Blog...
Day 25 Lets go Racing!
You’ll be able to read all about the racing on various motocross websites so I won’t go into any detail about that, but what I will say is that the one-day format is a good thing – just. They had a few teething problems with delays, and running behind schedule but overall I think that getting it all out of the way works.
Sure, it’s rushed and everyone is terribly busy, but that was the case before the switch. However, not it’s only for 12hrs, instead of 24.
One thing I will mention about the racing is that I am soooooooo looking forward to the rest of the year now. The 250 class is going to be crazy good and while the 450s may turn into a 1-man show, it’ll still be a good year for MX fans.
Saturday 23rd May 2009
Day 24 The Big Day
So today would be the day I’d finally get my lap-running out of the way. First off though was the press conference. It was cool to listen to all the riders, going over what they’d be doing in preparation for tomorrow’s race.
Then they had an hours practice, just to get their eye in. No-one was really flying so nothing much to report. I was just saving myself for the lap, so I didn’t exert myself too much.
By the time practice had finished and track maintenance had wound down, I was ready for the lap. I’d be joined by Brent for this race (and all the races he was attending) so that made things a little easier but I still wasn’t looking forward to it.
We set off around 6-ish which I figured would give us a clean shot at completing it without running into too many workers/bulldozers... what I hadn’t planned for was how much they’d watered and disked the track. The straights were like bogs and the hillsides were climbing up a slip-n-slide. It was ridiculous.
24 minutes later and we finally crossed the line. It was harder than I’d expected and Brent struggled just as much and he wants to do triathlons... If it was dry, I’m sure I could break 20 mins on it, and even do it without walking (other than on the slopes).
Still, 1 down, 11 to go...
Friday 22nd May 2009
Day 23 Calm before the Storm
Didnt really do much except prepare for what was ahead...
Thursday 21st May 2009
Day 22 Grand Designs
An early start today as we headed off to Corona for a meeting with Troy Lee designs’ Vice President, Bob Weber. I can’t give too much information away as it’s an article for Vurb Insider but it was a pretty cool interview and certainly gave a good insight into the workings of one of motocross’s coolest company.
A few pics here: http://www.ayearinmx.com/09/images/photos/20090520_TroyLee
When we got back (after witnessing the burning wreck on the freeway) we worked on the motorhome HARD! We took everything out and cleaned it, throwing away stuff we didn’t need. Now we have enough space for everyone to put their clothes away in... just need to fix the fridge, the step, one of the water pipes and work out if we can pull a truck behind. Definitely no ‘Mack’.
Wednesday 20th May 2009
Day 21 The Boys are back in town
Today was the day that I’d get to meet up with my fellow bunch of travellers. Wes Williams, Brent Stallo and Travis Steward were flying in today so we headed off to LAX to pick them up.
It was cool seeing those guys, obviously I knew Wes pretty well but I’d only ever met Brent a couple of times before (an infamous Sweet 16 in ’07) and I’d never really met Travis before, although I knew who he was.
The rest of the day we just spent BS-ing about the good ol’ days and the up-coming season. Something everyone of us looking forward to immensely. Travis is helping Wes do video at every round, while Brent will be doing stuff for Vurb at about 8 of them.
Tuesday 19th May 2009
Day 20 Ummm
Cant think of anything exciting today.
Monday 18th May 2009
Day 19 Ground Shaking
Off to golf again today so it was an extremely early start. I played a lot better, hit the ball cleaner... no mulligans and I putted pretty well. In fact if my chipping was better I’d have shot a lot lower. Instead it was an 88 which was only 3 less than last week, but it felt a lot more.
Later on that day, sitting out in the garage, I experienced something for the very first time... and hopefully I won’t ever have to deal with one again – an earthquake.
Now the point of impact was just south of Santa Monica, roughly 50-60miles away so what we felt in Yorba Linda was hardly anything, literally the floor shook for about 4 seconds, but only a gentle shake. Still, I don’t really wish to go through anything bitter than that.
Sunday 17th May 2009
Day 18 7 Days to go!
One week before the season starts... woohooo
Saturday 16th May 2009
Day 17 Nada
Nothing to see here
Friday 15th May 2009
Day 16 Glen Helen: Take 2
So Thursday = Glen Helen Practice. No if’s or buts. If you are a pro rider, you are at Glen Helen on a Thursday. I can’t even count the number of pros who were there, James Stewart WASN’T there, but it was pretty much a full house.
