MONDAY, 11/19/07, 7AM
It’s nice and early in the
morning and I am sitting hear in my spacious office drinking a
great cup of Starbucks that I just made in my Mr. Coffee maker.
Who the heck is Mr. Coffee anyway? Is it still that famous
baseball player Joe DiMaggio? Is he also the reason that they
call it a cup of Joe? Why can’t Mr. Coffee be Ricky
Carmichael? I heard that RC is a coffee lover and that other
than race days he never starts a day without a big cup of Joe.
Or should that be a big cup of Ricky. You can’t call it a cup
of RC because then everyone would have cola on their minds. Do
they even make RC cola anymore? This conversation with myself
is going nowhere. This morning, I had only written that first
line, “MONDAY, 11/19/07, 6AM”, when I decided to go check my AOL
mail account. What do I behold but a message from Doug Goff
asking why I haven’t been posting anything on the Diary lately?
This is from the guy that only shows up for a couple of races a
year. HmmmmJ
Speaking of only racing a
few times a year, I have my little pit tootsie, Dee, all signed
up for the annual Day in the Dirt GP at LA County Raceway. She
made a pretty good showing last year at Comp Edge, and the year
before that at I-5 MX in Gorman. This has become one of those
cant miss events that we like to hit each year. Especially
since it is one of the only times that Dee can race with a whole
group of woman racers. It is very cool to be holding the pit
board and yelling at her for a change, “stand-up, go faster,
attack, nak-nak, smile you’re on camera, have fun”. She is
usually the only gal out there on an XR-100 but she makes a good
run at the trophy positions. The only thing is that this race
is by far the most expensive race I do all year long. Even
rounds 1 & 2 of the FPMX series at Arizona Cycle Park are
cheaper for me than the Day in the Dirt event.
Long
pause………………………………………………………….
I have interrupted my
thoughts above because as I was typing, “Day in the Dirt event”,
I decided to check the FPMX message board to see who else might
be racing this Thanksgiving weekend. I have not checked it in a
few days and unfortunately I only made it to the first post from
FPMX CEO Ed Wilson, “Tragic News”. I say unfortunately because
this kind of event is one of those that stops you in your tracks
and totally consumes your thoughts, your breath, and every
movement you make for what seems like hours. After I re-read
the post at least 20 times my thoughts go to the Bestwick and
Gonzalez families. I don’t know how you cope with something
like this but I do know they have a great extended family in
that of the men and woman of LA County Fire. I think that this
will make a lot of us slow down to reflect, and I think that
Thanksgiving 2007 will mean a lot more to all of us because of
this tragedy. God Bless.
STAY SAFE, more later.
WEDNESDAY, 10/17/07, 7PM
I think I need to write
something in this Diary today. I have been neglecting it for
some time now. Some of my reasons are legitimate and some are
bulls&*t. Dee and I spent some time in Washington, DC and
attended the Motocross of Nations in Budds Creek, MD. I am
telling you straight up here and now, the MXON is the best race
you will ever attend in your lifetime. And to see it in the
U.S. for only the second time in history was “Priceless”. We
are already planning our trip to next year’s event in Northern
Ireland.
After we left DC we headed
home and then on to the final Fire and Police National rounds
for 2007. This in turn was followed by our now annual banquet
event. That is something that Dee and I really look forward to
each year. It’s just a really nice setting to sit down with all
your friends and competitors for some good food, good bench
racing, and of course a good show. Thanks to Ed and Sue for
making that happen. Oh, and I just heard that after trying
since 1989 (19-years) that I finally earned the #1 plate for
FPMN(X). Actually, I have never tried to earn it because I
figured that I was only good for a couple of classes per event.
Guys like FEN and McKenna have won it multiple times but they
had to ride like iron men and do 3-5 classes per event. I am
however very proud to earn it for 2007, Thank you.
