12-28-02    The vacation is over, it's time to start thinking about 2003. Today I put the Online Registration up on the website. This will mark the first year the FPMX ever raced in March. Not that that is a big deal but it does make me get things ready a few weeks earlier than I was planning. Not that that is a big deal either but it's time to start or I'll never get it all done. It's going to be a busy month with the Supercross season getting underway and setting up the 2003 FPMX season. What could be better than racing Perris and Glen Helen? I was really happy with both tracks this year. I think it will make for a better series since the two tracks are so different. This year will test all of your skills, jumping, cornering and just plain old speed. You'll race on the greatest dirt in the world and then some of the most challenging rutted out corners known to mankind. Awww Motocross isn't life great? There will be no major changes this year for the Nationals, seems everything is flowing pretty smooth these days. However we will have some minor changes for the Night Series, for one we will be calling it the FPMX Summer Series. Why? Well it wouldn't be much of a night series if it wasn't at night would it? We will be using the same 3 moto format but will start racing earlier in the afternoon so we can end up before the sun goes down. Last years fiasco at Comp when the lights blew just about did me in. It will also get us all to our homes earlier so we can get to work in the morning. I know some of you drive several hours to compete and could use the extra time. I'll work it out so any races held in hotter areas will be early in the series. I am giving 25 T-Shirts out to the first 25 FPMXers who pre-enter online to help pay for some of the Supercross needs and to help me get the 2003 series off to a good start. Please register early if you can. It helps tremendously. Also new products will be going into the FPMX Store, please check often. Right now I have a sale on the FirePoliceMX sheds. The sale won't last long, if you want some sheds buy them now.................e

12-26-02    I remember the Christmas of 1995, all I asked Sue for was a new 1996 CR250. I knew that when I came down the stairs in the morning it would be there right next to the tree. I never woke up that night when Sue got up to put the bike under the tree but when I did wake up I was sure that she took care of me. I'd been sober (off of a bike) for three years. I promised her that I would stay off a bike for one full year to heal up and try to get over my addiction. Three years was an accomplishment, I knew she would understand and somehow, someway afford the bike and sneak it in the house on that Christmas eve................I hope you all had a great Christmas. I love the holiday season, I love this time of year. This is the only time of year that I check the weather channel. I hope for rain then can't wait until it stops so I can go riding. I only dread the day I have to risk my life again taking the Christmas lights down . ........Oh, by the way Sue got me that bike, only problem was that it was a toy CR250, it was under the tree all a long................e 

12-21-02    Christmas shopping, it never fails, I wait until the last day that I can possibly shop and then I shop. Can you say "Stupid"? What a fiasco. Next year I'm shopping early.....yeah right. Here's the deal, when everyone else is shopping, I'm riding. Pretty cool plan huh? Yeah it's cool but then I pay for it. Here's what sucks, all those people who were shopping when I was riding were still shopping today. They never quit! We need to have an FPMX only day at the mall. Last night I was playing basketball with a bunch of firemen, I think I over did it. This morning I could barely walk. Playing basketball all the time keeps you in basketball shape just like riding all the time keeps you in riding shape. I'm not saying that I'm in shape, not even close but when I come home from riding I usually feel pretty good, my muscles know what they are up against and they handle it. But my muscles had no idea what was going on last night, they forgot. Plus I rolled an ankle. Put a basketball player on a motocross track and he'll find sore muscles he never even knew he had. Well that's what happened to me. I'm serious, I can barley walk after 2 hours of BBall last night. AND the freakin' Christmas shoppers park as close as they can to the mall, leaving me several hundred yards to limp in the rain. Both of my Achilles tendons are killing me plus the ankle and I think I pulled an abdominal muscle last night. While in Circuit City today, soaking wet after the journey across the parking lot in the rain, I had a female employee ask me "Are you OK Sir"? I said "No, I'm in pain, I hurt myself playing basketball last night" "You're not 20 years old anymore SIR"......thanks, that helped. I'm use to the guys at work attacking me but I don't need some Circuit City chick doing it. After hobbling to the doors of TARGET through the rain the dude out front ringing the bell, collecting money says "You don't look too good Sir"..........ENOUGH & what's with the SIR stuff all of the sudden? I'm already in pain, I don't need to start feeling old too. I remember when I took a few years off of racing and was playing basketball in city leagues, my body was feeling pretty good, no everyday aches and pains but since I quit BBall and started racing again I can feel it. I actually liked the feeling of a little pain, it let me know that I was still alive and doing what I loved again. I'm going to take a few days off then start playing BBall again. I need to get in some type of shape. BBall mixed with a huge dose of moto will get me there............Sir e

12-19-02    Today was a good day in the FPMX world. We donated the toys from the Christmas GP to the Highland community at the Highland Fire Station. A bunch of FPMXers showed up in uniform and others in pit shirts. It was pretty cool, the community leaders were very happy with the donation and were really happy that we brought a bunch of "Boys Toys". They said that they were loaded up on girls toys but the boys toys were greatly needed. Good job, FPMXers!!!!!! After the toy donation Danny Lowers, Ed Niemela and myself went to Glen Helen for a few laps. I feel like I was used today. Both of these two stroke guys were there for one reason, they wanted a test ride on Big Red. It was kind of funny, both left the pit area wondering how the 4 stroke would perform. Both came back with huge smiles on their faces. Oops, I think Kawi just lost a lifer. Could you imagine Ed Niemela on anything but a Green Bike? And what about Danny, a two stroke lifer jumping ship? On the way home from GH  I decided to stop at TEMECULA MOTORSPORTS and talk with Mike Findlay about supporting Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing with a couple of HONDA CR125's. It was that easy, we will have our boys, Chris Tocco and Ross Garcia mounted on TMS HONDA's. Please support TMS with all you bike and parts purchases in the future. Please visit the STORE soon to check out the Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing gear. All purchases form the store will go to support the team effort. Thanks for all of your support............eDub

12-18-02    It's like pulling teeth these days, I can't get "Mother" motivated to write in "the Corner", I can't get Davenport dialed to write in "the Diary" and I think Dr.Fast Eddie Niemela took some of his own advise and croaked. No big deal, I feel the same way. When we're not racing or getting ready to race, there's just nothing to write about. I already know that I have a one track mind, most of us do. All we think about is motoFREAKINcross. And don't call Dr. F.E.N. for a cure, he's a MOTOidiot too. No, we're all messed up, that's why we all hang out together. That's why you are reading this now, YOU'RE ADDICTED! FACE IT! I quit MX cold turkey twice but fell off the wagon each time and the last time I fell, I fell hard! Yeah I went to those meetings, all you hear is a bunch of X Racers saying things like "My name is CR Bert, I've been off my bike for 7 months and 4 days now"  or "Hello my name is KX Kevin, I have a problem". Anyway, no more Motocross Anonymous for me, I'm Racin'! I figure that if I haven't quit yet, and I'm 43 years old, I'm not quiting. Take a look at Senior Smiley (Ron Ryer), he never misses a race and he's been in the 50+ class for several years. That's awesome, I want to be doing what Ron is doing in 15 years. I remember when I turned 30, I thought that I would be racing slower guys and that I would start to kick some FPMX butt.....NOT. I remember when I turned 40, I thought I would be racing slower guys and that I would kick some FPMX butt.......NOT again. But in 7 years I will turn 50. Watch out FPMXers here I come! You know what, by the time I turn fifty I'll be racing guys like Mark Davenport, Danny Lowers, Eric McKenna, Doug Wilson, Dennis Moon, YZ Ernie, Rob Townley and a bunch of other old men. If I can't beat a fifty year old I must be slow. Wait a minute...........in ten more years I'll be sixty then I'll be racing slower guys and I'll kick some Major FPMX butt for sure...............e   

12-17-02    What an idiot I am, but I can't help myself, I love this stuff! We are going to have a Supercross team again for 2003, after the "BIG TEAM" idea failed life was kind of easy but not satisfying. Anyway the team is coming together but it is going to be an uphill battle. We are way behind the 8 Ball as far as time goes. We have Chris Tocco riding for us in the West Coast 125 Series and I am talking with another rider to round out the team. MAXXIS came onboard today with tires for the entire series. We will be running  the team from Mike Farmer's MAXXIS rig. Race Tech will handle the suspension for us. We will be HONDA mounted again. We are not teamed up with a bike shop yet but we are still looking. It's been a long day on the phone but I feel right at home doing it. On Thursday December 19th we will be donating the toys from the Christmas GP/Toy Drive to the Highland Fire Station in Highland, Ca. at 11am. The address is 26974 Baseline St. in Highland. All FPMNers are welcome to attend, please be in Department Uniform. I want to thank Gary Aguilar for helping me set up the toy donation. If the weather holds I will be at the Glen Thursday afternoon to do a few laps on the HONDA CRF 450. Bring your bikes and let's do some riding............e

12-12-02    The FPMN Christmas GP/Toy Drive is in the history books now and for me, I think this was the most fun I ever had on a motorcycle. The whole day was awesome. But today topped it off. I got home from work and had to unload the trailer to put it away. I took 6 large plastic bags with me to fill up with donated toys. I ended up 12 bags full of some awesome toys. Funny thing, there was more motorcycle toys than you would find on the shelves at KB Toys. There was also a ton of Fire Department and Police toys. Not to mention all the other great toys. I wasn't expecting all this, you guys and gals ROCK!  OK back to the event........It will become an FPMN tradition. Every December! Count on it. It was great to see Family and friends racing along side the FPMN regulars, it was great to see the Pee Wees dicing it out on the Pee Wee Track. Every kid got a medal! The skills event was a kick in the pants too (I got that saying from George Tucker) and the Team GP was the best ever, 1 hour long. Each lap was a sprint race, wide open until you passed the arm band and got a chance to rest, just when you were starting to recover he comes your partner.........Excellent! The Glen Helen track was prepped perfectly by Ron the GH Track guy. It's been a while since we raced GH and it sure felt good to do it again. We are so blessed to have Glen Helen and Perris Raceway here in Southern California. We have something special, don't we? We're living the dream.............eDub

12-7-02    Life is good! I came home from work this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that "Mother" and Davenport both sent in articles. I read both of them as I always do before I post them, Just in case I need to edit something, I never have had to edit anything these two guys have written. Some times there are misspellings but I leave them alone. I know words are misspelled because a red line comes up under those words before I post them. I never knew about the deer that took out Watmore. The only thing I ever saw in those bushes in the back off camber area of the GP was Steve Marquez after overshooting the corner. And the numbering thing, It's a huge pain but I like it. I'm grateful for Rick Harris who has taken that responsibility from me. I for one will run my earned number in 2003. I'm number 18! I also reserve number 943 for the rest of my life. This week I'll probably run 943 because it's already on the bike and I don't have a lot of time to mess with numbers and stuff like that right now. But I also reserve  "..................e" for the rest of my life, just like Jeff Welsh reserves the name "Mother" for the rest of his life. Why "Mother"? Well that's not my story, ask Jeff. But the ".....................e" comes from a friend of mine. Several years ago I was talking to the Motor city madman, Ted Nugent online and he would always end his emails with .................T, so I started the "...................e". In other FPMN news, I am working with Mike Farmer and the MAXXIS people back in Georgia to put together a Supercross team. This team will have one or two riders, we will compete in the West Coast Series. We will run out of the MAXXIS rig. I'll let you all know more as we get things squared away. This thing just came up a few days ago, it's going to take a lot to put it together. You are all using MAXXIS Tires aren't you? Don't get cross with me when you see my non MAXXIS rubber but they came on the bike and when they need replacing it will be MAXXIS. I hope to see you all out at the FPMN Christmas GP/Toy Drive on Tuesday at the Glen........................e

12-4-02   Well the order came down, "PUT THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS UP TOMORROW!!!!!!!! "Sorry honey, I got sidetracked". I meant well but with the shorter days it's hard to fit it all in. "I'll do it when I get back from Glen Helen tomorrow dear". "You went riding today, you don't need to go to Glen Helen tomorrow" "But I need to see how my suspension works at Glen Helen"................I got the look, you know the look when she knows that you are trying to pull a fast one. I tried to explain how Glen Helen is way different than Elsinore and Elsinore is way different that Perris as it fell on deft ears. But you FPMNers understand don't you? I mean Glen Helen is Glen Helen, it's got sand, ruts, grooves, pot holes and speed, lots of speed. Glen Helen is not a second gear race track. Glen Helen gets ruff and you better be in Glen Helen shape, which I'm not. But tomorrow is my only chance to get on the track before Tuesday's GP. I have a new ride with stock suspension and a race at the Glen in 5 days. What the heck am I thinking? Maybe no one will show up and I can win. It's a 220 mile round trip to GH, I'm dreading the drive. I know you Vegas boys drive that far or more one way. So. Today at Elsinore I felt pretty good on the bike, I was jumping things that I wasn't jumping a few weeks ago but my suspension felt bad. I finally figured out that I was starting to use the suspension and riding the bike a bit faster. I found myself over jumping some of the table tops and landing on the flat ground. My suspension needs help. I thought I had the suspension dialed in but I guess not. I think I'll get a pipe also, the CRF has a hesitation off the bottom and I hear that that can be remedied with a aftermarket pipe. I'll go with Pro Circuit or FMF. I'll try to have the bike all dialed in by late February or early March so I can be ready for the 2003 FPMN Season. Don't forget to bring a toy to the Christmas GP, we will be donating the toys to the local community. It's weird having an off season now, I miss hanging out at the tracks with all the FPMNers and banging bars at the races. I think this Christmas GP will be a fix until we start to hit the tracks in the early part of 2003 for the Perris Nationals. I told Sue that Christmas was my favorite holiday. "Yeah, Christmas day but you hate all the decorating and shopping and all that goes with the Christmas season" she says. So. I use to think that those people who left their Christmas lights up all year were losers. I now understand, they are brilliant! Well I might sleep in in the morning, shine GH and risk my life hanging lights on some make shift scaffolding..............eD

12-3-02    Every once in a while I get in a position where I can't get to a computer to keep up on the message board or write in the journal. This was one of those weeks. I've had to park the CRF for a while to work in the "Off My Back" suite of the FPMN Offices (my garage). I had to print t-shirts all week for the Fire Department, I needed to be done prior to leaving for the USC / ND Football game at the coliseum in Los Angeles. I finished late Friday night. Off to the game on Saturday AM, I knew USC would win and win big. It was an easy call, all I had to do was wait for Rob Harper to pick a team and then bet heavy on the other team. It's a system that has been working for me for two years now. I actually felt sorry for ND by the end of the third quarter, it was a thrashing. After the game it was off to my secret hiding place. Since I had to work in the morning I just stayed at the station. Home was 120 miles away from South Central. We have 8 guys and 8 beds. No I wasn't going to double up with anyone. I went to the attic! The attic is a nice place, no firemen snoring, no firemen ventilating themselves, just a nice quiet place, almost as nice as the HCJ w/ PBWS on Wed @ LEMP. After working really, really hard at the fire station on Sunday I was off to the LA County Training Facility in East LA on Monday morning. We had a Vendor Day, that's where us Vendors, I'm a Vendor, sell the Fire Dept. t-shirts, hats, sweats and all kinds of Fire Dept. things. After the long day of selling and home a mere 100 miles away, it was off to dinner at the food court at the local mall then back up to the secret hiding place for the night. Tuesday was just like Monday except after the long day of peddling F.D. stuff I got to sit in traffic and head to the FPMN Offices in beautiful Carlsbad, Ca. Well Sue was waiting patiently for me to get home. The fact that I'm exhausted after four long days or Irish whoopin', Rosemeadian rescuin', t-shirt sellin', t-shirt sellin' and freeway drivin' didn't stop Sue, the wife, from Christmas decorating. Up to the attic again I go, this time not the cool, almost as good as the HCJ w/ PBWS on Wed @ LEMP attic but the attic at the FPMN Offices. This attic is no fun, this attic is basically the third part of my 3 car garage that I don't have anymore. When I left the Moreno Valley Estate with the 3 car garage I brought all the crap that goes in the 3rd port but had nowhere else o put it since the C-Bad Estate only came equipped with a two car garage. Anyway the light at the end of the tunnel is that I have to drop off  T-shirts tomorrow in Temecula (try saying that three times fast), which is near Elsinore. It's Wednesday tomorrow. The HCJ will be fresh, I just might do a few laps before I have to go home and risk my life putting up Christmas lights. Good thing OSHA doesn't oversee the Christmas light hanging operations that we all perform at our homes every holiday season. I'm lucky to be alive after last Christmas but that doesn't matter cuz we need to Clark Griswold our house again...............cousin eddie

11-26-02    I just read "Davenport's Diary", yes congratulations to Steve Coster......AGAIN! I wish I knew of a way to get Steve to run the #1 plate but I think it has something to do with, well like the Sports Illustrated Cover curse or something. The last guy to run the #1 plate was Steve Williams and before that was Iron Ed Niemela. We've only been awarding the #1 plate for 5 years now but I think it's time someone steps up and takes it away from Steve, nothing personal, Steve is a great guy. We went to the same High School together ten years apart. I can't think of one bad thing to say about Steve. I guess if I had to come up with something I would say that he rides a YAMAHA but that only adds to his greatness, he can still win on a sub par bike. (Don't get mad blue boys, I'm just stirring the pot) Also Steve is a plain Jane, he wears a white helmet with no stickers and a black long sleeve t-shirt for a jersey. That's all I can find to say bad about Steve Coater! No, I have to say Steve is a great guy. Steve is not a flashy rider, unlike um, let's say Rob Harper, no Steve just goes fast and looks slow doing it kind of like Eric McKenna. Eric is one of those guys who hauls butt but doesn't look that fast doing it as he pulls away from all the youngsters in the expert class. I also can't think of a bad thing to say about Eric except he needs a new hat. The red Elmer Fudd cap needs to be retired until it comes back in style in a few years. If you can't think of something bad to say about someone, don't say anything at all or was it If you can't think of something good to say?, I don't know, anyway have a good Thanksgiving. See ya soon........e 

11-22-02    I made it back to Elsinore today, I wasn't planning on it but I talked to Lyle Raymond on the internet last night and it didn't take too much for me to change plans and get back on track (pun intended). This was my 4th ride on the CRF and every time I ride it I like it more and more. I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable on the red machine and I'm starting to think that I made the right decision. Anyway red is my favorite color and real Fire Engines are red. Today also doubled as a hunting trip, I was able to capture a mullet at the Rick Johnson school. I asked Rick if I could take some photos of his class during some chalkboard time. After a few shots of RJ teaching my lens wandered over to the student mullet. I'll post it in a few days when I have the time. We are getting close to that special time of year, the holiday season and along with it this year comes the FPMN Christmas GP/Toy Drive. I'm looking forward to FPMN's return to Glen Helen. On another front we have the FPMN Year end Banquet. This will also be a first. I tried to schedule it at Dave & Busters on Monday, December 9th but D&S's is booked, in fact they are booked everyday in December with Christmas parties so we are going to a new plan. I'll keep you posted............e Dub

11-20-02    Wednesday is a special day at Lake Elsinore Motocross Park (LEMP), the main track is reopened after a day of grooming, the vet track has only one day on it and all the 80cc experts are in school. All that is good but what really makes Wednesday special is that some time between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning the outhouse fairies clean the port-a-johns, they also put full rolls of paper in them. The TP still has the protective outer wrapping on it. But there is one special outhouse, the handicap john (HCJ). The HCJ is roomy and on Wednesdays has a Pleasant Blue Water Smell (PBWS). I know what you are thinking, "Don't be a jerk Ed", the HCJ is for handicapped people not you. Hey it's not like I'm parked in a handicap space at the AM PM, I'm at a motocross track, aren't we all a bit handicapped? I mean my lower back is killing me, my knees are sore, my right wrist is tweaked, I'm still nursing a groin pull from the Starwest Night Series and my left Achilles is strained. Yeah, I don't feel bad about logging time in the HCJ with the PBWS. OK enough of that, I need to thank Chad Jones for pointing out to me that the new Dirt Rider Mag has setups for the new 450's and 250's. Well last night at work I did all the setup tips that were recommended for my weight. I dialed all the clickers, set the sag and added 3cc's of oil to each fork leg. WOW, huge difference, I had a lot of fun today. The suspension is pretty good, in fact it's way good. Almost $700's good and it only cost me the price of one bottle of MAXIMA suspension fluid. I have no idea how this setup will work at Glen Helen (GH) but at LEMP it was great. GH is a different place, GH test's your suspension. Let's face it, GH is GH and in no way is it LEMP, GH has no HCJ's w/PBWS but it does have square edged bumps and plenty of ruts. Do you think it would be wrong to take my 13" TV/VCR into the HCJ w/PBWS, powered by my Honda V2000 generator? Would that be wrong? It would be like a home away from home, an office at the track. Like George Costanza's desk. I love my Wednesdays....................Uncle e 

