitively better for everyone’s advantage and called the races for the remainder of the afternoon. Let the Moto #1 standings be the total for the day and save the track for the next days events. We could have ran Moto 2 for fun if people really wanted to go out and get muddy, but please… nothing that occurred during any of the second motos could be remotely considered any type of “competition” under the definition of the word! It was only survival of who could stay on the track and find there way through all the muck and mire to the finish line.

The track deteriorated very quickly and the rains were coming down pretty steady now. The ruts filled with water and there were lakes of water crossing the track by Moto #3 of which I had to contend in since I was defending a 5th place finish in my first moto. I had to line up. We made it around the start sweeper just fine and then onto the main track into mud that was the consistency of freshly poured ankle deep concrete… and the slipping and sliding started… I was in a group in the front 5-6 guys and made it over the first jump and into the front grandstand straight and then ran into the main rut that was filled to the rim with water and muck and my bike came to a fleeting halt, Just Stopped! Back wheel spinning, my pegs must have landed on hard pack and lifted the back off the ground and then I just fell over sideways in the rut and was pasted with mud. I got the bike back up and moved on, still more people piling up everywhere in all the mire. The bike just would not track, the front wheel was going one direction and the back wheel was going another… I cross rutted again and again everywhere I went and almost lost control a few more times. I was done, 1 lap was enough for me to say “Sorry this just isn’t worth my injury or destroying my bike over” I had a DNF (Did Not Finish) for Moto #2, Race #3 45+ Beginner. This was gonna hurt my overall really bad. I think there were only 16 people that either showed up to race in my class of 24 or that is all that finished because there were quite a few of us that had DNF’s or DNS’s.

Sierra OTHG puts on a huge raffle at these events and they give out some pretty nice prizes. There was no exception here; many great sponsors supplied some truly awesome prizes that anybody would be proud to take home. I was not lucky enough to be one of those people enjoying their new winnings... They gave away a Pit bike, a helmet and some new boots as grand prizes and an all expense paid trip to Moto des Nations.

Sunday Races: Waking up to wind and clouds on Sunday morning, we didn’t have great expectations of anything being very good on this day. In fact we were getting ready to pack it up and go home if things looked as bad as we were imagining. We went trackside and the Azevedo guys had performed a near miracle already; the muck had been scraped off and the track was flat and the jump faces were prepped and it was as if God himself had taken mercy upon us all!... Practice even got started on time, albeit not many people were out there for the first practice but we were all trying to see what it was gonna be like before trying to ‘perform’ out there ourselves. As it was, there were many slippery areas and many covered up ruts that were simply filled with slop but if you didn’t hit those then you could pretty easily make it around the track decently. The first 5 races were pretty tricky but those were the Pros and the Experts because the race schedule for today got flipped around. I was to be in Moto #11 and Scott was in Moto #14. So it was looking good for us. The wind was blowing pretty steady and the Sun was out in force. The clouds had moved on and it was shaping up to be a good day. We stayed.

We got to watch a lot of great racing and as the time approached for our Motos it was a game of deciding how to prepare the bike. Tire pressures for the mud, half mud, half dirt, some hard pack, some muck…. What to do? Oh well, just go out and do the best you can with what you got. That was it.

Moto #3, I lined up in the gate next to Christina Ellis #38 from Reno Chapter that I was chasing after in the first moto on Saturday but never got past her. I met her in the pits Saturday afternoon and she was funny and nice, enjoyed racing with her and told her I’d be after her again. So anyway the gate drops, she gets the jump on me, so I follow in close behind because she has a good line with the front 4-5 guys and I’m right behind her. We come out onto the main track again and the prep is nice, lots of ruts to contend with and then all of sudden she checks up and I’m right on her back wheel, I have to hit the brakes to keep from running her over… my bike stalls right in the turn and then she keeps on going with the pac while I begin getting pummeled by all the guys coming around and and stacking up behind me. Sorry Guys!

I get started after about 3 kicks and get going again, now I’m in about next to last… and I had a lot of catching up to do. I’m running and running as fast as I can and now I decide I need to do some jumping. So I jump #1 double/triple and clear the double, YEA!... and then I get to #2 double/triple right in front of the grandstands and clear that double just fine YEA! and then I get around the whoops up and over the step-up and down to #3 double/triple and go for it… well this one is a bit bigger and it’s a downhill jump and I landed on the crest of the double and it launched me almost over the bars, but I hang on, my feet were off the pegs and only my knees were holding me onto the bike wrapped tightly to the tank… I get up to #4 double/triple and go for it again and landed it perfectly smooth. The #5 double/triple is the one on the back straight and that is the only one that I never tried to jump. The launch was just too steep and I didn’t want to get that much air…. Not today anyway. So by lap three, I was in sight of Christina again and I saw that she wasn’t jumping many of the double/triples, I caught up to her at Jump # 2 on lap four and was ready to pass her there but she jumped it and kept on going… so I just stayed in check and we were coming up to the big turn before the tabletop jump and came to the inside after drag racing her down the straight and slid into the apex underneath her and was ready to take the position, I locked up the rear and didn’t let it go in time and it stalled the bike right there... 3 mores kicks and I was going again, but now she was gone… and I had to just protect my position and ended up 6th place in Moto 3, Race #11 45+ Beginner.

Scott did pretty well in his moto he held out for 4th Place and finished with a big grin on his face, so I think that pretty much said it all to me. He said he was slopping through some of the double/triple bottoms that were really still just full of muck, but other than that he was handling the ruts pretty well and keeping his arms up and his foot up and in front of him in the turns nicely. Great training for him. Hoss from FactoryPhoto got a great shot of him and we bought an 8X10 copy for his memory book of the Oatfield.

My moto #4 went the best of all, I got a great start and didn’t behind anyone this time, just followed the openings in the packs as they adjusted and got a clean start in about 5th position. I started deliberately right between 2 of the South chapter guys because they were cleaning our clocks out there and I wanted to find out where they were doing it.