After the Nationals
I took a three day break from riding and then headed out to
Ridgecrest for round #5 of the AMA D-37 Big-6 Grand Prix
series. I really like the Ridgecrest course because of the long
lap times and it gets super rough. I put my new 110x90-19 rear
wheel from PlatinumSpeedEquipment.com (Kris Waters company) to
good use for that race. The only thing that sucked was that
they threw in a dead engine start and I had a 10-kick start. I
guess I need to practice at that for the next round, Nov. 3-4 at
Gorman I-5 MX. Just in case they decide to try that dead engine
crap againL
After the Big-6 GP I took
another long break from riding and had a whole four-days to get
the bike ready and head out to Mesa, AZ for the 2007 Western
States Police and Fire Games. I decided to take along Doug
Goff’s bike as well so that I could maximize my riding
experience in the great state of Arizona. The event was fun but
the rider turnout was pathetic. They cancelled the second day
GP event so all we had was MX and there might have been 50
riders total??? The track was all air-time with jumps
everywhere. Once I figured the course out it was a good time
but it was just something I wasn’t used to. I mean you
seriously needed a pilots license for this track.
Well that pretty much
catches you all up to what’s been going on in my world. I
didn’t want to bore you with the work stuff because I am pretty
much boiling over with this whole DHS-CBP-ICE transition that we
(Border Patrol) are still going through. I wonder if they had
this much trouble when they transitioned over to the U.S. Dept.
of Justice from the Dept. of the Interior back in the 50’s.
On a side note, I
think Uncle E picked up his new green ride today and did a
little moto break-in. I saw him advertising on the message
board for some supporters to come out and ride with him today.
Man, I bet he is one sore puppy tonight. You know how it is
when you haven’t ridden in a while. Lots of sore muscles, sore
butt, and baby soft hands. Well, he is a Fireman so his hands
are probably soft all the time anywaysJ
STAY SAFE, more later.
2007 FPMX Banquet (Greg
Parquette, Matt Fitch, Mark Davenport) #1 plates for "the Compound
crew"
THURSDAY, 9/6/07, 7PM
Hey I got a
question; has anyone ever sold anything through the FPMX “For
Sale” board? Yah, I didn’t think so. I was going to wait until
tomorrow to write this Diary post that way I could say “please
forgive me FPMX, it has been one month since my last Diary
entry”. My jay-o-bee (job) has been seriously getting in the
way of my personal life lately. If you don’t believe me then
just ask Dee when you see her at the 3rd Annual FPMX
Awards and Banquet. And on that note there is a rumor that
someone with the initials of JMc will be attending our races and
banquetJ
I have been getting in
some good practice on my mighty 2008 YZ-250F. I am not quite
feeling it yet but I think I should be up to full-tilt by
October one. I have yet to put an aftermarket pipe on her and I
am not sure if I want to or not. I know that with the White
Bros. pipe my 2006 hit a lot harder in the mid-range than this
2008 does but I am leaning to ride a little differently. I am
trying a new concept on this bike; it is called the flow
method. Kay-Dub (Kevin Windham) described his riding method
like this a few years ago when he came out of retirement and
started beating AreCee (RC=Ricky Carmichael). Rather than just
trying to rip from corner to corner using the power and hit of
the engine I am attempting to flow with the bike and the course
and use momentum to carry me through the corners and over the
obstacles. Sort of like trying to teach an old dog a new trick.
I am leaving for
Washington DC on Sunday. I am scheduled to attend two-weeks of
classroom courses to make myself a better Border Patrol Agent.
At least that’s what they tell me. Someone should tell them
that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Maybe I should tell
myself that and just go get a new pipe for the ‘08. Anyway,
after the course is complete I will be staying an extra weekend
to attend the greatest race that was ever put on the face of
this earth, the Motocross of Nations. Budds Creek is only an
hour south of DC. I just confirmed my tickets to the event and
Dee will be flying out to join me. It should be an epic
battle. I think it was a slam dunk with Bubba in there but now
I am not so sure.
Last noteworthy
item, I say no to the Rhino racing at our events unless the Moto-Rooter
herself (Gigi Frieling) gets her entry in. Then I can stand on
the side of the track waving a towel and yelling at her each lap
to go faster, stand up, get your elbows up, breath through your
nose, look ahead, race the track not the other riders,
concentrate, have funJ
See ya at the Glen.