11-15-02    I went to Elsinore today with my new friend (CRF 450), I'm in the learning process big time. I think I like the bike but I'm not in love. I got an idea, it's kind of like "The bachelor", what we do is get all the new bikes and let you ride them. After the first day you get rid of half of them. On day two you ditch a few more. Then we get down to the nitty gritty, Let's say we have a CRF 450, a YZF 450, a KX 250 and a YZ 250 left. All the Suzuki's and KTM's were dumped a while ago. Anyway you work your way down to the bike you like the best, give it a rose and live happily ever after, at least for one year until you get to try out the 2004's.........humm....Alright lunger, let's do it!!!!!!!!! Well I think I like the bike, in time I could really like it but it needs some tweaking like suspension, bars, pegs, pipe and ASV levers. I miss the smell of my two stroke, I was thinking about pouring a tiny bit of MAXIMA inside the face guard of my helmet. Hey another idea! what do you think about EsteeLauder coming out with a two stroke perfume for women. Moto men would go crazy for it, Rosie O'Donnell would even be attractive with a splash of 2 stroke perfume. Hey if you are into the four stroke smell just splash your woman with some 91 octane, not too much though. "WARNING" Don't do this if you or she smokes. That warning was for the Cops out there, us firemen know better. Well I better go before I say something really stupid...........................e

11-13-02    Well I took the CRF Four Fiddy out today for the first ride. I was invited to Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR) with the LAPD boys and girl. First off, the track was in great shape, it was everything I had heard that it was. This was my first time to ride LACR. There were lot's of table tops and a few doubles. One double looked like a third gear gap but I really couldn't tell you for sure. Ok now for the bike. The HONDA turns! At times I felt like I was riding on a rail, the rear end followed the front of the bike unlike my YZ 250 two stroke where the rear is always breaking loose. Maybe that's a Four stroke thing, I don't know but I liked it. The front end is awesome, you just point and go, the bike loves the inside line, I mean way inside. The motor is fast and the bike feels way light and thin compared to my 2000 YZ 426. I really need to get the suspension done before I can start to ride at speed. When I raced Rob Harpers CRF the suspension felt way better, I don't know what Rob did to it or if he did anything but I really need to get mine done. Suspension in my opinion is the most important thing you can do to a bike to make it right. Tires are important, heck there's a ton of things that matter but suspension makes ALL the difference. Too bad I don't have a clue how to dial in suspension. I do know what good suspension feels like and once you feel it you'll never be satisfied with anything less. My YZ was good but I never hit utopia. Utopia will cut your lap times!..............eDub

11-6-02    Anticipation! I'm sitting here like a new father in the maternity ward waiting room. My new baby is coming home tomorrow and I'm so proud. How long is it? How much does it weigh? Is it a four stroke or a two stroke? As a new father I have to tell you that these things really don't matter. I just hope it has all it's parts and that it runs like a champ. I hope the weather holds up so I can go riding with Ricky "Bad Boy" Johnson on Friday. I'm not one to have a lot of idols, I don't put too many people on pedestals but I do admire Rick Johnson and have never had reason to feel any different. I have never met Rick but he was to motocross in the mid to late eighties as Jeremy was in the nineties. It's hard to compare anyone to Jeremy but as far as showmanship and personality Rick was the guy. Anyway I'm a sponge ready to absorb information on how to go faster than I do now. Every class that I have ever attended has been beneficial for me. I've been to the Donnie Hansen class, the Tony D class and the Jim Gibson class. I have also spent a few hours getting some private training from Jim Gibson. Jim's tutoring in the corners was eye opening for me. I had no idea that I was that screwed up! He really helped me out a lot. Each guy taught the class differently than the other and yet all were similar in some ways. I'm sure RJ has some stuff in store that will cut a tiny bit of time off each lap and isn't that what it's all about, just a half a second here and a half a second there and your BUMPED up a class. Maybe I should stay home. NOT!...............e

11-3-02    As I'm returning home Friday morning after a long Halloween night in beautiful Rosemead, Ca. I notice something wrong with my little red racer, something is wrong with the rear end of the HONDA Civic SI. The closer I get, the worse it looks. Seems some punks on Halloween night decided that they needed the rear wheels more than I did. They jacked it up under the running boards, popped them loose, then removed the rear wheels and dropped the Civic directly on the concrete driveway. If that's not enough, try dealing with insurance companies on Friday. You guessed it, RENTAL car, I have a Chevy in my driveway! I've never owned a Chevy in my life, nothing personal but I'm a Ford man. I guess I could try Chevy, I mean I'm going to the dark side this week. I'm getting a Four Stroke. But I've been to the dark side before. I just hope this time is different. "Luke, I am your father". It's official, I sold the YZ250, I have the money already, and the bike! I'll deliver it next week to it's new owner. I'm sure he has a big field by his house where the YZ can go run with other YZ's. I know it's not a dog but I feel like a creep getting rid of it. She has served me well over the last two years. Hey as I'm writing this I'm wondering, do people name their bikes? I never have but it seems like a good idea. I think in order to keep your manhood intact you need to name it a girls name. I mean it would sound weird to go ride Fred. But maybe you could name it a generic name like "Silver", you know like the Lone Ranger's horse. Who knows? At least I won't be bikeless like Hannig was, you never know what a guy could do in that case, maybe even go out and buy a KX250 or something. No, come on let's don't kid ourselves, nobody would do that........or would they? Well like a lot of you, I'm waiting on my new number for 2003 so I can slap it on the CRF450, I hope to break the top twenty again..................Flip (aka)..............e

10-30-02    Read the Zach Bradshaw interview, Lowers is finally asking some good questions and Zach gave some pretty cool answers. I remember hearing that southern yell during practice, I saw it was Bradshaw. I was glad that he made it out west for the event. I decided to see if I could hang with him so I twisted the throttle a little bit more and got up to race speed. It wasn't more that a couple of turns until I was by him. Only because he decided to take another soil sample from our California dirt, looked like he grabbed too much front break entering a left hand corner. I saw him get up and get going again. It wasn't too long before he was passing me for the second time. Now that I passed Zach, I'm going after Damon. I better hurry up before he's healthy again. You know I really dig motocross, just being involved in this sport over the years, you really see that we live in a small world. The Difference between Jeremy McGrath, Damon Bradshaw, Jason Wood, Rick Johnson and the rest of us is that they are fast on a motorcycle. But like Zach said, they are just normal people, they put their pants on one leg at a time. Before Jeremy was, well "Jeremy",  Sue, myself and my son, Danny use to hang out in his pits, even when he was on team HONDA. I remember talking to him right before the start of the night program at the Pasadena Supercross in 1992. If Jeremy won that night he would win his first 250 Supercross Championship. I remember looking over at Jeff Stanton, he was sitting in a chair with hands on his head, rocking back and forth. Jeff looked nervous. On the other hand, Jeremy and I were talking about Lake Havasu and our favorite cookies. He was just a kid having fun, totally calm. He won that night. I've never really met Rick Johnson but I see him at Elsinore every once in a while, The first time I saw him he had a "Rick Johnson Bell moto 5 helmet" on, riding a CRF450 with a # 5 on it. I thought "who does that guy think he is, Rick Johnson"? Oh, wow, it was Rick. He was teaching a guy how to corner a motorcycle. Rick was a hero of mine back in the day, I guess he still is. I know I'm rambling on but sometimes I reminisce. Oh well I have nothing else to do until I pick up my CRF450. By the way my favorite cookies are "Rose Hannig's snickerdoodles".............................e 

10-28-02    The diet is back on, kinda. The new HONDA, which I will pick up next week has me MOTOvated to train and get back into some type of shape. I was all irritable today being back on a healthy diet. No ice cream for breakfast & no licorice for lunch. My saving grace was that it is our anniversary, 21 years, well we went to Ruth's Chris for dinner, mmmmmmmmmmmm, steak. Let me tell you, those are some good steaks and HOT too! A very expensive place, Ruth's Chris. Luck for me the in laws gave us a gift certificate to Ruth's place. Did I say 21 years? Oh man I must be getting old, what happened? What is old anyway? Is it a state of mind or is it a state of pain? To get the answers to that and many more questions write to Dr. Fast Eddie Niemela. Ed will have a new column on FirePoliceMX.com some topics will be aches, pains and dealing with injuries. If you know Ed, hold on, this could be some funny stuff. Oh well I'll talk to ya'll tomorrow..................e-dub

10-27-02    Oops.............I really feel for you cow bell ringin', chicken chokin' Northern Cali's. The Rally Monkey Rules! I have been getting a ton of feed back about getting a CRF450, it seems that the HONDA boys are telling me how great it is and the YZ and two strokers are telling me that it's a mistake. The tall guys are telling me go go BLUE. But the gut feeling says...........RIDE RED. It' only been a few years since RED and I parted ways, we never had a falling out, I just got a killer deal on a YZ250. I love my YZ, I really do but it's time to go home, it's time to go HONDA. It's not like a marriage, I can sell the beast if I don't like it. The thing is I raced a moto on a stock CRF and saw a ton of potential in the bike and felt potential in my riding. I remember racing my 2000 YZ426, the bike was fast and I felt good up until the point the track had a corner in it. I loved the speed, it would blow by two strokes but I couldn't corner on it. The HONDA is different, that bike craves the inside line, my line. It turned way inside my YZ250. I was amazed how good it turned. I'm so excited about this new bike that I'm thinking of giving up Cookies N Cream cold turkey, training and going after my buddy Rob Townley. Just thinking about racing the new bike is giving me goose bumps. I love banging bars with Rob, Doug Wilson and all the other 40+ Intermediates. Heck if all goes well maybe it will be Davenport, Niemela and Lowers or maybe I'll be on a two stroke again......who knows?......................... e-ticket

10-23-02    Stinkin' Giants! Oh well I guess we'll just have to (Sacramento) King them like my beloved Lakers did a few months ago. I just had two days off of work and all I did was work on this Grand Prix thing. I still have my YZ sitting in the garage, I'm going to deliver it to it's new owner next week. I wonder how long it takes for the bike to forget about the only owner it ever had. Will it be OK in a new garage? What if the new owner doesn't give it Maxima or puts Dunlops on it? What if it doesn't adapt and wants to come home? Then what about me? Will I long for my 2 stroke or will the Red machine steal my heart? What if I can't quit shifting? Will the pipe melt my new AXO's like my 426 melted my O'NEALS? What will I do with all this pre-mix in the garage? What if the new owner of my YZ puts a spark arrestor on it and trail rides it, will it be happy? Will my Ford F250 reject a CRF450? Do I need to buy my first Chevy ever? Hannig tried to get rid of his CRF450 and get a KX250, that didn't work out, two weeks later he had his CRF450's brother in the Logandale Estate garage sitting right where the old CRF sat. The poor little KX never had a chance. Maybe that was best, the KX was only two weeks old and probably doesn't remember any of it. I hope it has a nice garage somewhere. What about Mike Dunn's CR125? What do you do with a 25 year old bike? How old is that in human years, like 522? He couldn't never sell that bike it just wouldn't be right. That would be like bike neglect or something, you can go to jail for that I think. I guess I'm just nervous like a new father. Do HONDA's have umbilical cords? Does Brent Bush's CRF accept Hannig's new CRF or does it long for it's old next door neighbor CRF? Life is full of questions....................I want answers................cousin eddie

10-22-02    It's been a great week. My USC Trojans spanked the Huskies, my Angeles are up 2-1 in the World Series, I just sold my 2001 YZ250 and I have a CRF 450 on order, back on a HONDA baby! Yes a FOUR STROKE. Why the change you ask? Just cuz, I rode the squirrel's CRF and it felt good, it felt like home, it felt like a HONDA. The Squirrel said to ride it like my 2 stroke, I was racing the bike without ever practicing on it, I was petrified, it was like old home week. Not the four stroke part, in fact I don't know what it was but I was sold. The bike could corner like no other and after I learn to quit shifting so much I think I'll be able to turn some faster lap times than I did on my YZ 250 and that's what it's all about. Because when YZ Ernie comes out of retirement we have some racing to do. I'll be putting the Christmas GP together over the next week. The FPMN Board of directors voted today to open the GP to family members, friends and FPMN Sponsors. This is a make up for not having the 9-11 Memorial Motocross. Check the STORE out aand see the FPMNsheds. Late~ ...................e 

10-18-02    I just got home from the Arizona Police & Fire games. Five and a half hours from Speedworld to the Carlsbad FPMN office, non stop, and on one tank of gas. I had a blast. Here's a recap, I left home at 4:40am on Thursday, I decided to take the 8 fwy because it looked like a shorter route. I stopped at Yumacs for breakfast, that's Yuma McDonadls for short. I got that from "Mother", he calls the McDonalds in Newhall, Newmacs. The difference between Yumacs and Newmacs is that in Yumacs everyone knows each other, everyone was smoking and they all looked homeless. I stepped into the twilight zone. I decided to eat in my truck on the road. When I got to Gila Bend, AZ, the highway was shut down and I was rerouted on some side road with less than a quarter tank of gas. I had race gas with me, I was OK. I arrived at Speedworld at 11am. Davenport and the Lowers brothers were there. I watched Danny ride for a while, he looked smooth and fast for just coming off injury. The track was fast and fun, The only complaint would be the rocks on the track. They were baked potato size, unlike the pumpkin sized boulders we had to dodge at Scenic Highlands Raceway in Newcomers Town, Ohio. Speedworld is a good name for the track. There are some fast sections, there is this one section were you do a third gear step up double, land the back side and pin it, up shift to fourth and pin it up the face of another, yet larger step up. Adrenalin City! I finally did it on my second practice session. After you land the second step up there is a 102 foot tabletop, I tried it once, that was enough. I came up about 10 feet short and didn't enjoy the landing. Brad Hannig was the only FPMN regular that I saw doing it. After practice Brad and I got a hotel then went to dinner at the Cracker Barrel with Frank and Danny Lowers. By 8:30pm Brad and I were in our separate beds fast asleep. Up at 5:30am, then to Surprise King for breakfast, that's the Burger King in Surprise, AZ. When we arrived at the Speedworld it looked like a whole new track. Speedworld prepped is an awesome sight. Speedworld prepped is more awesome to ride, especially after you have learned the track and can just go out and ride at speed. The track stayed nice for a while but by the second motos it was back to the way it was for yesterdays practice. It is still a fun track but it loses it's awesomeness as the day wears on. I'm tired from the days racing and the drive, got work in the morning so I'll tell you more another day...............e  

10-16-02    I'm looking for a new mechanic, send resumes to the FPMN office in C-Bad. Today I prepared the YZ 250 for the Arizona Police and Fire Games. I repacked the shorty, replaced the air filter with a raffle filter from the Ca. P&F Games and washed her. She still had the Perris mud on her from last week. I didn't do the full prep, I kept looking down the street every time a heard a vehicle approaching to see if it was Marquez. It never was. I have to tell you, I have got spoiled over the last few years. Steve has handled most of the work on my bike and what he can't do I have done at better than FPMN prices. Last Sunday evening at Perris while unloading my bike for Monday mornings Nationals, I noticed a stream of oil coming out of my left fork seal, it seems to happen every six months, right before the Nationals. This time everything was looking good up until the eve of the race. I made a phone call to Dave Schmidt of Schmidt Performance in Perris, Ca. Dave is an FPMN sponsor who has been racing with us this past year in the sponsor class. Before the riders meeting was finished Dave had replaced the fork seal and the YZ was ready to race. We have a great bunch of sponsors and I hope we all support them like they support us. www.scmidtperformance.com Thank you Dave. Today I spent all day getting ready for the AZ Games. I hope I remembered everything but if not I know a bunch of FPMNers who will be there. Davenport will have the Dog House and Frieling will have the White House and I'll have an EZ-UP and my Pit Tootsie, Danny Lowers there to help me. I'm really excited about this race. I think it has something to do with the fact that I have no responsibility except to race. I dig that feeling, I love to drive to races too. I know that might seem weird but the farther away the race, the more important it feels. I love checking into hotels and rolling my bike into the room and trying not to get caught. I love the look on the faces of my neighbors in the hotel when they see the bike in the room. I love being on the road with my bike in the bed of my truck. I love going to tracks where I have never been before, the anticipation, the nerves and learning a new track. I love motocross.......................e

10-13-02    October is FPMN time but when the Nationals are over it's river time. I'm writing this from the 17th floor of Harrah's in Laughlin, Nevada. Sue and I drove across the Mojave Desert today with the 1200cc YAMAHA WaveRunners in tow. This is a road trip week. We'll ride on the river tomorrow then do Lake Mojave on Tuesday, home on Wednesday then I'm heading to Phoenix on Thursday to practice for the Arizona Police & Fire Games then race Friday. I dig the road. I think I got hooked last year on the road trip to Ohio. I saw a movie this week, I don't remember what it was called but it took place in a big city. I didn't know what city it was at first but I knew that I was there recently. I recognized this skyscraper that stood tall above all the other buildings. I thought that it was maybe in Chicago or Salt Lake, could be San Diego or Denver. Then they mentioned the name of the city in the movie. It was Columbus, Ohio. I was there three times last year, so was Danny Lowers, Brent Bush, Brad Hannig and Kris Waters. Let me tell you about it.Kris flew into Indianapolis and raced the World Games with us. He then rode in the truck to Ohio for the Ohio FPMN, that was our first time passing through Columbus. After two days of racing in Ohio we showered at a truck stop and got back on the road. Being experienced travelers now, we knew that it was way faster to take the bypass around the big cities during rush hour than to go directly through the center of the city. This tactic saved us countless hours while heading East so why should it be any different heading West? Traffic was moving pretty good when we were approaching Columbus, I recognized the skyscraper that we passed on the way to Ohio. We were doing some bench racing while listening to STAIND when all of the sudden we saw the bypass, Kris was driving the F250 with the Tucker trailer filled with 11 bikes. Kris cut across the construction zone and made it onto the bypass just in time. This should save us some time. We were trying to get Kris back to the airport in Indianapolis that evening to catch a flight to L.A.. We hit some traffic on the bypass but it wasn't too bad. An hour and a half later I looked out the window and saw another skyscraper just like the one in Columbus. "Hey there's those same construction workers that Kris almost killed while trying to get over for the bypass, how did they get way over here?" Seems that we took the bypass after we already made it through Columbus, looped all the way around the city and passed through Columbus again. We dropped Waters off at the airport and continued to Utah, we drove 32 straight hours, rotating the driving duties every time we filled the tank. Today didn't seem like a road trip at all, just a Sunday drive with the wife................e

10-10-02    Ok, I'm finally wound down from the Nationals and I have to say that this was one of the easier races I have promoted. We had very few injuries and I had to deal with less personnel problems than usual. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have imagined that it would have gone so good. Perris Raceway stepped up to the plate and hit a homer for us. I am in the process of scheduling next years races and will have Perris on the schedule at least once. I want to thank everyone for the help. I should name names but I don't want to forget anyone. You know who you are. Thank You. I'm usually busy on Monday night doing paper work but this time the work was delegated and I had some free time. I enjoyed a nice evening with a bunch of moto geeks. We all stood on the track and watched Ron Turner build a whoop section and change some of the jumps. We were grown men watching a guy push dirt and it was fascinating. Everyone was figuring out the best lines and how they were going to attack the new sections. It was a fun night, I stayed up late talking to Jeff Pronk from Calgary, Canada and Lyle Raymond then went to my trailer and hung out with Danny Lowers for awhile. It was midnight before Ed Niemela made his way to the trailer, we talked a bit more then went to bed (separate beds). I'm in the process of putting together a Christmas GP / Toy Drive / Team GP. I'll have the date and location soon. "I'll see ya soon, I'll see ya soon".................e

10-9-02    I can't understand why people are still riding 2 strokes. I've been telling you for months about the positives of riding 4 strokes. OK, OK, just kidding but I did get the chance to race a 2003 CR450 this week. I have to tell you I wasn't planning on racing one, but I did want to try one out. Rob Harper offered his Honda to me and after I did the math and realized that Doug Wilson had the series won I took the stock suspended CR out for my final moto. I was nervous like a First Time Beginner, I had no idea what to expect and was worried about getting a holeshot and being forced into doing everything on the track with a unfamiliar bike. When the gate dropped the holeshot idea was out of the question. I almost stalled the red machine but was able to keep it running. Never having been on the bike, let alone race it, I was making a ton of mistakes. I had no idea what gear I was in. Everyone kept saying that I should just keep it in second the whole track and up shift to third before the big table top. But I was riding it like my YAMAHA and shifting all over the place. With all that I was still able to hang with the boys for a few laps. I did every obstacle on the first lap and felt at home on the RED bike. The Honda turned like a champ, I was hitting inside lines with ease and sometimes popping out of the line to the inside. The stock tires need to be replaced soon for the Perris dirt, I feel that if I had the MAXXIS IT front tire I could have really cornered well on the bike. The CR felt heavier than my YZ250, I hit the conditioning wall pretty early and had to cruise to the checkered flag behind my buddies. I had a chance to ride a 2003 Kawasaki KX250 on Friday at Perris and have to say I had a hard time with it. It felt sluggish and the stock suspension was horrible. But I do weigh a bit more than the bike is set up for. Sitting on the green machine it felt like a 125. Every time I've ridden a KX however, I've hated it at first but the more time I spend on one I usually like it a lot. I didn't spend too much time on this KX. If I was buying today I would buy a CR450 because I felt at home from the drop of the gate. Everything I said about the CR before, well disregard it. I still feel the same about the YAMAHA 450, yuck! OK maybe I should ride one first but if it's anything like my 2000 426 I'll pass.............more about the Nationals tomorrow................e