Check out my gallery here:
http://ayearinmx.com/09/images/photos/20090514_GlenHelen/
Thursday 14th May 2009
Day 15 Where no man has gone before
Yea, ok... I watched Star Trek. Although I think it might be the cool thing to do now so perhaps I shouldn’t be embarrassed by admitting I've seen it. Overall I thought it was a good film, I've seen enough of the series’ old/new/spin-offs to appreciate some of the little tributes they threw in but I do wish they could’ve done a story that didn’t involve time-travel. It always makes things way more complicated than they need to, not to mention creating big ol’ plot holes. Still, it was a good effort and I’m glad I've seen it.
Wednesday 13th May 2009
Day 14 Unbelievable
Today was probably the craziest day I've had since I first came to America to follow motocross. Seriously...
I got to do some pretty interesting and one-off things a couple of years back but this one was just better than everything... and it all came about through a slight error of mine – look back a couple of days to my Vegas weekend and you’ll read about how I had to interview Robbie Maddison, well anyway although that interview was ok... some of the audio messed up and basically, the video that had to made, wouldn’t have been the best. So we (me and Ryan) were told to meet up with Robbie at his house and film him doing some jumps.
When we got there we were told that we’d be following him to Brian Deegan’s house... now I don’t follow FMX (freestyle motocross) but even I know who he is, basically he created the ‘Metal Mulisha’ which is the best group of FMX riders in the world and is the most decorated motocross rider in XGames history... and we’d be going to his complex, a complex that only very few people ever get to be let in, let alone film at. So we get there and we notice that a whole bunch of the Mulisha are out practicing as well... basically giving us our own personal freestyle show...
Anyway, pictures tell a thousand words so check out my gallery here:
http://ayearinmx.com/09/images/photos/20090512_Maddison/
and the eventual (awesome) video that Ryan put together here:
http://thormx.com/multimedia.jsp?video=RobbieMaddison_09
Needless to say, it was just amazing seeing these guys in action, up close and personal, making everything look so easy. Certainly a day I’ll never forget.
Tuesday 12th May 2009
Day 13 Ummmm
I really can’t remember doing anything on this day... probably caught up on some sleep. Yea, that sounds good.
Monday 11th May 2009
Day 12 Nothing but a long walk spoiled
Another early start today as I’d finally got my wish - to play a round of golf. I wanted to play back in England, but the weather never really cooperated... not that I was overly happy at the 6am tee-time!
The idea is that we get there early, play the 18, finish by about 9am and then still have the rest of the day to do stuff. Sounded good in theory but it’s never easy to get up at 5.15am, especially on a Sunday.
The course we played on was set around land, either side of a valley where a storm drain flows to the sea. It works out well because all the land in the very centre of the course is a free-drop hazard, meaning you can smash it as hard as possible without any penalty (something I took full advantage of).
My round started off badly (as expected), improved in the middle when I went par, par, birdie... and then tailed off at the end. My putting was especially bad, but overall I shot a 91 and was reasonably happy, after all:
- It was the first time I’d played the course
- First round for over a year
- Never used the clubs before
- Or the putter
- It was 6am in the morning
- The golf shoes were a size too big
So yea, pretty happy really.
Didn’t really do much the rest of the day, well not until the evening when I decided to take the Walters’ dog, Nixon for a walk. He’s a border-collie and doesn’t get taken that often (ever) so I think he was pretty pumped. I could tell this because he proceeded to try and drag me for the 3-mile loop that I usually run. I did manage to restrain him, even when he saw other dogs eventually making it back in one piece about 45mins later.
I was gonna say that I’d done a fair bit of walking with the golf and all, but of we used karts, karts which included GPS tracking to work out the distances! Oh, and you can also order food before you reach the 9th and 18th holes... only in America folks.
Sunday 10th May 2009
Day 11 - Cars, Cars, Cars
An early start today as we were heading to the “Car & Coffee” show in Irvine. Basically a load of people with fancy cars turn up for a few hours every Saturday morning, to meet up with fellow enthusiasts. It’s a pretty amazing event with cars ranging from old Triumphs to brand new Mercedes’, Ferraris and Porsches ranging from 1960s to 2000s and of course a load of American Muscle cars.
The Walters’ own a ’72 Chevelle so we rolled up in that, a car that is certainly better and louder than my Peugeot 106!
After that show, we headed off to another smaller show where we came across a load of the new Dodge Challengers, something that frustrated Matt (Ryan’s older brother) as he’s been looking at buying one for the last couple of weeks. Still, it did help him answer a few questions.