STAY SAFE, more later.
TUESDAY, 8/7/07, 6PM
Not a whole lot to write
about lately as far as the riding department goes. Obviously we
(FPMX) have been experiencing an inordinate amount of
crash-N-burns lately. The list is really long and it seems to
grow longer as the summer progresses. So, everybody just take
two steps back, now take two steps forward, okay forget about
that and just take two deep breaths and relax. NO MORE CRASHES…
A couple of weeks
ago Dee and I were doing some beach camping at Del mar Beach on
Camp Pendleton Marine Base with the Fitch family (and a whole
bunch of FBI Agents but we wont talk about them). I really like
camping on the beach at Camp Pendleton. You need some special
connections like friends or family that are active members of
the military in order to camp on the base facility. There is
something about having Military Police Marines in full battle
gear and loaded M-4’s patrolling through the campground that
makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. You know you don’t have to
worry about anyone messing with your truck or trailer. You know
that the kids are fine to wander around without disappearing.
There are no lewd and obnoxious people hanging around the camp
or playing loud music until all hours of the night. They will
only ask you once to change your behavior before they escort you
not only off the beach but off the base entirely. Did I already
mention that they patrol the area with loaded M-4’s. Anyway, we
spent two nights and three days on the beach and found out that
the entire time we were there that we had been parked/camped
next to non other than National Motocross Champion Marty Smith.
It seems that Marty’s son is a Marine so he frequently camps
there at Del Mar Beach. He was there with his family relaxing
and getting in a little surfing on the side. Let’s just say
that he no longer looks like he did back in the day. I was
never a big Marty Smith fan but I can appreciate his talent and
what he did for the sport of MX. I had a brief thought about
calling Mike “Walker Ranger” Dunn to tell him about it. But I
knew that being an ardent MS fan and being a former Marine
himself that he would probably get three speeding tickets and
crash his truck trying to drive from Murrieta to Del Mar Beach
just to sit and bench race with his idol. So I waited till the
next day after I got home to tell him about it. I will tell you
what Marty said about riding vintage bikes though; “I didn’t
like riding them back in the day so why in the hell would I want
to ride one now.” Amen to thatJ
STAY SAFE, more later.
FRIDAY, 7/13/07, 6AM
These are those slow
months in regards to Motocross. Its summer, it’s hot, and the
water always sounds like a better day out playing than the dust
of a Motocross track. However, a couple of weeks ago we made a
weekend trip up to Big Bear for some high altitude camping and
riding. The Fitch family and a few others met us up there and
we had three good days of riding. It had been a number of years
since I had done any trail riding in that area. We ended up
deciding on the Big Pine Flats campground that is located just a
few miles north of Big Bear Lake/Fawnskin Cove. It turned out
to be a really good riding weekend. The weather was cool in the
evening and a nice even 85 during the hottest part of the day.
And come to find out, there is a whole new (new to me anyway)
trail system that is exclusively for bikes and quads. We did
about 2.5 days of riding and I barely saw 25% of the trails in
that area. So needless say, we are planning another trip to
that area before the summer ends.
I see a lot of talk lately
about the so called FPMX “bump list” and next years’ race
schedule. Some people feel that it is disparaging to see/read
the comments/opinions on these recurring matters. I don’t look
at it that way. I feel that it means the FPMX organization is
alive and thriving. It means that you are all caring and
engaged in the direction of this great organization. I was
talking to my boss (Rene G, who is a former FPMN competitor) in
his office the other day about FPMX. Actually, we started the
conversation talking about the 450 and 250 MX Nationals on SPEED
channel. That’s a whole other topic but you gotta admit that
the racing in both classes this year has been phenomenal. I
just hope that RC stays for the whole series. Anyway, I was
telling him that I am pretty much done with racing Motocross
with any other organization than the FPMX. I will still ride
the Western States Games and any World Police and Fire Games
that are not on the other side of the world. But as far as
local MX clubs go, I am staying away. This was actually
solidified last weekend as I accompanied the Fitch boys (Donnie
and his son Matt) out to the Star for some Saturday night local
Motocross. I enjoyed the racing and I enjoyed hanging out with
Donnie and Matt but I was SOOOO disappointed in the MX crowd
that attended this Starwest event. I won’t go into details but
the crowd reminded me of type that attend the Supercross events
and make all the trouble for others. It’s the type of people
that are always going through life saying “everyone owes me
something in life” or “get out my way because I am in a hurry”.
