Suthin SF - Aonia Pass , Georgia

Part 1

Thanks for the kind words Ivan!

This was my first SpodeFest, I've been on DRN for 3 or 4 years and I've only met one other DRN'er (KXTodd)....pretty unsat, and it was way past time to put faces with some of the names I've come to recognize here.

I left out of MISSISSIPPI about 8 o'clock Friday morning and made the 7 hour drive to AP. Not too bad of a drive actually, set the cruise on 80 and listened to the Dems hammer away on Rumsfeld most of the way (bastages). Pulled in around 3 o'clock and met with the first DRN'er to arrive (ob1quixote). We sat and chatted for a while, he helped me set up my hooch, then he quickly shuttled me into my gear and onto the track. It's a really nice track! Probably 6-12" of sawdust/woodchips covering the track, very smooth and predictable jump faces, with a light smattering of golfball sized rocks intermixed in the loam (and a couple wheelbarrow fulls of bowling ball sized rocks sprinkled here and there!). I dialed in the track (a couple of nice sized jumps, several doubles and 3 whoop sections) in 3 laps or so, put in maybe 8 then headed back to the pits. It was 90+ degrees with zero breeze, so it made it difficult to run for any extended period of time. Robert (ob1) and I strung up our fans under his EZ-up and relaxed in the shade between short stints on the track. Conversation was never lacking...Robert was never at loss for words ;) and is great people! He talked me into taking his souped-up '98 XR400 for a spin and I let him take my 450 out for a ride as well. I was impressed! That's the first XR I've been on since I was 12 (I had a couple 80's growing up) and this thing was great! He's got it set up with high bars, soft seat, and e-series exhaust that sounds REALLY good (not to mention a couple hidden engine mods and slightly stiffened suspension)! He advised me to drive around the parking area a little to get a feel for the bike, but to be perfectly honest, it really felt very similar to my CRF (albeit shorter wheelbase, steep seat to tank junction, bulbous tank, and smoother power for the woods) so I went straight out to the track with it. I made the first lap slowly to see how it reacted to coming up short and getting aired out a little on the smaller jumps but it felt great and I proceeded to wring its little neck! I did all but one jump on it (kind of a long jump out of a muddy turn....didn't feel comfortable trying to milk the extra speed out of it required to make the jump....although I'm sure it would have made it just fine), kicked her a little sideways on a couple of the bigger jumps and all in all had a blast on it! Thanks Robert!

I'm uncertain who (in what specific order anyway) showed up Friday evening, but I'm pretty sure it was DRZ_Dad, Lemming, and High Lord Gomer. We all sat around had a few adult beverages and traded stories until well into the early morning. Gomer parked his RV just a few feet from my tent and unloaded this really nice grill Friday evening, so I dreamed of eggs over easy, bacon and hashbrowns greeting me at the door of my tent when I awoke in the AM, but to my disappointment he flaked out and I resigned myself to poptarts and hardboiled eggs.
We sat around and BS'ed until midmorning as more DRN'ers straggled in (TrueSpode, joereitman, Wrench, SpokerAce, Crash and Hank) then geared up to head to the track and woods. Unfortunately though, I was greeted by a flat front tire. I guess my enthusiasm on the track the day before and my penchant for overjumping every jump pinched the tube. After bumming a can of fix a flat from joe (which didn't work unfortunately) then a tube from Gomer I pulled the wheel off the bike. But, before I could begin the ardous task of removing the tire Gomer called me over to the back of his rig. He promptly took charge (and the wheel) and put on a tire changing clinic! This guy is awesome! I expend MORE energy (and time for that matter) putting air into my tire than he does to change one! I'm certain he didn't even break a sweat!
Let me stop here for a second and say a couple of things about Eddie{Edit: Sorry, I meant MIKE...not trying to take anything away from Eddie here either!} (HLG). This guy is definitely one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He has this ability to make you feel welcome the instant you meet him, if there's a chore needing to be done you can be certain he'll be in on getting it accomplished, he's always helpful and very thoughtful. Ivan's comment about him being like the energizer bunny is an understatement! He's tireless and always working...busy even when everyone else is idle!
And I'm not trying to ignore everyone else I rode with this past weekend! DRZ_Dad, joe and wrench all great to hang out with! Lemming, I can't say enough about this guy! Funny (in every sense of the word :thumb: ), fast as greased lightening in the woods, and has some pretty good stories to boot! Remember what Ivan said: "We're living vicariously through you!" So carry that torch high and represent!

