Rainy Day at Byron.

Well the trip to Byron, IL ended up being a wet one. The morning race saw overcast skies and a dusty trail in the woods. But by the time we got to the starting line the skies looked like they were going to open up on us at any time. They did, it was just a steady drizzle for most of the race. It made the moto track super slippery and was starting to make the woods loop better since they have had such dry conditions down there. My start was not the best because my bike didn't start on the first kick and I was almost dead last off the line. I worked my way up to sixth by the first lap and was able to get into fifth in a short time after that. I finally caught fourth place after another lap and got by him and just started to put my head down to catch the leaders. I finally caught second and third place after a lot of hard laps with lap traffic and slippery conditions.  When I caught them they were holding me up a little since I was just pushing it to try and make up as much ground as I could from the start that I had. When we came out on the moto track I was right with them and then I got crossed up and went down hard. I got back up and got myself going but after that crash my bike was cutting out every once in awhile and would not start back up right away. With that happening I lost second and third place riders and was also caught by fifth place when my bike stalled on one of the laps.  Well, I was able to catch fourth again and I got around him on the last lap but almost at the end of the race my bike stalled again and he got back around me and I ended up finishing fifth. When we got home we found our problem that was causing all my issues and the bike is running awesome again. You're going to have rough days so you just have to get through them and finish the best you can and regroup for next weekend. I would like to thank all my sponsors- without you I wouldn't be out here having fun racing my dirtbike. I would also like to thank my pit crew for standing out in the rain all day pitting for me.

Until next time, keep it between the trees!!

Third Win at Stone Lake.

August 19, 2012

Family photo.

Sound testing.

The AA Row.

Chasing Nate Down.

The Checkers.

Well we are done heading west to Stone Lake WI for the year. This was our third time to the Summit lake game farm. The place is great and the owners are equally as great to let us use their property. Saturday afternoon we received a small shower which helped to control the dust for Sunday's race. There was a couple of mud holes but nothing to even worry about. The club had a little over a 10 mile loop for us. The trail was alot more technical this time out here than the last race we had this year. We only did 4 laps this time with a lap time around the 29 minute mark. I got a pretty good start- I was second or third in the corner but had to go wide to miss a mud hole and ended up 3rd. I got by second a few turns later on the moto track and was right on Matt Herrington going into the woods. I followed him for about half the first lap and was able to sneak by him on a grassy road. When I passed him I tried to push it a little to try and gap him and anyone else that was close. I started to pull a small lead but I came down a small hill and hit a big bump and my bike stalled for some reason. Well then it would not start right away. I kicked and kicked and by that time Nate ferderer caught me and it still wouldn't start. It finally started but I lost about 45 seconds trying to start it and when I got back to the moto track my pit board said 30 sec back. I knew I had my work cut out to try and catch Nate and to pass him for that matter. I really pushed it for the next two laps and was reeling him in. On the start of the last lap I had caught him just a little ways in the woods. I just rode his rear fender waiting for him to make a mistake or take a bad line and try and slip by him. We were really hauling the whole race but especially the last lap because he wanted to win bad and so did I. I tried one pass about half way around the loop. I almost made it but Nate swaped on a rock and sent him into my line so I had to hit the brakes so I didn't take us both out. If he would of not made that mistake I would have gotten by him there. I just kept the pressure on and hoped I could find a way or capitalize on a mistake. Unfortunately, about a mile from the end we went down a power line section with tall grass that was mowed but full of hidden rocks. We were almost out of the grassy section when Nate caught a rock with his rear tire and it pitched him off his bike and onto a huge rock in the course. I almost hit his bike and got stopped so I didn't hit him. I asked if he was all right but he shook his head no and was trying to tell me were he was hurting. I stayed there making sure he was ok and helped him up once we made sure he was able to get back up.  Another rider Jared Brereton helped him on his bike and I took off when I knew he was ok. I came into the scoring tent and stopped and told his dad that Nate crashed, but I thought he was ok for the most part and I headed for the scoring tent and the checkers were out and that was it. I ended up taking the win. Who knows if I would of got around him or not but that is racing and when you are pushing that hard anything can happen. I was happy that I was able to catch back up after my bike problem and put up a fight to the finish with Nate. I would like to thank all the club members for putting the time into the event so that we can go and have some fun racing. I would also like to thank all my sponsors for everything that they do. And last but not least my pit crew for putting up with me and getting everything I need throughout the day- Thanks.

Well until next time keep it between the trees!!

Cycle USA

Made the Cycle USA cover August 2012 edition (for the second time). I'm glad I am able to promote all my sponsors. Thanks for the support.
Here is a link to the magazine:  http://www.issuu.com/cycleusa/docs/cycle_usa_aug._2012
There are two articles of the races I went to and won in the magazine.  page 40 and 54.

Summer Bummer Enduro (hunting bares)

Saturday August 11, 2012 Closed Course Enduro

Start of the first section.

My little buddy!

For some reason this was our first year going to the Summer Bummer Enduro in Roselawn, IN.  We have been to the spring race many times but not to the summer one. The race is held on part of the property of a nudist resort. You can just imagine what is lurking in the woods! We arrived there Friday night and settled in for the night. In the morning I got up and went for a walk into the woods behind our trailer and the sand had a ton of moisture and it looked like it was going to be perfect conditions for riding. Turns out I was right, the trail held the moisture and was awesome. Saturday consisted of three loop sections; each of these three sections we raced three different times. We ran a total of 9 tests on Saturday using the restart format. The first 3 tests were basically sight laps. It was only 10 mph speed average so we were just burning the new trail in. The rest of the laps we did were 18 mph except for the last test they bumped that up to 24mph. Well needless to say the only test that took points was the last test so it came down to the last test of the day to determine the winner. Four of us dropped just 2 points all day but as the seconds were figured I ended up 3rd place. Had a good ride and had fun.


Sunday August 12, 2012 

Ready to put the hammer down!

Road side pitstop.

Bringing home the Overall!!

Sunday we were looking at about 70 ground miles for the day. The longest test being about eight miles long and shortest at about four miles. I was looking forward to today because I wanted to try and get the win since I was soo close on Saturday. I felt good Sunday morning and was ready to get the day started. My first test was good- no major mistakes. I had a little trouble with two riders not moving over right away and held me up a bit but I came out of the section with only dropping a 1. The second section I rode really well and came out dropping 2 points. The third test is were I really put my head down and charged, I marked a 3 in that section being the fastest time through there and doing so got me a minute lead on the rest of the guys.  The rest of the test we all dropped the same amount of minutes. That third test is what sealed the deal for me to take the Overall for the day. I had a lot of fun and the trail was awesome. I would like to thank the club and all the volunteers for their time so we could have fun riding our dirt bikes and winning races. And a big thanks to all my sponsors for all that they do. Also, I would like to thank my wife and dad for chasing me around all day making sure I had everything I needed to finish. 


Keep it between the Trees!