Downtime..

It has been a really really long time since I have updated my blog. A ton of really cool stuff has happened since the end of the last season! I originally had plans to keep doing some fun races in the off season, such as the final GNCC rounds, and Endurocross Finale in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, those plans were canceled abruptly. The second to last race of the GNCC series at Loretta Lynn’s was my last race of the year. I had a good race there rounding out the top 5. Later that night I drove to Alabama for a local MX race at Mill Creek. That turned out to not be the best idea for me as I would leave early the next morning for the ER with a broken wrist and collar bone. I knew right away that I was going to have a serious off season. For the first time I was relegated to really making downtime for myself. I had 2 pins put in my wrist to hold the head of the radius together, and a plate put into my collar bone to place the 3 pieces back together. My doc in Alabama did a great job and I am healing really well.
While I was down for the count, I still had the opportunity to do some really fun things. I had already planned to go to California for testing prior to the Endurocross, so I decided to keep the trip out there and hang out with friends and watch the race instead. I stayed with Caselli for the week leading up to the race and we had a blast! Kurt had a championship party that was killer and it really showed how much he appreciates everyone that helps him with all his success. (MUCH DESERVED) The whole Vegas weekend was an incredible experience for me as well!! Not only was I there to watch the Endurocross, but also for the AMA Hall of Fame Ceremony, and Champions Banquet. The Inductee Ceremony was interesting. I had the chance to meet some bigwigs in the industry, and also some nostalgic riders. It was awesome to be introduced to Bob Hannah, who I looked up to growing up and still have a poster of in my room at home! The next night we attended the Awards Banquet which was also located at the Red Rock Casino. The AMA did a great job setting up the room and serving an excellent dinner. It is always really fun having everyone together that has put in the same effort you have to achieve a championship. The surprise of the night came when the AMA announced the Athlete of the Year. I was blown away when they called me up to the stage!! I really had no idea that I was going to be picked. The other selected nominee’s for the award had a ton of credibility and each had a long list of accomplishments. It was a great feeling and I feel very rewarded to have been chosen for such a honor.
The rest of the year has been full of the paper side of the business and therapy. I am happy to be on the FMF/KTM Team for the next two years!! I have also continued support from all of my current sponsors! I am in the midst of updating my website with fresh pictures and updates so hold tight! I would like to announce one of my new sponsors that have come on board and that is DVS Shoes! Along with all the contractual developments for 2012 I would say that one of the biggest contracts that I am in the middle of negotiating is for buying my new house! Just north of Athens, GA will be my new homestead and I am super excited!! It has been a juggling act recently with training, house stuff, and rehab taking up most of my time.
The Holiday Season has been very fruitful for myself. I have had the luxury of downtime to actually spend more of my winter break with family and friends. My injury has been very frustrating, but at the same time it has been a kind of blessing in a way as it has given me the time to take the slow BIG steps that I needed to make in my life and career. I have some new ideas for the future and have the idea of a Riding School/Camp circulating around in my head! Right now, though it is time to get back to being a “slave to the grind,” and get prepared for the first National Enduro January 29!! I hope all of you have had exceptional holidays and look forward to seeing you at the races again soon!! Feliz Navidad!!