10-5-02    I showed up at the Perris gate at 7:30 this morning, I was second in line. In front of me was a father and his 10 year old son. They were both dressed and ready to ride, pants, jersey and boots. I could tell that they drove to the track dressed like that. They walked over and asked if they could look at my bike. The father said that it was a four stroke but the son corrected him. The father asked if I raced, I said yes. He said that he had never raced. His bike was a newer Suzuki RM 250, his son was on a Honda XR 100. We talked a little bit then they got back in the cab of their Ford F250. I had another 25 minutes to kill. I listened to the first Cheap Trick CD with the volume pretty low, my windows were down and I could feel the cool crisp Perris morning air. My mind started to wonder back to the days when my dad and I would do the same thing, leave the house dressed ready to ride. Our first trip together was to a place called Escape Country in Orange County. I was on a YAMAHA 100, it had a purple gas tank. I had taken the lights off of it. I had a purple helmet, gloves with foam strips sewed across the top of the fingers, Levis and hiking boots. There was this big flat lot that I was riding on. Just above it was another big flat lot and above that one was another. It was kind of like somebody terraced it for housing. I finally built up the nerve to jump up to the higher lot and back down. I did this for awhile. As I started to get confidence I would go from the bottom lot all the way up to the third lot hitting both of the jumps. As I got to the third lot I found a fourth lot just like the three below it. My dad was working on riding up and down some hills, we were both new to dirt bikes. I was going from the bottom lot to the upper lots, flying off the jumps. When all of the sudden I jumped to the next higher lot only to find out that it was not like the others below. It was a bit of a drop off into a good sized pond. I was about to land a few feet beyond the shore and decided to gas it and try to make it to the other side about 30 feet away. I was hoping that the pond was only a foot deep or so but found out that it was well over my head. Luckily I was close enough to the edge to keep my head above water. I never let go of the handle bars. I had one hand on the grip and my head tilted to keep my mouth above water, I was on my tip toes. The ground was sloped and I was afraid to move thinking that I would slip further down the slope and not be able to breath. I didn't want to lose my bike. So I just waited until a couple of guys rode by and saw my purple helmet above the water. One of the guys had a rope tied around his crossbar. He threw me one end of the rope and I dove down and tied it to the handle bars. These guys helped me get the water out of the motor and stayed around until we could get the bike started............As I sat in my truck waiting for the Perris gate to open I had a couple of tears in my eyes. Those days riding with my dad were some of the greatest days of my life.............e

10-4-02    Thanks for all the emails, but maybe I wasn't clear. The Racing team as we envisioned it will not happen in 2003. I wish I could say that we were going to plan "B" but that would be a lie. It's more like plan "Q" and we have until "Z" before I throw in the towel...............e  

Part two: I needed to get away from the motorcycle world for awhile so I pulled out the WAVERUNNERS and did some maintanance. I washed them, Charged the batteries and started them. I let them run long enough to bug the neighbors then I shut them down and put them away wet. Enough, it was time to get back to business. I loaded the 250 in the back of the 250 and headed to Perris. On the way there I had to get the FPMN signed up for this new insurance plan. You can read about it on the Message Board. Then to the T-Shirt place to pick up the FPMN Race shirts. Finally Perris, it was late, the sun was going down. I parked next to Cosner, he had staples in this head. The track has changed a little bit, some for the good and some just a little bit different. There are two things to be careful trying. one is a step up with a small double after it. It's not too hard, I did it on the second lap but it could jump up and bite you. The other thing to worry about is a double out of a right hand corner, it's not too far but the hole is big. I didn't do it tonight. The trac was crowded with some pretty fast guys and some squids. I decided to wait until another day to try it. Since the race is on Monday, another day is tomorrow. I'll be at Perris when they open at 8am and try to get out of there by 10am but I already know that I won't be out of there until noon or 1pm because I'll be hanging out and talking. I'm taking a few days off of working on the SX/MX Team but will be back at it on Wednesday. I decided (with the advise of Mr. Lowers) not to write about all the happenings of the team until it's a done deal. We'll let you know what happens later. Thank you all for the support........e

10-3-02    I'm numb from my head to my toes, I have never felt like this before and hope to never feel this way again as long as I live. Catch 22 I think they call it. A week ago we lost Nick Wey to Mach 1 Yamaha, yesterday we lost Damon Huffman to Blackfoot Honda. Both of these riders held out as long as they could for us because they believed in our program but the sponsors would not commit any money. Oh they all did verbally but when it came down to signing a check they wouldn't put the ink on the paper. Kawasaki wouldn't commit with out a title sponsor, Damon and Nick wouldn't commit without Kawasaki. O'NEAL was scheduled to be the title sponsor but wouldn't commit without Nick and Damon signing first. Nick, Damon and Kawasaki all liked our deal best but nobody would budge without the other doing so first. I spent several days on the phone, all day and night trying to get this thing finished. In the end O'NEAL said that they would go where Nick went. Here's the kicker, they said that they had already done enough for the Fire & Police and that we should be grateful for that. We had a friend at O'NEAL but he quit his job over the affair. Yes O'NEAL gave us a great deal on their line of clothing but let's understand something here, we were doing them a favor. We were buying the clothes at wholesale prices, same as they would sell it to the shops before the mark up. But they were still profiting from this and the FPMN became a walking billboard for that company. How many sets of gear do you think MACH 1 will sell for O'NEAL, very few if any. But with our team, Firemen and Police Officers across the country and around the world would have bought from them, some at fantastic prices but most at retail prices at their local shops. It wouldn't matter to O'NEAL because they would profit the same. During this last six months I have let you guys down, I haven't been doing my job as it should be done. I'm sorry for that. I promise you that 2003 will be like no other. I want to let you know that Kawasaki kept their word and I admire them for that. Josh Woods gave us a letter of intent, I admire him for believing in us. Nobody worked harder on this thing that Scott Burns. My main focus right now is the FPMN this Monday and Tuesday and the 2003 season. I'll see some of you tomorrow at Perris and the rest of you on Monday & Tuesday. I'll be the guy in the O'NEAL gear, but for the last time...........e  

9-26-02    If running a Pro Supercross team was easy everyone would do it. This is the hardest thing I have ever tried to do. Yesterday our little team took a bad blow. Someday I'll tell you about it but as for now I have a National to run. As most of you know Perris is closed now for a track makeover. What the track will be like is anyone's guess. Whoops, no whoops, flat landings, whatever, let's go have some fun. A man has got to know his limitations. Know yours! I just spent the last 28 hours on the Williams Fire in So. Cal. I was in base camp for most of the day then spent the night protecting homes up in the canyons. Base camp can get boring, in fact it was. We got a Pizza for lunch about 2pm the Pick Up Sticks (Chinese food) brought us a ton of eats. Yes I had a second late lunch and way too much too. Then we got called to staging, guess what? In-N-Out Burger was there cooking fresh burgers out of a fifth wheel..........Yes, I did. Could you pass up a Double Double? I hope I can get my bike off the ground next week.........e

9-24-02    Why am I awake? I have no idea, It's 10:30 and I got a call this evening telling me that I shall be at work at 5am to relieve the boys up on the Azusa Fire or whatever they are calling it. I need to wake up at 3:30am to accomplish this feat. I'm tired but I can't sleep, too much to do plus I just read "Mothers Corner" and have a whole new thing to worry about, toilet paper. Not really, I'm up on the toilet paper thing. I know Mr. Whipple personally. I'm still waiting to sell the YZ 250 and pick up the Mighty KX 250, I'm excited about that, in fact it seems excitement is in the air. I saw yzernie changed his name to kxernie. I'm proud of you Ernie. Now heal up and get that green bike ASAP. I can't wait to see you on the track again. I'ts like some type of Niemela fever is in the air or something. I've been swamped and have not had a chance to put the online registration on the website. I will. If you want to pre register online just check back in a couple of days, you can still get the good guy deal. Post cards are on the way to inform everyone of the track change from Comp to Perris. Oh well I better get some sleep. Oh by the way, I had to cancel the 911 Memorial Motocross. I know that there was interest and we can reschedule it for another date. Everything was just too unstable for me to put all my money into it and not know if it would happen with the Comp closures and Soboba happenings. We'll just stick to what I am comfortable with right now. I want you guys to have the best race as possable. We'll work on the other stuff later but right now FPMN is in the air. Start your two strokes and keep kicking those four strokes it's time to race..............e

9-22-02    Everyone reacts different to stress, some people's hair falls out, some people go gray, others freak out, some hide and hope it all goes away. Me, I eat (maybe turn gray too). Every May and September I find myself eating more junk, I figured out yesterday that it must be the stress of preparing for the FPMN. I have the best intensions in mind when preparing for the actual motos. I start training early, drop a few pounds, focus on the win and then all goes to heck. A month before the event I start eating huge amounts of junk. With the extra stress that has been in the air as of late, you know everything with Comp and the MXDN and with us racing that track a week later, well I've hit new levels, prior to yesterday unknown to mankind. After crawling out of bed I headed to the kitchen, the boys left some top sirloins in the fridge, well I cut one in half and downed it. Checked the freezer and saw a half gallon of Butter pecan, I stuffed a coffee cup to the brim and moments later it was empty. I knew I better get out of the kitchen so I headed for the door, to my dismay I caught sight of a tub of Red Vines. $#(*&^%$&, I couldn't pass it up. By this time I was thirsty, I went to my locker and got some change, I poured a Diet Coke down my throat. Now it was 8am, I was just getting started. My name is Ed Wilson and I have an eating disorder. I also have a riding disorder. I can't corner. I have a meeting tomorrow morning at the Elsinore office with Leckliter, Breckshot and Niemela. I'm still on my 2001 YZ250. I'll work on the cornering issue there. I also started a diet today, I'm going to keep with it 22 hours a day and only take two hours off to eat pure junk, the other 22 hours I'll only eat semi junk foods. I'll keep you posted on how that diet works.

9-20-02    What a day, wow. First off we had a meeting with a potential sponsor of the race team so I had to take the first half  of the day off of work. The meeting went fine but was basically a stepping stone to another level. I feel like Luigi on Mario Brothers. We avoided all the pitfalls and get to continue on our journey. The meeting was over about 12:30 so what's a guy to do? I stopped at El Pollo Loco and downed some bird then went to John Burr Cycles to hang with the boys. I didn't need to be to work until 8pm and home was out of the question, I was already 100 miles away from Carlsbad. While at JBC I got the news, Competition Park was closed. "No duh!" I said," it's been closed since the 16th for track prep for the MXDN" Then I heard that the cops made everyone leave the park then chained the gates. I knew the firemen wouldn't do that but they said "cops" so maybe it was true. I'm not much of a rumor guy, I don't pay too much attention to that stuff. Then the cell phone rang, I got this from a pretty reliable source. "LaRocco cancelled his helmet paint job for the MXDN because the event was cancelled. Hummmmm, well time to get to work. I called Malcolm, no answer. I called Marty Moates, no answer. I called No Fear, no answer. I called Competition Park, no answer, I called Starwest, answer, no info. Who do you call when you need to know something right now? You're right....I called our score girl, Pam. She answered the phone, wow a real human, there was no "Please leave a message after the tone" it was more like "hello", wow, human contact. Pam knew what was going on, in fact she said that she just left a message on the FPMN Hot Line. She said that it was true, Comp was all locked up. What about the FPMN race in October? Let alone the MXDN. I usually handle this type of stuff pretty well. This is like one of those puzzles for little kids, you know with like 12 pieces and each piece the size of your hand. It's not like putting together a Pro SX/MX team.  No big deal. This is the FPMN promoter in me talking, in the real MX world this is huge, but all I have to do is fix the FPMN. I called Glen Helen to check on track availability, Not available on October 7th & 8th but we can have it a week later. Now I know about travel plans and vacation time and if I scheduled those days I would be a dead man walking so I called Perris and talked to Donna. Yes, Perris is available to us on October 7th & 8th. I reserved the track. Donna liked us there last April and would like us to do it again in a couple of weeks. I told her that I would let her know in a couple of days. So now I have two tracks scheduled for the same time. If I don't get an extra firm YES on Comp by the end of weekend we will be racing Perris on October 7th & 8th. I know I talk about loyalty a lot but I'm not going to sacrifice the FPMN. It's 10:30pm, I'm at work, just waiting for a call. I expect two of them actually. One from Scott Burns(who's on the phone with someone more important than me) and one from Malcolm McCassy. What about the opening ceremonies of the MXDN? If the Des Nations are cancelled should we do it anyway? Maybe we could have a Motocross Des FPMN, we could have 3 guys from each department race for all the glory. Still waiting for the call. 10:47pm. Am I rambling? Tired. I called Scott (10:57pm), he's still on another call. Did I tell you that Scott is long winded? Don't tell him I said that. Sleepy, it's been a long day. 11:21,, the phone rang, Scott........No news I can tell you about right now but I will soon.............e   

9-19-02    You will never know how hard it is to put together Factory racing team. My phone bill is going to put me in the poor house, I mean all day long I'm on the phone and most of the time on the cellular and landline at the same time with the laptop on my lap. It's crazy. Our little team had a transporter all lined up only to have MotoXXX buy it. No big deal because we had a better one in Ohio waiting for us that was until Blackfoot bought it the day before. I heard the news about Plano Honda having a transporter available so I called Scott Sheak and have an appointment to look at it tomorrow afternoon. Before I go to see Mr. Sheak, Scott Burns , Jose and myself have a meeting with a potential title sponsor. "Who's Jose" you ask? He has been working with Scott and I for the last several months setting up sponsorship deals. That is a tough job, you get a lot of promises but it's rare for anyone to come through. We have some great sponsors lined up and hope to have a new BIG one tomorrow. Everyday is a challenge, things change like crazy, it's like a huge jigsaw puzzle and you're barely starting to get the edges together when someone pours another jigsaw puzzle right in the middle of the one you're working on. I'm enjoying it. Today I figured out my entire year for 2003. All the Supercrosses, all the Nationals, the Fire & Police Nationals and the FPMN Night Series. It looks like we will have Nationals in April and October with a Night Series every month in between. Same as this year. I wish I had more time on the books to take off but I don't. No big deal, just another little jigsaw thrown on the pile. I'll figure it out. Life is too short to ride a four stroke........................e    

9-17-02    Seems like all I do anymore is work on Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing. It's all I think about anymore, I wake up at night and my mind is pinned wide open and I can't get back to sleep. I think about bikes, graphics, clothing, goggles, semi's, flying all over the country and everything else that goes along with Supercross/Motocross at the highest level. Then I remind myself that we have a National coming up and I need to plan that. My wife, Sue thinks that I'm crazy but is supporting me. I had to explain to her that I'm not willing to be mediocre, I know that I will probably never be able to beat Eric McKenna but I have my eye on Ricky Carmichael. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan to be on the bike that beats him but Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing is gunning for him. Now you think I'm crazy too. Aint no thing. I told you before that I'm competitive but you haven't seen anything yet. Wait until you meet Scott Burns, your team manager, he puts me to shame. I'll have Danny Lowers do an interview with Scott so you all can get to know him. Ok let's discuss Rounds 3 & 4. Yes Competition Park is still open and just had a CMC race there last Sunday. Competition Park is closed as of right now but this is a planned closure to prepare for the Motocross Des Nations and will reopen on the first of October. Our Nationals are still on and planned for Competition Park on October 7th & 8th. Don't forget about the 911 Memorial Motocross on October 5th. We are putting on the race for the general public. This means that your kids can race in that one. If by some strange happening Competition Park closes and we can't do our event there, I will know of the closure early enough to find a new facility near by that will let us race on the days that are already planned. Please don't panic, the race will go on................e 

9-16-02    It' been awhile since I wrote in my journal, I wasn't selling a house so I can't use that excuse like "Mother" did. Plain and simple, I've been busy. I'm working in a new station and we've been really busy with structure fires and brush fires, I kind of forgot what being a fireman was like over the last few years. It's a nice change and I'm enjoying it for the most part. Plus everyday we get to go jogging on this wooden floor chasing a leather ball around and trying to shoot it into this metal ring thing that hangs 10' in the air. I'm enjoying jogging much more these days. Today I stopped on my way home from work and did some laps with Fast Eddie Niemela at Elsinore. I like riding with faster guys, Eddie is an animal, when Eddie leaves the track I'm thinkin' it's time for a break but he's heading for the other track to do another moto. Like an idiot I follow. Thus I'm sore and dead tired but better for it. Karl Davis used to do the same thing to me and all of the sudden I started to get some of my youthful speed back. Niemela loves the inside line, I was getting so bugged, every time I tried to out brake him and get to the inside he would go under me and make the pass. Maybe it was the green bike, I'll find out next week. Oops did I say that? Oh by the Wey things are coming together really well for the team. We should have some contracts signed by the end of the month...............Ue

9-11-02    I, like Davenport don't like to watch shows on the 9-11 incident, I don't need to relive that day. It's not that I don't care or don't want to remember, I'll remember this forever as will you. For me it's kind of like chasing ambulances or fire engines, I don't want to know where they are going unless I'm in one. I'm not saying that I have no interest in this, I do, I hurt every time I see film of the planes going into the towers or the towers falling. I'm just not looking to see anymore tragedy. I've seen enough in my life and I don't care what Bruce Springsteen or Peter Jennings have to say on the subject. I don't watch the news anymore either, I just try to catch the sports and the weather around race time. With that off my chest I need to tell you that today has been a very stressful day, I handle stress pretty well but I'm standing on the edge right now. First of all I get a call from Ed Niemela this morning telling me that the Riverside Press Enterprise has an article in it this morning about Competition Park closing, I don't need this right now but glad Ed called. I found the article on RacerXill.com and made some calls, I still don't know anything but have a meeting tomorrow AM with the MXDN crew.  I'll let you know what happens when I get home in the afternoon. Whatever happens we will still have our race somewhere on October 7th & 8th. I don't need suggestions on where, thanks. As if that's not enough I did some follow up on a rumor I got from Brad Hannig last night of Nick Wey signing a contract with another team. It's a pretty valid rumor but no contracts have been signed yet and we are still in the hunt. I personally think we will have Nick on an FPMN bike next year either Green or Blue but FPMN through and though. My neck is killing me today, I don't know what came over me but I tried that double on the right side of the track (north) without trying it in practice the other night. I was in hot pursuit of Rob Townley and knew that he wasn't doing it, I landed the first double tried to keep my momentum through the corner and pinned it. I came up 6 feet short, my head hit the cross bar pad violently. Last time I did that I had plastic surgery on my chin, I should know better. God bless those who lost loved ones a year ago today......................e

9-10-02    The 2002 FPMN Night Series is history, I for one had a great time racing with my buddies and hanging out. Improvise, adapt and overcome was the motto for round five. Just as we were finishing up the riders meeting I was informed by track personnel that the electricians put 480 into a 220 system or something like that. I guess that's a bad thing because it blew all the ballasts on the lights and we were going to be left in the dark. I made the command decision to cut the race to two motos and see if we could get it done before the sun went down. During practice I was informed that they would hook up a generator to the lights on the other track and we would have that track to race on. It took a while to prep the track and get the starting gate in working order but at 6pm the first gat dropped and we were off to the races. I realized that I don't like to jump in the dark but had to if I wanted a chance at winning. I was thinking that next year I'll call it the Summer Series and get started earlier so we can finish before dark. I had a great time banging bars last night. It was weird, I usually ride around the track and never make contact with other riders but last night I had some very close racing (like touching) with Rob Townley, we had some fun, Rob went 1-2-1 and I went 2-1-2. I also came in contact with David Randall on the start, we slammed each other coming out of the gate as we hit the muddy start straight, we both stayed up. Then after the double on the back straight I squared off in the loose sand and saw Doug Wilson coming hard, he took the inside line and next thing I knew my boot was sucked up in his rear wheel, I was able to get it out before going down but Doug wasn't so lucky and laid it over. It was some fun racing, I like the smaller tight, loose tracks better that the wide open tracks. I better get my act in gear before next month becase the MXDN track looks fast.......................Uncle Eddie  

9-8-02    Well I'm just  finishing up 72 hours in the fire station. Tomorrow is Round 5 @ Comp and I can't wait. I brought all my stuff with me and will finish up the maintenance on the YZ250 in the morning without my mechanic, Marquez. I hope this is the last race on my Yamaha. I'm looking at the Green bikes and also the Blue bikes and just waiting to see witch one is going to be the bike of Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing. We're running short on time for the 2003 season and need to find out who is in and who is out very soon. This is a stressful thing setting up a team, I hope my hair doesn't start to go gray.  I saw that "Mother" is back to writing in his "Corner", that's a good thing. I'll see ya tomorrow.........e 

