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.

What’s better than racing A Day in the Dirt? Not much of anything I can think of… But a distant second may be racing the exact same track with a fresh track prep and a fraction of the racers; and being able to be home before noon. Yep. Its awesome.

This last weekend the TransWorldMX crew met at LA County Raceway for the CRC (California Racing Club) Merry Christmas GP, where they were utilizing the ADITD track before the end of the year. This year’s track was incredible; rough, but fun as hell. The super-fast uphills and downhills, the concrete straightaway, deep sand… so much fun.

Ya know, I was actually doing semi-okay too…until the last lap. I just had to screw it up, just had to stare at the rut in the turn….stare and stare and stare, until I pushed the front end and was sent over the bars and onto the back of my head. I took it as yet another lesson learned: don’t look at the rut or your fender, eyes up, look ahead.

I have to be honest, getting dead-last kind of sucks. I don’t where I placed in this last GP, because the results still have yet to be posted, but I imagine it is somewhere near the back. Granted, a few dudes DNF’ed, but still…

Even so, I have been having a blast racing. Even if my results aren’t showing it, I know that racing has improved my ability exponentially. Riding practice days kept me riding in my comfort zone, and it left me no room to improve. Racing has forced me to ride faster and more aggressively for more laps at a time. So even if I don’t post great results, I am stoked on my progression.

If you have read any of Swap’s or my blogs, than you probably know that I have taken up racing as of late. And as you know, racing can put some damage on your gear as well as your pocket book. Well, its done exactly that with me. With all of the driving, race entry fees, bike parts, and gas station food, I’ve had to take out a second mortgage on the house that I don’t own. Add that to the constant abuse that my ego takes every time I see race results, and I am a pathetic case.

Well, thanks to Reidar Oyen at Scott USA, my race burden has been lessened a bit. He has heard that I’ve been trying to climb the never-was ranks of beginner racing, and was kind enough to support the cause. I was greeted at the office earlier this week with a box of tear-offs for my Voltage Airs from the moto marketing manager, and I was pumped. Since I run at the back of the pack, I get roosted a ton. Hence, I go through a lot of tear-offs. Let’s do the math: 10 20-packs of tear-off is 200 tear-offs, so… that should get me through at least two motos. Victory is mine.

Now, if I could only get the guys at Scott to send gas money…

Anyway, thanks Reidar.

CK

I just returned home from my Thanksgiving jaunt to the annual A Day in the Dirt, and although I hurt to my core, I am beaming with satisfaction. It seems more often than not that no matter how great an event is these days, you just can’t convince people that it compares to “the good ole’ days.”

“Mammoth was awesome! I just love that track; the mountains, the weather, the soil. It’s amazing.”

“Yeah, but you should have raced it ten years ago when it was really good…”

I hate those comments. I’m tired of feeling like I missed out on the special events and races that make our sport special. And that is why I am so happy today. I know that I was a part of something special this weekend; something just plain fun, unique, and real. And I am not going to cheat anyone by saying “you should have been there,” but I will say, you should be there next year. It was great this year… and it will be great next year too. Every year, Elrod Racing brings the Hollywood film and stunt community together with the motocross community for the most fun grand prix around. The track is amazing, the races are exciting, the comradery is second to none, the stories astonishing.

I met a guy named Chris from Munich, Germany who flew over to the States solely to race A Day in the Dirt. He told me in far better English than I speak that he loved it; better than anything in Germany.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who makes A Day in the Dirt possible. And before I begin to ramble, I think I’ll retire and continue flipping through photos.

CK

Last weekend I raced, once again, with Swap out at LA County Raceway. And again, it was a lot of fun. I had horrible arm pump and I finished both motos in the back of the back, but I did enjoy myself. I liked the concrete starts and I jumped off the line in both motos relatively well. It was the 6 and 7 lap motos themselves that ruined me. I don’t know if it was the excessive C.L’s I drank on Halloween still haunting me, or just my nerves, but I could not hold on after three laps.

The track quickly turned to rough, true motocross abuse early in the day, and the wind stuck around throughout, but the sun was shining and the layout was fun. So, the racing bug was still under my skin when we loaded up late that afternoon and I headed back to Orange County.

So with the racing bug still alive and well, and yet another race day slated for LA County Raceway, I was scheduled to meet Swap, P-Lo, and the Ladle early this Sunday morning. Yet, instead of racing right now, I am typing this. Yep, I flaked. I just couldn’t bring myself to drive the two hours after I saw the weather report late last night. With a high of 60 and a low of 40 predicted, the temperature wasn’t ideal, but it was manageable. It was the 30 mph winds that were set to complement the cool temperatures that turned my nose away.

The light winds the weekend before threatened to ruin my weekend; I don’t think I could bear legitimate winds after a two hour drive. I know, I am lucky to be able to race right now. Many of you are dealing with real cold and real weather, so my excuse holds little weight. But I say this, I will be ready for A Day in the Dirt, and I plan on not finishing dead last.

So there I am, sitting on my 2009 RM-Z250 watching Swap prep my gate, and all I can think about it is, Maybe I should have crapped first…

That’s right, not only did Swap prep my gate, he even filled out my race entry forms and prepped my bike. I tell you what, there is no better man to go racing with than Swap. Not only is he pretty damn entertaining, he absolutely loves racing. He makes racing that much better for everyone around him, and for me, it makes it far easier.

