Suthern Spodefest Day One Report

[Timr]

Here's what happened on the first day:

I got up, loaded, packed a lunch and headed down to Monster Mountain. I was worried becuase I was running about 30 minutes late and I was going to meet Lemming at the track at 10:00am. The track owner was supposed to meet Lemming there at 10:00 to unlock the gate.

I decide not to stop for gas and drinks and drive straight to the track. I figured I could run up the road to the gas station some time after lunch.

Lemming and I needed to get to work marking the trail loop as quickly as possible. When I pulled up to the track, there were three pick up trucks loaded with bikes sitting there outside of the gate. This was at 10:45 am!! I park and walk up. Lemming tells us that there was a problem with the owners truck, or it broke down or something and Glenn is on his way to open the track.

So, we stand around and wait for a while. We walk up and let Birdman and his crew look at the track. While we were waiting, Birdman shows us the Gomer blood that's still on the engine of his YZ 426F :cool: Apparently, Gomer broke his head on Birdman's brake resevoir, but that's another story.

Finally, Glenn shows up and we go in and park. Birdman and his guys suit up and hit the track. They came over from Georgia and were only staying for the day. So, they needed to get riding quickly because they had a long drive home.

Lemming and I do a quick scouting lap of the Hare Scramble course that was used for the last race. We find three places where we need to reroute and start marking those.

KDXfile comes out to the woods and gives us a hand. When I head back to the truck to eat a sandwich for lunch, more people had arrived. Biscuit, Porkchop, Wrench and SpokerACE along with some other guys that I didn't get the names of.

After a couple of hours, we have the trail loop totally marked and we do a couple of laps. Another big group of guys rolls in from Mississippi. I didn't get any off their names, but they seemed really nice. KDXfile and myself both needed to get back home for Friday night. So, we rounded up a group and pounded out two more laps on the trail loop. The first lap was crazy fast. We were going as hard as we could. When we got back to the parking lot, I was totally out of breath. They wanted to go again. So, we went.

I got back and started loading up my bike. By now, there was a large group of guys sitting under Lemming's easy-up. Everybody starts telling their own Gomer story. It's kinda like bench racing except every story is about Gomer. I of course told the story about Gomer looping out his CR on the hill in the woods at the MWSF. At least some of Gomer's blood made it to the Spodefest.

I spent some time talking about KDX stuff with Shin ichi. He's a really nice guy and it was great to meet him. I wish I could've stayed and BS'ed more with everyone. It looked like the cocktail hour was just about to begin when Mark and I left.

On our way home, we passed Larry (Julias Pleaser) and another guy with a YZ 426 on thier way to the track. The weather is perfect and will remain perfect for the rest of the weekend. I'm sure that there will be a bigger group today and tomorrow.

Have fun guys! It was great meeting everyone. Sorry that I didn't memorize everyone's names. I'm pulling a Smitty and going racing tomorrow. I need the points.

 

[BSWIFT]

If you pull a Smitty, you better win the race. He seems to do that after a long ride.

 

[YamasakiRider]

Saturday was probably one of the best riding days I have had in quite some time! The track was an absolute blast to ride, and trying to follow Lemming through the woods was an experience. I haven't ridden in the trees in a couple years, and it was definitely a different story than on the MX track. :) Thanks for letting me use your 250F with the barkbusters Ivan; it definitely would not have been fun on my bike getting my hands beaten by small saplings. After riding your bike on the MX track, I think I'm gonna hafta change the front springs on my bike to something stiffer. I definitely liked yours better than the stock. It stayed up in the stroke nicely off the big air landings! :cool: It was great meeting everyone and I definitely look forward to the next gathering!

Steve

Not sure what the rules are here about posting pics, but here's an attempt of posting a few of that nice 80ft+ uphill triple at the Monster.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1447862&a=12761784&p=47586037&Sequence=0

 

[YamasakiRider]

Originally posted by Truespode
Steve, it was great meeting you and watching you fly around the track. By the end of the day Saturday I was doubling the uphill triple and doing both uphill doubles on the other side.

By Sunday I had the big table top in front of the other triple down really well.

I still can't get the image of that woman doing the heel clicker over the table top out of my head. WOW!!! She was a hotty too!!! Nothing sexier then a woman in riding gear.