2011 AMA/Recluse National Enduro Champion

October 1, 2011 marked the last round of the AMA National Enduro series this year. The final round was held in Matthews, IN, which has been a location that has served many championship battles for myself over the past few years. In normal fashion the title was on the line at the last race, and the points were only separated by a single point! My teammate Charlie Mullins was a nose ahead and fighting to make a repeat. This being the situation, the one who beat the other would win the championship no matter where we placed overall.
In the month leading up to the final race I stayed busy racing the local SE&TRA enduros and doing some testing to find a little bit of an edge. The last couple of nationals hadn’t been going in my favor, and I felt like I had been over-riding the bike. I decided to test out the 300. Some other riders had been riding them and doing well. I had actually never tested the 300 back to back to my 250. KTM sent tech Anthony Dibasillo down to my place to do some testing. We did laptimes at my home track and I instantly fell in love with the 3HoneyMoney! It was what I was looking for!! It allowed me to carry a higher gear in places and provided more bottom-end torque that helped carry momentum even better. I rode the 300 at a couple local races and had great results. I quickly felt comfortable and fast on the bike. I had also been riding with MX Trainer Matt Walker at his tracks and getting some good motos in with his riders. ( http://www.SchoolOfMotoX.com )
I decided to drive to Indy from Atl, GA so I could get up there a couple days early and ride some similar terrain. My friend, Andrew Marsh, helped drive and with all the preperations leading up to the race. Also, the Warner family offered a great place to ride before the race and fed us to the brim with their special “yardbird,” and potato soup! The weather was definitely cooler and wetter than at home. It had been raining all week long. I knew that this race could either be incredibly slick or have traction that makes you feel like your riding with spikes. It continued to rain off and on leading up to the race, but the high winds kept drying things out relatively quickly. A quick ride on the race bike Friday and I was set to go. My Mechanic, Tanner Harding, mounted Dunlop 31′s for the soft terrain and buttoned up all the odds and ends on the bike. I think I saw him check my spoke tension at least 15 times between Friday and Saturday morning.
The race started out with a 9 mile test right out of the pits. I had a great first test! The trail was still slick in spots, but was really fun and flowing. I won the first test and put 15 seconds on Charlie. My bike felt dialed and I was riding well and having fun. The second test would end up being thrown out, because the majority of riders missed a turn in the middle of the section. I also had a crash on a pavement road in that one!! Luckily, it wasn’t too bad and was able to get up and get going quickly. Tests 3,4, and 5 were all full of different terrain. We raced in cornfields, grass tracks, tight woods, sandy creek beds, and crossed our fair share of logs! All the rain the area had recieved made the river crossings pretty deep, which made for some great spectator points. I won those tests and only had a couple slide outs in the 5th. Going into the last section I had roughly a 50 second lead. The last test was 12 miles, the longest of the day. I stayed up right for the last section and rode a smart ride and still managed to win the test! It was the first race that I had won all the special tests and would be my 5th victory of the year!! Mullins and Lafferty both rode a great race as well, and it made a great day for KTM taking top honors!
I would really like to thank everyone who sent luck and wishes! I definitely felt all the support. HUGE thanks to my sponsors that worked hard and provided everything I needed to make it happen! My Team Sponsors: FMF/KTM, Motorex, Dunlop, Thor, Rekluse, Acerbis, Motion Pro, Muscle Milk, KTM_Powerwear/Parts, VP Racing Fuel, Renthal, WP. My Personal Sponsors: Sidi Boots, Scott Goggles, Troy Lee Designs Helmet, Hydrapak, CTI Knee Braces, Skull Candy, and Rockwell Time!

FINLAND ISDE PODIUM!

The 86th ISDE visited Finland for only the second time; the first was in 1996 in Hameenlinna, which is two or so hours northwest of the seaside city of Kotka, which served as the base of operations for this edition. The race was characterized by its demanding conditions, made more so by the rain which fell for the first four days, sometimes in sheets, before giving way to a nice end to the week. Host country Finland dominated the top tier FIM World Trophy team competition, followed by Spain and Team USA. The U.S. Junior World Trophy team finished a solid fourth behind France, Sweden and Great Britain. It was a personal best finish for myself as I maintained a Gold Medal, 7th in E2, and 16th place Overall!

Wyoming National Enduro Win!

This was the third time we returned to Upton, WY for a National Enduro, and it was the best race there yet! Everyone from the town was super nice and the conditions of the track were primo. The club did a great job marking the trail and really made improvements cutting back some of the branches that could grab you from the year before. The racing was super close all day and full of tight battles. My teammate, Charlie Mullins, and I got out to a quick start tying for the fast time of the first special test despite a small fall I had halfway through. The second test was a little longer and I managed to have a good time, but wasn’t the fastest and dropped a little time to both Thad Duvall and Charlie. The terrain was fast and flowing and had a deceivingly tractable hardpack ground. You could actually brake really hard when in a straight line. Although I did feel as though I was struggling with the bikes power a bit with the higher elevation through out the day. The third test went well, but again I was not the fastest. I felt as though I was riding well and was having a lot of fun, but had a little trouble in a mudhole.

My bike was set up well and knew I was in the hunt to be able to win. The day before we were testing the bike and it was the first time in weeks that I was riding the bike and more worried about “it” then my body. My wrist injury was finally not bothering me and I wanted to get the bike as dialed as possible. Tanner, my mechanic, did a great job helping me get my bike jetted and set up for the event. As the second half of the race began to get underway I started riding a little better and making improvements on my times. I won the fourth special test, and tied Duvall for the win of the fifth special. Going into the last test, Mullins had the lead by 12 seconds and I was only up on Duvall by a mere 2 seconds! I knew I was going to have to make a strong push to make something happen. In the previous years the last section has always been a blast! It is much more technical than the rest of the course. It has a mix of fast sections with some really rocky ravines and wall rides that are similar to arena cross corners. I had good energy going into the last test and kept pushing for the entire test. I caught up to Cory Buttrick not far from the end and I knew I was putting in a good section to be able to do that. After the test scores were all gathered I had won the test by 25 seconds and was able to pull off the win! I was really happy to be able to come back and get a victory after a struggle with being hurt and a dismal finish at the round in Arkansas. It was great having my dad there and a nice present for fathers day as well!!

