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!

Hixton HareScramble.

Sunday July 29, 2012
We are back at CMJ Raceway in Hixton, WI for the last time this year. The morning of the race the skies were looking like it might rain. The kids race saw a couple of sprinkles but when the C and + 50 classes left the line it was a steady light rain for them the entire race. The rain stayed steady all the way up until the afternoon race. It looked as though we were going to have to fight the goggle issues ourselves but, by the time we were ready to race the rain had stopped and made the trail dust free for the most part. We lined up on the motocross start as usual but instead of your typical dead engine start they made us raise our right hand over our heads until the gun went off. I almost squeezed by Bobby Kau for the hole shot but didn't want to take us both out. I pulled in behind him and waited until we got off the moto track into the first woods section where I made my move and got around him and started to put my head down to try to pull away. On my second lap my dad showed me the pit board and I had a 45 second lead in a lap and a half. I wanted to continue to push myself and get a comfortable gap between me and the rest of the guys. I stayed focused the entire race and tried to  ride smart and smooth and mistake free. My lap times were pretty consistent the whole day as my fastest lap was my first and last lap of the day. I had an awesome ride and I took the overall by a big margin. I would like to thank my Dad for helping out with everything over the weekend and a big thanks to all my sponsors for everything they do for me. Thanks!!!


Remember Keep it between the Trees!!   

Fox Valley Offroad Park's Dual District Race.

AA row.

First turn.

One of the logs at scoring.

Last corner before the checkers!

Well the weekend started out like the last couple of weeks have been HOT!! I was really looking forward to this weekend's race. For one I have never been here before and that is always exciting going to a new facility to race since we usually race the same tracks year after year. And two I was looking forward to the bigger turnout that District 17 usually has. Since it was so hot and extremely dry down there the rider count was down a little bit which was expected. I rode my mountain bike around the track Saturday afternoon to see what I was in for on Sunday. The track had a lot of elevation change on the hill sides and two creek crossings. They have a really safe moto track and  a rocky dried up creek bottom that we winded down.  The course was going to be super dusty so a good start was definitely going to help you put some time on everyone. I had a good jump off the start but I was third going into the woods. Ryan Moss and Bobby Kau were right in front of me. Just a short time in the woods Bobby took an outside line and Ryan and myself got by him and started to pull away. Ryan led the first lap and a half and then he washed out on an uphill. I tried to get around him but there wasn't enough room so he got going again. He ended up tipping over at the top of the hill and I was able to go around him there and start to put some good fast laps in since I had a clear view of the trail with no dust. I rode a smart and good pace the whole day just trying not to make any mistakes and get through the heat and dust we had to deal with. My day ended well- I took the Overall  win by just over 1 minute. I had a lot of fun and would like to thank the owners for doing a great job with the course for what they have to work with. They kept the speeds down in the dust and tried to water everything that they could. I would also like to thank my pit crew, which consists of  Chase, Keri , Mom and Dad for sweating it out in the heat. Not to forget all my great sponsors that I have this year for helping me win races and just to go and have fun with everyone at the races THANKS!!!


Till next time keep it between the trees!!

Stone Lake Hare Scramble!!

Navigating through the rocks and trees.

I had a good ride today, I got to the front quickly and was patient. My start was ok, I got around everyone pretty quick and caught Nate at the halfway point of the first lap. I followed him for awhile and figured out were I was going to try and make a move to pass him, but on the third lap he made a mistake and went down in the rocks by the quarry. I Got around him and just tried to ride smart and hard, no mistakes. Then the skies opened up on us and made the course a little slick. I kept pushing it until the last lap. I knew I had a little cushion on Nate so I slowed it down a notch so I wouldn't make any big mistakes and throw it away, because I knew Nate would be pushing all the way to the finish to try and catch me. He made a lot of time up that lap but I had enough of a gap to ride smart and not chance going down hard in the slippery conditions. I finished the race with a win. The club did a great job laying out the course- there was more woods this year and less road and field, I like that. So a big thank you to them. This year everything we have been working on is headed in the right direction and my results have been showing it because this is my fifth straight win. A big thank you to all my sponsors and everyone that has helped me this year.

 Remember Keep It Between The Trees!!!