So I figured I would follow and learn or pass them wherever I could. About halfway through the second lap I passed the one “Southy” that was in front of me the other one was already gone and there was one other rider I could see in the distant ahead of me. I just kept on jumping and trying to get through the turns as fast as possible and was doing everything right it seemed.

I was going through the whoops when I looked down and saw a kick starter lying in the dirt. I laughed and thought “bummer”… then I figured I’d better look down and check to see if mine was missing ya know just in case… and sure enough it was MINE!!!! OH NO!!!!... I better not stall it now… So I had to yell for the turn workers to point out where the part was laying and they got to it as I was racing by…. and trying to direct all that too. By this time the front runners were way ahead of me and I settled in for third place. I caught up to the next rider at the finish gate and it was Christina Ellis again…! I gave her a big thumbs up and said I’d try again next time….

So the one South Chapter “Sandbagger” got first places in 3 of 4 motos and obviously got First Place overall, while the rest of us were left to quibble over the remaining 5 trophy spots. I ended up in 9th overall due mostly to my DNF in "MOTOMUCKFEST #2" which should have never even been scored at all. Half of the time the scorers couldnt even see the number plates! Oh well. All in all it was a good event and it was fun, The Oatfield is definitely a place that I want to visit again and again and learn more from riding on its demanding and changing terrain. The turns are never the same from moto to moto.

Big Thanks to all the supporters and sponsors of this event, AMP, The Azevedo's, the catering crew and of course the track workers... without them all this couldnt have happened.

Thanks to Mike Subocz for some of the pics!

Yamaha Teardown

2007-04-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well now that the motor went, it was time to tear everything down and do it all over again. Got the motor out of it and sent it over to the motor guy to do his magic... and I got all the rest of it to do. the bike needs an overall clean up of every part hidden within. It needs a new rear fender, Im changing the rear sprocket to a 50 tooth, and I am replacing all the bearings in the rear swingarm, wheels and triple tree just to make it all fresh.

As you can see the motor aint much but it makes this little frame of a bike fly! The engine had to have the kickstarter assembly replaced and both cases. I replaced the piston and ring set, but the entire valve train was perfect.

I'll post some pics of the new engine when I get it all back and together.

All assembly will be with new parts and nuts and bolts and she'll be good as new again...

A 2003 -07 version, less the new frame of course!

CMA Round #4 LaGrange

2007-04-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

This last event at LaGrange SVRA Park was the final round of the CMA Pacific Coast Pro-Am Championship Series and it was a very good day. Scott got his first podium finish in racing and I got my first holeshot off the startline. I was running on a graciously loaned 2007 Yamaha YZ450F by Rob Dresser, Thanks Rob! It is a beautiful bike!.

It was a nice day but got somewhat warm by the time our races started in the early afternoon. I had a holeshot off the start in Moto#1 and lead for the entire first 4 laps, and then I just ran out of physical energy and I started faiding fast. The last lap I was just exhausted (not enough water and gatorade in me) and with one guy still directly behind me and the rest of the group within striking distance, I had to muster up just enough to get to the end. I got passed by the second place guy and then went down in the next to last turn and that brought the second place guy past me and I ended up in third place.

My moto#2 was 180 degrees of my first... I stalled the bike off the starting gate and had to play catch up through the whole field of 11 guys to try and have any chance at getting in the top 3. I got all the way to 4th place and was on the rear wheel of the third place guy right at the finish line but couldnt get past. Got a 4th Place overall finish for the day.

Scott on the other hand had a second place finish in his Moto#1 and a third place in Moto#2. He had a tough field of 85cc expert riders he was running against, but kept on the going. He also had to do 6 laps around a very long course. He endured and it payed off for him. That got him a Third Place Finish overall for the day!... Great job Scott!!!

Exploded Yamaha!!!

2007-03-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

So My bike decided to let me down on my last race day at Hollister hills. With a big backfire and little pressure n the kickstarter this piece of the engine case decided to exit the place it was suppose to be at to make my bike operate properly.

Here is the area of the case where the piece is missing. Right behind the kickstarter shaft. It si part of the Right Case Engine half.

Here is another view of the case where the shaft would have met with the outer shaft housing. The housing has a 'cup' in it to hold the shaft end.

Protect Our Riding Areas

2007-03-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the local riding areas in Northern California, as you can see theres a mix of Public and Private riding areas. We are very lucky to have so many choices to ride around this area. There have been measures taken at some of the local SVRA and OHV parks to limit our riding access. Two places that are closed right now are Foresthill SVRA and Mammoth Bar SVRA. Both of these areas are closed due to trail destruction and their are no monies at this time to repair and maintain the riding trails according to the National Forest Service which manges these sites.

A Senate Bill (SB742) has also surfaced that is going to possibly mandate that all RED STICKER bikes not be allowed onto PUBLIC PROPERTY after January 1, 2008. This includes 2-strokes and 4-stroke bikes. It is also redirecting funding of the GREEN STICKER program to other areas that are not part of the original OHV plan. We need your help to fight this battle against taking away our right to ride on PUBLIC TAXPAYER OWNED property.

Please write to your State Assembly person and Senator and let them know (respectively) how you feel and how how this affects your family. Thank You.

If you need more information on how to go about doing all this (locating your Senator and Assembly person and letter writing) you can find this at the NCMX Land Use/Legislative section.

Thank for your help, Keep California Riding Trails, Parks, Tracks OPEN!!!!

CMA Round #2 Hollister

2007-03-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

March 10th was the CMA Spring Series Round #2 at the Hollister Gran Prix Course in Hollister, CA. I hadnt been racing at Hollister for about 30 years...