Part II

After Gomer fixed my tire I headed out onto the track. I burned some hot laps but kept struggling with one of the easier whoop sections...as I would hit the second whoop my rear tire would deflect and start the bike to swapping...but I would clear the whoops quickly enough before it got too out of hand. Except for one time. Joe and Crash had stopped under a shade tree next to the whoop section as I came around for another lap. As I changed gears and accelerated through the whoops the swapping started again. This time it was too bad and as the bike rotated into a high side it pitched me and I tumbled across the track. I was OK, shook up a little, but grabbed the bike and the guys helped me under the tree. We sat and BS'ed a little until a kid on an 80 came through and did the exact same thing as I, only he and the bike tumbled together. We quicky ran over helped him up and over to the shade so he could recover too. I adjusted my speed a little from this point in order to avoid another get-off.
Everyone met up in the pits to rehydrate, cool down, and then headed off into the woods for a little impromptu trail session. Trails were OK, pretty wide and very dusty but we still managed to have a really good time.
I pretty much petered out after this point and didn't do much more riding the rest of the weekend. Between the heat (and exhaustion) and the opportunity for conversation I didn't make much more time to ride. I had my fill of the track and took an opportunity to meet the people I have visited so much with the past couple of years.
It was disappointing as people slowly packed up and started trickling away Saturday afternoon through Sunday. I enjoyed every minute of the weekend and am extremely impressed with the quality of people I spent the last couple of days with. Like Robert said "There's not a nicer group of people than the one's you meet on dirtbikes." (paraphrased a little!) We come from different walks of life with different experiences but we all share a common bond...the love of motorcycles. I've been a Marine for 8 years and feel just as comfortable and "in my element" with these guys as I do with my fellow Marines. I can't wait for my next opportunity to get together with you all and hope to add a couple more faces to the screen names!

It was awesome meeting everyone- Ivan (likes cool Bon Jovi graphics on his manly pit bike) and son, Tim (super fast on that 200, and the 50 too!), Boomer (Overjumper, pilot, whoop swapper and pinch flatter :) ), Hank (a lean mean holeshottin' machine), Robert (aka big scary sky pilot over the single to table on the big thumpa), Eddie (lookin for a new spring ;) and an RV that gets more than 6.3 mpg) and better half and son, Mike's boys (Matt really enjoyed hangin with Tommy in the RV playing Playstation :) ), SpokerAce (I forgot real name- doh...), Vince (lets hook up and ride at Southern Run- only 40 minutes away for each of us- Tim's gonna reverse and redo the track), George (seen Gomey's pics of you- riding that is, good to finally meetcha). OK, who did I forget???

It was also great to hook up with other friends again- Crash, Ed, James and John- glad we got a couple GOR'ers out there! Ken, don't let Gomey roost ya next time. :) But don't worry, I roosted Gomer with some nice big pieces of #2 rock in the parking area on the way to the trails- so its all good... Ed- lets all try to hook up with Vince at So. Run.

Mucho thanks to Dennis and Bekki for making the big trek out on minimal sleep. Matt was elated to see and hang with y'all!!! It was great to get in some training time too. Do ya think I needed it? :)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention my sweet, um I mean good, buddy Gomey. My wife really appreciated how you sweet talked her on the phone. Thanks for the burgers and dogs on the grill, big fella. No wonder you need suspenders, with those cookin skillz.

