A Change At Shady Grove

[70Goat]

I heard that changes had taken place at Shady Grove and I wasn't sure what to expect. When I got there Sunday morning the first thing I noticed was a brand new freestyle jump. This I had expected from the reports I got. The next thing I noticed was the rutted up track. I also expected this. What I didn't expect was the price increase to $10. When Charles was questioned about this he said that he had expenses to cover. We then asked if he was going to groom the track more often. His response was "I groomed last week". This would have been before the rains that actually flooded portions of the track.

I know Shady has never been a great track, but it was convenient, cheap, and open at the crack of dawn. Since I am a morning person, and prefer to ride before the heat, and dust, of the day. Shady was an acceptable compromise. Without some regular grooming I do not think the track is worth $10.

I live in the Mid-Cities, so if anyone knows of a decent track, open at daybreak, and within 30 minutes of DFW I sure would appreciate it if you would let me know where it is.

 

[Thump]

I will be doing Nocona more often, Greenville and I hear Southern Star but have not been. Shady Grove is not worth $10 on its best day.

 

[psycho]

Agreed.. Not to doubt Charlie's grooming abilities, but even "groomed" it isn't worth $10 when Greenville is about the same distance from McKinney..

 

[billtx]

Shady Grove is now overpriced by $10. It's OK in a pinch but thats it. Greenville has had low ridership lately. Was out on Friday prior to Mem Day, only 5 folks most of the day..had a blast. I tried Holshot valley a month ago, had a good time there. Track is shaping up nice.

 

[psycho]

What is his practice schedule now or is it open daily? Been several months since I was out there.

 

[billtx]

I think Greenville is open Friday afternoon and weekends. Holeshot is open Thurs, Fri and weekends - try www.holeshotvalleymx.com. I usually check the HondaKawasakiwest.com riding calendar, seems to be accurate most of the time.

 

[DPW]

Maybe the extra money is for new trash cans to cook the chicken on?

 

[70Goat]

It wouldn't be that bad of a track if he would 86 the "food" and put that time and money into track maintenance. It is just so frustrating to see all that equipment, including a water truck, not being used.

 

[TwinSpar]

The only problem with 86'ing the food is that Chuck would have more free time on his hands.... That's a bad thing!  He would end up talking our ears off.  :scream:

 

[MTRIDER]

The guy doesnt even need a water truck the place is surround on 3 sides by water....I just choose not to deal with the greasy chicken....

 

[DPW]

According to this site http://www.shadygrovemx.com/index.html they are going to start hosting races out there....hmmm?

 

[taraker]

No freakin way

 

[70Goat]

Well I searched the page and found nothing about track maintenance. I also did a lookup on who set this site up:

Shady Grove Motocross Park
Mickey Gelagotis

I guess that explains all the pictures of 911.

 

[TwinSpar]

Even better... the site is hosted by "WebSiteNOW.com"... a beginners way of developing/hosting a site.  I won't even go into the meta tags.

The registration info is (all information is available to the public from multiple sources... http://www.samspade.org is a good one):

   Organization:
      Shady Grove Motocross Park
      Mickey Gelagotis
      2504 Glacier St
      Irving, TX 75062
      US
      Phone: 972-257-0259
      Email: mick911mx@comcast.net

   Registrar Name....: Register.com
   Registrar Whois...: whois.register.com
   Registrar Homepage: ttp://www.samspade.org/t/refer?a=http://www.register.com">http://www.register.com

   Domain Name: SHADYGROVEMX.COM

      Created on..............: Thu, Apr 24, 2003
      Expires on..............: Sat, Apr 24, 2004
      Record last updated on..: Sun, May 18, 2003

   Administrative Contact:
      Shady Grove Motocross Park
      Mickey Gelagotis
      2504 Glacier St
      Irving, TX 75062
      US
      Phone: 972-257-0259
      Email: mick911mx@comcast.net

   Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      Register.Com
      Domain Registrar
      575 8th Avenue - 11th Floor
      New York, NY 10018
      US
      Phone: 902-749-2701
      Fax..: 902-749-5429
      Email: domain-registrar@register.com

 

[70Goat]

Has anyone been out to Shady and tried "The new back section that has been added to the track contains several technical jumps"?

 

[JayPak]

Originally posted by TwinSpar
Even better... the site is hosted by "WebSiteNOW.com"... a beginners way of developing/hosting a site.  I won't even go into the meta tags.

Just curious what is wrong with that?

As far as I know, there is not a "new section in the back". I usualy ride there once a week and the back has not changed as far as I can remember. There are days when you go out there and and the track is pretty good. Other times, I think you should get a large dose of Advil with paid admission because after about 5 laps you are beat up. I go thru tires faster out there too - thanks to the extremely hard packed dirt, er, maybe rather pavement. You also get guys riding with no helmet and shorts. I've seen 3 wheelers on the track and people riding two up on four wheelers. You might even consider it a dangerous track - no flaggers.

BUT, I know this. And when the track is bad, I bitch, but still ride. I'm learning the best times to catch the track in good condition. And although it may not be the best maintained track, you pay your $10 and ride all day long. You go to Mosier, pay your $10 and get to ride four times at 15 minutes a pop - if you are lucky.

I don't really think they are going to start races out there...I think that was just added as 'fluff content', so to speak.

The website was done for the owners. Heck, the owners didn't even know the track was called 'Shady Grove' - that name came from the riders. If you ever called their phone number to check on track conditions, they always refered to it as "the motocross track."

It may not be the best tack around, but in these times when city councils, housing authorities and home owners associations are closing places down because they don't like to hear a BRRRRAAAPP BRAP BRAP while they are washing their BMWs, despite the fact that the track has been around for years before their $400K+ house was built, I am thankful someone, anyone has a place for us to go ride.

Wow, I guess that was sorta my soapbox. Just my two cents defense of Shady Grove.

Laters!

 

[Thump]

Originally posted by JayPak
Just my two cents defense of Shady Grove.

Would you like a refund? :)

Seriously,Shady Grove has its target attendance and I am not part of it. For $10 I'll drive to Nocona and ride a perfectly groomed track that puts Mossier and any other in the N. Texas area to shame. Oh yeah, it is open practice too 9am to dusk.

The convienience of Shady Grove has its price but it certainly is not worth $10 IMO