Hey CNM, maybe you can pull out a can can for us next time :)

That uphill triple was a blast...nothing like hitting the face of a jump full tilt in 4th.. :eek:

Told you jumping was fun..didn't I? The landing on the tabletop in front of the stands could have been better, but it was fairly smooth in places...and those 2 doubles after the uphill triple were nice hoppers, but the 1st one would kick your rear up if you didn't watch out. I don't think I have ever been to a track that has the nice air that monster mountain provides. I think it should be a definite candidate for the next southern spodefest. As for the girl over the tabletop...hmm...no comments...hehehe.. BTW, did Tuner show up Sunday? And....who has some pics? I got about 10, but that was it...even one of you in your panties..LOL

here they are---
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1447862

Steve

 

[JuliusPleaser]

Random Thoughts & Casual Observations

What a party! I haven't had that much fun in.....well, a week or so. Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so friendly and accomodating. That was my first camping experience since Boy Scouts. The experience wasn't too bad, but I was awakened several times by animals making strange gaseous noises in the middle of the night. Smells like seven layers--that beaver eats Taco Bell!

Was that Thunder I heard? Or Lightning? :p

I made the mistake of pitching my tent between Ivan and Shin Ichi and was rewarded with the sound of dueling chainsaws. Nothin' says insomnia like snoring...in stereo.

Hey Wrench! Watch out for that tent stake....D'OH!:eek: Sorry man, but that had to be the funniest moment of the weekend!

I think SpokerAce got a good pic of me almost looping Ivan's YZ250F on the finish line double. I didn't wanna say anything till Ivan was at least 500 miles away.
;) I managed to roost Porkchop as he was waiting for a photo-op outside one of the turns. Sorry man, I was just trying to add some drama to the shot! (Insert indistinct murmuring here.)

Damn, Ivan, GET OUTTA MY CHAIR!!!!

Actually, I would have gladly traded the chair for more time on the Piglet. The only bike that saw more action was my XR80. And to think I almost left it at home. CNM and her son Cody (does he wanna ride or what?) showed up Saturday morning and hung around for as long as they could stand us. Tuner even managed to show up Sunday for a few laps.

I didn't catch the names of the Mississippi gang(except for CR_Seth, who pipped me for 3rd place in the one-lap MX race...SANDBAGGER!!) but they were a lot of fun...except for the guy who cleared the bleachers with a noxious emission at least as foul as the aforementioned beaver's. I've never seen THAT many people move that fast--all at the same time!

Yamasaki? Dude needs a parachute! That was an impressive display of aerial expertise. You and 'Carrie" should hook up if you're ever on the ground at same time.

It was nice to get home and take a real shower. I was more than a little 'Spodiferous', but I had a blast! When's the next one?

 

[YamasakiRider]

That beaver eats taco bell! LMAO...Sounds like I missed a humorous night Friday...

Steve

 

[JuliusPleaser]

RT&CO Part Deux

Friday night was pretty good, but Saturday night was better.

The rest of the Birmingham contingent showed up at 10pm and were a little "impaired". Nothing like 8 or 9 rowdies to liven up a campfire.

I hope no one was offended by the guys or their actions. It was THAT much fun...

Still, the high point of the evening was when Wrench tripped over Ivan's tent stake in the dark. It wasn't so much the fall that was funny, but the accompanying sound effects. :)

 

[YamasakiRider]

I want royalties... :p

 

[CNM]

Ivan,

A can can or a nac nac.....sure no problem . Just one question though......will the paramedics be there when I land? ;)

Ivan, Wrench, Lemming, Julius Pleaser, Schin Ichi, Peacock, YamasakiRider, and everyone else (sorry I'm terrible with names), it was great to meet all of you. The next southern spodefest, I'm bringing the bike! That is if I can knock Cody off of it! :D

Julius Pleaser, thanks for the use of the XR80. Cody drove me crazy just one more ride, please mom!!!! I died laughing when he said he needed to stop becuase his arms were hurting. Must have been arm pump. :)

I did have one casualty for the day. As soon as I got on I-85 I heard a loud noise and them my truck started handling funny. You guessed it, flat tire! Anyway, I managed to make it off the interstate, but was stuck on the ramp. While I'm laying on the ground under the truck, trying to get the jack in place, a car from South Carolina stopped and they helped me change the tire. Cody thought it was funny, it made me very nervous! Especially since we were by ourselves. Anyway, made it home on the spare (one of those recalled Firestone tires ;) ) and got the other fixed today.

Will have pictures as soon as I get them developed and scanned. Hey Ivan, I've got some pics of the girl doing heal clickers. She was really impressive. Steve, also have a few of you doing the triple! Again, thanks guys, I had a great time!

 

[JuliusPleaser]

Neely-glad you had fun. Cody is a cute little guy with a serious dirtbike Jones. Proof that you're raising him properly... :D

Flats are the worst! I had three in a row last week. The first one went down on the freeway next to the BJCC. By the time I got to a safe stopping place, the tire was toast. Hmmm, good thing I'm not paranoid, or I'd swear someone was out to get me.