It’s that sense of entitlement that this type of crowd
portrays. There is no courtesy and at least outwardly, no
integrity. That’s not the way I was raised and not the way I
acted when I was learning first-hand about this great sport so
many years ago. I know that I am painting with a broad brush on
this topic but the Motocross crowd that I grew up around seem to
be so hard to find these days. No, I am not turning vintage,
just a little old school in heart and mind.
STAY SAFE, more later.
The other day Dee stopped
by to bring me some lunch and decorate my office. At this nice
new Border Patrol Station here in Murrieta I have a very
spacious office that allows me to actually hang a few pictures
on the wall. Of course, being a Motocross fan and racer most of
my pics are related to that subject. The picture that I like
the best is an artist rendition of Steve McQueen. He is sitting
on a ’67 Triumph twin with the #141 on it. He has a cigarette
hanging out of his mouth and is wearing a Checkers M/C bib over
his racing jersey. I was told that it was from a photo taken of
him while he was heading to the start line at the 1969 Elsinore
GP. I know that it was 1970 that he entered that same race
under the alias of “Harvey Mushman”. Only that year he was on
new Husky 405. I also have a couple (2) of the “Legends”
posters from the Dunlop Legends series. These are really great
posters that benefit the Clayton Memorial Foundation to help
injured motorcycle racers. I’ve got the Bob Hannah poster from
the 1977 Trans-AMA race at Sear Point. It’s the one shot from
the rear that shows the print on the back of Hannah’s leathers.
It simply says “TROUBLE”. The other Legends poster that I have
is of Jeff Ward racing at the 1987 Motocross Des Nations in
Unadilla, NY. That race was basically a survival mud race and
this shot is of Wardy hammering his KX-500 through a deep mud
turn with his open face helmet and no goggles. A true Motocross
warrior picture for sure. If you’ve seen the advertisements for
the “Legends” posters you know that there is a new poster
release of Malcolm Smith. It is a classic shot of Malcolm
hitting top speeds at the Baja 1000 on one of his mighty
Huskey’s. That one is on my Christmas list.
Last week, Sunday, June
17, 2007, marked a somber date for the United States Border
Patrol. It was 40 years ago from that date that the BP lost two
of its Patrol Agents in the line of duty. Although the BP has
lost over 100 agents during our 88 years as an agency this was
that one defining incident that stands out in our history. It
was 1967 and these two Temecula Station Agents, Ted Newton and
George Azrak, were working the Oak Grove checkpoint when they
made a vehicle stop and discovered 800 pounds of marijuana.
Well, during the subsequent minutes/hours that followed this
drug bust they were kidnapped, transported to a shack in the
hills above Anza, handcuffed to an old stove and subsequently
murdered execution style. A few years after this event had past
the United States Border Patrol created the Newton-Azrak Award
for Valor. This is the highest award that a Border Patrol Agent
can be awarded for service to his country. On Monday of last
week we were honored at the Murrieta Station (formerly known as
the Temecula Station) to have over a dozen family members from
these fallen Agents attend the 40th anniversary
memorial event. The children of Agent Ted Newton (now in their
40’s) were in attendance to present the awards to several of our
local agents. It’s hard to really know how people feel or think
after living with this type of family tragedy. But I think
after seeing them here at our station, speaking with them in
person, and looking into their eyes that they are no longer
mourning the loss of their father. Rather, I think they are
celebrating his life, who he was, and what he stood for.