9-5-02    I just got off the phone with Malcolm McCassy, owner of of Comp Park. Here is the best info I could get on Eric Post. Eric was riding at Comp yesterday evening and had an accident, he was concious and complaining of back pain. He had stable vitals and was X4. He was transported via Ambulance to a local hospital. Three hours later his blood pressure dropped due to a torn aorta, he died in the hospital.
Eric was a Riverside Deputy and a member of the Soboba tribe.
As far as I know Eric never raced with the FPMN and was a beginner rider.
I'm sorry to hear of this tragic event.
God bless his family and friends.
Ed Wilson

This was a post I put on the message board tonight. It's a sad day. I went riding today with Hannig, Lowers and Aguas, it's good therapy for me to get on the bike and ride when my heart is heavy. I remember September 11th 2001, I was at work finishing my shift when the news of a plane hitting the first of the twin towers was on TV. After watching the events transpire I decided to continue with my plans and drove to Glen Helen. News of the towers collapsing came over the radio as I was on the freeway. I felt like crap and feel that way now as I write this. I'm feeling the same heavy feelings right now that I felt on Sept. 11, I didn't plan on writing about this tonight but I am. Anyway GH that day was weird, I remember very little about being there, I do remember Jeff "Mother" Welsh was there along with a few other FPMNers. The park was just about empty, all I could think about was my brothers in NY, I knew we lost several Firemen and Police Officers due to the nature of their jobs. I knew the firemen would be going up the towers to save lives. I just rode, tears in my eyes, there was nothing I could do about it. I'm a problem solver, that's what I'm good at and I was helpless. I remember feeling like crap because I wasn't home with my wife, what a jerk! Today was good therapy to be with friends and ride our bikes at Lake Elsinore MX Park. Sorry to bring you down, you guys are great, I'll see ya Monday for the 5th and final round of the night series. Ed 

9-4-02    I was supposed to be riding today with Mike Leckliter but I got the word that I needed to spend more time with the wife. She's right, sometimes I get sidetracked. Well today I made it home from work and pulled the YAMAHA 1200's out of the garage, I took the wife out on a date, we went to Oceanside Harbor and did some WaveRunnering (not a word?), well you know what I mean. This was my first time to abuse the YAMI's in salt water, let me tell you, the Pacific isn't Lake Havasu. The Pacific, I noticed is a bit bigger. I couldn't even see the other side. The real difference was that it was a lot rougher, lot's of big swells, the wife would disappear than reappear. We had a good time but I think next time I'll try to go out in the morning while it's still calm. Luckily I have tomorrow off work and will be heading to Competition Park with Hannig and Lowers. I'm on the edge of getting a new bike, I've made the decision to stick with the 250 two stroke for a few reasons, one is that I love to beat four stroke riders and the other is because I like the smell of two strokes in the morning. There is no better joy than to run down and pass a Big Valley Honda CR 450 (sorry Sutter, looking forward to next month). The only decision left is whether to get a green one or a blue one. I hope that decision is made for me next week. We're still waiting on news about the team, I should have some info to pass on by Monday. We need more Firefighters and Police Officers to help at the MXDN, please email Howard Ballard (email on front page) if you are interested. We also need you for the opening ceremonies, you will carry American Flags into the MXDN prior to the race. WE NEED YOU. You will get a free pass to the races for your efforts. Stay safe, see ya Monday..............e

9-2-02    Holiday's are great unless you are waiting on big news and everybody is at the beach or the lake. Sorry I haven't updated you but I've been at work for three days and mother nature decided to burn Southern California. The rumor mill is alive and well but just come to the FPMN Journal for the straight scoop. I have moles on the inside working for us. I hope to update you tomorrow with a major sponsor for Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing. Things are still upbeat and we are very excited about recent news. Here's something I learned from Damon Huffman's father "Loose lips sink ships", I actually printed t-shirts  with that saying on it for his company, CEF Racing (Cycle Engineering Factory) eleven years ago. So my lips are sealed for now. I'm looking forward to the 5th and final round of the FPMN Night Series. I think I need to beat Rob Townley in one moto and finish no more than one place behind him in the other two to win the series. I'm going to miss Ernie Kopasz on his thumper, I was looking forward to a showdown. I heard Davenport and Niemela are tied in points, that should provide for some good racing action come this Monday night at Comp. I'm not sure about the other points chases but I'm sure there are a few close ones...................Fight On! ...........e

8-28-02    No news is good news. Still waiting to hear about a title sponsor. I've been sitting on this thing long enough and feel like spilling the beans. I still can't tell you everything because there is info that can't get out but here goes. Like I said on 8-21-02, we started this thing back in February. Scott asked me who I would like to have on the team of all the available riders for 2003. I said Nick Wey and Damon Huffman on 250's maybe Turbo Reif or Chris Tocco on 125's. Scott was thinking Nick Wey also but had Travis Preston in mind as the 125 guy. Scott was Preston's mechanic when he was on 80's. Travis won the West Coast 125 SX Championship and was automatically resigned with LaRocco's team. Then Danny Smith came into the picture, Scott was also the mechanic for Billy Felts who is now Danny's mechanic, Danny started doing really well and was resigned by Suzuki. Word throughout the MX world was that Damon resigned with Motoworld, Turbo was never contacted. Scott and Nick met each other over the phone and began to discuss the 2003 season having Nick ride for Team FirePoliceMX.com. They have been talking for months and see things the same way. We have a good chance of signing Nick Wey. We had a deal set up with VIEJAS Casino to fund the entire team but they broke off contact and will not even answer our calls. I don't know why. I even drove to their offices in San Diego and the marketing director that we were working with would not see me. Weird. We have been talking to KAWASAKI and YAMAHA about the team and things are looking good at KAWI. O"NEAL has showed support of our effort along with several smaller after market companies. So far we have everything in place except all the funding. We have a Semi lined up, a team trainer, truck driver/mechanic & race shop. I introduced Scott and Chris Tocco at Glen Helen last month, Scott was impressed and saw the potential I saw. I've watched Chris race since he was 6 years old when he use to race my son on pee wee's and 60's. Chris is 19 and just finished his amateur career. I've also been watching Michael Young and am impressed by his speed and ability. We are working with several potential sponsors and as I write this I'm waiting for a phone call from one of them to see if they want to be involved with our program. As I see it we have a great program here and with the TV and magazine coverage we would get,  we would be a huge benefit to our sponsors. We have been looking at Josh Woods lately and would love to sign him to run in the 125 SX and outdoors. Two days ago I got a call from Damon Huffman, he's still available and interested in our team. I put him in touch with Scott. Scott is the team manager and will deal directly with the riders and mechanics, I am the team owner and oversee the whole program, work with Scott, Sponsors and handle all the dirty work, like personality issues and such and make the decisions. I am not a control freak and will use Scott and Brad Hannig (travel arrangements and sponsor rep) along with Danny Lowers (pit boss and image consultant) to help in the decision making. Both of these guys will have a ton to do besides what it sounds like by their job descriptions. Both Danny and Brad were a huge help during the 2002 season and I trust then and can count on them. We will also be hiring mechanics to work with the riders. As it looks right now, if we had the funds to sign the riders, we would have Nick Wey, Damon Huffman, Josh Woods and Chris Tocco on Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing. OK here's where you come in. Everyone offers their help to me and I usually have most everything covered and don't need the help. Here goes: HELP. We need sponsors for this effort. We have about half the money committed to us and need the other half. We have a great thing here to offer our sponsors. They would be working with the Fire & Police professions, have major advertising on the Semi, in all the magazines, internet sites and have main event riders at every Supercross and National for 2003 witch means Television coverage on ESPN and ABC 28 weeks a year plus the US OPEN. If you know anyone who would benefit from advertising as a sponsor of our team please send them my way........e 

8-26-02    I went to Comp today with Leckliter and Niemela, I also saw Brandon Coatney and Dennis Moon there getting ready for the 5th and final round of the night series. I think I'll pay double points for us five on the 9th.(joke) I made a command decision today, we will race the same track as we did on June 10th. After riding the three available tracks I figured that that one would be the safest. We need safe after last week at STARWEST. Today I talked to _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on the phone, he would be an excellent addition to Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing. I am so excited & nervous about this team, we are so close and yet so far away. Tomorrow could be a BIG day in the FPMN world or maybe not. I'll keep you posted. Back to Comp, I read the article in RacerX, I dig that magazine but I beg to differ with their opinion on Comp and Malcolm McCassy. First off, Malcolm has all of my respect. He is the easiest track owner to work with by far. A simple phone message and I can have a track that day to run a race. I don't even need a reply, I know it's taken care of. If Malcolm says the facility will be ready for the Des Nations, bet on it. WORD! The place is coming along, the sandy track that we raced on in June is now in good shape and holding it's shape. It takes time for these tracks to break in, the dirt needs to compact and it is now. I have to go, I have butterflies in my stomach, anticipation..............e 

8-25-02    This morning I was making my 90 mile drive to work up the 5 freeway. It might seem like a long drive but with my creative work schedule I only do it about eight times a month. I feel this is a small price to pay to live in Carlsbad, California. I really can't think of anywhere else that I would want to live. Sure it would be nice to have a track at home but then I think that would be heaven. After passing the 55 freeway the 5 rises up and as you turn your head to the right you get a good look at Anaheim Stadium, AKA Edison Field or "the Big Ed". I see this beautiful sight several times a year. In my youth I spent a few good days at the stadium. I saw The Who, Alice Cooper, Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Boston, KISS, Black Sabbath, The Tubes, Sammy Hagar, Bob Seager, Foreigner and more. I saw the Angels and the Rams there too. In 1987 I attended my first ever Supercross there, Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Guy Cooper, Mickey Dymond, Ron Lechien, Broc Glover & Jim Holley to name a fwe of the stars. That day changed my life! I had been riding for 17 years at that time but had never raced. I remember a big double jump, my seats were right in front of it. I knew I could do it. A week later I bought a 1986 CR250. Anyway this morning as I looked over at Anaheim Stadium I got goose bumps, it started with just a few but soon my skin was tingling and every hair was standing at attention. I thought about our little Supercross team we had this year, that was the beginning of the goose bumps. Then I imagined a big rig pulling into the pits, ahead of all the privateers, the bikes, the crowd, autographs being signed by _ _ _ _   _ _ _,  _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _  & _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _  (try to figure that out), the Heat races, waiting for the other teams riders to try to qualify and then the 125 and 250 mains. That was the big goose bumps. Time will tell and we're starting to run short on time. I brought the YZ250 to work today in the bed of my F250. Tomorrow is day one, the start of the training for rounds 3 & 4 of the Nationals. I'm heading to Comp with Leckliter and Niemela. The sand is my friend, the sand is my friend, the sand is my friend.....................e       

8-23-02    FPMNers are taking over the world, yesterday I worked with three of them, Ed Niemela, Mike Leckliter and Mike Wright. That's four in one station, pretty good if you ask me. Well I'm kind of bummed, I wanted a shot at YZ Ernie in the sand and won't get the opportunity. Ernie did some damage to his ankle or had some done at the STARWEST round of the Night Series and won't be mounting his YZ for a while. I don't know, I might be bummed more than he is about the injury. I was having truck loads of sand brought in for the race on September 9th @ Comp since that's the only place I was able to beat Ernie all year (and I beat him bad in the sand). Oh sorry Ernie, get well soon brother and send more mullets from your light duty desk job.  The decision was made before the second moto of round 4 of the Night Series to cut the race to two motos so we could get out of there before 10 pm. I added 2 laps to each moto so everyone would get their moneys worth. I wanted to stick to the 3 moto format because this is a series and every moto scores points but ran out of time. So what I did was make the second moto a double points moto. Now some might be upset but that's the way it is. I made this decision before the second moto gates dropped. I didn't want those who didn't show up to the race to benefit by not losing as many points due to only points being scored in two motos. Please don't say that you would have tried harder if you knew it was a double points moto. I don't want to hear that one. If you have a gripe put it on the message board. I'll read it than say too bad, you still have 3 motos to prove how fast you are. The Pro Supercross/Motocross game goes on, so many things have happened in the last two days that it has left my head spinning. I can't even tell you about it. I hope to be able to start talking in a week or so. It could be HUGE news or maybe not, like I said it's a roller coaster ride and I've been on it since February. I think I should buy stock in Magic Mountain.  Late~ ...............e

8-21-02    It was like the Glen Helen Night Series round last year, the track was a more technical track, a more challenging track than we are use to. We had a couple of riders go away in ambulances, both will recover in a few weeks. One was a clavicle fracture and will take 6-8 weeks to be ready to go. At least that's my experience. For some clavicles don't heal that well, Chad Jones has had a broken collar bone for a few years now, it never healed but he is up to speed and doing well in the Novice class. As for my experience last night, well I decided to take it easy and live to race another day. I raced hard when I was comfortable but backed off when things didn't feel right. It worked for me as I saw my competition cart wheeling around the track. I think I got second place, maybe third, I never checked. I saw Rob Townley once early on in the second moto and never again. Rob has been flying as of late. The highlight of the night for me was a rare pass I made on Doug Wilson. Doug and I usually find ourselves near each other in the motos. Doug usually on the winning end of the battle. Doug went wide and squared off the right hand corner after the table top in the center of the track and I went underneath, our lines came together and we banged bars for a moment. I was able to keep the momentum and come out of the next corner ahead of Doug. It felt like Chicken and Bradshaw in the early nineties. It was fun, there was nothing either one of us could do to avoid the contact, it wasn't dirty racing, it was just racing, it was good old friendly competition. I got a call from Zack Bradshaw today, Damon's brother, he is flying out from North Carolina to race the October Nationals. He's a Fireman and will be riding one of Doug Dubach's bikes. This week has been an emotional roller coaster for the '03 SX / MX team. I really haven't been able to say much about the team as we were trying to keep thing somewhat secret. But I get so many questions from you guys that I'll fill you in a bit. This whole thing started to take shape in January of this year at Round 3 of the Supercross series. I had a guy come up to the FPMN pit area and say "hey Ed". I looked at him and said "how's it going?" I didn't recognize him at first, I thought it was an FPMNer who I didn't really know. That happens a lot to me. I was busy and my mind was elsewhere. "Ed it's Scott" he said. It's been ten years since I last saw Scott, he is in his mid thirties now. Scott was my son's mechanic back in the Pee Wee days. We talked for a few minutes then he was gone. I didn't know if I would ever see him again. I thought about Scott that day, we had good times, he was hard working and what I consider brilliant when it comes to suspension and motors. For a time my son had the fastest PW 50 in the world! FACT! Two weeks later Scott and a Factory Suzuki mechanic showed up at the FPMN pits at round 5 (Anaheim 3), Scott started to ask me a lot of questions about the team. Questions that would make me uncomfortable to answer if it wasn't Scott asking. I answered his questions and kept thinking "why is he asking me this". Like I said, Scott is a smart guy and he is also very calculating. Unlike me who takes on a project then figures out how to do it, Scott has it all planned out well in advance then tackles it. "I have the opportunity to take a job as a factory mechanic but I would rather work for you" huh, what? "Scott we don't have any money, in fact our little team here is about $10,000 in the hole" I said. "Think about it and call me" he said. I thought about it, I learned a lot about professional racing this year, I started to see the big picture. We were getting more and more support at every race. Honda gave us a part deal, they approached us!  MOTOREX, ASV, & Arnette  and others all came knocking. We had a pretty good thing going on here. We even had some money donations to help defer the cost of the team. I called Scott. "What's on your mind?" I asked. We sat down and put together what we felt was the perfect package. We talked about the riders we wanted, the bikes we wanted and the sponsors we wanted. Last year was a great start but we were ready to move on up. If we were going to do this thing we were going to do it big. The riders are committed, podium riders, Bikes, parts, clothing, all are ready to go. But we still need outside the industry sponsors. We need  money to do this thing right. A lot of money. This is where the roller coaster comes in. I think we have a great package to sell. Top name riders, factory backing, semi, mechanics and the best team manager in the business(Scott). We will be working with "RISK WATCH" across the nation, a program that teaches child safety. We have about half the money we need committed to us now but still need one of the few outside the industry sponsors that we are talking with to come though. We had a title sponsor back out on us when we felt everything was a go. We have meetings this week with new sponsors. I'll tell you what I can when I can.  Team FirePoliceMX.com Racing .................e    

8-18-02    Finally! It only took two weeks but the collective minds at Best Buy figured out what was wrong with my laptop. I'm really looking forward to the night round at STARWEST. It's a technical track and I hope to have the ability to hang with the fast forty y/o's and beat YZ Ernie. Erine has me by 4 points in the 40 Intermediate class and holds the series point lead. Flyers went out for rounds 4&5 of the night series and also the October Nationals. Don't forget to signup for the MXDN to help out and get a pass for the event. I'll have signup sheets at SW on Tuesday. I spent a week up in the Sierra's hiking and fly fishing. It was a fun trip, I went with a high school buddy. It was like a leave of absence from motocross, it was pretty cool to have a break. We rode horses on the first day, 11 miles up to 11,000 feet. On the way up the trail we ran into a guy who said that his buddy hurt his knee and was stuck on the trail. He told us to tell his hurt friend that he would let the Forest Service know and for us to tell his friend that he would see him in Topeka.  We would be walking on that trail the next day. The next afternoon we ran into the injured hiker, we were on our way north and he was coming south. He was walking with a staff, he was walking slow but was making progress. I figured it would take him 2-3 days to get out of the wilderness. I offered water, food and asked if he needed anything. He said that he was OK and had plenty of food and water. It felt weird leaving him alone on the trail but he looked like he was doing pretty good. What bothered me was the fact that his friend just abandoned him and was flying home to Kansas without him. What a jerk. The injured guy could have used his friend to carry some of the weight in his pack or just be there to lend a hand on some tricky parts of the trail. It makes me happy to know that you guys GOT MY BACK. When someone goes down at one of our races, or at practice they know that they are in good hands. They are part of the FPMN family (even if they ride four strokes). They will get their KX back, their truck delivered to their house or maybe kept at the Tucker compound until they can make arrangements to pick it up. Life is good, I got the laptop back on my lap and I get a shot at YZ Ernie, Doug, Rob, Steve, Dave, Ron, Cliff, Dennis and Dwayne Tuesday...............e

8-04-02    I was reading Davenport's Diary today, It brought back a bunch of old memories. I remember in early 1989 when I was deciding on whether to put on the first FPMN or just play it safe and wait for the next Fireman's Olympics and hope it was as good as my first Olympics in 1987 at Glen Helen. Like most of you I am afraid of failure. I remember handing out my first flyers for that event in the summer of '89 at De Anza at the Fireman's Olympics. Once that first flyer went out I was committed, there was no way out. This was a huge undertaking for an introverted little creep from the streets of Downey, Ca. I was scared to death. You will never know the joy I felt the night before the first race when I turned the corner on Burton Road and saw the Campers, motor homes, tents and trailers that filled the Perris Raceway pits. My first thought was that I wasn't going to lose my house, I had put every dollar I had into this event and needed to recoup several thousand dollars. The next morning the line at the gate extended down that dirt road all the way to Ellis Av. Now the thoughts of how am I going to pull this one off, we have way too many people here and I don't know what I'm doing, I'm not a race promoter, I'm just a goon who loves to ride. How did I get myself into this mess? I couldn't even do the riders meeting, I was too afraid. I had my brother-in-law handle it. Don't get me wrong,  I have a ton of ambition and confidence I think I can do anything. I guess I'm just a freak, but aren't we all?..................e    

Well maybe not anything, last week I realized that I probably won't make a Supercross main..............................unless I start training real hard and lay off the cookies n cream totally. 

