Nintendo is releasing a new ExciteBike in November for the Wii. Are you as stoked as I am?!?! Probably not, but I don’t care. It’s gonna be sweet!

So it’s been almost a week since my apparently impressive wad-up in the whoops at Racetown, and I feel like I am slowly regaining the use of my existing brain cells. I do actually remember getting loose toward the end of the whoop section and whiskeying the throttle. I also remember leaving the face of the small tabletop while the bike and I parted ways. The next thing I remember is regaining consciousness (sort of) and seeing the silhouettes of people circling me. My next immediate thought was, “Where the f@# are my pants?”

Apparently, the EMTs felt it necessary to free me from my Answer Racing pants and POD knee braces, but my jersey was fine where it was. Shortly after realizing I was pants-free, I slipped back into unconsciousness until I reached the hospital. After a cat-scan and some incoherent joking with Swap (who was bedside the entire time), I was discharged. Swap and I decided PF Changs was the perfect resting place for me, so we met Eggo and Lutz for some good ole’ fashioned Asian fusion. I have no idea what I ate, nor do I remember much more of the day. And as you can imagine, the next couple of days were a fog. Although, I did feel it necessary to visit the tattoo parlor for some more pain. And, in fact, I think it helped. It got the blood flowing and my nerves were revived a bit. Who knew ink could be so therapeutic?

So now that it has been nearly a week and I have burned some cash at the ink house, I am starting to think I am ready to get back on the track… perhaps a track that does not have whoops.

If you’re a fan of any of the other TransWorld titles, or are a skateboarder by chance, you may be aware of the passing of Eric Stricker, longtime editor at TransWorld Skateboarding. I have been a fan of his since well before I worked for TWMX. He was a big part of why SKATE is such a dope mag. Below is part of a post from the TW SKATE site.

Please join us in honoring Eric’s memory with a skate jam at The TransWorld SKATE warehouse on Saturday, November 14. We’ll have Chicago-style deep dish pizza, Silver Bullets, and limited-edition memorial T-shirts for sale—the proceeds of which will go to the Eric Stricker Memorial Fund. You can also donate below.

A fund has been set up for people that would like to donate to the Eric Stricker Memorial Fund, which will assist the family with their unexpected costs.

To donate click the donate button or follow these directions:
Paypal members—Email address: ericstrickermemorial@gmail.com
Paypal non members—To donate please go to paypal.com
Click on send money then send money online and enter ericstrickermemorial@gmail.com.

Both my mother and father have been supportive of whatever my brother and I have ever tried (except for skateboarding), and since both of us started working in the motocross industry, my mother, in particular, has become quite the follower of motocross, and especially Supercross. She initially payed closer attention to Chad Reed’s exploits because, in part, my brother Shane started designing his signature Scott goggle.  After a while, however, she realized she actually enjoyed watching him, and as she naturally compared him to the other riders on the track, she decided it was his riding style that held her interest. Although she frequently mentioned to me that she didn’t really like what he said on the podium at whatever Supercross, she maintained that she still couldn’t help but root for him.
And now, as Chad has become somewhat of a media darling, she is convinced that he is her favorite rider. When I told Swap about my mom actually following the sport closer than most of my friends, he soon hit Chad up. Helping me out with one of the more cool Mother’s Day gifts (in my opinion), Swap talked Chad into bringing him a signed number one jersey when they met up at Seattle Supercross early this year.

When my mom and dad came down from Washington for the VW Classic car show, I gave it to her in the Anaheim Stadium parking lot (fitting, right?).  We drove over there to check out a VW bus meet, so I took advantage of the setting. I couldn’t believe how pumped she was; she is definitely a true fan. I realized two things: one, Reed is a badass for hooking my moms up with a jersey; and two, my moms is way easier to shop for than I thought.

Speaking of my parents being stoked on whatever crap my brother and I geek out on, my dad picked up the vintage Volkswagen addiction when I was in high school. A hot rod guy at heart, he couldn’t help but geek out on VWs, first when my brother bought his first ‘61 sedan, then when I bought my ‘64 vert. He had to have one of his own that he could play with, so he eventually scored a ‘63 21-window Deluxe (shown with my moms). He has dialed it in for sure; it’s one of the most beautiful rigs out there. Basically, my parents are f@#ing cool.

I don’t claim to condone some of the shit Jason Lawrence has done over the last two seasons, but I am convinced he is getting an unfair rap. As I was standing with Jason and his mechanic as we all waited for the second 450 moto to stage, I witnessed everything that supposedly led to his gate penalty and ultimately, the black flag. That said, he got screwed!