I know that nearly
every law enforcement agency and fire department around the
country has their own tragic stories of fallen comrades. This
is ours and I just wanted to share it with you. Always check
your six. That means look behind you for the fire guysJ
TUESDAY, 6/5/07, 7AM
WOW, race time is almost
upon us. I am a little surprised at the pre-entry list for
rounds 5 and 6 of the 2007 Fire & Police Motocross Nationals.
The list seems a little on the short side. There was a pretty
good turn out of riders at the Glen and I remember telling Uncle
E that I thought we (FPMX) would have a record number of entries
at the next rounds at Competitive Edge. I mean school is going
to be out for summer and CE is a great track/facility to hold an
event like this. June is a little on the warm side to be racing
in the high desert but what the heck. We are all super
physically fit athletes who chase bad guys and run into burning
building for a living. We can handle the extremes of summer. I
am hoping that similarly to Glen Helen we have a large number of
riders that post enter at the track on Monday and Tuesday
morning.
It seems like
everyone is talking about what “new bike” they are leaning
towards. The 2008 offerings from the big five manufacturers is
going to be interesting this year. There has been so much talk
about fuel injection and electric start that I think anything
less will leave a lot of potential buyers disappointed. I for
one am hoping for the magic button. An electric start 4-stroke
is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury. It has already
proven itself on the GP circuit for the last 2+ years. Now you
can indeed have an electric start and still bring the weight
down on a competition 4-stroke race bike. On my free time
J
here at the station I decided to give all the factories a call
and get the real scoop for 2008;
I was told that the Katoom
factory was no longer in business since they were attacked by an
extreme “kamikaze” group from Japan. Apparently they felt that
KTM was taking too much of the Japanese market share from around
the world. I heard that Suckzuki was seriously looking into
re-introducing the Ribi front end on the 2008 RMZ’s. And that
Yamahopper was going back to the mono shock design with the rear
shock running under the gas tank. Kawacloggy is going to stand
pat with their current motor and frame design but they are
bringing back the rear fender-number plate. Apparently they had
a few thousand of them laying around at the factory in Japan.
They did say that to keep the bike balanced they would also be
adding a front fender-number plate to the package as well. The
Hondog is getting the biggest makeover as they have brought Mike
“Texas-Walker-Ranger” Dunn into the factory to advise on
bringing back the nostalgia of the “Red Racer” team. However,
they are going to change from the name “Elsinore” to the name
“Murrieta” since that’s where Walker lives. And last on the
list was Team Harley Davidson. You can expect to see a large
push from the Harley factory to flood the MX starting gates of
America with the Evel Kneivel replica bike. They say it’s a
kidney killer in the braking bumps but that it can jump like no
bike ever made… See ya at the Edge…
STAY SAFE, more later.
SUNDAY, 5/13/07, 6PM
I just can’t get past
looking at those pictures of Uncle Ed holding up various
firearms. Not that I would put our fellow fireman out there
in the same league as a Postal worker but that is what comes
to mind when I see those pictures. Maybe some of the LAPD
or LASO guys out there can invite Ed over to one of your
range days and introduce him to some proper weapons handling
skills. And in turn, maybe Ed will then reciprocate and
invite you guys over to the firehouse for some proper hose
handling drills.
Dee and I
attended the 23rd annual Baker-2-Vegas Law
Enforcement Challenge Cup relay race a few weeks ago. This
is really a great event. Dee and I have been a part of the
Border Patrol Team for the last 15 years. I remember when
we got started with this it was a much smaller event. Less
than 100 teams competed back then. Now it has grown to over
220 teams and more every year petition to get in. The
running route is 20-legs of varying distance and covers a
total of approximately 120 miles. The event is run and
coordinated by members of the Los Angeles Police Revolver
and Athletic Club (LAPRAAC). I have spoken to them on
several occasions about inviting the fire services to
participate as well. The problem is that the race is
already too big to be handled over a 2-day event. For
nearly 24 straight hours the route from Baker, California
through the mountains and down to Las Vegas, Nevada is
jammed with racers and race support personnel and vehicles.
It’s a real nightmare for the two states highway patrols and
local sheriff’s units to handle the traffic control. If you
added a couple of dozen fire departments into the running
mix I think it would get out of control. I do remember a
few years ago (not too long after 911) that they had an
invitational team from the New York City Fire Department (NYFD).
I think they finished lastL…
STAY SAFE, more later.
I too am a total motorsports fan but it kind of scares me to
think of the kind of applicants that we might get from this
type of advertisementJ…
NASCAR Busch Series; Jay Robinson Racing Team
FRIDAY,
5/4/07, 6AM
“Would the rider
from the last race on bike #429 please come to sign-up,
I repeat, would the rider from the 40+ expert class on
blue Yamaha #429 come to sign-up immediately”. That was
me that the announcer was looking for at the last FPMX
round at the Glen. For round #4 on Tuesday I decided to
ride Doug Goff’s 450F (bike #429) in the 40+ expert
class to see if I could run with Chip Howell and his big
“All American KTM”. I think that KTM he rides is like a
750cc or something like that. All I know is that Chip
is the only rider big enough and strong enough to hang
onto that beast. It’s been a while since I threw a leg
over a 450F in a race. I have plenty of hours of desert
and moto practice on Doug’s bike but I don’t have to
tell you all the differences between practice and race
conditions. Anyway, I had a blast on it (Race Tech
suspension) and did pretty well. I even had a handful
of you out there come over and tell me that you thought
I should move back to the 450F from my mighty little
250F. I appreciate the input and I am definitely
thinking hard about which bike and what size to get for
2008. However, unlike Uncle E, I am pretty sure it
won’t be an orange or green one.
It’s been a while
since I have had the time to write in my Diary. I hate
those times when things around the house and job get so
damned busy that I cant even slow down for 20 minutes to
say “hello” to all of you. I am heading out tonight to
LACR for the next round of the Big-6 GP series. I was
talking with some of the agents here yesterday at lunch
about the race this weekend when it dawned on me that
the last time I raced at LACR I broke my leg. It was
also a Big-6 GP round and I think it was like 2002. I
didn’t do the morning practice race that they run
(unclassified race) so I really had no clue on what to
expect on the course they had laid out. The soil at
LACR is always good when it is prepped. It is very
similar to Competitive Edge. The LACR motocross track
is always full of jumps. That GP race was no exception
because they use part of the MX track to complete the
course. A long story short, I was running top-5 on the
first lap and I thought an approaching jump face was a
table-top only to realize (as I was in the air) that it
was actually a double jump. I came up way short and
when I hit the face of the second jump my right lower
tibia gave in to the impact and a nice egg shaped piece
broke completely off. It didn’t cause me to crash but
it was a very hard landing. It took two hours of
surgery to screw the broken piece back together. If
there is any consolation to this story I did find out
from the doctor that the bone had actually been
fractured at the Anaheim Amateur Supercross the weekend
before. Otherwise I don’t think the tibia would have
broken in such a weird way. That’s my story and I am
sticking to it.
STAY SAFE, more
later.
MONDAY, 4/9/07, 6AM
Last week was a tough
one here at the Department of Homeland Security. Well,
maybe I should just say that is was a tough week for MD03.
I didn’t even have time to report on the Big-6 GP that was
out at Twentynine Palms (or is that 29-Palms). I am not
sure what’s wrong with me so far this year but I just can’t
seem to get on track. And by on track I seriously mean
on-track, as in my racing. At 29-Palms (or is that
Twenty-Nine Palms) I had a great start (5th out
of 19) and my first lap was good but then the wheels sort of
fell of the wagon. I had one small crash but I kept the
bike running and was moving forward again in a matter of
seconds. So I can’t use crashing as an excuse. However, I
will be happy when all the 2-strokes are gone. It’s tough
on a fast race course to compete with 250cc 2-strokes. And
most of the guys in my class ride 2-strokes. I ended up
with an 11th overall in my class (0-250cc 40+
expert) and that gives me one DNS and two 11th
place finishes thus far for this seven round series. So
needless to say I am not happy with my GP season to this
point. Oh and the race course was great. About eight miles
long, a little on the fast side and they did have a long
pavement section that was at least a half mile in length.