How did the Meridian enduro go? Nobody's talking. Did everyone DNF? Did anybody even go? I've ridden there before, and it's not pretty.

 

[Lemming]

Well, I’m still exhausted from the long weekend. I forgot how much fun it is to ride for 3 straight days with lots of good folks. I'm still trying to get everything put away and catch up from the missed day of work (not to mention the missed weekend for the honeydo list).

Well, other than a little bit of dust, there really was not too much to complain about. The turnout was great I was expecting just a few riders on Friday and much to my surprise we had 24 signed up by late afternoon. Most of the riding took place on the Monster track, mainly because it’s that good. It’s the type of track that both enduro and SX riders can have fun on. Lots of wide-open rippen’ and good turns for us “off–track” riders and lots of big air for those other crazy fools. Speaking of crazy fools, one of the Mississippi crew decided to try the uphill 105’ triple late in the afternoon. Well, he came off the jump nose high and cased it, sending him to the ground. This brought a round of applause and hoots from the peanut gallery (other Miss. boys) hanging out on the bleachers. It also got the rider a new name “RMcase”. Fortunately, he walked away from it with a few bruises, the biggest of which was his ego.

Saturday we had another 25 or so riders signed up. The highlight of the day was watching the rider lacking a Y chromosome that put us “Y’s” to shame. Many of our riders spent quite some time sitting on the bleachers watching her put on a show. Lots of applause and hoots were heard as she threw her tricks over the finish line table-top. Many were heard to say “I’m not going out on the track with her riding, she’ll make me look bad”. What they didn’t know was thatthe mini-riders had already done that:p

By Sunday morning the crew was getting tired. Many a rider decided to pack it up early and hit the road. MXtuner showed up around mid-morning and the two of us ended up riding together for most of the day. We were the last of the DRN crew to depart.

The camping crew remained relatively constant for the weekend with a few wondering bama bubbas showing up on Sat. night. We had some memorable moments sitting around the campfire reliving the famous scene from Blazing Saddles. I believe that I did the best impersonations and I thank my evening meals of “heat-and-eat” burritos. Wrench and others came to believe that I had a methane converter on my GasGas and that was what explained it’s explosive power output. Luckily for them, my jetting was set correctly and I got complete combustion. The same cannot be said for Thunder, who’s jetting seemed to be off. At one point this almost caused a marital problem as Lightning had to make an emergency exit from their tent. I don’t believe that I have laughed that hard in years. I was impressed that Thunder put up with us so well for three days and two nights.

Thanks to all for coming over and making it a fun time. I should have taken notes on everyones names but that would have seemed too much like work. I made lots of new riding buds and that’s what it was all about. I can’t wait for the next Suthern Spodefest:)

 

[lightning21]

2 word for the SSF: A BLAST!!! :)

Thunder and I showed up around 2:15 Friday afternoon not knowing what to expect. There were a few trucks already there. We introduced ourselves and shortly after the trails were ready to ride. A few of us took a lap around the woods (Lemming and Timr you guys fly in the woods!!) and we returned to the camp and I was out of breath and these 2 Die hards wanted to make another lap. had to sit that one out. We did make several laps before dark.

After Dark everyone broke out the food, Luckily Shin Ichi and I brought our portible grills with us. We cooked Hamburgers, hotdogs and even heated up Lemmigs "heat and eat" Burritos. Thanks Shin Ichi for the great burgers. Say guys how was that burger with the "Alabama dust Seasoning" I promise we washed it off real good:p

Lemming- I got you TO THE FIRST CORNER on the first moto. I got the pic back already. but after that I was eating dust.

Ivan- chair is on sale at K-mart for $16.99. Glad to hear you did the double!!!!

Wrench- sorry Shin Ichi missed the good picture!!!(while you were in the tent)

Thanks Spoker ace and Wrench for the nice warm shower, I guess everyone else did not know there was enough water left for 4 more WARM showers.

I think I embarrased Thunder Sat. night., but no way could I have stayed in that tent and survived. Had to get some fresh air. Like Spokerace quoted "Thunder Survivor"

I really enjoyed all the old stories told while sitting around the camp fire both nights. sorry Ivan did not mean to try to kiss your feet but could not stay in the chair I think the ground moved or something.:rolleyes:

It was really great to meet all of you and thanks for putting up with me and Thunder. Had lots of fun. I really hope we can do this again soon!!

BTW I have amost 3 rolls of film already developed I will update when I have them posted. CNM- I got a god one of Cody on the bike with helment and glasses on.