In the first 450 moto, Lawrence busted his master cylinder… yes, you read correctly. As I heard one mechanic say, “I don’t think I could bust off the master with a sledgehammer.” So, you can imagine Lawrence, and his mechanic Toshi, were more than a little worried about the brakes in the second moto. The 450 guys all gathered behind the start gate after the second 250 moto, but the wait was excruciatingly long due to the live coverage. So, during the wait, Lawrence hopped on his bike and putted it back and forth tapping the brakes for about 20 seconds. With that, he returned the bike to Toshi and went about his business chatting with Josh Grant and Josh Hill. Within minutes, an AMA official pulled him aside and told him he was stripped of his fourth gate pick and would have to start from the 40th. Naturally, J-Law flipped. He yelled and mouthed off (as most of us would have done) and then threatened not to move from his gate.

Eventually, they coaxed him into his 40th gate, and everything seemed to be right with the world again… then he got black flagged. The word is that he jumped the gate, which is against the rules… but after personal inspection of the AMA rulebook, I found that jumping the gate does not warrant a black flag. It clearly states that “In the event of a rider jumping the starting device, he shall be penalized one lap.” Hmmm, one lap is a little different than a black flag.
I dug deeper. Where does it say Jason Lawrence can’t check his brakes while there is an indefinite wait for TV scheduling? And where does it say he is to be docked gate picks? I couldn’t find it.

Is J-Law wreckless? Yes. Did he deserve to race at Hangtown? Yes. Just sayin.

I haven’t been much for blogs, which sounds completely contradictory coming from MY blog; but it’s not so much that I am not a fan, it’s more that I don’t really know where to look for them…. the good ones, I mean. More recently, I have found that I can gain a lot of insight from people and outlooks I respect. It may be from people I have met before, or a person I may want to meet but never get the chance. For me, Embry Rucker’s blog has done just that for me. I have actually met him, though he more than likely doesn’t remember, but it was fun watching him work… albeit in an abreviated, impromptu environment.
Anywho, Rucker is pretty much a king among men in the photography world, at least the photography that I gravitate toward, and I have found myself enjoying checking in on his exploits. He is pretty good about updating his blog (something that I have not fully embraced myself), and he posts a lot of cool shots that I like just oggling at. It has definitely inspired me to update my blog more often… not that anyone really gives a shit about what I am doing, but that really isn’t the point for me, I guess. Perhaps it is more like those people who still write letters instead of emails, or keep a journal. It is for me, but if someone else finds something in it, then all the better. My point? Well, I don’t really know. Maybe it’s that blogs don’t suck as much as I thought they did when I first heard that word.

Everyone gets excited for Vegas Supercross, and for good reason. It’s the SX season finale; we get to see the East coast and West coast guys battle it out on the same track; and well, it’s Vegas!
Add to the excitement the after-parties, industry events, and big-ass casinos, and it makes for an exciting weekend.
One thing I am particularly excited for is the grand opening of the new DC Store at the Miracle Mile Shops. RC, Millsaps, McGrath, Robbie Maddison, Nate Adams, Adam Jones, Josh Hill, and Dustin Miller are all going to be there, so I’m gonna get some autographs…well, probably not, but I am going to go kick it and put out the vibe.

So, this is the newest look for my blog that no one reads. Most of the time, when I try to express my mind to others, I am reciprocated with a series of bewildered and/or astonished looks…not unlike the responses from those listening to the incoherent ramblings of a complete lunatic… Hence, the strait-jacket photo to your right.
The truth of the matter is, Swap and I had to get the lighting right for that killer lead spread of our recent Robbie Maddison feature, so I stood in as the stunt model. Yup, it’s dangerous; I could have died. But I did it; because i love my country. Right.
Anywho, this is the new blog format that will hopefully get some positive feedback; then we can have our (and your) favorite industry types start bloggin’ it up, or whatever. Plus, we have this new commenting engine that is pretty trick. Its called IntenseDebate and it is sort of a social networking tool in itself. It links your Facebook, Myspace, Digg, whatever… so you can really start to piss people of on a large forum. Also, IntenseDebate allows you to add polls and videos to your comments. Dope, right?
Well, I think it’s cool. And my mother always told me I was the coolest kid in school…and handsome too.
Skinny

Its race day here in Italy, and needless to say, I am pretty pumped. The rain has stopped and the track looks pretty damn good considering the onslaught of precipitation it took last night. It should be a good day.

If you have been checking out the news, you know that reigning champ David Philippaerts has the “pole position” for the MX1 GP of Italy, while Arnaud Tonus put his KTM in the top spot for the MX2 class. I would have guessed that Red Bull Factory KTM’s Rui Goncalves would have taken it after seeing him last season and hearing that he has continued to improve; but unfortunately for him, he was part of a start-straight pile up in the Qualifying race. Nicolas Aubin was also involved in the wreck. I believe no one was hurt, but I will let you know if one of them doesn’t show up to the line today.

So it’s 8 AM local time as I sit in the Brussels airport awaiting my final flight into Italy for the opening round of the 2009 MXGP. That means its midnight back in California where I took off. I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane…probably because of the phenomenal programming on the in-flight television and the delectable cuisine served to me. Or maybe it because its only midnight back home and I would still probably be up reading comments on the website while I watch syndicated Family Guy episodes.