Next round is at LACR on May 5th so maybe there I
will be able to get my GP season on track.
Moto practice this
last weekend out at Cahuilla was good. We (Donnie & Matt
Fitch and I) went out there on Saturday morning and the
course was groomed like a Mammoth Mountain morning practice
session. Absolutely beautiful.
Writers Note: HEY ED, WE (FPMX)
NEED TO HAVE A RACE OUT THERE! Since it was an off
weekend for the Supercross boys there were a lot of fast
pros showing the rest of us the short way around that very
loamy course. It’s amazing to watch a fast pro click off
laps on a loamy course. They never lift off the throttle.
Even when they are braking they are still running full
throttle only with the clutch in. It’s a thing of beauty.
Besides guys like McGrath, Dubach, Brown and Laninovich, the
Pro Racing FPMX Team was represented by Jonon and Charette.
Those guys were holding their own against the bigger 450’s.
Anyone who has been to Cahuilla knows that a 250cc 4-stroke
is at a serious disadvantage when going against a 450. The
loam and the hills really rob the horsepower from the bike.
Practice went good, other than little Fitch “Matt” taking
three soil samples and loosing a fingernail in the process
“OUCH”. The track got really rough as the day progressed
(as all loamy tracks do) so I think it was good practice for
the Glen. The only Motocross that I have done so far this
season was out at ACP for the FPMX rounds 1 & 2. I sure
hope my MX season doesn’t go the way of my GP season.
Otherwise it is going to be a long and frustrating year.
See ya at the Glen (AKA: The Hack).
Hey Uncle Ed, did you
check the garage door before you drove away this morning?
STAY SAFE, more later.
FRIDAY, 3/30/07, 6AM
The “DogHouse” is all
loaded up and ready to roll as soon as I get home from work
today. Dee and I are heading up to Twentynine Palms (or is that
29 Palms, or Twenty-Nine Palms) tonight for round #3 of the AMA
District 37 Big-6 Grand Prix series. It’s been a few years
since I last raced up in the Palms. I have always liked that
course because it usually has a good MotoX section and the
desert has good combinations of terrain (fast and slow sand as
well as a few rocky sections). They also had a pretty good
pavement section the last time I rode this event. I like a
little pavement mixed into the race course so I hope that it is
still part of the layout. For this event, I talked another FPMX
rider, Donnie Fitch, into giving the Big-6 Grand Prix series a
tryout. I was successful in getting him and his family out to a
few specialty GP’s last year (Troy Lee’s “A Day in the Dirt” &
Race Around the Lake) and they really enjoyed them so I am
thinking that once he does the D-37 Big-6 races he will really
be hooked. These are good family events and they are usually
very well organized. So I will give you a full race report next
week.
I wanted to make a comment
on an event that I attended last night here in Temecula. The
local Temecula/Murrieta Valley American Legion Post was giving
awards of recognition out to some of the valley Law Enforcement
and Fire Services personnel. Attending were officers and
firefighters from the many local agencies to include; CHP,
Temecula PD, Murrieta PD, Riverside Sheriff’s Dept, Temecula
Fire Dept, and the U.S. Border Patrol. As it turns out, the
Border Patrol nominee was a classmate of mine from the Border
Patrol Academy many years ago. So, I really had to attend to
show my support. It was a great event and for those of you that
don’t know much about the American Legion history you should go
to their web site and read up about it. They are a great
organization made up of true to life American heroes. I was
talking to several of them last night about the time they served
in the armed forces. Two gentlemen in particular were recalling
the battles they fought during WWII. These guys went to war in
1941 and didn’t come home until 1945. One of them was married
and the other was in college when they left to go to war. They
didn’t complain, they didn’t ask why, and they definitely didn’t
expect to go home until the war was over. Whether it took 5
years or 10 years these guys just knew that they were needed by
this country for the duration of the war. They confided that at
one point of the war when they were sent to Germany after Japan
had surrendered both had thought that they would only return
home in a pine box with a flag over it. They thought for sure
it was going to be their time. And for many of their comrades
it was. This was a great generation of warriors and we are
truly blessed that they were there for us. Next time you see
one of them you will know because they (American Legion members)
always wear a ball cap or patrol cap (AKA: piss-cutter caps)
with various insignias depicting the era they served in. The
WWII guys obviously stand out because of their age. Make it a
point, especially if you are on duty and in uniform, to approach
them, shake their hand and say thank you. You won’t have to
explain a thing as they will know exactly what you are talking
about.
STAY SAFE, more later.
Well, so far no moto practice but I have been getting in some good
desert riding sessions. Calico was a blast but it takes a different
kind of rider to really appreciate that place. I enjoy technical
riding and I would say that Calico ranks right up there in that
category. The place is littered with cat-5 4x4 off-road sections as
well as an ample supply of trails that run along steep ridge tops
(with lots of rocks). There are several long sand-wash trails that
flow up and down through the lower valley areas. And if that isn’t
enough then you can find some natural formation jumping spots to
hone your aerial skills. During the first ride of the day on
Saturday Dee ended up on her head while trying to “side trail” one
of the dusty main trails leading out across the desert to Mule
Canyon. I think she gets that from me. I hate eating someone
else’s dust so whenever I get a chance I will ride “side trail” in
order to avoid this and also to help keep my dust away from those
that are riding behind me. The other good part about “side
trailing” is that it can be very technical and when at speed it
requires some lightning fast reflexes to keep you on two-wheels.
This is great practice for the WORCS or D-37 GP events. Anyway, Dee
sees me ride this style of “side trail” all the time. So I think
she thought that she was the next Ty Davis and started doing the
same thing only to find a washout with a small 2’ step-off leading
into an equally sized step-on. Only problem was that they were
about 3’ apart. The end result was her lying in the sand for about
ten minutes trying to catch her breath. I gotta admit though, she
is getting pretty good on that little XR-100 of hers. Oh, but I did
end up getting a flat tire while running side trail. That’s
probably not the same as an endo thoughJ………
This last weekend Dee and I took a little trip up to Washington
State for a buddies wedding. It was in a little town called
Wenatchee. We (FPMX) have all been reading about Uncle Ed’s
adventures in the sky and I thought I would share my own torture
that I went though last Friday morning. We were flying out of
Ontario Airport at 0600am and heading to Seattle first. I didn’t
get off work until late Thursday night and by the time I was through
completing all my business and getting packed and ready for the trip
it was pushing midnight. I knew we had to leave the house at around
0400am so that meant a wake-up at 0300am. You all following me on
this one. Anyway, I wasn’t too worried about being tired because I
sleep great on plane trips. In my 21 year Border Patrol career I
have flown all over this county and destination beyond more times
than I can count. And, call me paranoid, but business or pleasure I
ALWAYS fly armed (that would be with a large caliber handgun for you
foundation savers). So there we are sitting in the terminal all
checked in and ready to go. We were flying Alaska Air and I knew
they had a good track record as far as being on time, not loosing
your luggage, and just being a nice clean airline to travel on. I
really had no worries at this point. They followed every procedure
to the letter and had us pre-board and meet the captain before
taking our seats. That’s when the lead stewardess told my buddy and
me that there would be no sleeping on the flight. I thought she was
joking and started to joke back with her when she started reciting
the fine print on the back of the armed law enforcement officer’s
paperwork that we had filled out at the check-in counterL
I was now in hell. At first I tried drinking a lot of coffee and
reading my newest editions of MXA and Cycle News. I thought for
sure that that would keep me awake for a measly three hours. I was
fighting it worse than Mouse McCoy at last years Baja 1000. My eyes
were very heavy. Every time I started to dose off she would come by
and bump my seat or just start talking, LOUDLY. Dee thought this
was the funniest thing she had ever seen. And to make matters worse
it was only Dee and I in our row of seats. So had it not bee for
the stewardess sleep Nazi I would have been able to stretch out and
use Dee as my pillow. Those three hours seemed like an eternity.
In all my years I have never had any other airline tell me that I
was not allowed to sleep. Alaska Airlines, cross them off my list.
STAY SAFE, more later.