This event was actually promoted by UMA and they were a bit under the gun in organizing this event in most peoples opinion it seems. We arrived for the first practices of the day and the track appeared to be pretty well prepped, groomed and watered. But it was apparent by about the third group of bikes out there that the hard pack had not been ripped correctly and it was simply turning into a concrete pad with some dirt layed across the top of it. This makes for some very slippery racing conditions. It was very dusty and although they tried to make some of it work, there were areas that they just ignored.

The track itself is a good design with many elevation changes, high banked sweeper turns, some very easy tabletops and even some off-camber turns that will surprise you if you aren't careful. The track is very fast and the slick turns made for some good 'flat-tracking' moments but most MX riders aren't looking for that. The hillside turnarounds rutted out just a bit but not real well and the lines were deceiving.

The OTHG moto's were setup with all Beginner Classes running together which included all 30+, 38+ and 45+ year olds at the starting gate together. The 30+ and 45+ would start in Gate 1 and the 38+ would start in Gate 2 about a half track behind us. So my first moto was alot of fun, I got out of the starting gate and went very wide, I came around the outside of the main group of bikes on the power when alot of them had to slow way down to make the turn. I went into Turn #1 making up all but about 5 places. There were I think 14 guys at the start gate. I battled it out for places in that first lap and remember rubbing wheels with a Kawasaki 2-smoker in front of me and thought I was going down at one point but saved it into one of the tables. I passed him finally and kept on going for the ones in front of me. They must have been some younger guys cause they were movin'!!! I settled into I think 3rd place overall and thats where I finished out the race. Found out later that it was 1st Place in my 45+ Class !!!!! so that was really good for me. So all those guys in front of me were 30+ and they finished 1st and 2nd overall and in Class.

By the time Moto #2 came around, the tractor was out there and ripped the turns up where it was hard packed and re-watered the whole track. This made it so much better then the first round. The turns werent as slippery and you could really get on the throttle even with the big 450's.... without sliding completely sideways thru the turns.

I started from the same position at the gate and did the same exact thing as I did in the first moto and ended up about the same in 5th place coming out of Turn #1. This time I kept up with the group and kept the battle going on the entire time during the race. There were 2 other bikes and myself hooked up in a wheel to wheel race. I went past the first guy and then gave up the position again to him, and then getting it back again right at the start/finish line on lap #3 and then went after the guy in front of him. I caught him entering turn #1 of the final lap and went inside of him down low and then we were going through the tabletops side by side into about Turn #3 where I went around on the outside of the turn and passed him for good at that point and ran to the finish line. This was some great racing and the guys ran clean and gave room to race and thats what its all about. I gave them both a big thumbs up as we left the track. Our finishes were good for 4th, 5th and 6th Overall against the other guys. I got 2nd in class for this race. I never saw the guy in first.... So we did pretty good.

So I ended the event with a FIRST PLACE Overall in the 45+ Beginner Class for the first time since starting to race again. COOL!!! I know that its just the beginner class but we all gotta start someplace...

Hollister is a beautiful setting for racing and the track can be very competitve. It requires some good care and no matter what the conditions are, its good to be out there racing and enjoying this awesome sport. Its good to be back there after all these years.

E Street Final Round

2007-03-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

March 4 was the Final Round of the WINTER SERIES at E Street MX. This is the day after my 2nd Place Win down at LaGrange and about 200 miles of driving roundabout. The whole family went out to this one, both Scott and I were gonna be racing this day. Myself in the 45+ Beginner OTHG and Scott in the 85cc Beginner class.

It was a beautiful day out and there was a pretty decent turnout, but nothing quite as close to what was at LaGrange. Maybe people were tired, who knows. They missed a great event.

I finished 4th place in both my motos on this day and got 4th overall so it wasn't as grand as my day before winnings, but the racing was just as fun. The track was nicely setup in its mostly original configuration, it was pretty fast and technical and I didnt crash, so that makes for an awesome day overall.

Scott had a pretty decent day too, I think he went down one time in his second moto, but he finished up before the last bike got off the track, so thats better then what he did at Carnegie.

As this was the final round of the E Street Winter Series, the final points standings placed me in 8th Place overall of 22 Riders for 4 events. I rode in 3 of the 4 events and had a great time.

Thanks to E Street MX, Scott and Lyndsey Davis and all the crew out there for making it a great series. Also thanks goes out to Roseville Yamaha for supporitng the series too.

CMA Round #1 LaGrange

2007-03-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

March 3 we were out at the LaGrange SVRA track in LaGrange, CA located down near Modesto. This was Round #1 of the 10th Annual Pacific Coast Pro-Am Spring Series put on by CMA and the Bay Chapter OTHG. First time for me at this track and it was very well setup. I was competing now as a Beginner in the 45+ Class and the turnout for this weekend was phenominal. These are setup with practice in the mornings and then racing in the afternoon, so you dont get much time to figure out the track before the moto's start.

Practice was pretty good, but the track was a bit hard to remember with all the turns and technical portions to try and master all in the course of about 2 hours. After my first practice I really didnt know if this was gonna be a good idea or not. But I overcame by inhibitions and headed out again and again.

When Moto 1 started I was ready as I would ever be and just figured on doing my best. There were 22 guys out there at the starting gate and the track was gonna be fun. I think there was about 12 guys just in my class and I got a bad start off the gate. That was short lived because on the uphill to the first turn I made up alot of ground and ended back up in about 5th place overall.

I worked my way into 4th and then found a racer that I was pretty much equal to as we went around the track at least twice wheel to wheel and I couldn't find a clean passing area to get by. A faster rider came by us both on the downhill jump and wiped out in the bottom turn causing the 3rd place rider in front of me to go off course also. I inherited 3rd place at that point and finished in that position. I was scored in 1st place because the front two riders were actually moved up into other classes. So Whooo Hoooo, A 'technical' first place, but I will take it.