Saturday 9th May 2009
Day 10 - 18 years old
It was Ryan’s 18th birthday today, which in England would be a massive deal... not so much in America it seems. The law may allow you to join the army, open up a checkings account and numerous other things at 18, but drink alcohol isn’t one of them, which frankly is kinda stupid. Kill people on a battlefield – check, celebrate with a beer – nope.
So we just we all just went out for a meal instead.
Friday 8th May 2009
Day 9 - Scrubbin' Glen Helen
Today me and Ryan headed out to Glen Helen for Thursday practice. With only a couple of weekends to until the national, we figured there would be a bunch of riders there... and we were right. I did a photo report here and Ryan did a cool video here. We also got to interview Tommy Searle so hopefully that video will be released soon.
It was a baking hot day though and gave me a good idea of what I’d be facing this summer, hopefully I’ll remember to put on sunblock before I head out for the nationals though as I got pretty badly burnt. A nice farmer tan.
After we got back we spent the rest of the day editing/rendering all the stuff we got from the track, although I did manage to sneak in the very last episode of Scrubs. After 8 seasons they’ve finally called it a day and it’s sad to see it go. It did get a little ropey in seasons 6 & 7 but other than that, it’s been one of the best comedies on TV for almost a decade. Au revoir JD.
Thursday 7th May 2009
Day 8 - Chillin'
A whole load of nothing.
Wednesday 6th May 2009
Day 7 - 7 Days in the Sun
Another glorious day here in Yorba Linda, I really don’t think the locals appreciate how lucky they are. I’m gradually working on my tan, but I've never been one for sun-bathing. Did another 6 miles again today, thinking I’m gonna give my knees a break and try a cycle tomorrow.
Tuesday 5th May 2009
Day 6 - Sleep when you're dead... tired
So I eventually got some sleep, 12hrs of it to be precise. I even made sure to set an alarm so my sleep pattern didn’t get too screwed up. The rest of the day I did a lot of computer stuff as well as doing two 3mile runs around the neighbourhood. I've figured out a loop that works out pretty good, it’s tough but not too tough. I’m not really a fan of road-running but seeing as I don’t have a gym membership over here, it’s the best I can do for now. I have been told that there are some killer trails up in the hills but then they also told me that I can see snakes and bobcats whilst doing them, so I’m not totally sure about running those...
Monday 4th May 2009
Day 5 - Paris is lovely in the Springtime
Unfortunately for me, after going to bed at roughly 6am... I had to be up at 9am for a rather important meet. I’d been asked by Wes to shoot an interview with Robbie Madison for Thor. For those of you who don’t know who Robbie Madison is, well, he’s an Australian motocross-bike rider who does crazy stunts for living. Among other things, he’s jumped the length of a football field, and his last stunt involved jumping on top of the Arc at Paris Casino and then jumping back down. Pretty insane stuff.
Anyway recently he’s signed with Thor so they wanted an interview outside of Paris just saying why, how and thanks. He’s a nice guy who was also at the H&H after-party so was pretty hung-over as well, but we got the job done and hopefully it’ll be available for viewing soon.
The rest of the day involved me somehow staying awake long enough to drive back to Yorba Linda, a journey which took under 4hrs on the way there, and over 6hrs on the way back. Once back I just kicked back and did nothing, eventually going to bed at 9pm for some deserved rest.
Sunday 3rd May 2009
Day 4 - Saturday Fight Night
After a night where I got hardly any sleep (no clue why) me and Carl headed to the track. It was an absolutely baking day with the forecasted rain showing no signs of making an appearance.
We wandered around the pits for a bit but I soon headed up to the Press Box to get a seat as I heard it filled up pretty quickly. Once I dumped my stuff I headed back down to the stadium floor for the track walk.
If you’ve never seen a full blown Supercross track before, they are pretty impressive, much more so than how they appear on TV. Especially the Vegas track which featured some cool obstacles – off camber, sand turn, moguls, flat track and probably the hardest whoops of the year.
As the practices approached, I headed back up to the Press Box. It was just way too hot down in the pits or watching from the stands. Besides, it allowed me to catch up with my website deal and other bits pieces.
As far as the supercross is concerned, I wrote a couple of articles for Vurb Moto about the racing here and the Reed/Stewart rivalry here. Basically though, it was a crazy evening of action, the whole stadium was electric and I’m definitely glad I headed out to America early to catch it.