8-01-02    I tried to go riding today. I had a meeting scheduled for 10 am but it was cancelled this morning so the plan was to go home do what I needed to do, load the bike and head to LACR to ride with my LAPD buddies. Twenty or so LAPDers rented LACR and wanted me to ride it to see what it is like so we could schedule a night round there next season. Everything was looking good to go, I was just past San Clemente on the South bound 5 fwy when I rolled up on a parking lot. The freeway came to a complete stop, I popped out my CREED CD and found an AM news station and waited for some traffic news. As I sat in the fast lane I heard the news that the Freeway would be closed until midnight. It was 9:30am. Just my luck I was sitting on a stretch of the 5 fwy with no cell reception. It took me about an hour to get to the right shoulder, I traveled about 200 yards. I had reception on the shoulder, lucky me. I sat there and made calls to several of our sponsors trying to get things set up for the SX Team and the FPMN Nationals. I gave it another hour then decided to go against traffic on the shoulder to try to get back to the Basoline on ramp. I was getting some dirty looks but I wanted to go riding. I drove about 2 miles against traffic when I saw the on ramp (off ramp to me). I was with in 100 yards of freedom when one of our CHP officers caught up to me. I rolled down the window and smiled. He said "Is there any reason that you are driving the wrong way on the freeway?" I said "just trying to get home" "yeah so is everyone else" he said. "Officer the on ramp is only 100 yards away, how about a fireman's deal today?" "If I let you do it then I have to let everyone do it. Turn around and get in line" (he was cool, should have wrote me up). About 4 hours later they opened up some lanes. I got home just in time to get to the DMV before they closed. I spent the rest of the day in line there. I closed the place. That's another story. The DMV nightmare. I'll tell you some other time but it's been going on for four months.........................e

7-29-02    The phone rang at 3:30am this morning, wrong number. All of the sudden I was laying there thinking about the message board, especially the post by Ernie Kopasz about the three firemen losing their lives, when their fire engine went over the side on a mountain road. What a tragedy, I hate hearing these things. It makes me think about life, family and friends. I love life, it's so great, I love my family and I love my friends. You guys are my friends. I would hate to go through life an regret not living it to it's fullest. Ok I'll stop before I tear up.........I went riding today, I went to Elsinore. I think I was the only FPMNer there, I worked on my cornering for a couple of hours. I really can't do it too well. It's frustrating. I want to go faster, I just don't know how to do it. I guess I'll have to take some more lessons from Jim Gibson. Anyway I'll let you go, I have writers block, spent myself in the "Bench Racing" section tonight................e

7-27-02    I'm at work today paying off a dead horse. That's the terminology we use for a trade that I already took the day off and now I'm just paying it back. I took this day off  for the Supercross season, I still owe this guy 4 more shifts. I'm fortunate to have people who will work for me when I need the time off work but pay back is a B!*#$&. All I want to do is go ride, I need to get my supercross skills down so I can compete with Doug and Ernie at STARWEST. I added Ernie Kopasz to my list of people I don't like to lose to. Nothing personal, Ernie is a good guy and a heck of a mullet hunter but he has my number right now and I don't like it. I have to say that I am enjoying this night series more than the National series, maybe because it's way more low key for me with way less head aches, maybe it's because we break up the laps into 3 motos and I don't get so tired or it might be the different tracks we get to race. I don't know but I do know that I am looking forward to August 20th at STARWEST. Brrrrrrrrrraaaaaaappppp! Brrraaaaapppppp! (I did that for "Mother"). I know you are all thinking "what's wrong with Ed, he doesn't mind losing to the other guys in his class?" I'll tell you what, I don't like to lose to anyone but I was proud of Ron Nipper for beating me last week, as far as I know that was the first time Ron beat me in a moto, I bumped him up to Intermediate last year and he is starting to get the speed to run upfront in our class now. That's awesome, I love to see guys improving and competing for the lead. Several years ago I bumped Scott Nelson to Expert, Scott was too fast for the Intermediate class but all of the sudden was with the big boys, Scott struggled for several years but he has been flying this year and has been winning races. I'm proud of Scotty for continuing to believe in himself and work hard. I'm more proud of him for doing it on a 2 stroke. (I love to jab you tractor drivers). I know, I know it's the waive of the future, but they don't smell as good as the two strokes. ADMIT IT!..........e

7-24-02    I woke up early this morning, I couldn't sleep. My mind was in 5th gear wide open. I'm starting to put together the 911 Memorial Motocross to be held in conjunction with rounds 3 & 4 of the Fire & Police Motocross Nationals. This will be the first non Police/Fire event of my 14 year promoting journey. Saturday October 5th will be a huge day for the FPMN. Your kids, wives, friends and everybody else will have the opportunity to race the same track as the Motocross Des Nations and if that isn't enough we are having a Pro Suppercross that evening. I'm working on sponsorship for the event so we can afford to pay the top pro riders. I would like to have them all there. I made a call to Charlie Flippen at O'NEAL yesterday and he was very interested, I also ordered some new gear so Lowers wouldn't show me up so much. At least I can look fast. This morning I called Thad at MAXXIS, I introduced myself and to my amazement he knew who I was, he was very aware of the FPMN. He was aware of all of you guys who have been switching over to the MAXXIS IT tires. What a small world, what a great time to be alive. I love this stuff. OK I have to get back to work, it's 8am and the west coasters are in their offices waiting for their phones to ring..............more later..........e

7-23-02    Sore, frustrated & happy. My legs are killing me, I can't believe I'm that slow and I'm really happy that I'm walking today. My legs are sore because I don't practice enough & I'm slow because I don't practice enough. The walking part is awesome. I'm so grateful to be able to do this motocross thing, I'm so grateful to hang out with you guys and do what I love to do. Today I visited Donny Rivas at his Oceanside estate. Donny is laid up with a knee injury and is going under the knife next week. We spent a couple of hours in his garage talking about racing, marriage, work, the Chads and just life in general. He's thinking about getting a four stroke and as any good friend would do I tried to talk him out of it. Common sense would tell you that two strokes are the way to go. Ask Ricky or Bubba. Some of you guys go real well on those things but think how fast you would be on a real bike. OK did I stir the pot enough? Hey I'm just kidding. I had a great time last night, I dig racing with Doug Wilson, I don't know why but when I see Doug at the races I want to beat him. It's nothing personal, I like Doug but I just want to beat him. It seems like he usually finishes one place in front of me. He's a goal so is Rob Townley and Ernie Kopasz. Those are the guys who beat me last night. I don't want you to take this wrong but I like getting beat, it gives me goals. When I win I feel guilty for not moving up a class. Weird. Finishing just outside the medals really motivates me to do better, to practice harder, to try to win so I can feel guilty again. I hope I can feel guilty on August 20th about 9pm.................e 

7-22-02    Race Day.    I'm sitting in a booth at Carl's Jr, just got off work, I have time to kill - too much time. I have the trusty laptop with me. Today is round three of the Night Series, I go into a different mode on race day, everything seems a little more serious, more in focus. I had two choices, I could have left all my moto stuff at home and rushed there to get it and try to get to the track by 1pm or I could have brought it to work. I brought it to works so now I have hours to kill. Time to kill means time to think. So what's on my mind right now? Lowers, Lowerre, Davenport, Howell, Niemela, Duval, McKenna and a host of other 40+ Experts. How in the heck am I going to pull this one off. As it stands right now I know I'm coming in last against these guys. It bugs me. I want to win, I want to battle for the lead, I want to make the pass. Frustrated. There are a few of us who are capable of winning the 40+ Intermediate class, it depends on the track or how much time we put in on that track before the race or how good of a start you get or even how long the moto is. I'm usually good for two to three laps but then I hit a block wall. Doug Wilson on the other hand just keeps coming so does Cliff Houser. In order to beat them I need a great start. I haven't figured out Dennis Moon or Ernie Kopasz yet but either one is always there to take a moto win too. David Randall is also always somewhere in the mix. What will it take to separate from these guys? Can I? I don't know for sure but I think I can. I know I need to train harder, lose weight and spend more time on the bike. I think I will also have to get a 2003  KAWASAKI 250 with a factory motor and suspension. I hate idol time, my stupid mind starts roaming and I come up with weird thoughts. Well maybe not so weird..................e

7-21-02    Tiger Woods had his picture on the front page of the LA Times Sports section today. The big news was that he didn't win, he shot an 81. Who cares? Why do we have to hear about him when he loses? He got spanked actually. Thanks more tomorrow..........e, 

7-19-02    Thanks for the mullets men, I dig 'em. We have a few good shots coming in daily now, soon we will be leaders in the website mullet review world. I'm back to the real job today, it seems weird to be here. I've been on the road a lot this year and am starting to get into it. I was thinking about becoming an undercover fireman. I could do fire inspections at the local tracks, bike shops and Supercrosses. I could have a mullet and wear "Life's a beach" pants. I have to tell you back in 1989 when I put on the first FPMN in November. I was freaking out when I saw all these long haired guys showing up to race, I figured that they were poachers and I was going to have to kick them all out. Turns out that they were undercover fuzz. Can I say fuzz? I think Charlie Beck was one of them. I went to Glen Helen yesterday, it was my first time there since the last FPMN in October of '01. I was a bit intimidated by all the factory riders passing me. The ruts were deep and I seemed to be in the way. I never really got comfortable on the track, I only did 5 laps. I was there with Scott Burns(worth), we were looking at a rider for the 2003 SX/MX Team. We have two riders in mind, one is established and one will be a rookie. Both have the personality, drive and talent we are looking for. I think both the heat and hose draggers will be proud. Can I say Heat? We've been working on this team since February, I hope to tell you more in a week or so but loose lips sink ships, I got that loose lips thing from Damon Huffman's dad, Dave, about 12 years ago. Anyway let's go do some laps at Perris on Monday night.............e  

7-16-02    Horseshoes was a bust, I couldn't get my head into it. I was playing like a first time beginner who wasn't sandbagging. The best part of the day was when a retired fireman told a stupid joke. "Have you ever heard of Australian rules horseshoes?" I said "no". Punch line: "They throw the shoe with the horse on it" Ha Ha......Ha Ha Ha............courtesy laugh. I'm looking forward to getting home, I miss my wife, I miss my garage. I need someone to talk to, the YZ won't talk back but she's been a wonderful roommate, much better than Danny Lowers. I need to get back on the diet. The road is no place to lose weight. You guys should have bought IN N OUT stock last week. One of the Horseshoe players raced on Sunday and said he wants to start racing with us as a 40+ Beginner. We found several lost souls who will make the trip to Comp in October and become part of the FPMN family. Successful trip. There was 4 LA County Firemen playing horseshoes in the Olympics and only one LA County Fireman showed up for motocross. Why? Are we spoiled now with too much racing in So Cal? Ten years ago we would have several Southern Californians making the trip up north, this year only 4 guys raced from down south. I don't get it. I know that several cops would have rode for a no score if they could have. We have guys coming down from Utah and Nevada just to practice at Perris then drive home that same day. This is one reason why I don't promote races away from So Cal. Why would I do a race in Mammoth? I would love to have an FPMN race there but who would go? Nobody from So Cal. I know the AZ boys and NV boys would be there but I can't put on a race with 50 people. Oh well........Hey let's all go to Arizona on October 18th....................e    

7-15-02    I'm still walking! The FPMNers who showed up to the Ca. Fireman's Olympics Did well. I did you guys a favor, so did Mike Frieling. We both got on "Mother" and told him to start writing. You don't ask for a spot on the website, have it given to you then forget how to type. "Mom" said he would take care of business when he got home. He will be home tonight. Southern California is motocross heaven without a doubt. We are so lucky, we can ride year around and we have several tracks within an hour of us. If you happen to live in the 909 you are blessed with several tracks w/i a half hour. AWESOME! Not only that, we have to watch the factory boys practice. I love traveling to different places and meeting the motocrossers and riding their tracks. Who has ever heard of the RED NECK ROOSTERS before? Now I know them! The Roosters Rock! I think I'll have to make the trip to Arizona in late October to race with the AZ boys. I just might have to continue east and visit Tombstone. I want to be my own Huckleberry, I want to look Johnny Ringo in the eye and say "Play for blood remember". I know I'm rambling but I'm pumped, like I said, I'm still walking after MX and I have Horseshoes tomorrow. Remember your first race, remember when you were on the starting line scared to death, remember all the restroom stops before you got to the line. That's how I feel right now. Motocross is old hat now, I don't get nervous anymore, I don't worry about anything, I don't increase my restroom stops prior to the race. But when I walk up to the horseshoe pits, when I see that steal post sitting 18" above the clay pit, morning dew dripping off the post. I'm sweating, shaking, oh man there's nothing like it. I want to take a minute to thank my sponsors, Nuevo Hay & Feed, 4H Clubs of America & Bobby Hubbard Trucking.  I'll keep you posted on my results. FPHN?????????????hummmmmm............e  

7-12-02    712 Jeff "Mother" Welsh. OK got the number thing out of my system for a while. Yesterday was a prep day for the California Fireman's Olympics. Now that my mechanic (Marquez) is retired from wrenching I had to do it all myself. Air filter, trany oil, grips, bolt on the front suspension and replace the #310 with my FPMN #16. Also I replaced the goggle lenses in my OAKLEY's . I had to buy a spark arrestor (required for this race), tie wire the grips, clean 4 air filters, pack for the worst case (bring everything I own) and clean my gear. Darn that Marquez! Did I tell you guys that I'm a medallist in the Fireman's Olympics in Horseshoes? I spent 2 years playing for pride at the fire station back in 1986 &87. I got pretty good. I break out the shoes every two or three years and go for the gold. The competition starts off stiff but in an hour or so all my opponents are drunk and I start to shine. Anyway I'm a better shoe tosser than a motocrosser...........that sucks! Life is unkind. I'll let you know how it goes.................e 

7-10-02    Everything went as planned today, I made it to John Burr Cycles, picked up all the supplies I will need for the Fireman's Olympics. Kurt said "Hey Ed what's happening?", I said hello to Linda and Bill. I talked with Vic at the parts counter and checked out cycle news. I saw a picture of Ed Niemela and myself in the first corner at the June 10th Comp Park Night Series race. I made it to Perris Raceway, I was the first person there. Just behind me in line was the Cobra. I hope you all know what this means........I BEAT DAVID VUILLEMIN!!!!!!! Not only did I smoke the Cobra I also beat Roncada, Antunuez, Tedesco, Thain, Sorby, Short and a ton of other top pro's. Too bad I can't keep them in sight on the track. But I beat them to the track. So when somebody asks how riding was on Wednesday I'll say "I went to Perris, I beat Vuillemin all the factory boys". Then I'll fake a cell phone call so they can't ask any questions. You know it's hot when the Vegas boys are over heating. I don't know how hot it was but it was well over 100*, believe me I know, I'm an Ex-Inland Empire dweller. Two to three laps and it was time to take a break and down some H2O. I suggest that you go to Perris and ride the track before the Night Series race on the 22nd. There have been several track changes since the NATIONALS last April. Some for the better and some a bit more technical. But it should make for great racing later this month. The Night series has been a lot of fun for me. The different tracks are testing the skills of the FPMNers. Some go fast on one track and not so fast on the others. It's making for a great 5 race series. Anyway it's time for bed, I need to get up early and head for RACE TECH, I blew a fork seal today and need to get it fixed before heading north in a couple of days.....................e   

7-9-02    I've been stuck at work for 3 straight days, that's what happens to us hose draggers when the world decides to burn. Lucky for me I brought the mighty YZ250 with me and I will do a few laps at Perris before I make it all the way home. You know, stress relief from the 72 hours I just spent saving lives and property. Since Perris doesn't open until 11 am I will stop at my favorite motorcycle shop, John Burr Cycles and pick up everything I need for next weeks Ca. Fireman's Olympics. You know, the basics......Oakley lenses, tear offs, race gas & numbers (I had to run # 310 at the CPFG instead of my FPMN # 16). I love the the bike shop, I could spend hours in there doing nothing, I never ever get bored. I look at stuff and things and more stuff, I talk to Bill and Hank, hang out at the parts counter and talk with Vic then back to the sales area and chit chat with Kurt and Jose. I say hi to Linda, check out the new Waverunners, visit the boys room next to the parts counter, check out the sunglasses, back to sales look at the VOR and wonder why anyone would buy one. Look at the KX's and remember when. I never seem to make it to the street  bikes. No interest. Back to parts, read cycle news, look at the pictures on the wall. If you look close you will see a picture of Jason Wood on the starting line at Anaheim and also you can find an FPMN medal from years gone by hanging on the wall. The bike shop is home away from home, a safe spot in a cruel world. A haven for moto idiots like myself. I really don't need to buy anything. It's like window shopping for females. How stupid does that seem, just waste your time looking at stuff that you aren't going to buy. But this is different, this is moto stuff, good stuff. Not shoes, dresses or bonnets. We're talking Boots, riding pants and helmets. We're talking spark plugs, foot pegs, levers, tie downs, handlebars and oil. I love to hang out at the parts counter and listen to the stupid questions. "I have a 1972 YAMAHA two stroke and was wondering if I could buy another couple of strokes, I heard 4 strokes were the wave of the future" or "Do you have any Bell Star helmets left?" or "Did Ricky Carmichael win last week?"............duh. I love the bike shop and not just any bike shop. I live 100 miles from John Burr Cycles but I make the trip. I tried the local shops in north San Diego county when I first moved to Carlsbad but it was like a bad dream. No Kurt to say "Hey Ed what's happening?" when I walked in the side door, no Vic to say "want me to but this on your tab?", no boys room next to the parts counter, just a bunch of strange faces and parts in strange places. No good guy deals. I felt like a regular Joe, I hated it....................cousin Eddie..............out. 

7-5-02    Well I finally got back on the bike today, it was my first ride since the CPFG. I went to Lake Elsinore Motocross Park, it was crowded. On the way there I went through the Border Patrol check point just south of Temecula. I go through that check point several times a month. Today was a bit weird, the officer who was waiving us through had those "Cool hand Luke" mirrored sunglasses on, he was turned to his side with his left shoulder towards me. He had his right hand on his gun. "I'm not your huckleberry". This guy was taking his job way too seriously, the other officer was looking like I am used to seeing them. Relaxed, waving his hand, thinking about a jelly filled. Anyway riding was fun, I fell once, no fractures. I didn't see one other FPMNer there, this makes for a short day for me, I usually end up talking way more than I ride. I put in a couple of motos, it was hot but I think it was good training for what is to come. The Fireman's Olympics are next week and then the rest of the Summer Night Series is coming up quickly. I was schooled by a kid on a 60, I have a ways to go before moving up to expert but I'm working on it. I hope he was a 60 expert.........................e

7-3-02    I fell off the wagon last night, while everyone was busy doing stuff at the station I snuck in and hade a coffee cup full of Dreyers Cookies N Cream. It's a little known fact that you can get more cream stuffed in a coffee cup than you can put in a bowl. Yet it looks like you are just having a little sample of the sweet nectar. All is not lost, I got up this morning and sat my self back on the stationary moto trainer and did 30 minutes of peddling watching U571 on HBO before heading for home. I look at it as a bobble, maybe I just hit neutral for a second but jammed it back in gear before I got passed. Ya'll have been there I bet. Anyway Davenport is right, I am an ice cream freak. Since I stopped downing the stuff I noticed that the freezer at work is piling up with half gallons of all my favorites. The motorcops who hang out at the station are in hog heaven. I'm going to stick with this thing, I want to race with the guys that I was coming up through the ranks with in the early 90's. I want to buy new pants....................e         

7-2-02    Guess who walked into my station today to work overtime? You're right! Steve Marquez. We had discussed several FPMN issues and in the end nothing was accomplished. Seems like old times, the one thing we did agree on was that if you put the remaining BEATLES and the remaining members of THE WHO together you would have a pretty good band.....THE WHOOTLES! Not much else happened today besides the regular Fire Dept. stuff. Today I got to go riding on duty, I did a 30 minute moto in front of the TV. I rode the stationary bike and watched a tape "Time to Ride". Cool video. I think I'll start riding again this week. I've been off the bike since the CPFG but am itching to work on my cornering. I think I'll spend Wednesday in the ruts. While competing at the CPFG I spent most of the two days racing Tim Kelly, I never met Tim before but we spent about an hour within a few feet of each other. I learned that I could catch Tim anytime I wanted in the straight a ways and over the jumps, I was faster there. But Tim could corner, he could corner really really well. And in the end it came down to about a foot or two on the motocross day. I was lucky to beat him, a lapper helped me on the last lap to maintain the lead. So this week I'll work on my cornering. The two C's. Cornering and Conditioning. That is where it's at, that is what I need to do. I've been ice cream free for two weeks now but there's some Cookies N Cream calling my name right now, it's free, it's in the fridge here at work. If I take a taste I'll have a huge bowl. HELP ME!..................addict................e 

7-1-02    Well the good thing is I'm not in trouble. Today is the wife's birthday and I'm not in the dog house. I did the basics, flowers, card and the other day I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she told me what she wanted and all is well today. Over the years I've learned not to even try to think about what she wants. I just ask. For Christmas I make her give me a list. I follow it to the "T". We need to learn from our mistakes. One year for Valentines day I bought her an electric can opener. MISTAKE. That same year I bought her a treadmill for her birthday. BIG MISTAKE.  I totally forgot about our anniversary one year. REALLY BIG MISTAKE. Motocross is like a marriage (OK I'm really reaching on this one). One of the biggest mistakes I ever made in Motocross was the time I put the piston in backwards on my 1992 PEAK Pro Circuit CR250 (MC's BIKE) I seized it going up the street. Totally ruined the cylinder. $500 later I had a new cylinder and port job by Pro Circuit. I compared the porting of the two barrels, to my surprise they had nothing in common. The new port job was beautiful, it looked like somebody spent several hours massaging it while the MC cylinder looked like someone did it with a chainsaw. The bike never ran the same, it never regained the hard hit that I came accustomed to. I finally sold the bike to a 12 year old kid with 40 $100 bills. BRAT. I took several years off of racing to focus on my t-shirt business and race promoting. MISTAKE. I came back in 1997 just in time to fracture both clavicles. NOT A MISTAKE, just bad luck. Later that year I blew my knee out playing basketball. NOT A MISTAKE, just more bad luck. I took three more years off of racing. MISTAKE. Now I'm sizable and slow but back on the track for two years and starting to get some speed back but taking it slow so I can stay healthy. NO MISTAKE, good decision.  Please slap me if I ever decide to take another break from racing. I'm 43 years old and have a World Police and Fire Championship waiting for me in 17 years.......................e 