My second moto of the day was about the same, My start was a come from behind to the top of the hill and made up all but the front 4 spots and then it was just a workout to try and run the front guys down. I kept up with 3rd place and finally passed him and then tried to save some energy for second place but it wasnt to be. He was still about 20 yards ahead of me at the finish line and I couldnt make it up. So that was an honest 3rd place finish giving me a Second Place Overall for the day!!!! My First Podium as an Old Guy!....

I am so glad I stayed and put my fears behind me because I had a great time out there. We have another event out there at the end of March again. Im looking forward to it!

Magura Hydraulic Clutch Kit

2007-02-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

I just installed a Magura Hydraulic clutch kit on my 2003 YZ450F. The Magura "Jack" kit I purchased from Motosport is pretty nicely setup with everything you need to do the job for about $199.00. First of all make sure to get the right kit. They sell 2 different ones. Kit #0120529 is the right kit and #0120490-20 is the WRONG kit. The tubing is too short in the wrong kit and it won’t reach to the clutch arm.The Magura perch comes with a hot start lever integrated into it and connects right up to the stock cable with no issues. I had a Works Connection perch originally with the hot start cable end and it had a plastic cover on the end tab that I had to remove to fit into the new one.You have 4 parts at the engine end to deal with: The actuator cylinder, the clutch retaining bracket, the actuator rod retainer and the clutch arm. Installing the actuator cylinder at the clutch arm is just a little difficult in that you have to get the tubing routed away from the exhaust and keep it there. Get it into the retaining bracket and then get the rod retainer for the arm installed all in one step...

Read this and practice this a few times before cranking everything down... Oh yea and the retainer didn’t quite fit onto the rod so I had to file it down a bit with a jewelers file until it did.
Read all the directions supplied by Magura closely. This is what I did:

1. Take off your front number plate, right side plastic shroud, plastic air flow vent for the radiator and loosen the right radiator from the frame. You do not need to remove the tank.

2. Remove your old perch, disconnect the clutch cable and hot start cable.

3. Disconnect the clutch cable from the clutch arm at the engine by using a long screw driver to operate the clutch arm and release the cable end from its seat. Then remove the cable from the retaining bracket.

4. Now you can remove the cable from the bike, make sure that the cable is out of the mount near the carburetor. Pull the cable from the engine end and watch as it goes through the holders and other cables along the frame that it doesn’t get caught on anything.

5. To install the new perch; fit the hot start cable to the new lever with it removed and then re-mount it. Mount the perch on the handlebar and adjust to fit your hand. DO NOT Disconnect the line from the actuator cylinder, but run it through the forks behind the number plate area and down to where it will go along the right frame side. The cylinder will actually fit through the frame brackets if you just loosen the banjo bolt slightly and adjust the tubing so it’s straight and then re-tighten. (You don’t want to get any air in the line or you will have to bleed it afterwards) Fit the tubing behind the radiator and run the actuator cylinder down into the area of the clutch arm.

6. Get the actuator cylinder into place near the retaining bracket, this is where you will have to adjust the tubing by loosening the banjo bolt again and getting it straightened out so the banjo bolt/bleeder valve faces upwards and the rod is facing the clutch arm. Retighten the banjo bolt.

7. Pull the rod out of the actuator cylinder as far as it will come and see if it lines up with the bracket and the arm. Loosen the retaining bracket and insert the actuator cylinder into the retaining bracket. Attach the rod retainer that comes with the kit onto the rod end. Leave everything loose at this point.

8. Using the long screwdriver operate the arm to move it into place to fit the rod end into place at the clutch arm. Be very careful not to BEND THE ROD or the cylinder will leak. The retainer should drop into the arm and then release the arm slowly and let the actuator cylinder fall into place. Check your ‘play’ at this point per instructions. Retighten the retaining bracket.

9. Follow the instructions to have at least 2-4mm play in the retainer.

10. Reassemble all of the plastics, radiators and numbers plate parts you removed, check again where that tubing is routed and then check the clutch with the wheel off the ground on first startup. If it doesn’t disengage then you’ll have to bleed any air out of it.
Once on mine worked nicely, it’s pre-filled with fluid from the factory so if you don’t break any connections and lose fluid you will not have to bleed anything. It’s self adjusting so no need to make any adjustments. It uses mineral oil not DOT fluid so it will not absorb moisture. No need to change any fluids annually. That’s it!

Round #4 Racing At E-Street

2007-02-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

Round #4 of the E-Street Winter Series was hosted at their home track February 3-4, 2007 and it was a good showing with the Bay and Sierra OTHG having had their Round #2 Races here also. I missed that race but was going to be ready to run this one. This would be my first time out at E-Street for any event or practice. So it was going to be a learning session for me overall again.

E-Street MX Racetrack is located in Marysville, California and ran by ex-pro racer Scott Davis. He is well known in the area for his impeccable track preparation and design and people come from all around to enjoy what has become best known as "Estreet". The track is sandy loam which gets most of its content from the Yuba River which runs right through the area. "It is a great track" as testified by many pro-riders and amateurs alike that come out and ride here.

This being my first time at Estreet I was asked quite a few times by other people if I thought it was a hard track? And although I don’t think of it as a 'hard' track I do think it is pretty technical and you have to do allot of thinking about what you are doing out there. The sandy soil also adds a certain technical aspect to your riding demeanor and thought process. In the turns (that are ever changing) this is really apparent.

Saturday morning practice was really nice, not many riders at first and the track was prepped great. Thanks to Hoss at FactoryPhoto.com for the photos. He takes some great shots.

During my first "Checkout lap" I ran into the berm at the front jump near the main grandstand cutting too close to the inside edge. No big deal just scrubbed it and got back going and it was all good. Then again in a later practice I hit the berm again... this time was allot harder. I dont remember the exact HIT!, but was quickly made aware of it as I bounced off the berm and felt a searing pain in my knee. My head hit the ground pretty good and I was clearing my vision as people were coming around to help me out.