The only downer of the night was during the LCQ races. You see being the technical wizard that I am, I managed to find a free live stream of the Hatton/Pacquiao fight. So along with about 6 or 7 other people who’d gathered round, I watched Ricky get smashed unconscious within 2 rounds. Pacquiao looked awesome but I still expected better of Hatton who should probably retire now.
With the racing over, I met up with Carl again in the pits. He was shooting some post-championship reaction shots with the major teams, pretty interesting how some of the riders chose to wind down.
We probably spent the longest with the L&M team as James Stewart was being hounded by press/fans and everyone in between. You could tell how much it meant to him though, and he did thoroughly deserve it.
Now that the season was officially over... all that was left to do was PARTY!!! Thankfully I had access to both the Monster and H&H gigs, and boy do these guys know how to go out in style! Definitely good times.
Saturday 2nd May 2009
Day 3 - Motocross and ... golf?!?
Waking up at 3am is never fun, this was no different. The Walters’ had given me one of their trucks to drive and having packed the night before, I was ready to roll. The drive was real easy, get onto the 91, then head north onto the 15, arrive in Las Vegas 4 hrs later. It was possibly the most uneventful drives ever, but I made it to the Orleans Casino/Hotel by 7am. I slept for an hour in the truck before ringing my friends Rupert and Kardy (who I’ve spent a lot of time with the last couple of years) who were staying there. It wasn’t long before we were eating breakfast, joined by another good friend, photographer Carl Stone.
After breakfast we all headed to the track in order to attend the Press Conference that was organised... not that anyone was prepared for what was to follow.
First, the Lites champions Pourcel and Dungey spoke about their year and how they were looking forward to facing the different guys etc. Then was Andrew Short who has now finished 3rd in a title race for the 4th consecutive championship (mx and sx). And then finally Chad Reed stepped onto the hotseat after Weege had announced that James Stewart wouldn’t be attending. Of course this gave Chad a chance really rip into James, without fear of rebuttal. However, to be fair to Chad, he said what was on his mind without being overly insulting or offensive. It was actually really refreshing to hear a rider say exactly what was on his mind.
With the press conference over, me and Carl headed off to a charity golf tournament organised by Road2Recovery (Carl had to take some pictures, I volunteered as his kart driver). A few of the pro riders were competing as well as industry people. It was actually a lot of fun seeing the riders relaxing, having fun and not thinking about motocross. Josh Grant dressed up in a hula skirt, Chad Reed did his best ‘Happy Gilmour’ impression and they raised an absolute fortune with the $20 mulligans.
Also there was Grant Langston who had surgery on his knee recently. Unfortunately he won’t be racing any of the Nationals, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t busy looking after his different business ventures. It was interesting listening to how the economic struggles were affecting his shops and how he was coping with it. He is definitely much more than just a mx’er.
There was also a pretty big Monster tent on the 6th hole for refreshments and the like, with all the lovely Monster girls (6 to be precise) giving out drinks. Certainly was a nice break from zooming around in a golf cart anyway...
Friday 1st May 2009
Day 2 - Your Belinda
Having had a fairly busy couple of days, I figured I’d just chill today. The weather was awesome so I took a walk around the neighbourhood to familiarise myself. It ended up being more of a hike as I went up the top of one the nearby hills.
After sitting around and getting all the necessary people updated, I’d had enough of sitting around, so I went out for a jog. Probably wasn’t a good idea to go out early afternoon, as it was pretty damn hot! Still, gotta try to keep in a good routine.
Thursday 30th April 2009
Day 1 - D-Day
So 2 years after the original ‘A Year in MX’ started, I’m back again in America to take on the 2009 Pro Nationals in another motorhome. It’s been a long build up for me, having had things planned for some time... I've just been itching to get out here and start things off.
Eventually I decided that I’d get out here before the Vegas SX... even though I'm not a massive SX fan, I figured that with the championship being so close it would be worth tagging along to...
To cut an extremely long story short, I flew into LAX today and got picked up by Ryan Walters (a videographer who does work for Vurb Moto). The slightly longer version is that my flight was delayed, his phone battery died and we both spent a good hour or so thinking we’d let the other person down... not helped by the fact that this would be the first time we’d have met.
As it turned out, things worked out perfectly, Ryan had enough time to buy a phone charger (as my flight was delayed) so by the time I got out of the airport and through immigration (surprisingly easy this time) and dialled his number, Ryan had enough juice in his phone to answer and being as he’d already done a few laps of the pickup bay, he wasn’t too far away.
Wednesday 29th April 2009