6-29-02    Lowers just gave me crap while talking on the phone for the picture of two "Q-Tips" at once. We'll unless you've tried don't bad mouth it. But I'll get rid of it for Danny, he likes to keep a professional image. Did you know he was the FPMN image consultant? I gave him that title to shut him up but it backfired. Now he keeps flapping his gums at me to keep the FPMN image up. There's only a few things in life that feel as good as two "Q-Tips at once, one of them is poison oak on your forearms being burned in the hot shower another is great suspension and those are the only ones we will talk about today. Yes poison oak in a hot shower! I don't recommend trying this one at home but if you are infected with the oak......try it, you'll like it. OK let's talk about bike set up. As I told you before, I bought Jeremy McGrath's 1992 CR250. The suspension was way way tooooo stiff for me. I took it to Bones at ProCircuit to get it set up for me. After bolting it on it was still way to stiff so I took it back to Bones and pleaded for help. Bones took care of me and said that he did the work personally and tried some new stuff in the forks. He said if it wasn't right to bring it back. How do I know what right is? But after bolting the units back on the rocket ship I kind of liked what I had. Then this Cop from Missouri called and wanted to come to California and race with us. His name was Gary, the last name started with a B, I think. But anyway I tried to find him a bike to ride. After a long search I was forced to let him ride my pride and joy. We used to have a practice day at Perris Raceway the day before our Nationals and on this fine day I spied Gary tweaking my suspension. He was changing the sag and messing with the forks, I was VERY UPSET! This bike was finally dialed in for me. Now I had to start all over again. Well he was a guest so I just kept my mouth shut and walked away. After he took the bike out a few more times and each time coming in to tweak some more. He told me that the bike was ready for me to use, he was done for the day. I kept my mouth shut. I had no idea what to expect. My bike, my pride and joy, now tainted. I took a few laps around the Perris track and came in to have a little talk with Gary. "What did you do to this thing?" I shouted "This is the best suspension I have ever felt!" No lie......this Show me State Cop worked miracles on the Pro Circuit suspension. Bones put in the right stuff and Gary massaged it into a factory ride. To this day I have never even been close. I now know what great suspension feels like but have no idea how to get mine even close. Race Tech does a good job for me, I'm sure everything is in there to make her float but I probably need someone from Arkansas or Mississippi to make it right.....................e

6-25-02    I want you to know that almost everything you read in here is true. I don't change the names to protect the innocent and when I say things about my training habits they are all true. In fact I've only trained twice in my life for a race. The first time was my first race and I spent 6 months getting ready for that one. I ended up winning the beginner class at the California Fireman's Olympics in 1987. The second time was in 1993 for the World Police and Fire Games in Colorado Springs, the track was in Pueblo Colorado. I spent several months training, my bike was really fast. I bought the bike from Jeremy McGrath, it was built for him by by Pro Circuit. Jeremy raced it six times at some east coast Supercrosses. Once I got the suspension set for me the bike was awesome. The best bike I ever rode. It was a 1992 CR 250. The next year Jeremy won the 250 Supercross championship. When the gate dropped in Pueblo I found myself in 15th or 16th place after the first corner by the end of lap one I was passing for 6th and saw the leaders ahead of me. I was on fire! Next thing I remember was my wife yelling at me in the back of an ambulance telling me to shut up and let the paramedics start an IV on me. I never trained since. I never took it too serious after that. Now I'm at a point in life where I can run up front with the 40 year old Intermediates without a ton of training but it isn't working for me anymore. I feel healthy but way out of shape. I was doing pretty good at the Police and Fire Games last week until I hit the conditioning wall and let me tell you I hit it early. So last week I decided to train again. I've wanted to for a long time but just never made the effort. I dropped 5 pounds last week. I'm working on another 35 pounds. The only reason I am telling you this is because I'll be committed to it. I set goals for myself and my next goal is to move to expert at the end of this season. I have a long way to go before I can ride with Ed Niemela, Mark Davenport and Ned Lowere but let's face it they are only human. Those guys just work harder at it than I do, they want it more. Wish me luck.........No Ice Cream for a week so far, new world record...................e

6-23-02    I was talking to the HJC Helmet rep the other day at the CPFG, we were discussing a contingency program for the FPMNers. I said that if HJC gave money to the winners we would all wear HJC helmets. I asked approximately how much money they would pay for first place. I was told somewhere around $150. I told him that we were a loyal bunch and that most guys would buy HJC's if they were an FPMN sponsor. He said that he had a marketing report on his desk that said I was wrong, he said helmet buyers are not loyal, he had it in writing. I then told him that he doesn't know the FPMNers. I asked several guys at the track and everyone said that they would buy an HJC Helmet if this program goes into effect. I'll tell you right now that I will buy one. Loyalty. Why do I use MAXXIS tires? It's not because they are a bit cheaper than the other brands, not because they are conveniently at the track ready to be changed by Mike Farmer. Those are awesome conveniences but the reason for me is Mike Farmer. Mike has been a loyal FPMN sponsor with IMS Racing, FMF Racing and now MAXXIS Tires. It's just lucky for all of us that the tires work great in almost all conditions. If they wer'nt as good as they are I would still use them out of loyalty to the guy who has been loyal to us for years now. The sport of motocross is growing big time and we, the FPMN are growing just as fast within the industry. Be loyal to our sponsors. Try MAXXIS Tires, try TOOLshed undergarb,try O'NEAL & AXO. Soon try HJC (I hope). We have a ton of sponsors but who's at the races with you every time? Oh and don't forget to look at Sir Smiley's pictures. If you find one you like buy it. The more loyalty you show to our sponsors the more contingency programs we can get started. Then you can finally be a professional motocrosser earning money for your results....................uncle e.

6-22-02    I'm sitting here at work feeling like a caged wolf. I got home from the races Wednesday evening about 8pm, unhooked the trailer, unloaded the bike and gear from the bed of my truck, showered and went to bed. The next morning I showed up at work and was reminded that I owed a 24 hour shift on Friday to a guy who worked for me during the supercross season and that I had an overtime shift on Saturday. Anyway I've been here ever since. I turned off the propane on the trailer and was going to unload and clean the trailer on Friday. I have milk in the fridge! Think it will still be good? I'm worried about the stench. I want to thank Dee Davenport for handling most of the t-shirt sales at the FPMN trailer on Tuesday and Wednesday. She really did a great job. I understand the USA lost to Germany in Kickball yesterday. I noticed that they weren't playing with one of those red rubber balls with the diamond plate finish on it like we played with in grammar school. Jeff "Mother" welsh submitted his first bit in "Mothers Corner", look for some weird stuff in that column. Jeff is a bit on the edge. You have three points of view to look at now with Davenport and myself also filling this website with our opinions and experiences. Look for a Danny Lowers column soon. I'm going to have Danny handle the interviews. Talking about people on the edge........Lowers lives there. The greatest thing about this whole FPMN thing for me isn't the racing, it's the camaraderie that we have one with another and the friendships we've built over the years.......... Uncle Eddie 

6-20-02    Hey while I was attending the races I heard that the USA beat Mexico in kickball. I also heard our pitcher had some mean baby bouncies. Ok do you want to hear an EDiot story? Here goes......After a 4th place showing on Tuesday in the Motocross and a hard earned 4th it was going 5-4 swapping motos with Tim Kelly a San Bernardino Sheriff. By the way were were never more that a few bike lengths apart for the 40 minutes we spent on the track. Giving me no time to rest. So on Wednesday for the Scrambles I just wanted to get a good start and ride my pace. Before the first race we all went out for a parade lap of this track that wound through the modified motocross track and out into the park, through the trees, back to the motocross, down the bike path and back through the trees again. Anyway the lap time were in the mid 4 minute range. As I went out for practice I notice that I was fouling a plug, I tried to clean it out but wasn't having any luck. I was missing the parade lap. I made it back to my pit and started to change the spark plug. I was in a hurry and was trying to put the cap back on the plug. As I was trying to get a visual of why I was unable to do this simple feat, I touched my forehead to my hot FMF SST pipe. Ouch! Second degree burn, the size of a quarter. My only injury at the games came from changing a spark plug. Well I got on the track just as the parade lap was ending but took off to do a lap. The bike started fouling a plug again and wouldn't hardly run all. I was upset, what's going on? Was it an ignition, reeds, case seal, what? As I came off the track I pulled up to the MAXXIS rig and was talking to Mike Farmer about my plight. My day was over. I had a similar experience 14 years ago at the Fireman's Olympics up at Metcalf Park in Northern California. But back then it wasn't the bikes fault, it was my fault. I had left the choke on for my entire second moto and barley missed a medal taking 4th place. I rode my heart out but could never get around the guy that ended up with the bronze medal. While in the middle of my thoughts, I leaned over to my left just to check, I knew this wasn't the problem, only a rookie/beginner would leave their chock on..........I left the choke on! EDiot! Long story short, after a great start and a good 15 minutes, I took a bunch of banners into my rear wheel causing me to lose my rear brake. Fifteen minutes later I had my brakes back after the plastic wore away from the brakes. But a group of guys caught me. I was trying to make a pass in a grassy area and spun out on a tree root. I went from 2nd place to fifth in a moment. Anyway I was able to work my way back to third at the end only about 15 feet behind Tim Kelly. Fun day................e.

6-19-02    Just got back from the California Police & Fire Games. I had a great time, the atmosphere was Supercrossish in the pits and the track was outstanding. Oh and that raffle, good ticket pickers!!!!!!!! Let's start with the racing. I know there was some problems with the class divisions, this was bound to happen with a first time splitting of the ranks. Most of the FPMNers knew where to fit. I never had a chance to watch any races on Monday so I can't really even comment on the Black Flagging. If it was me, I would have done it after a few laps during the first moto so the guy could make arrangements for Tuesday. And not when they showed up for the second moto. But then again I've had 14 years to work out the bugs and I've had several. These guys were first time promoters and all in all did a fantastic job. I don't know if it has all sunk in yet but we just raced a Dirt Wurks track in the middle of the city. This was a huge undertaking and it went off really well. Thank you Chuck, Dan, Jeff and all the others who were involved in this great event. Ok let's talk raffle. I never ever get to buy raffle tickets at the FPMN events because I would feel like an idiot winning the raffle at my own race. Sooooo I took advantage of the situation and bought 100 tickets each day of the raffle. Let's put this in perspective, that's like buying 7 or 8 tickets per raffle for the past 14 years. Anyway I only won 18 times so get off my back. I passed up the high dollar stuff on my first win and chose an aluminum ramp. My first real ramp ever! No more 2"X6" lumber for loading the YZ 250. By the end I was feeling guilty and started giving some of it to the less lucky. I kept the three air filter though. I can't stand cleaning them anymore and having 6 of them will make life just that much better.....tired.....nite......e

6-15-02    David Bailey is brilliant, he's the smartest son of a gun in the world! I wish I could turn the sound off on the television and turn Chick Hearn on the radio and listen to the race. I mean why even watch the race? David will tell you what's going to happen way before it happens. "Chad Reed just hit a bump, I think his shoulder popped out of socket". Give me a break, I watched that over and over and you couldn't see anything pop out of anywhere. "If Bubba can just finish this moto without mechanical problems", next corner Bubba's bike breaks. Do you think David saw the tape before he started filling us up with all his knowledge? Do ya think? I really love to watch film of David riding but I don't need his know it all (because he just watched the race) mouth flapping all race long. David we wouldn't think you were stupid if you just reported the race. You don't need to make us think you are a Doctor/Psychiatrist/Dozer Operator/Mechanic/Cosmetologist. Ok I'm done raggin' on Dave. I do really dig the way he rode, smooth. Maybe we could get "Mother" in the booth. Now what? Oh yeah, the Night Series...I'm scheduling rounds 4 & 5 now. I know there's been a lot of interest in LACR. I've considered it and decided to stick with what I know. Tentative dates are August 20th @ STARWEST and September 9th @ COMP PARK. This way I only deal with one track owner and he's way cool and easy to deal with. Tomorrow's another day and the day after that we race.................OK, let me try some Bailey without watching the tape first...........If Ricky Carmichael shows up at the track he'll win both of his motos next week..................e

6-14-02    I tried to sleep in this morning, as I woke up I kept my eyes closed. Was it 5am or 10am? I didn't have a clue. I attempted to fall back asleep but was unable to. As I opened my eyes to gander at the clock on the VCR I saw it was 7:12am, my first waking thought......Jeff "Mother" Welsh, FPMN #712. Anyway, I headed 100 miles north to go to my favorite motorcycle shop, John Burr Cycles. I've tried to adapt to the shops down here in North San Diego County but feel like a regular Joe. At JBC they know me by name and take care of me, it's worth the drive. I decided to get in some track time today so I headed to Comp Park. It was Hot, up around 100*, I did a few laps on the Des Nations track then spent most of the time on the vet track. The tracks need work but should start to work in within the next few weeks. I have a head cold going on right now and didn't feel too much like riding so I loaded up and split. The California Police & Fire Games are just a few days away, I'm looking forward to racing that event. It sounds like we are going to have a great track. The guys who are putting on this event have spent at least a year in preparation and seem to have a good handle on things. I enjoy racing events where I don't have to think about anything but the racing. It's like a vacation. See you guys on Monday....................e 

6-13-02     I wrote that last bit from Provo Utah, I was on a short hunting trip. I needed a break and remembered that I still had a Utah Mullet hunting license so off to the Rockies I went. I got a good look at one in Orem Utah and was able to double back and capture it at Orem Auto Electric as the owner of this creature was working on a  1992 Ford F250. This Mullet will be featured in the Mullet review. But you should have seen the one that got away! A beautious black and gray specimen  attached to a head of a card dealer standing outside of Buffalo Bill's Casino at the Nevada/California State line. I was sick when I didn't have my camera with me, when I returned to take a shot the mullet was MIA. I was willing to take the shot and risk a huge fine not having a Nevada Mullet license. I only bought a day use license for the Las Vegas Supercross and wasn't expecting a shot at a Mullet while just passing through Nevada. I will never leave my digital camera in my truck again while in Nevada. Happy Hunting..................e

6-12-02    Well let me tell you, I had a blast on that night course. The track broke down fast but it was challenging and was actually easy for me to ride. I don't know why, it's not like I practice on stuff like that but I was able to ride with the experts for two laps until I hit a conditioning wall. The deep ruts were awesome but I was having a hard time with a few of the jump faces when they broke down. I hate to harp on things but that Jim Gibson class really helped me on Monday night in the corners. I need to continue that training but really need to start a fitness program. I read Davenports Diary and understand that he was having problems on that track, maybe that's why I could hang with him for two laps and actually had to brake once so I didn't hit him. I was stoked! But like I said, the gut took over and I slowed down to survive. I ended up with a gold medal which was cool but there were three guys in my class who could have won. Doug Wilson was flying and if not for a bad first moto would have won. Dennis Moon was riding good on an XR650 but had foot peg problems and then there was Cliff Houser. Cliff is coming on strong. He caught me in two of the three motos, one I held him off and the other he got me on the rutted finish line jump, I backed off a bit and he passed me in the air. Anyway the good starts in all three motos were enough to keep me alive in the series. The MAXXIS rear tire really hooked up off the start and I was able to hold my line with the new MAXXIS front tire. Thanks Mike for coming out and taking care of us. Track owner, Malcolm, told me that it would take two to three weeks for that track to be in perfect condition. He is going to widen it and change it a bit to make it flow better. Anyway I feel like a little kid winning my first race in two years. Now it's time to train..........watch out Ricky...............e

6-9-02    Didn't get a thing done yesterday, nothing. We were too busy at work. The citizens were restless, maybe because of the Lewis/Tyson fight, I don't know. All I know is I didn't get much sleep and the Yammie sat there waiting for my attention and I couldn't do anything about it. I started working on her today and will finish her tomorrow before I leave for Comp. I've got a lot on my mind right now. We're working on the Pro team for next year, I'm working on the night series and a ton of other things are going on in my life. I had a cousin die last week, I played High School Football with him, his funeral is on Tuesday. Like I said, I have a lot on my mind. My plate is full. Today on the way home from work I stopped to get gas, I always stop at the same Chevron station, fill up and get something to eat and drink. It's a 90 mile drive and this is about half way. I got back on the freeway and was cruising along, I looked at the gas gauge and it was on empty. What a loser! I forgot to get gas! That was a first. I made it to a gas station and home, I need to take a nap. see ya'll tomorrow..........go Lakers.............sleep e 

6-8-02    I need to apologize for my comments on the 7th. I forgot to mention that I hate Hockey too. I appriciate the "Miricle on Ice" because it was a championship, a gold medal not a first round win. Ok now that we are all straight on that let's talk motocross. I'm at the real job today and I'm going to try to fit in some maintenance on the YZ 250. I was able to pressure wash her this morning during our physical training time. Maybe I should have used the time to ride the stationary bike or lift weights but I don't want to peak too soon, we don't race for another two days and that will be in the evening so I have plenty of time to get in shape. I brought in two tires and will try to fit them in my schedule this evening. I chose the MAXXIS IT tires, front and back for the new Competition Park. I also had FMF send out an SST pipe, I have been using the Fatty pipe but prefer the SST's harder hit. Anyway I only need one fatty on this bike. I put in 45 minutes of riding since the last round , that's 45 minute more than I did for round 1so I should be ready. You know that guy who yells GGGGGOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL when someone kicks a little ball into that huge net? Well I'm glad he doesn't do that at Basketball games, he'd never shut up....................e

6-7-02    Ever notice that some MXers hate all other sports? Well at least the "Ball" sports. I couldn't understand how they couldn't be football or Basketball fans. I grew up playing  these sports and didn't even race a motorcycle until I was 28 years old. I love the NBA and I dig college Football, last October my dad and I flew to South Bend Indiana to see USC play Notre Dame. Don't get me wrong, I love motocross especially Supercross! Well the other day I was driving to Comp Park while listening to Jim Rome on the radio. Jim was going on and on about the USA beating Portugal in some first round soccer match. He said it was the greatest thing that has ever happened in American sports. He was going on about Soccer being the greatest game in the world. Well I think I understand those guys who hate all the "Ball" sports a little more now. Let me tell you this, I will never listen to Jim Rome again, He's an idiot! If you like soccer, that's great but I'd rather watch Oprah or even worse Rosie. It's a third world game played in third world countries. There is no way that that was the greatest thing ever in American sports. I'm not really a Baseball fan but what about Kurt Gibson's World Series Homer? or Jeremy McGrath's rookie season on the 250's ? or The Miracle on Ice ? or how about the Lakers/Kings series we all just saw? don't forget Rick Johnson's ride at the L.A. Coliseum in 1987. Remember Bailey and RJ at the Anaheim SX in 1986? I could go on and I bet you could too. Ok I got it out of my system......sorry!  Hey I gotta go, Rosie's interviewing Pele..................e 

6-5-02    Yesterday I was all set to go to the new Comp Park and get a sneak preview of the track, I had my bike with me and left the fire station about 7:30am ready to get on the bike and test the toe and work on some cornering. I also Had a meeting with Malcolm McCassy at noon there at Comp. The cell phone rang, it was Malcolm, we couldn't meet until 5pm. I rerouted and went to John Burr Cycles to get some parts. While at JBC I was out of cell range, I had no reception and couldn't call out. By the time I left JBC I had 13 messages on my cell. This is highly unusual, I expect 1 or 2 but nothing in the teens. As many of you know we are working on a Supercross/Motocross team for next years AMA season. Well we had some very good news yesterday, things are moving along and you will be proud of your team. I ended up in the Arrowhead area for a meeting and it went very well. I'll tell you more as we get closer to signing contracts but this thing has grown bigger than my wildest imagination. Anyway I finally made it to the New Comp, the place will be the ultimate motocross facility in the world. All the tracks will have lighting except the Des Nations track. There will be 5 adult tracks, 2 youth tracks, a shifter cart track, flat oval track and a free ride park inside the oval. There will be bathrooms with showers, a snack bar with shaded eating area, paved pits and camping area. It is only 200 yards from the Soboba Casino and restaurants.  The tracks were under construction so I couldn't ride but on my way home I stopped by the old Comp and tested the toe. I rode like a goon, as usual but the toe didn't bother me too much........e

5-31-02    Last night I was thirsty and had too much to drink before I went to bed, I usually try to semi dehydrate myself before going to bed so I can sleep through the night. Nothing too serious but I do make a point of not drinking too much liquid after dinner. Well I was busy all day and ate a late dinner and put myself behind schedule. Anyway, about 12:30am I needed to take a leak. Being a Fireman for the last 20 years I have learned how to wake up and do what I have to do without really waking up. It's a gift, not everyone can keep their head completely empty, completely free from any thought but I have mastered this feat and can return to bed and fall asleep. Because once you let a thought into your brain it's over, more thoughts get in there and pretty soon you are wide awake laying there thinking, "did I remember to call the score girls"?, "did I order enough food for the BBQ"?, does Danny Lowers have enough gear to wear a different set after every practice and moto for two days and will his gear match"?  Back to the story, as I was standing there in the dark doing my duty with great aim I decided to lean my right shoulder against the wall. My wife had hung a 16 X 20 oak framed picture right at shoulder height. My shoulder knocked the picture loose from the wall, the picture turned just enough on the way down for the pointed edge of the frame to smack my middle toe on the right foot.........PAIN..........Awake, WIDE AWAKE, blood, ouch! I went to take a leak and broke my toe! The wife slept through this whole ordeal. In the morning she saw me limping around and asked what happened, I told her the whole story and she asked me "DID YOU BREAK IT"?. I said "I think so, it's all swollen and black and blue". She says "No, I mean the picture". Sympathy...................e  

5-29-02    Recovery day, ouch but I had fun. Round 1 of the FPMN Night Series is in the books. I made the mistake of being a bit cocky after my last moto win at Perris and figured I would breeze through the three motos in the 40+ Intermediate class at the Night Series but when it was all said and done I found myself shaking the hands of three guys who beat me as I handed them their medals. I hope I took fourth but I don't really know. Anyway it's a long series and I have time to make up some points. I think I need to change my training routine. I started training for this race at 7pm the night before the race. I guess that wasn't enough time. I also made the mistake of going out with the kids (30-39 Intermediate). Six motos was a bit too much for not even being on the bike since the FPMN @ Perris. I heard some good news last night, Malcolm, the owner of Competition Park just bought Starwest and is reworking the track to make it safer for us non pro riders. We will schedule a round of the night series there for later in the summer. For all of you guys interested in being involved in the Motocross Des Nations here is the email address to send your info. (Name, Dept, whatever else you feel is pertinent) H1035B@aol.com or call Howard Ballard @ (909)654-2702. We are looking for EMT's with quads. The New Competition Park will open on June 7th instead of June 1st. See ya on the 10th..........uncle e

5-24-02    Today was practice day at Comp - NOT! The wife decided that I have procrastinated putting in the Backyard long enough, we are having family over on Sunday and the desert look wasn't cutting it. Sprinklers today and sod tomorrow. I'm driving all the way to Perris tomorrow and all I get to do is pick up sod. My only motivation here is that Brad Hannig just put in his front yard and is getting ready to put in his backyard. He didn't tell me that but I saw Brent Bush's backyard was in and Hannig was jealous. I don't want Hannig to beat me. At least I can beat him with some landscaping, he's too fast on the bike for me. I got blisters from digging sprinkler ditches all day. I hope they heal by Tuesday. I hope the Lakers heal too. I hate the Kings........e          

ps..... sorry Harpo

5-23-02    I just spent the last three days at the Fire Station, it's been a while since I did my real job. Anyway the El Monte and Rosemead residents left us alone at night and I was able to catch up on some needed rest. Today I stopped by Pro Circuit and picked up a platinum pipe for the 2002 CR 250 Raffle bike. I rode YOUR bike down the street today(CR250), it's a fast bike and should make the new owner proud. You can still buy raffle tickets up until the end of the racing on June 10th. My YZ 250 still sits with Perris mud on it, that's right I haven't ridden since the Nationals. That's kind of crazy since we are starting another series this Tuesday. Tomorrow will be my only ride before racing starts. The Night series should be a good warm up for the Cal. Police & Fire Games coming up on June 17-19. Looking forward to seeing ya'll Tuesday.....................Ed

5-19-02    I'm writing this from some hotel room off Hwy 99 north of Fresno. Yesterday I drove to Reno and dropped off the BVH-FPMN-CR250 and got a room at the Sands, everything else was booked. I guess all people don't end up in Las Vegas on Saturday nights, some go to Reno. Anyway I got there just in time to catch my beloved Lakers in game one of the Western Conference Championships, they beat the Sacramento Kings. I only got three hours of sleep the night before so I decided to get something to eat, drop a few quarters in the video Keno machine and hit the sack. I had no Tucker quarters and no luck. Today I headed west on Hwy 80 towards Sacramento. It was a beautiful drive over Doner Pass, I arrived at Prairie City OHV Park at 7:30am ready to see my first National. That's right I have never witnessed an outdoor National. After all these years of racing at Glen Helen I never made it to the biggest race that they have at the Glen. That's because every Mothers Day I'm at Lake Havasu....and loving it! I'm here to tell you that Ricky Carmichael and Bubba Stewart are fast, as if you didn't already know. They both easily won their first moto's on the perfectly preped track and both came through the pack to win on the wet, muddy, rutted track on their second moto's. The skies opened and rain fell until long after the racing was over. I saw several factory pros looking at the theater listings in the Sacramento Bee (joke). Frank and Danny Lowers split Glen Helen and saw the Matrix during that mud fest day in April a few years ago and are having a hard time living it down. The highlight of the day was watching all the goons try to get out of the muddy parking lot. The cars were parked on a dirt slope which became a mud slide bumper car show. I waited until the vehicles thinned out before attempting to free myself from this sloppy mess. When it was time to go it was pedal to the metal! My Ford F250 V10 slung mud like a champion. Not only did I cover my buddy Scott Burns and Brooke with mud (I warned them), I also covered Scott's F350 and Lance camper in mud. As if that wasn't enough, I covered another Ford pick up and a motor home and everybody standing near them with Hangtown slop. Then I got yelled at by the local PD. "Knock it off, slow down!" he said. I respect the law and have several friends, including most of you who carry a badge and a gun but this guy didn't quite understand the situation I was in. After an hour of watching others attempt to free their vehicles from this bog I knew I had to give it all of my 10 cylinders or spend the night. The officer was a new arrival at the scene and had no idea of what was needed to escape. I was having so much fun sliding through the mud that I couldn't help from laughing, I just said "thank you officer" with a big smile on my face and drove away. I looked back at Scott and Brooke, both were covered in mud. I called Scott on the cell phone moments later to apologize but sometimes apology's don't sound sincere while laughing. All I heard were the words "payback is a bitch, I will get you back, someday, somewhere, somehow".............click...............does this mean we are not friends anymore?........no, I just need to watch my back................e        

5-17-02    It's been a while, sorry I haven't written but I've been busy relaxing. Just got home from the river today and decided to make the drive  to Hangtown in the morning. I was telling the wife that I needed to take Jason Wood's CR250 back to BVH in Reno and decided to kill two birds with one stone. The river was GREAT! I needed the break. Although having the "sickness", I found myself engaged in several racing situations. My brother in law, Rick Rapier and I were doing some awesome racing around the buoys that mark the shallow spots on the lake. It was so much fun. I got some major water roost from his SEADOO. His boat came out of the hull so fast but mine had the top end and that made for some crazy circle racing. Every year I end up racing against the clock. For the last seven years that I have had a personal water craft I have raced around the same island, five laps for time. This year with my YAMAHA 1200 I set a blistering time on my first try. 1:17.95. I keep time on my trusty timex IRONMAN, triathlon watch. I kept trying to beat the time I got on my first try but was unsuccessful. On the fifth day I tried my wife's three seater 1200 (slower machine) and got a 1:17.40. After analyzing the situation I decided that it was line selection, I was able to hold my corners tighter on the slower boat. On day seven, using throttle control instead of wide open, I was able to post a 1:08.36. That is a new world record! Moral of the story, slow down to go faster. That is one of the things that I have been working on with my motocross racing. I was going too fast (for my ability) into the corners from the inside and blowing the corner, I couldn't stay in the rut, in fact I avoided the ruts and would end up getting passed on the inside. The lessons I had by Jim Gibson really helped me with the ruts. Ruts are our friends. I love ruts now but still have a long way to go. Anyway I'm just rambling, I'm tired and need to get up early and head to Reno. I might stop by Tucker's pad and pick up some quarters......................e    

Oh by the way, the night series entry forms are going out tomorrow.......oops.......if you want to pre-enter (round 1) get it to me by the 25th. 

5-09-02    I'm scrambling to get the Night Series entry forms out before I leave  for the Colorado River, This is my first real vacation of the year. I'm really looking forward to it. Seven days of 1200cc's of YAMAHA power between me and Lake Havasu, the spray of water (not mud, rocks or dust) in my face. These Yammies don't even have air filters. In fact very little maintenance, no tires, no oil changes, no chain adjustments, no nothing! Just pure speed and fun. Don't get me wrong this in no way replaces the joy of Changing tires, replacing levers, adding "X's" to your number plates because some cop beat you to YOUR number, safety wiring your grips, sitting in the heat all day waiting for 12.4 minutes on the track so you can get your perfectly clean bike that you spent all day detailing totally wasted, full of mud, torn grips, bent levers, torn seat and scratched plastic. Not to mention the fact that everything you did the day before you need to do again. You would think that I talking myself out of racing, I mean sitting here writing this, I'm thinking why do I do this MX thing anyway, am I an idiot, that sounds like no fun at all. I didn't even get to the point where every muscle in your body is pissed off at you because you abused them, you can't walk for two days, oh and the thigh cramps, knee pain and scabbed over elbows. Like I said don't get me wrong, I love Motocross. I love it all, I don't know why, in fact after sitting here thinking about it I understand why "Outsiders", you know non MOTOers don't get it. I don't get it. What are we thinking anyway? I'll tell you what I'm thinking, I can't wait for the Night Series to start, the California Police and Fire Games and the California Fireman's Olympics that all just around the corner. Darn I'm losing a week of training.............e  

5-07-02    Well it's almost officially over, I took the Weekend Warrior back to Weekend Warrior today. One more thing to do, take one of the BVH Honda CR250 back to BVH in Reno Nevada and the first FPMN Supercross team will be officially history. I need to thank Danny Lowers and Brad Hannig for making every race, Rob Harper for putting in a ton of work to get this thing off the ground, all those who helped along the way, my wife for putting up with me and all of our sponsors who made it possible to somewhat afford to race. So when do we start on the next project? How about four months ago! We've been working on the 2003 Supercross and Motocross team since February. There is so much going on and I can't say a thing yet and let me tell you it's killing me. If it comes together like I think it will, you'll be proud of your team. Please don't forget about the CR250 raffle coming up on June 10th at the New Competition Park. If you win the bike and would rather have $4000 we can do that. But most of you guys know that this bike is worth about $8000 and would probably take the bike. I scheduled round 3 of the Night Series today, it will be at Perris Raceway. They are installing more lights and I saw an awesome rhythm section being put in right before the finish line. It is a section of six jumps, double, double, double or triple, triple or there is always the single, single, single, single, single, single. Either way I'm looking forward to that Perris dirt. The race will be held on July 22nd, gates will open at 1pm with 3pm practice and 4pm racing. Yes you can sign up at the track. How did you like the Vegas Mullets? Mullet hunting is pretty fun, I had a few get away but almost got my limit. I think Fish and Game only allows 6 per day. Send me your Mullets.............................e 

5-03-02    I need to take a minute here and thank George Tucker, Thank you George! No not for storing the FPMN Race trailer for 5 months, yes that was great but that's not it. It's not about loaning us his trailer last year so we could transport 11 bikes back to the World Games in Indiana. It's about buying T-Shirts at Perris last month with quarters. Don't get me wrong, I don't want you all to pay with quarters. Please don't. But thank you George. You see we're here in Las Vegas for the Supercross and I had 3 rolls of quarters from George. I sat down to play video keno and hit 9 out of 10 on a .25 cent bet, it was a George quarter! $750! I never ever win in Vegas...........ever! Oh I've won small amounts before but I donate them to the casino before I leave, I don't think I have ever left with more than I came to town with. Hey let me tell you, Supercross is mullet haven, I hope you're checking out the "Mullet Review", I got the Friz Mullet today at the NY NY hotel. But if tomorrow is anything like SLC was I'll have a field day. See ya later....................e  

4-30-02    There is no such thing as a stupid question, right? Well maybe there is. I know a lot of the FPMNers are new to the sport so for you new guys there are no stupid questions. But for you guys who have been around for awhile, come on give me a break. "How many people are in my class?" (asked a month before the race), "what time is my moto?" (also asked a month before the race) and "What time will the races be over?" These are just a few of the many. I remember being new to the sport a few years ago. My most embarrassing moment came in 1988 at Perris raceway. I was pitted next to Micky Dymond's box van. I noticed that Micky's mechanic was unloading Micky's YZ 250 without a ramp. Unfamiliar with this procedure I ran over to help. I arrived at the same time the mechanic was stepping off the back of the box van with the bike. After the dust cleared I was on my back with a factory YZ 250 on top of me. I got some major dirty looks, I apologized and got the same dirty looks, no words just dirty looks. Feeling like a dweeb I decided to race really hard in the beginner class so Micky and mechanic wouldn't think I was a loser. I seized my CR 250 on the far side of the track in my first moto and had to push it all the back to my truck, load it and split....................what a geek.

4-29-02    Made it home from Salt Lake late last night, 800 miles in one day and half of it with a trailer, worse than that it was a Sunday and we had to fight the Vegas traffic heading south, long day. The Weekend Warrior was left at the Hannig estate in Logandale Nevada. Next week we'll be up there again for the Las Vegas SX and the end of the SX season. The SLC SX track was muddy and hard to ride for several riders including Jason Wood, Jason is a So. Cal. boy and isn't used to the muddy conditions. Jason didn't qualify for the night program but should have a better chance this week in Vegas.  The cool thing about traveling with the race trailer is all the honking and waiving as people pass by. The entire Supercross world was traveling south on the 15. You see everyone on the road, well not the riders, they fly, but you see the team transporters and privateers. We even got a honk and waive from team HONDA. Don't be surprised if you see an FPMN semi traveling the 15 next year. That's the plan...................................e

4-26-02    We rolled into Salt Lake yesterday in one piece. Today we set up in the pits, walked the track and got ready for practice. Tires were changed, clutches replaced and new plastic and graphics added to to FPMN HONDA CR250's. We were ready to go. It's been several weeks since the last round that we attended in Anaheim (round 5) but being here in the middle of it all again seemed like home. Practice was rained out even though it didn't rain. The team has had a bit of a makeover since Anaheim. Rob Harper had to give up his ride due to knee and shoulder problems and has been replaced by Jason Partridge from Las Vegas.  Jason Partridge broke his ankle at the World Mini in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and will sit out this round. He flew into town today to be with the team and will attempt to ride in front of his home town crowd in Las Vegas next week. Matt Hopkins has decided not to race supercross anymore. Jason Wood is here and ready to go. So Woody will have the weight of the FPMN World on his shoulders tomorrow. It's 8:17pm and it just started to rain. Hummm a mud race? I wonder if Travis Preston is nervous? Until tomorrow night............................e

4-24-02    Well we're back on the road again, 800 miles to Salt Lake City, Supercross here we come. We left Carlsbad at 12:30pm and headed for the Tucker compound to get the Weekend Warrior on the way Sue and I stopped at a Carl's Jr. for lunch. It's kind of weird now but I can't look at numbers without thinking of FPMNers. I'm trying to fight the thoughts but I'm obsessed I guess. Today as luck would have it I got plastic A-frame #37 for my order number, I know #37 really well, it's Donnie Rivas my riding buddy. Donnie and I train together, we live near each other and took the moto school together. I decided to keep my mouth shut again, Sue didn't need to know what I was thinking about, it's better that way. As far as she knows I was thinking of......I don't know, whatever wives want you to think of. Well that didn't work. Sue can read me like a book, she could see something was on my mind. What Ed? she asked, NOTHING! I said. Then I get "THE EYE". She knows I'm thinking about something but I don't want to tell her that I'm thinking about numbers again. Here's the problem, if I don't tell her I have 700 miles of "THE EYE" and silence ahead of me.  If I tell her I can get that down to 200 miles or maybe 150 miles with good behavior.  I sang like a Canary. We're in Mesquite Nevada at the Casablanca hotel right now, room number 7038........doesn't mean a thing to me.................Ed  

4-23-02    I don't mean to keep bringing up the same old thing but...............today I am working an overtime shift, my captain is Steve Marquez. Don't worry, I learned last time, I didn't even bring my bike. I knew she wouldn't get the attention she was accustom to from 'ole Steve. So I left her at home. She sits still muddy from Perris. Sad thing, she doesn't even have a name, I've had her for a year and a half, I should name her. Anyway today at lunch, Steve bailed out on cooking and took us to the Golden Ox. We got those "A" framed plastic things with numbers on them. You know, things you set on the edge of  your table while waiting for your Double Cheese Burger with Bacon and Avacado (no pickles).  Steve ordered first and turned around, showed me his number and said "Scott Nelson". You guessed it, Steve held # 6. In the mean time I was scoping out the counter where numbers 16 & 43 sat away from the other numbers that were in a stack. Sixteen is the number I earned for 2002 and Forty three is the number I ran up until we started earning numbers. Either way I felt like a winner. It really didn't matter what number I got, I mean this is a stupid thing to think about anyway, I mean who really cares? You know what I mean? Either way I still got a burger, fries and a large diet coke. As I waited for my change from the six bucks from the girl behind the counter I started thinking that I wanted number forty three. Yeah forty three was good to me, I had some good times with forty three. Forty three was my friend. It's funny how fast the mind works, during this 30 seconds of waiting for the burger girl to figure out my change I went through several motos in my head. The time I knocked Steve Marquez down at De Anza for the win and back in '89 @ Perris when I won the novice class at the FPMN GP coming from last to first. The time I passed John Mittendorf in Santa Clara for the gold at the Fireman's Olympics. All with 43 on my bike. Yeah forty three, now that's a number..........but sixteen would be OK, sixteen is a good number..................................That wench! She took the number off the top of the stack! I got number 36. The burger sucked, the fries cold and the diet coke flat. I'm never eating there again!

4-22-02    Ok a week has passed since the Nationals and now it's time to get started on the Night Series and also rounds 3&4 of the Nationals. Today I scheduled round 1 of the Night Series. It will take place at the Old Competition Park, the same track that we finished last years Night series. This track is very easy and a good place to start. The race will take place on May 28th, practice @ 4pm. Since day one way back in 1989 I have been bombarded by FPMNers asking if their kids could race and also by non FPMNers asking if they could race. The answer has always been "No". But this year I decided to expand the FPMN event in October. On Saturday October 5th we will have an open to the public amateur event. That evening we will have a professional Supercross. I'm working on a Sunday night concert then Monday & Tuesday will be our National. My idea behind the amateur event is to make it big, really BIG like the World Mini Grand Prix in Vegas. I know this will take a few years to grow into such an event and such an event needs a great name. So here's the deal.......name the event and get a free entry to the October FPMN (one event, on one day). FirePoliceMX.com Presents:___________________email me your idea FirePoliceMX@aol.com . 

4-20-02    Yesterday was my first day back to my real job since a few days before the Nationals. Luckily I get to drive Fire engines, run red lights, drive on the wrong side of the road & honk at people when they pull to the left and stop in my way. Every time I am first in line at the signal I do my best to beat the guy lined up next to me across the intersection to the crosswalk . With a six speed manual transmission more than not I take second place. I'm a competitive son of a gun. I hate to get beat, worse yet I hate to get passed. It drove me crazy to see Doug Wilson's #33 HONDA go past me both motos on Monday. First of all it was a HONDA, second of all it was a Cop and third of all he had my last name. No really, Doug is a good guy, I would feel the same way if it was a Fireman on a  YAMAHA, with my first name. I just don't like to get beat. I guess that's what makes victory so sweet.........................e 

4-18-02    Well today was the end to a very long FPMN week for me. Sue and I drove to Perris and picked up the FPMN Weekend Warrior and dropped it off at the Tucker compound in beautiful Nuevo California. Guess what, I looked at the clock again today and saw 1:57 but this time kept my mouth shut but I wanted to say "Damian Lys, CYFD, 18-29 Intermediate" but knew I would get smacked with a left from the wife then called "loser". Keeping the mouth shut was a good idea. While picking up the trailer I was told "don't talk Ed, just hook it up and let's get out of here". Jeff, the track builder and I hung out for about a half hour talking about the track, I told him I thought it was awesome, I really liked what he did with the first double and we discussed the perfect dirt. Sue was cool, she let it slide. "Perfect Dirt" now that's a topic you don't hear too many folks discussing these days. Neither one of us understood all the injuries but sometimes these things happen. I hope all have a speedy recovery and make it back to the FPMN, if not as a rider then as part of the FPMN family. I see a lot of ex-racers roaming the pits just hanging out with their friends and I think that is awesome. More often than not our ex-racers become ex-ex-racers, it's happened to me twice. Does that make me an ex-ex-ex-ex-racer?............................racer E

4-17-02    Sorry I haven't written but I've been busy. First of all I want to thank all of you who made it to the Nationals at Perris. Sometimes you make a decision then wonder if you made the right one..........I think I did. Perris was a fun change. I was diggin' on the track. The prep was outstanding, the whoops were fine, yes they ate me up in my first moto on Tuesday.  I felt like John Travolta in Urban Cowboy riding that mechanical horse. I was amazed by how packed the pits were. Our sponsors love having to park outside the gates ($ signs in there eyes). Anyway I am still in the recovery mode, only getting a few hours sleep over the last three days. Today was a big day for the FPMN, I had a meeting in San Diego with a HUGE company who is considering being the title sponsor of the FPMN Supercoss team. If all goes well we will be competing with the big boys (and beating them).............................Ed

4-12-02    Oops. Today I dropped off the FPMN Weekend Warrior at Perris. How could I go to Perris without my bike? Couldn't! "But darling I'll only do a few laps and come right home". Sue shakes her head again, "yeah right Ed". "No Sue really, anything you want to do today?". Yeah let's go see that new Ben Affleck movie at 4pm".  "OK, bye, love ya, bye, see ya this afternoon, bye".....................Back in the dog house again! Got home at 7:30. How could I go to Perris with my bike and not ride all day. Her fault, right? The FPMN only practice was good, maybe 30-40 guys showed up. I ended up talking more than riding but sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do. I mean it's my job right? Issues needed to be discussed..............right? Didn't work with the wife either. Anyway the track was fun, the whoops were...........whoops! The YZ ran good, Mike Farmer was there setting all the FPMNers up with new MAXXIS tires, the wind blew but not too hard and black Friday was a success...........e 

4-11-02    This after noon while driving with my wife I noticed the clock on the dash read 1:17 and pointed to it. Sue said "what?" "Oh that's Brent Bush's number". She said "you're obsessed". Two minutes later I pointed again and said "Brad Hannig". She said "you're an idiot"..........yeah, so. Do you ever see motocross obstacles when you're driving, like piles of dirt at a construction site, "hey look at that table top, you know if they moved that other mound of dirt a bit to the right it would be a nice transition landing". I see mountain range profiles in the distance and see Supercross sections, Double, double, triple. You know if they moved that mountain over about a mile and graded the back side that would be a perfect triple. Then there's the overpasses, do you see the huge table tops on each side of the bridge? I do. What about the beach, don't lie to me.........do you ever make Supercross tracks in the sand next to your towel? How about open fields, do you see tracks? I know it's just a field but if I owned it I would build an awesome SX track there. I get radar lock when I see a truck with a bike in the back of it on the freeway, I need to catch it. "Hey Sue that's a 1986 CR 250, that was the last year they had a rear drum brake". She just shakes her head. Last week at work a guy yelled "call 911" I'm thinking, why call Rob Townley? Yeah I'm an idiot but I'm betting you are too.

4-10-02     Had to pick up the Race T-Shirts by 8am, pick up the medals, pick up a shipment of tires @ the MAXXIS warehouse and get back to Perris before 11am practice. That was about 150 miles or 3 CD's worth of driving. Burger King or Perris? Perris!, I'll eat afterward. Besides I'm only going to do 10 or so laps and split, too much to do before the race. I'll be out of there by 12:30, chow down by 1:00 and home by 2:00. Oops, I forgot, I have a Moto School lesson @1:00 with Jim Gibson.  I rode until 4:30, spilled my water when the wind picked up the E-Z UP and twisted it to heck, never ate. Can you say full body cramping? How about Hypoglycemia? Thanks to Steve Coster who gave me a Gatorade or I'd be in real trouble. The talk today was "the track", wow, really? Whoops vs No whoops, Flat landings, berms. Oh there's always the questions "How many laps?" or "is McKenna coming?" or "How many beginners are there in the 30-34 class?". "What time will my race start?".  Answers: Don't know, Yes, don't know yet and I don't know. Here's what I do know: Niemela talked to the track/dozer guy, we're not running the whoops on Monday, we will probably run them on Tuesday. Dozer guy is going to shorten the table top/double that hurts your wrists so we can double it and avoid the pain. Dozer guy is also going to lengthen the mound at the top of the track so we don't fall ten feet to another flat landing and hurt our wrists and ankles. Also Dozer guy said he would build outside berms in the flat corners to avoid a one lined track. Hey that's what Niemela told me. But you know what.........I really don't know!  But Monday we'll all find out. ..........................cousin eddie

4-9-02    It's official, we are going to race the same track as the Motocross Des Nations on October 7th and 8th. We will race it only a week after the MDN. The track will be set up for all skill levels due to the fact that riders from 104 countries will compete and some of those riders should be in our novice class. This could be your chance for stardom, you could move to Bosnia or Egypt and race the MDN............nope, I'll stay right here in the good old USA and be a FPMNer. We're going to need some volunteers for this event. We will need 200 uniformed Officers and Firefighters to participate in the opening ceremonies, like Anaheim only bigger! We would like to use the same guys to flag and do some security and we need a few medics to work as EMT's. We could use a ton of them and rotate so 10 are always on duty. All of those who participate will get full credentials for the event. These credentials will be VERY hard to come by. I am setting up a Pro Supercross for Saturday October 5th at Competition Park, this is a week before the US Open at the MGM Grand in Vegas. I hope to have most of  the factory riders participating in this event. It will be called the FirePoliceMX.com Extravagonzo! Saturday evening Supercross, Maybe a Sunday concert and Monday/Tuesday FPMN National! Don't Miss it................uncle e

4-8-02    Arm pump, what is it with arm pump? First Jeremy now me. I thought I would sneak in a few laps today at Elsinore but on lap one, you know the lap that you go slow and check out the track, I got arm pump! Then every time I tried to ride I got these Popeye arms. I've about had it! Last week at Perris I got arm pump, I never ever used to get arm pump. I've had belly pump, but usually after a firehouse dinner. This arm pump thing scares me. I could barely hang on and we're only a week away from round one. How come I can't get shoulder pump or better yet, tail bone pump, maybe then I wouldn't sit down so much but arm pump? I used to be able to ride a bicycle with no hands but it's way hard on a motorcycle. You can coast in a straight line but to race you need your hands. Front brake, clutch and throttle not to mention steering. Is there a cure? Can it be fixed in a week? I've been riding a lot, is that the problem? We all know it's not from lifting weights or any kind of workout besides riding. My running shoes are still like new. If it wasn't for the fact that they haven't made that style in ten years I would take them back and get my money back. Arm pump or not I'm looking forward to Monday.......Got to go, this typing thing is starting to hurt my forearms.............e    

4-3-02   Wow! Perris was packed today, it was a mini version of what's to come in a few weeks. It seems like the more I practice the harder it is to go around that track fast. Last month I was beaming with 40+ Intermediate confidence but after today I am trying to figure out a way to bump myself down and still save face. I'm not the only one either, today I heard a few sob stories from discouraged Cops and Hose draggers (that's what the cops call us firemen). The whoop section is getting worn down, you would think that is a good thing but it's not. They were not my friend today, in fact they were down right nasty. I decided to talk with the track prep guy next Wednesday and see what we can do to remedy the situation. I was approaching the finish line table top and heard a 125 screaming on my left side, maybe it was Rob Harper, I didn't know who it was but over the years I've learned to hold my line and not to worry about the FAST guy coming up from behind me. If he caught me that easy than I bet he has the skills to pass me without hitting me. But still I don't want to be passed by a 125 especially right in front of my friends who were pitted 20 feet away. So I gassed it up the face and launched higher than usual. I looked to see who had taken flight arms length to my left and it was Ivan Tedesco, Awesome! We were the same height and flying at the same speed, maybe I could qualify for a main, maybe even get on a podium............hum............I woke up when we landed at the bottom of the transition. One corner later I was now in a battle with some kid on an 80 and Ivan was passing another FPMNer 40 feet ahead. I tried to hold off the kid on the 80 but over the years I've learned to hold my line and not worry about the FAST kid on the 80..........................e

4-1-02     Seems like a good day for a practical  joke but I won't,  besides everyone thought the Motocross Des Nations thing was a big joke. Well not everyone,  just a few goofballs, and they  know who you are. Everything is shaping up really well for the Nationals, only two weeks away. Last month when I rode Wednesday practice at Perris the track was pretty much empty, just a few riders but last week the place was packed and this Wednesday will be worse. Yes the FPMN is coming to town. In a recent POLL on the message board I found out that the FPMN has mainly grown by word of mouth, friends telling friends and co-workers telling co-workers. All I can say is "Thank you". Tonight my wife and I went to the movies. we saw a "G" rated flick called "The Rookie" It was about a 40 year old dude living his dream and pitching as a rookie in the Major League. I kept thinking about our first time beginner class and the new FPMNers who will be sitting on the starting line for the first time in their life. The nerves, thoughts of "what the heck am I doing here, will I survive the first corner????", the vomit. These guys will range from their early 20's to their 40's and maybe some in their 50's. It really doesn't matter how old you are, it's the fact that you are living your dreams. I dig that about motocross, I ride the same bike as Jeremy McGrath (kind of), I get to ride the same track that Travis Preston is practicing on at the same time he is. Over the last several years I've been passed by the best of them. Jeremy, Mike Kiedrowski, Mike Fisher, Emig, LaRocco, Buddy Antunez (on an 80), even Mercedes Gonzalez. The list goes on............In fact living and practicing in Southern California, I've been passed by almost every factory rider over the last fifteen years. Does that make me a loser? No, it makes me lucky. Could you imagine getting to practice basketball with Shaq at the Staples Center or play catch in Yankee Stadium with Derek Jeeter? I don't think so. But show up at Glen Helen in October and you'll get smoked by one of the worlds best. We're the lucky ones, we're living our dreams.................e   

3-31-02    Happy Easter!..........e

3-27-02    I was invited to go to LACR  with the LAPD Motocross Team for practice today but when I was unloading my bike yesterday at work I noticed a leaking fork seal, and yes you guessed it Marquez was not there to fix this minor problem for me. Well maybe minor for you but this is a real problem for a guy who lives in the "rider mode". I'm not much of a mechanic, yes I can change tires and and even do a top end, no problem but suspension, I don't think so. I'm not one to split the cases either. RACE TECH does my suspension so I made a call to my buddy Bill who is the suspension manager at RT. To make a long story short, I got the forks to RT this morning and walked out a short while later with serviced forks. Decisions, decisions, LACR or Perris? Well I decided to go to Perris due to location (near RT), time of day and the fact that we're racing there in two and a half weeks. The place was packed with FPMNers, you can tell the race is drawing near. Everyone is out trying to get ready for the new season, there is excitement in the air. The whoops were the talk of the day, oh and by the way, don't sit off to the side of the whoops and watch all the Firemen and Cops try to learn how to do them. DANGEROUS! Just because they start in the whoops doesn't mean exit them at the end of the section, sometimes they fly into the crowd of onlookers. I counted the gates on the starting line and only came up with 28. That means we will be running divisions in some of the classes and that means more motos and that means a longer day. Perris has lights..................e

3-25-02    I just got home from four days at the Fire Station, I had to get out of the rider mode and back to the privateer/own mechanic mode. I changed my rear tire and trany oil today, gettin' ready Wednesday practice, got to be dialed in for April 15th. I will be testing a MAXXIS IT rear tire. The word on the IT is that it lasts forever, Ed Niemela swears that they last 4 times longer than anything else out there. If you are paying for your own tires than this might be the way to go. This April is shaping up to be the biggest FPMN ever. We have 109 Pre-entered riders with more on the way. Perris will be opened on Sunday from 3pm until 7pm for those who want to camp at the track. We were busy all day yesterday at work and unable to get the cook to the store so we decided to go get some fast food. After a few minutes of going over all of our options we decided to go to Panda Express and get some Chinese. The food was good, I probably ate too much but I cancelled it out with a DIET Coke. All was going well until I cracked open my fortune cookie. Every fortune cookie I have ever had was uplifting, "Your dreams will come true" or "An old friend will come back into your life" or some other nice positive message like that. Not this one! Mine said "WORK ON YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINE". What the heck, did the Chinese guy who made this one know me? Did they save this one for me? Never has a Chinese fortune fit me better. The only training I do is on the YZ 250. Could this be the turning point in my Motocross career? I have running shoes, I've had them for a long time, they are just like new so I won't have to buy any new ones. I have a mountain bike, the tires are flat but I can fix them. We have weights at work.................... We also have Cookies and Cream in the Freezer and Twix bars in the candy drawer................e 

3-22-02    Today I got an overtime shift, I know what you're thinking (got that from Magnum PI). Wasn't today practice at Perris? Yeah, yeah, yeah, How could I forget, I've already got the whining phone calls on my cell about the whoops, and also the "keep the whoops calls too". If you like the whoops it's because you're pretty fast in them and if you hate the whoops it's because you suck in them. How could I go riding today anyway, my mechanic was playing Captain yesterday and my bike isn't ready. I talked to a friend today, Karl Davis, another 40+ Intermediate. Karl just got back to work after knee surgery from an on duty injury. He's getting back on a bike this week to get ready for the April rounds of the FPMN. Here's what I'm getting at.......I dig sitting on the starting line with a bunch of friends. There is nothing like it in the world. Fifteen to twenty guys ready to do battle, to give it your all, to do what ever it takes to win, you know everyone of them, AND you don't hate them! You don't even dislike them, they're your friends. These guys are Cops and Firemen who love what you love, and here's the best part. When the moto is over you're better friends than you were 15 minutes ago. It's AWESOME..................unless that jerk cut you off and took your medal from you.........................."I hate that guy!"

3-21-02    The FPMN world is a small world, yesterday I get pulled over by an FPMN CHiPs guy that is in my racing class (40+ Intermediate), then I show up at work this morning and Steve Marquez is there working overtime, also in my racing class. Being in the Motocross promotion business, T-Shirt business, and sunglasses business one has to fit bike maintenance into his spare time and sometimes that's at my real job. Anyway Steve has always kind of  been my mechanic, so when I saw him here today I went into rider mode. "Steve can you change my rear tire, clean the air filter, actually I have another dirty filter you can clean too, I also need my linkage greased and oil changed". That's not too much to ask is it? "Oh yeah tighten my chain, lube my clutch cable and bleed my brake lines". After my nap I checked on the bike. No progress, the thing still sat with Perris mud on it. "Hey Marquez what gives?" "That's Captain Marquez to you"..............................d a r n.       

3-20-02    The FPMN just got invited to help out with the Motocross Des Nations @ Comp Park. In fact FirePoliceMX.com was the first to report the "HUGE NEWS". The Des Nations in the USA for the first time and right here in our backyard on September 27,28 & 29. Today was another practice day at Perris, LAPD showed up in force. The track had a few changes, I think for the better. There is an awesome whoop section that separates the talent a bit, it's fun but challenging. I got pulled over by a CHP motor cop on the way home from Perris, I was minding my own business, obeying all the traffic laws (as usual), but had this CHP officer waving his arm and following me through Temecula. What's his problem? If you want to pull me over turn on the lights and hit the siren. This waving thing was new to me so I just kept on driving, doing the exact speed limit, staying in my lane. I was trying to remember everything I learned in 10th grade drivers Ed. He finally pulled up to the drivers window on a side street.........It was Dwayne Prickett asking how practice was.................e

3-18-02    I just found out a sad fact of life, the more you learn about something the more you realize that you don't have a clue. Six of us FPMNers just finished day one of Jim Gibson's motocross school. Our "Moto Hero" Dwayne Prickett and I were talking  last week at Perris Raceway and decided that we knew all there was to know about  riding Motocross but just didn't apply all of the techniques when we rode. So Moto school was just a refresher course, WRONG!. We just spent six hours doing one corner learning ways to enter the corner faster, body position, braking, clutch, more braking, throttle control, leaning, etc . You would think that after six hours you could master one corner, WRONG AGAIN!.  Are we a bunch of losers? Will I ever beat Ned Lowerre? These are the questions that go through someone's head while downing two carne asada burritos, sitting around the camp fire with their classmates. The six of us, George Tucker, Dave Mason, Mike Frieling, Jim Piscitelli, Donnie Rivas and myself did ourselves a great service today. At times we cornered like Eric Mc Kenna, only way slower, but we did it right (a couple of times). But mostly we just learned the principals of how to do it right and with a ton of practice we'll be able to do this cornering thing faster than we do it right now.  I used to tell people that suspension was the most important thing they could do to improve their speed. But right now I would have to say education. And this was only day one. I wonder how clueless I really am about the sport I love..................e

3-15-02    It's getting close to race time, I can tell because my phone is ringing off the hook. The land line in one ear and the cell in the other. This morning when I got home from work I had a stack of  Pre-entry envelopes waiting to be opened. I reached for my trusty Spiderco knife only to find that I left it in my locker at work. I needed to open these letters so I looked in a drawer to get a pen or pencil to help tear the envelopes open. To my surprise I found a letter opener. What are the odds of finding a letter opener when looking for something to open letters with. Especially when I didn't know I had one in the drawer. This letter opener was a gift from Darrel Adlam, a New Zealand Police Officer. Darrel flew in for the FPMN last October. He rode Jeff  "Mother" Welch's YZ 426 in the Expert class. I started to think about the FPMN and what it means to those who participate in it. All the friendships that we have made, the people I've met from all over the country and around the world. It's like we have created our own little world here. Can you  imagine life without the FPMN, without Motocross? I'm having a hard time, what would I do with all this time on my hands? Bowl?....................see ya at the track.............e

3-13-02   Brandon you and Tony Fish tied in points, Tony was #58 but is running a three digit number, 58 is yours. Today was open practice at Perris. The track had a few minor changes, they mellowed out the rhythm section, it's beginner safe now. There are still some technical sections and a couple of nice jumps, one is 4th gear as fast as you want to go, the faster the smoother the landing. I heard rumors of wind but the weather was great. We got a breeze around 3pm but it didn't effect the riding too much. I think Matrix 2 must have opened in the Vegas area today (inside FPMN joke). We're getting close, just over a month away, PRACTICE! Please don't plan on working on your skills during practice on Monday, April 15th, now is the time.........................e 

3-12-02    Did some riding at Comp today with Danny Lowers and Donnie Rivas, It was a good time, the tracks were prepared great as usual. The 9am ride is a bit muddy but if you can wait until about 10am things are just about perfect. Had to cut practice short so I could have some energy for Perris tomorrow. Lowers is riding real well for just coming back after surgery on his elbow, He was off the bike since last summer. Jensen offered #50 to Brandon, thanks Chad. See ya tomorrow................e

3-8-02    Several times throughout the year I get an email or phone call from a disgruntled FPMNer wondering why he didn't get a National number for the next season. I listen to the complaint, wonder if I screwed up, then check it out and explain to the bothered FPMNer how it all works. I take a lot of pride in getting the number thing right, that's one of the reasons why it takes so long to get the National numbers posted. I go over it and over it and over it again until I'm 100% sure that I got it all right and didn't miss anyone. So last week when I got an email from Brandon Coatney (San Bernardino Fire) asking why he didn't get a National number and that he participated in every FPMN event, I was sure that Brandon was mistaken and didn't know how the system works. I actually wasn't going to check it out but in Brandon's email he used some familiar words, I could tell that he read the page on the website about "how to get a National Number". It kept bugging me. Did I screw up? No, I checked it too many times, no way! Today at work, several days after the email I finally had enough, It kept popping in my head.  I decided to checked the 2001 results. Brandon I am very sorry, I SCREWED UP! You should be National number 58. My fault! Brandon I will get you a number that is not being used lower than 58. If I can't find one available you can have mine. I'm very sorry..............e  

3-7-02   Not a whole lot happened today, I did however see an FPMN sticker on a truck today in Carlsbad, that was kind of cool. We got a new sponsor today, AC Racing, they make bike stands and loading ramps. I dig their stands, the ones with the side panels to sport your sponsors logos. We also got a couple of pre-entries in, thanks. I'm sore from Perris yesterday. If you get the chance, get over to Perris and practice on that track a few times before the Nationals. Anyone who is interested in Sponsoring or know someone who is interested email Ryan Chapin. RCNA4MX@aol.com   ....................e

3-6-02   Today was a play/work day. A bunch of us went to Perris Raceway to get ready for the April Nationals. Ned Lowerre, Dennis Joos and Brady Leffler drove west from the Phoenix area, Brad Hannig and Chris Rieffer came down from Las Vegas along with Southern Californians Rick Golden, Jim Piscitelli, Scott Nelson, Danny Lowers, Ryan Basaker, Paul Hamilton, Rob Cosner, Donnie Rivas and Chad Jones. There might have been more but I'm drawing a blank right now. Anyway the reason to be there was to learn the track and hang with some friends. I also wanted to make sure the track was FPMN friendly. That means fun for all but safe for our beginner riders, our beginners are true beginners not like the local beginners who are jumping over your head if you know what I mean.

The track was a lot of fun, it's not as fast as Glen Helen due to all the corners but it has some big jumps, nothing that is do or die (except one but it's a no do for me). The track also has a lot of technical sections and should make for some great racing. Perris has great dirt, I loved it, it made me feel a whole lot better about my cornering, I hate hard pack tracks because I stink on them, but Perris' dirt allows your front tire to bite thus giving the slow a feeling of confidence. The track also held up really well, it got a little rough late in the day but nothing like the Glen. The Pits at Perris will be tight with all the trailers and motor homes but we'll squeeze in. Scott Nelson had me check on the availability of the PeeWee track for all the FPMNers' kids on race day. The answer is "YES" but we need adult supervision, so if you bring your kids 50's and 60's you need to spend some time at the Pee Wee track as a supervisor.

We have 35 pre-entries in already, that's way ahead of last October. Thank you. Remember that we Raffle off  boxes of contingency prizes worth big bucks, some worth several hundred dollars to %10 of the pre-entered riders. This will take place at the riders meeting on Monday morning. So please send in your Pre-entries.

Last thing, the gates will close at 8pm on Sunday for all you