It started when I came around the first turn leading to the double and single jump right in front of the grandstands and a kid went down head first and his bike was upended rolling over him; I almost ran over him as I passed by so I waved at the flagger and was pointing backwards when I went over the jump... I went into a verticle standup position and when the bike hit the ground I must have hit the throttle and it launched me into that berm on the righthand side..... AGAIN!

Roseville Pete said all he saw was my bike doing a cartwheel in midair with nobody on it!!!! My knee was barely working but I walked it off. I went out for my next practice but I couldnt really make anything work, both my legs, my back and my arms were hurting. I packed it in and went home.

The knee was puffed into a grapefruit by then and so I iced it up. The Next morning.... Race-Day, wasnt much better. Needless to say I didnt make it back to the track to run my motos on this weekend. My left knee, right ankle, right thigh, right ribcage were all not feeling in top form.
Overall I like E-Street, there’s allot of jumps maybe 15 total but a mixture of tabletops and doubles and a couple that some could maybe triple...(?) Not me. But for me with all the jumps it makes it allot more work then something like Carnegie was. I don’t have allot of experience on tracks in recent years and I have probably forgotten more about riding techniques than I can remember at this point in my life. I had a real hard time with the slushy right hand turn down by the river before the whoops, too much sand; I just couldn’t find the right throttle, gear or speed thru there. That was probably my worst turn on the whole track. Most everywhere else I could manage to keep the front wheel under control and keep it coming around.

This place is a work out most definitely!.... I see some physical training in my future and probably some lessons from you guys that know better.

E-Street Winter Series @ Carnegie

2007-01-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Races for the SIERRA OTHG started the weekend of January 21st out at Carnegie OHV Park in Tracy, CA. The series is being put on by E-Street MX and it's a 6 race series of which only 4 of them will be part of the OTHG races. I will be trying my hand at MX Racing again after almost 30 years from being away from it. It's perhaps one of the most exhaustive of all competive motorsports but I have been needing a little cardio workout lately (so the wife says!) Maybe this will do it for me. After car racing for many years and being very comfortable (and competitive) doing that, this may not come so easy though. We'll have to just wait and see.

The latest image I found of the actual track layout at Carnegie with the race layout 'painted' in. It was more of a Novice to Intermediate Class track so it wasn't too tough. The starting gate was up on the left corner and ran across the main tack into a small tabletop between the first two turns. Down a straight into turn #3, a left hand bank into a short tabletop to turn #4 turnaround, a big banked turn. Another straight with a small tabletop and then into an uphill climb to the first horseshow turn #5. Downhill again onto a short jump and into turn#6 a big bank heading out onto a flat out run up the next hillside to turn#7. Run across the top of the hill and back down at turn #8 into a high bank turn #9, over a small double jump into turn #10 and then onto turn #11 that leads you into the front straight areas with the large tabletops. Turn #12 and #13 are the "S" turn right before the start finish tabletop. Turn #14 is the dogleg left which is also a jump into a straight and jump again into turn #15 and then into an uphill double before the bowl turn #16, down a short hill and another double and into the #17 turn that leads you back into the startgate point.

The E-Street MX Winter Series was a great success at Carnegie Racetrack and we had a really good time. Brianna and Scott finished both of their motos on the largest track that they have ever been on in their lives. They did a really good job. Both of them were in the 85cc Beginner class. I ran with the 45+ Beginner class with the OTHG group of guys. I did decent in my first moto and blew the start on my second moto and didn't even get going after that. So that was unfortunate for me.

This is the starting gate with the 85cc group; Brianna is at the

near end of the pic, She is #9. Scott is at the far end.

Scott on His BBR 100

Brianna on her XR80

Photos by Mike Subocz Photgraphy, Thanks Mike! Over all it was a great time, it was a really fun track and prep was phenominal by Scott Davis and crew. They worked on it at all times. I met both Scott and Roseville Pete for the first time at this event. Nice guys and dedicated to the sport!

Ride Day at CLUB MOTO

2007-01-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

Club Moto is a privately owned MX track in the Livermore, CA area that attracts many riders of all skill levels. We had a chance to finally go out there and visit with Kirk Smith, the owner and his group of guys that keep this track prepped for all to enjoy. Kirk has been involved in Motocross in the Bay Area for more than 20 years and has a great respect for the riders and the sport. He still rides himself when he's not watering down the track, running the tractor or doing his day job also...

Norcal Motocross website founder Joey Washburn was at the event of which the folks decided to get together and meet face-to-face finally after having many decent (and some not so decent) conversations on the web forum that is provided there. The web is something that is good in that it can bring people together with like-minded interests and they can make of that what they will. There's always another side of the coin and those people just tend to stay away from reality like this so its better for all that way.

The day started out COLD!!! and it was one of the coldest winter days so far this year. It was only 28 degrees overnight and that morning couldn't have been much above 30. I think the day topped out at 48 degrees and started going back down again by 2pm. There was a good turnout of NCMX'ers, we had our own little area preserved for us with signs that said "DONT FEED THE ANIMALS" (no just kidding). But the animals did get fed good... Kirk and Mike put on some good grub that included Tri-tip steak, Italian sausage, Cheeseburgers and grilled corn on the cob cooked to your delight. Everything was on the house, and it was a great incentive to go out and ride to warm up and work up a hunger.

John Connelly from JCMX.com was providing some of the photography at the site and he came up with some awesome shots of everyone. Including Scott and myself. Scott was riding his new BBR 100 this weekend for only the second time and he did a great job out on the big track. I was still nursing a broken left wrist as you can see in the pics... Please no doctors look at the photos!

All in all it turned out to be a great day meeting new friends and other riders in the region. I hope the comraderie continues to grow within Norcal and more riders show up to future events like this one.

OTHG - No That is not WEB PHONICS!

2007-01-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

OTHG stands for "OVER THE HILL GANG" and it is a group of good 'ol boys that enjoy motocross racing and can compete with others within their 'elder' age groups. You have to be at least 30 years old to join the club (men) and only 25 years old for women... Hmmm I guess women get over the hill faster then us guys do... OK anyway, You kinda get the picture.

This group has been around for many years and there are 3 local chapters in the Norcal Area which include (click on the name to visit their site);

Sierra Chapter
Bay Area Chapter
Reno Chapter

There are other chapters down in Southern California too. Im just getting started with these guys and I hope that there will be lots of fun to be had by all. They have a great season lined up for 2007 with races being held at E-Street, Carnegie and Hollister Hills. There is also the National Races that they will put on this year at Hangtown Raceway (Prairie City SVRA)

So looks like Im goin' racing again, only this time it isnt going to be in some comfy racecar, Im gonna actually have to work to win these races.... see ya at the track!

MX Crashes

2006-12-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

Being that I have been 'layed-up' with my broken wrist I have been able to spend some time just looking at motocrossing rather then actually riding it lately. I am really missing being able to just go out and ride, the locations we go to have all been watered down pretty well now and the conditions are pristine.

So anyway I have been looking thru the internet a bit at CRASHES by Moto-X, Super-X and Freestyle guys. Some are pretty radical and some are just plain funny!Crashes:

Marysville Riverfront Park

2006-10-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to go out and visit the Marysville Track on Sunday with my kids. It was a great day out there and not too many people for the size of tracks and areas for parking. There are parking areas under a grove of trees with shade to cover whatever you like and full facilities for those that need that kind of thing.

My daughter found her way right to the 80cc track where she finds comfort just jumping and running and I went with my son to what I call the "BACK-40" track which is for anyone to go out and play on mostly, it's a nice warm up track for bigger bikes too. He's on a 200 so he can't hang around on the little bike tracks, people get annoyed with that and he's not experienced enough be out on the big track. So we went over there, I needed to get a warm up also. I attacked this track like it was second nature to me, mostly because it was curvy and had allot of flats with burmed turns that made it pretty easy to get around. It wasn't muddy or wet so there was decent traction. There's a wide open flat track section leading to the back straightaway along the river that was a blast with the big 450. More about that later...

I decided to go check out the main track, (after all that's what I was there for yes?) so I head out onto the main stretch and took the first jump (tabletop) landed short, almost biffed it and figured I better just take it a little easy and figure this track out before I end up in over my head. So I made it through 1 lap trying to stay out of peoples way while still trying to just get a feel for the different turns and lots of tabletop jumps. These I needed to time my throttle and get it up and over them to make it right. About my fourth lap I was feeling pretty goooooood about it and started running it a little harder and faster. The front straight had 3 tabletops in a row and I landed all 3 perfect on the landing side both wheels grounding at the same time, it felt good. The last jump though I landed and my throttle hand slid off the grip and that was a little scary. I took a break after that.

I went back over to the Back-40 track to check on the kids and found myself in a group of guys running laps around there pretty good. I passed most of them and went to the lead with another kid (maybe 18-20) on a Suzuki 250(?) 2 stroker, and we went into that long flat track turn section onto the main straight and I went inside for the pass. We went into that turn at maybe 20-25 mph, came out and I hit the throttle, front wheel coming up and I started sliding outwards.... I knew he was right there next to me and I wanted to give him room to race so I set the front back down to steer away from him, but by that time I was doing maybe 40 mph now and running into some washboard ruts. That immediately set my front end into a speed wobble that I would not be able to recover from and in that instant the bike went sideways, high-sided and tossed me like a rag doll right over the front (wish I had some video of that). I felt like I was sliding into home plate on my stomach!.... Oh yea! But that's just racing... actually just fooling around. If I had been racing I wouldn't have probably given him that 'room to race' and I would have made it through OK and in front.

Anyway it was just allot of fun, I didn't really feel any pain in my leg until we started loading up to leave and I noticed my thigh was pretty swollen. That's probably what hit the handlebar on the way over it. It still smarts today a bit.

In a different altercation... (that didn't include me) there was a life flight extrication from the park also that day. Seems a guy was racing, possibly over his limit or was run off the track (different stories) and left the track at one of the high burm turns and landed in a gully next to the track. He was unconscious for quite awhile and I dont know if he regained consciouness before leaving the site. They cut all his gear off him and strapped him in for the ride to the hospital somewhere. We can only hope he is alright and will be telling us stories soon.

Prairie City

2006-10-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Well my youngest daughter and I ventured out to Prairie City this past weekend to see how things are out there since the closing of Red Sticker season. Needless to say without any rains lately in the greater Sacramento area it's very dry and very dusting everywhere. My daughter wanted to continue her practice on the 125cc track and she went off to join the other kids running around over there while I ran a few laps on the Motocross Practice track, not the Hangtown Course.

It looks like they just added a bunch of sand to this course in fact so MUCH sand that its like you almost need a paddle tire to get through it if you slow down too much, spin spin spin! I ran it a few times and got off and then met up with a friend from work that finally brought out his KX250. During that time they had watered down the track and we were ready for some more in hopes thats the water packed down the sand a bit. Well it did make the mud a whole lot slippery as I would soon find out coming out of the second jump at the top of the course. I ended up coming into that downhill section with my rear tire passing up my front as I was in a two wheel drift going down the chute until the bike went right out from under me. If the front could of only turned a foot further I would have saved it! uh huh...

2 kicks and I was back underway and catching back up to the KX, made the 1st jump and then into the second jump again and hit the turn and guess what? Same exact thing!!!, I was down again!!!! Just carrying too much speed into that messy slippery turn and trying to take it too tight. I finally figured it out and started my jump on the outside and that helped me to take my turn wider and with less speed at the apex. Then I could hit the throttle once I was pointed downhill and it worked really good. The sand in the bottom section of whoops was the worst, and you had to carry some speed to get across the top of them into another short jump. Then be on the throttle right into another turn. All on pretty deep sand. It was fun though and definately tiring as the day wore on. It must have got up to 85 degrees F because we were all sweating up a storm out there. We had to keep coming back for water.

Brianna had a couple "competitive run-ins" with some quirky kids on the 125cc track but she found her way around them just fine. I went over and watched her for the last bit of the day. She is jumping and enjoying it more and more.

Cant wait for the rains!!!

Bush Signs Protection Act

2006-10-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well here it is folks, the President has signed into law a protection act that allows for 275,000 acres to be protected as non-use areas by motor vehicles. Why? well lots of reasons but we managed to keep some land for ourselves.

From Contra Costa Times: Tuesday's law began with a bill introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer nearly five years ago. It sought to establish more than 2 million acres of wilderness but ran into controversy from rural landowners, loggers and off-road enthusiasts. After several years of discussions with Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, the chairman of the House Resources Committee, the log-jam was broken this year when it was scaled back roughly 80 percent!

A compromise allowed a 51,000-acre area of BLM land near Cow Mountain in Lake County where motorcycles and other off-road vehicles are used to permanently be guaranteed such access.

Despite the compromises, a fine legacy remains, said Derek Chernow, a spokesman for the California Wilderness Coalition, in Oakland. "As our population grows, the need for areas to hike, fish, hunt, backpack, birdwatch and stargaze in becomes increasingly important," he said. "This bill protects these areas not just for us but for future generations."

Hmmmm, funny that he didnt mention anything about 'off-road enthusiasts' in his listing of outdoor enjoying people.

Keep up the good fight people!!!

Foresthill OHV Park

2006-10-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

I experienced Foresthill OHV Park for the first time this past weekend, 10/15/2006. With no rain and no wetness for the past 6 months I don't need to explain to anyone about how DRY it was out there and that made for alot of dust. But anyway, being the 'enduro-ist' that I am I still went on about the ride. There were 4 of us up there; my neighbor and his son and me and mine. The trails we rode were very technical so it was very good for the kids to experience this as part of their overall training. This is the type of stuff I really enjoy only I wish that the trails were all one way so there was less worry about someone coming the other way when your powering through a blind curve... Kinda takes the fun out of it when you have to swerve off track to avoid wayward ATV's and other riders coming at you. This didn't happen to often but the thought was always in the back of my mind. The trails are marked really well so getting lost should not be an excuse for work on a Monday morning. They have camping and toilet facilities located at most of the staging areas up there so just in case you do stay over you can rest comfortably (if you came prepared for that).

We rode Loop#1, Loop#3 and Loop#4. We have personally named Loop #4 "The Rock Garden" in total admiration of all the rocks that are on this trail. I mean there are so many rocks that there is no dirt to ride on, it is loose rock, it is jagged rock sticking out of the ground, it is round rock from riverbeds and it was definately a work-out. "BENT RIM" was all I kept thinking about the whole time through there. All for not, with the exception of a couple of slow falls for my son we all made it through there without a scratch. Loop #3 is a nice twisty trail through the forest with an abundance of ferns covering the hillsides and wildlife close by. NO ATV's on this trail- too thin for them. Found a nice wide and long Jeep trail with jumps spread out about 50 feet apart to catch some nice air off of. Had to check out my new rebuilt and revalved fork job by Dicks Racing located up in Roseville, CA. It worked like a dream! Thanks Dick!

We found some really loose stuff up on one of the upper trails toward China Wall (We're going there next). This dirt was so fine and dusty you could hardly see anything, both the young boys did headers running down this one and it looked like a mushroom cloud when they hit... This is when I needed a Helmet Cam. This would be some fun family time video moments. They all got up and brushed themselves off and kept on going. I can't wait for the first rains that are gonna come and turn all that dust to muck and mire to play in. Should be even more fun! (gotta get that helmet cam)

Anwyays Great Place to ride, We barely got a chance to see it all in one day but we will return for more. I will let you know more when I do.

Girls Racing MX

2006-10-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Photo of Brooklyn McClendon

I think its pretty cool to see girls getting involved with motocross and being out there racing with the guys. I figure if they have a talent why not have them take it out and make the best of it. Any guy that knows the enjoyment of running a track or scrambling through backwood mountain trails can probably appreciate the fact that it is just plain fun and girls like to have fun too!

I have two daughters myself that are having alot of fun with dirtbiking right now and I hope that they would find some enjoyment in the competition part of it also. I know I would certainly find enjoyment in helping them with their bikes, their experience and their goals to achieve some sort of racing ability. That would be fun.

I have found that there are many outlets on the web for women of all ages to find information, education and motivational support from some of these groups. One is Moxie Racing which is a local Sacramento group that helps within the local ranks. Another is MX Girls which is listed as a "Home Base for Women Motocrossers" and has been on the web for about 7 years. There is also WMA which covers it all. Some of these girls are Pro riders like Kadie Garrett and Jessica Patterson. Amazing arent they? You can bet that these women and girls are making a strong impression in the dirt out there and you guys better beware. These girls will be kickin some booty on you if you arent lookin' Good Luck Girls!

NorCal MX

2006-10-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

NorCal Motocross is another dirtbiking website that offers all kinds of information exclusively for the Northern California dirtbike enthusiast. It has everything from information and reviews on riding places, track pictures, race results and reports. The forums there are very informative and friendly unlike some other places I have been to and the forum administrator is a straight shooter and keeps things inline. Its a family kind of forum that offers help to all ages of riders, young and old, girls and boys and without bad attitudes. I'll have more to talk about with them as we have more time and opportunity to get to know the different groups of people there better. Looks like a great place!!! Check it out. Also Joey Washburn the admin for the site is a fantastic photographer and has a website with his awesome motocrossing galleries. Check them out at his site also.

CLUB MOTO

2006-10-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Club Moto is a really cool privately owned track in the Northern California Bay Area. It is located on the outskirts of Livermore, California off Highway 580 heading towards the Altamont Pass. This park is a local favorite of many people that volunteer their time, money and efforts to keep the place open and safe for riders of all ages. Many of the Norcal MX people are familiar with the Owner; Kirk and have good things to say about the place. They have a ClubMoto Gallery of the riders that use this track, some very talented people! The photography is awesome and all the photos are for sale online if you like what you see.

The club offers weekend and one weeknight riding and they have events there once in awhile. I havent made it there yet myself, But I plan to very soon. I'll let you know how it goes. If you're a local then go check them out.

A Word About Private Property

2006-10-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

I probably wont be divulging too many of my private property locations on this blog site mainly due to not having permissions from the land owners to just advertise their properties for use. Not that I can blame them for not giving permission, I think it's only fair to say that "people can be jerks" sometimes and that's typically why landowners will not let just anybody ride their property. This mostly comes from a fear of being sued when some idiot rider (beginner or expert) with half-a-brain scatters it all over their soil and then wants to blame them because he ran into a rock that he didn't see in his way. Now that's just plain BS! It's irresponsible and it hurts only the people that do take responsibility for their own actions. If you're going to get on a dirtbike and go out and ride on terrain that is absolutely unforgivable to stupidity then YOU and only YOU have to be the person to be the responsible party and no one else. If you have kids that you are letting ride on private property, then YOU are responsible for their welfare also and not the property owner. IF you are the type of person that will try to collect from someone else that is trying to provide a place for your enjoyment due to your own incompetence then you are a DIRTBAG and certainly not a DIRTBIKER...

A Word About Public Property

2006-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

In the State of California laws are really becoming literally constrictive to off-road users due to encroachment of our rights by other groups which I will leave nameless, for uses of their own. I mean why can't we all just be happy using the areas together? They can look at their flowers and their dirt and rocks and we can just use them as pylons or obstacles on our enduro and motocross courses... yes? Everyone's happy!

But seriously folks, these groups are rallying to the powers that be that we are raping the lands by destroying them with our bikes, atvs, cars, trucks, buggies or whatever motorized vehicle they can come up with and leaving them unclean with all our garbage. I would only have to say that I have seen evidence of this by people in our sport that really don't give a damn about others and ruin it for everyone. We have to be at least as strong as these other groups in our solidarity and ban together and do the right thing. If that means staying on trails and packing up your own garbage and taking it out or picking up a little extra then so be it.

If you catch one of these punks that IS NOT doing the right thing while they are taking advantage of our OHV system within this state (or any other) then EDUCATE THEM!... Give them a LESSON in RESPECT if you know what I mean. We ultimately have to be the caretakers of the areas that we ride in. Respect the areas you ride in and we as a group (Offroaders) will be respected. We only hurt each others right to ride when we dont protect the things we care for.

Finding More Sites Online

2006-10-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

While there are probably millions of sites online dealing with off-road and dirtbike riding content in general, they cover the entire globe. I'm sure it goes without saying that it's going to be a cold day in hell before I load up my bike on any airplane and ship it across the world to ride somewhere other than a place that I can just trailer it to. I'm sure thats probably the same for everyone that doesn't compete on a professional level.

Now I must say it's nice to know what the blokes in Australia and other places around the world are doin' from time to time on Dirtaction.com but it really don't make a heck a difference to us here locally when it comes down to finding a place to ride. Thats why I made this site. I have found other local California related sites and will include them here with hotlinks for you to check them out once I get the ok and feel they are worthwhile for our "cause"... afterall you gotta have a little dirt in your blood to really enjoy dirt-riding. It's a lifestyle!

Check out Dirtaction, I do some bloggin there also and they have forums that are informative sometimes if not ammusing at the same time.

If you know of any sites that relate please feel free to drop in a comment. Thanks

XR200 Rebuild

2006-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

This is a 1993 Honda XR200. My son and I recently finished an overhaul of his XR200 just to freshen it up a little bit. He wanted to paint it up and change the plastic colors and make it newer lookin'. Did a nice job on it, I'm very proud of his work.

We changed it from the original white frame and orange seat to what you see here now. He just needs some final touches on it and he's ready for a race!

Stonyford, CA.

2006-09-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

Recently I just visited a park in northern California called STONYFORD. This place is a hillclimbers dream come true!!!. It has un-ending ridge runs from the base of the creek beds up to the mountain tops that are 6000-7000 feet in elevation. Some of these runs are 2 and 3 miles in length and it is all you can do to just hold on and throttle up some of these more than 60 degree inclines. Lots of shale rock, ruts, and whoops make it all the more challenging for any rider ability. The runs are rated like ski runs; Green Circle is easy (Don't beleive it), Blue Square is medium(Maybe), and Black Diamond is 'Treacherous'!!! Yea that pretty much says it all. We had a blast up there. Check out the quick link for more in-depth info, trail info and maps. Enjoy!

CALIF OHV Parks

2006-09-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

We enjoy riding trails and doing some track riding at the local OHV parks that surround us here in the Central Sacramento Valley area. These include Prairie City and Carnegie and many others. See the California OHV Parks home page.There are more but I haven't been to them yet.

Hollister Hills and Clear Creek are also Central California parks that I used to ride at when I was much younger and when I lived in the Bay Area. Access to Clear Creek has been significantly decreased since that time. Hollister Hills has become more of an "Off Road Commuter Zone". There are so many bikes there usually it's like a freeway! Too many people for me, but it has alot of nice trails.

We also have some private property that we go to with permission mostly because my bike is a 'red label' bike and we cannot always visit the state run parks when we want to. I dont recommend riding on anybodys private private without getting permission first. We'll talk more about this later.

Welcome!

2006-09-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to DirtBiking in California, where I will try and bring you some great adventures that we have experienced within some of the Northern California Parks and 'other' areas we have found... Stay tuned. Please feel free to post places and stories that you have experienced.