I have avoided racing for the most part, due mostly to my, let’s say, lack of enthusiasm toward competition. Well, that and I’m slow. I realized, though, that it doesn’t really matter. No matter how slow you are, there are a bunch of other guys that are just as slow to bang bars with. Although for me, winning isn’t really a driving factor for me to continue to tag along with Swap to races. Instead, I am motivated go back because the racing atmosphere just seems help me (and most everyone, I would guess) progress. Cruising around the track is pretty ideal for me, but I am not really getting any better. I easily settle in to my usual pace and hesitate to push myself. In the race situation, however, even if you have no intention, or chance, of winning, you can’t help but ride as fast as you can at that moment. I like that. I need that. Heaven knows I am not getting any better doing 3-lap cruising motos at Perris.

So, I guess I’ll see you at the races. I’ll be the one that Swap is pulling the downed bike off of.

So after a long journey speckled with treacherous airline food pitfalls and mind-bending traffic riddles, Swap, Lutes, and I found ourselves at the threshold of the Thistle Hotel, just minutes from the Donington Park race facility in the U.K.

Unfortunately for the TWMX crew, we were five hours too early to check in, so off to the track were we, showerless, jetlagged, hungry. No matter; the weather was perfect, our credentials were waiting for us, and Red Bull awaited us in the mega-sweet media center.

If you’re reading this, you no doubt have already perused the actual interesting material elsewhere on the main page. From track walks to interviews, we stayed busy all day. We moseyed most of the afternoon, both examining our surroundings, and spending some quality time with our own Team USA.

Finally, our legs, bellies, and coherence had all but failed us, and to the hotel we retreated. Ah, but the rocky road still lay ahead; as it turned out, Lutes and I would be sharing a single room, instead of the more inviting two-bed accommodation. “I guess we’ll have to spoon,” Lutes joked, before we learned there was, indeed, a fold out sofa.

“You mean top’n'tail?” the receptionist chimed.

Ah yes, top’n'tail.

Today marked the first time that our entire edit staff rode together this year and, I must say, it was quite emotional. Okay, so it wasn’t much different than any other day riding, but it was, indeed, nice to have everyone on the track together. Elmo finally strapped his Gaenres around his freshly healed ankle and put in some laps, and we were all quite proud of him. He has been hobbling around for most of his stint at TransWorld with a broken ankle, so he hasn’t even enjoyed the perks of working for a motocross magazine, short of the enormous amount of attention he gets from the ladies. Nice work Elmo!

Also, since Brendan has returned to the office, I haven’t even been on the track with him. I am not even in his realm of riding ability, but it’s nice to get pointers fromhim in between motos… and what is a ride day at TransWorld without eating a crapload of 450 roost from Swap?

Anywho, good times are here at TransWorld Motocross. I’m stoked.

Skinny

Remember the Tony Hawk Boom Boom HuckJam a few years ago? It was the crazy choreographed jam session with skate and BMX riders flowing a huge halfpipe while FMX stars flew over the ramps in timed fluid unison while bands like Social Distortion laid down a blaring soundtrack to the sensory overload. It was actually pretty cool.

Well, some good friends of mine invited my girlfriend and me to the final stop of this year’s HuckJam tour in Irvine last night and let me tell you… the beer was great. Unfortunately, other than seeing one of my childhood idols, Kevin Staab, on the ramp and spending time with some really fun people, the beer was one of the most standout highlights… and it was warm.

The beer line was especially long, unlike the ticket line.

What was once an arena-filling super show, is now more like a parking lot jam session. And that’s cool, but it is a far stretch from the original. The talent is still there, skaters like Staab, Ellis, Hendrix, and Diaz still join Tony on the ramp, as well as legend BMXer Dennis McCoy and BMX ruler Kevin Robinson. Drake McElroy and Matt Buyten were there with their dirt bikes, so the was nothing lacking on the FMX side either. So what was the deal?

Amazing action photo courtesy of Blackberry camera…

First, the old mega ramp with huge channels was replaced with a standard demo halfpipe, and instead of blind FMX jumps that sent the riders over the actual ramp, just a single ramp was set up behind the halfpipe.

Plus, it was in a parking lot, and there was no live music.

Overall, I had fun because I was with good people, and I always enjoy watching athletes do what they do best, but let’s just say it was a far cry from the highly-produced show that was more cirque de soleil than demo.

We’ve started a war. But this war may be able to clarify some things for you, so perhaps its a good thing. Swap and I have declared a PROP war. The guy who has more PROPS at the end of the month owes the other dinner. It is SO on! PROP my sh@% people!

I’m sure that you’ve all questioned, or even scoffed at, the Prop Value displayed on all the posts and users on the site. What is that? How does that help anything? Basically, if you like something, prop it. Lame? Is getting free stuff lame?

See, PROPS are good, because I plan on giving stuff away to those who are loading stuff and getting props for it.

But, more immediately, be sure to avoid propping anything Swap posts. Instead, prop my stuff…just mine. Haha.