24 Hour Challenge Win!

Although it took place a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to touch real quick on the Perry Mountain 24 Hour. It was a great weekend for the FMF/KTM Cycle Specialty Team! We had a group of very talented riders combined with great support and the amazing bike build from Allen Gravitt. He did a lot of the work getting the 300XC we rode prepared. The bike worked flawless all 24 Hours. The only small problem we had during the race was when our rear axle nut came loose and Mike Brown had to kick the axle back in continuously to keep the rear wheel from falling off! Our team managed to lead from the start to finish and put two laps over the second place finishing team. The team consisted of Mike Brown, Cory Buttrick, Brad Bakken, Steward Baylor, Kailub Russell, and myself. Everyone did a great job and I am looking forward to next year!

Catching Up!

The racing season has been flying by this year and it seems that every weekend there is another race or place to be! In the last 11 weeks, there has only been one weekend that I did not race!! I love it. Some people feel like they are already getting burned out, but I feel more energized than ever and ready to keep racing. I have really been enjoying racing the GNCC’s this year and with every race feel an improvement. I finished 5th Overall at Big Buck in South Carolina two weeks ago and had a great was happy with my performance. The National Enduro’s are going well for me as well. I am currently leading the points 4 rounds into the series. The competition is stacked this year and it is going to take a lot of work to keep it on top of the box.
The last Enduro in Tennessee was both a National as well as an ISDE qualifier. I rode a solid race and was able to win. That helped extend my points lead and solidified my spot on the World Trophy Team! I am really excited about Six Days this year! I skipped out on Mexico last year and now I can’t wait to go to Finland. I haven’t heard too much about what the terrain is like exactly, but from what I have heard it should suit me pretty well. This will also be my first time riding on the World Trophy team as compared to the Junior Trophy. In 2006, I along with Kurt Caselli, Ricky Dietrich, and David Pearson won the Junior Trophy for the USA. That was a great accomplishment and I am looking forward to this year on the six man team!
It was almost a little strange to have a weekend off for Easter. I had been in such a groove with races every weekend that it felt like I had an incredible amount of extra time on the weekend. It was really nice though as I got to relax and spend some time with friends and family at home. My dad and I went riding Easter Sunday and he can fly on his new KTM 250 SXF. He actually threw some roost on me a couple times. I had to make sure and get him back though!
This weekend since Loretta’s GNCC was cancelled it allows me to go to the Dreamhouse Family Fun Ride! It is a great Charity that is held in Aonia, GA and helps medically fragile children. I have been going to this ride for several years now and am glad that I will be able to make it now. After this weekend though there is no more time off racing. With OMA’s, Enduro’s, GNCC’s, and a 24 Hour Challenge to look forward to, I have my weekends cut out! See you there!

Rad Dad National Enduro Win

Westpoint TN, home to Round 4 of the AMA National Enduro Series is in the books as of this past weekend. It was also the second ISDE qualifier of the year. You couldn’t have asked for any better weather as Sunday morning rolled around. Temperatures started in the 50′s and stayed in the comfort zone around 70 the rest of the day! I have always liked the trail at this race and have raced there several times and each time it seems like it gets better. There was a pretty serious storm late in the week leading up to the event that removed any dust on the course and left it a little greasy in spots. The trail itself was really fun and flowing. It had fun off-cambers, up and down hills, and some really awesome ruts. I had been doing a little bit of riding the week before in Alabama where the trail is very similar. My bike was setup great for this terrain and I think my 250 XC was the perfect bike for the day. The first section got the blood pumping with a ten mile section that was still fairly slick. I had a good ride through there and had the second fastest time to Cory Buttrick. The second section wouldn’t go quite as well as I tangled with a lapper right before a downhill. We just mixed lines and ended up smashing into each other. He was actually a really nice guy and helped me get up and get back going very quickly and I was very appreciative of that! I felt out of a rythym the rest of the section but still managed a good time. The third section was a quickie. 4.8 miles long and fairly fast. Everyone’s times were super close on this test and I missed the win by a mere second. We then hit the gas stop for a little break and had section 4 that would take off right out of the pits. I had good times in that section and the fifth test. One of my favorite parts of the race was the end of the fifth test. There was a short piece of grass track kind of cutout that was like purpose built rut track. The dirt was amazing and you could charge super hard. I was told that I had the lead over Mullins going into the last test of the day. I knew that he had been right there all day and that I needed to put in a great ride to keep the lead. Cory Buttrick was feeling under the weather due to some bad food he ate and was hurting in the last section. I rode a super smooth ride and felt like I didn’t hit a single tree in the last test. It was super tight and had some pine needles down on the ground still since it was an “A” only section. I caught Cory and he let me by and kept the hammer down. I greased the section and was pumped with my ride when I finished. Able to take a win and make a KTM podium sweep made an awesome weekend! This also secured me on the Trophy Team that will be heading to Finland in August for the ISDE!