Julius Pleaser- Thanks for the use of the XR80 Great bike for Thunder to learn on.;)

 

[CR SETH]

The Suthern Spodefest was great! I really enjoyed meeting all of you in person. The track was great and me and all the crew from Mississippi will definately be there next year. I'm bad with names but I wanted to thank Lemming and all who were involved for a great weekend. I also wanted to thank Wrench for answering my questions and helping me with my clutch. Maybe us Miss. boys will be able to attend another ride this year. We might even get up a ride in MS latter in the year. Thanks again!!!!

 

[SpokerAce]

I'll post a short comment or two for now, I'm still recovering.

Julius, don't know if I caught you looping the piglet or not. I may have been too busy muttering to myself "oh s**t, he's gonna loop!"....nice recovery though!

Gotta agree with Ivan, Lightning, you are a lucky man.

It was great meeting everyone and I'm definitely looking forward to the next gathering.

I am taking my roll of film in today to be developed. Maybe tomorrow or Thursday I'll post a link to the pictures.

 

[RMairtime]

Hey Guys, This past weekend was a blast. The track was nice and fast with lots of air. It was a pleasure meeting all the new people. I feel like all of us from Mississippi had a great time. Beside caseing the triple late Friday afternoon, everything was great. Next time I'll be ready to hit the triple in 5th and not in 4th.
I'm looking forward seeing everybody again soon.
About the funniest part of the weekend is when Nick cleared the bleachers Friday afternoon, lucky me, I was down at the truck taking a break. It looked like birds flying away, everybody scattered in different directions at the same time. If you thought it was bad there, you should have been in the truck with him and his brother going home.
I hope we all can get another ride up soon.

 

[lightning21]

Rmairtime- I really feel sorry with who ever had to ride home with him. He sure knows how to get the bleachers to himself. What did that boy eat? It was really good to ride with all of you. Hope you are feeling better from the crash, better luck next time.

 

[YamasakiRider]

Originally posted by RMairtime
Hey Guys, This past weekend was a blast. The track was nice and fast with lots of air. It was a pleasure meeting all the new people. I feel like all of us from Mississippi had a great time. Beside caseing the triple late Friday afternoon, everything was great. Next time I'll be ready to hit the triple in 5th and not in 4th.

RM, I don't think I got the chance to ride with you due to the fact that I showed up Saturday....but the uphill triple is a 4th gear jump. 3rd gear if you're screaming. ;) Unless you have a 6 speed tranny. :p

Steve

 

[RMairtime]

YamasakiRider, I wish I could have ridden with you guys Sat. morning but this old sore body had to rest most of the day. I finally checked my bike out and rode about 4pm Saturday. I don't now what bike you ride, Iv'e got a 98RM250. I hit the triple tapped in 4th and still came up about 3ft short. I couldn't imagine trying to clear it in 3rd, not to mention 4th. Next time I'll make sure I clear it by at least 10 to 15ft.

 

[lightning21]

ok here is the first roll of pictures. I will get the rest scanned and posted asap??

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1665082&a=12762123

 

[lightning21]

anyone have any ideas where to post the rest of the pictures, the quality of photopoint is terrible and I have tried the highest quality. They look great on my pewter but looking through photopoint they look really dark.

 

[thebird]

Just wanting to tell everyone I had a great time this weeekend and thanks to lemming for putting all this together and can't wait tilll next year. The track was great . And yes the ride home was worse than the bleacher .

 

[SpokerAce]

Lightning, the pics look decent on my work computer. Of course when I get home they'll be really dark (my monitor is heading south on me).

I picked up my pictures this afternoon but mine aren't near as good as the ones that have been posted so far :(

I'll try to get them scanned tonight

 

[YamasakiRider]

Originally posted by RMairtime
YamasakiRider, I wish I could have ridden with you guys Sat. morning but this old sore body had to rest most of the day. I finally checked my bike out and rode about 4pm Saturday. I don't now what bike you ride, Iv'e got a 98RM250. I hit the triple tapped in 4th and still came up about 3ft short. I couldn't imagine trying to clear it in 3rd, not to mention 4th. Next time I'll make sure I clear it by at least 10 to 15ft.

I hit it the first time screaming 3rd on accident on my 250f. The rest of the day I was hopping it easily in 4th. The triple in front of the stands seemed to be best hit in 3rd. :)

Steve

 

[lightning21]

ok here are the rest of he pictures. I hope they turned out ok.

Thunder just told me she is going to post a reply, this aught to be good!

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1665082&a=12762122

Should be a total of 61 pics in all

 

[Lemming]

Lightning - great photos, but I don't see the one that mentioned about beating me to the first turn:confused: