Monthly Archives: March 2009

AJ at Victory Circle is a magician.  Check out the cool graphics he sent to Joe and me for our bikes this year.

Race ready

Joe and I gave AJ some suggestions on what we were looking for but it was AJ that came up with the design and colors. It’s a little reto looking with the Suzuki 3-tone blue scheme and I really dig the clean and simple look.  Thanks AJ!

Why number 8?  That’s where I finished in District 16 last year.

Now that the bikes are all decaled up it time to go racing.  Unfortunately we were pummeled with 5 inches of spring snow overnight so that’s put drying riding off for several more weeks.  We were so close to getting out and not having 3 hour clean up sessions after every ride.

I did get over to Homann’s place last weekend for a quick look at our old stomping grounds.  Had I made plans to ride that day it would have been perfect.  It wasn’t wet then but now it surely is after the snow we had last night. But Homann’s looked good and I plan to get over there a ton this summer.

Homann’s is what we call our somewhat unusual riding place.  It’s owned by 83 year old Marvin Homann.  Marv has only left the state of Wisconsin once in his life when he enlisted in the army just after World War II.  He’s a farmer’s farmer and owns 300 acres about 2 miles from my house and severl more hundreds of acres elsewhere in the county.  He lets us ride on his place as long as we don’t get hurt.  Marv’s hearing is going and he often forgets who I am so I end up talking loudly while I’m explaining why I’ve just beat a trail around his property.

Only six weeks until my first race of the year.  I’d feel better about my fitness if I wasn’t sick.  The kids and I have been passing a cold back and forth for a week or two.  I’m confident I can be going good for my season’s opener in Arkansaw, WI on May 10th. Hope to see you there.

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Third week of March here in south-central Wisconsin and it’s finally getting to the point where I’m ready to try riding outdoors.  Studding up and riding the local trails sounded like a good idea at one point but I never got my act in gear and gumption up to actually pull it off.  At least now the woods are free of snow and ice and might be somewhat dry.  I’m getting soft in my old age.  Just four years ago I would have already been in the woods a dozen times.  Too much clean up and wear and tear for me these days.

Pete Semerak – the friendly guy that bought my ’07 RM250 last fall – wrote me saying the track on his 10 acres is nearly dry enough to ride.  I bet he and his friends are down there in Oregon, WI this weekend rearranging the dirt.  I’ve just returned from a week in Europe so I will be home with family; no riding for me.

I might get the Montesa out for a few minutes this weekend (again, if the weather holds).  That would be a good way to get my season started.  Keep you posted.

Let the fun begin. It's 28 degrees but I can hardly wait to give the 144 a trashing.

Last ride for a while today so we made the best of it.  We’re heading back north for a few more months of winter and don’t expect to be back on dry dirt for far too long.  St Joe was a hoot and we’re both glad we drove all that way, despite the cold temps and wind.

Another cold day greeted us this morning so we took our time getting over to the trailhead.  We grabbed Joe some coffee and did breakfast at a diner chain of some sort, gassed up and headed over.
We were not the first ones to arrive today as several eager quad riders beat us to it.  Our ride start was further delayed because of some bike work we did.  Joe jetted his bike again and I swapped back to the stock 38mm Mikuni carb.  The bike ran much better when I fired it back up to check my work so we suited up and a hit the trail.

Joe wanted to evaluate his jetting changes so we did a few laps on the loop we made yesterday.  The cold temperatures made my hands uncomfortable and the gloves I chose were moving around on the grip so much that my arms were pumping up.  I left Joe to do his laps and I went back to the van for a glove swap.
When I came back I couldn’t find Joe so I did laps on a technical loop that had a short and narrow rock section.  The ground was frozen so the grip was unpredictable and slick.  It took me several laps to learn the approach but I rarely could get up with out paddling some of the way. This problem spot is at the tail end of this video:

I still couldn’t find Joe so I did a counter-clockwise perimeter lap of the 8000 acre space.  I stayed on the trails that kept the boundary fence just on my right so I’d get the longest lap I could out of it.  The trail dips and bobs around gullies and rock formations all the way around so you’re rarely going that fast. The eastern half of the lap is rocky and loose with some tricky but doable climbs.  I enjoyed trying to keep my momentum up and look up the trial as far as my grip would let me.  Occasionally the shortest line was composed of dried leaves and fist sized rocks and was relatively treacherous if your concentration lapsed.  A lap took me about 35 minutes.

Riding in the woods;sheltered from the wind and loving the dirt

I found Joe at the van afterwards.  We were both feeling the affects of the past two days and agreed on one last outing before loading up.  I grabbed the cameras and we shot a few stills and some video just for fun.

One thing that stands out from my time at St Joe is that I never fell – not in 7 hours of riding.  That’s unheard of for me.  Have I matured or was I going way too slow?  No matter; I’ll savor the fact that I have all the skin I started with.

The news some of you have been waiting for:  The 144 stays.  For months now I’ve been on questioning if the little engine could but I’m convinced it can.  Besides, the thing is so light and fun to flick around in the wood I don’t think I can let it go.

Our next outing?  Not sure.  I suppose we should somehow get over to Homann’s farm and cut a new lap.  Dyracuse opens in a month but half of that place is usually under water until the middle of May.  We’ll probably head up that way anyhow just to get time on the bike before our first races.  More later.