Just read your awesome reports Boomer- you are a much better typist (and rider) than I! Great job man- thanks for making the effort (and earning the distance award). Maybe next year someone will set it up at Bremen or somewhere a little closer to you. Make Gomey and Ivan do all the driving next time around. :)

My trip started of a little late (surprise, surprise, surprise!) so I had it in the wind heading west on I-20. Shortly before Georgia I passed an RV with a DRZ on the back and I knew it must be DRZ_Dad. I honked, waved, and kept going...for a few miles. :ugg:

I blew a rear tire going through Augusta. DRZ_Dad (Eddie...my Momma calls me Mike, Josh) stopped and helped me get it changed and we headed on. We got there around 10:00 and proceeded to unload. I caught some grief about how long it takes me to unload (and load), but I take absolutely everything I own with me so it takes a little longer than most people.

Saturday we got up, got the bikes ready, and started riding. We got lucky on the first guesstimate of what shims to put in Lemmings CRF and the intakes were back in proper clearance after just one blind attempt. JBoomer did laugh at my "5 tire iron" method of changing tires.

This was only the 3rd time since DW03 that Ricky has ridden, and that was on Lori's 96 KX80. I picked up an 02 YZF250 for him now that he has gotten too big for the 80 and he rode well. The biggest thing holding him back was me repeatedly telling him to take it easy!

Since we were short on bikes, we swapped around some and, as usual, our friends came through and I saw Danny on Ivan's CRF, Lemming's CRF and KTM, and Brad's WR. I rode Ricky's YZF, Danny's CRF, and Ivan's Buick...er, I mean, CRF with the auto-clutch. Tommy rode Lemming's XR50/80, but came back fairly quick and said it smelled funny.

I got to ride some on the track with _SOLO_, Ivan, Lemming, Crash, Joe, and Boomer...well, I got to try to get around the track before Boomer's dust settled. That reminds me...

When JBoomer said that she was coming, I clicked on the link under her name where it said "My Pictures" and it took me to a site for "Jessica Boomer". I thought, how cool! And she even looked like she knew how to ride and was even kinda cute from what I could see in the pictures. When they introduced me to JBoomer is said, "but...but...but...your a girl!?!?" Probably not the best thing to say to a Marine Corps jet pilot who could probably run the track faster than I ride it, but he was very nice since he (mistakenly) thought I was cooking him breakfast the next morning.

Crash and I were almost dead even on the track and we did some really fun laps. _SOLO_ and I went at it for a good while, too, but with his advanced years, he just can't keep up as long as I can. :laugh: OB1 got some good air on a fairly intimidating jump...I know that was probably the biggest rush anyone got that weekend. It is so cool to double up that step-up. Lemming showed unusually intelligent restraint on the track...I was proud (and grateful), since he is faster than me when he hangs it out.

Ricky managed to drop his YZF many, many, (did I say "many"?) times and got a really cool "Ricky Bend" to his levers. They look kinda like pretzels, now. Danny, as usual, rode cautiously and in control. It's nice that I never have to worry about him riding.

Tommy asked if I wanted to come watch him ride the peewee track some more when it was almost dark. Everyone else was equally whipped and followed over there, too. There were 10 or so of us watching just Tommy ride. He was enjoying it and wringing that XR50 out more than he ever has before.

We stayed up till 1:00 telling stories and watching OB1 and Jessica build the fire. I got back up at 5:15 because I had to get Ricky back to Columbia early. I made it back to the track around 10:00 and had already missed some of the guys leaving. Still got to ride a bit with Danny and Jeremy and a guy from Hilton Head who also turned out to be my speed (I love hitting the whole track side by side).

As usual, I was the last to leave and headed out around 5:00 on Sunday. I only made it about 40 (of the 125) miles before I had to stop and take a short nap so I could stay awake for the rest.

We didn't have the number of riders we've had before, but the quality of the people was everything it usually is!

Dr. Dennis Medsker wa a real treat to have around. He came out and pointed out some simple, minor things that several of us were doing wrong, but that is not really his specialty. He works with riders who are serious about getting better and are willing to put the effort into doing so. I've seen / taken some classes where they go over more immediately useful techniques to get you a little faster *right now*. Dennis seems to step back and take a more complete approach at what you need to become a faster, safer, and more consistent rider.

Ivan was his usual jolly self and really livened up any conversation he was near.

DRZ_Dad and family were really nice and I'll be dragging them out more since they are close to me.

Joe makes spode noises, but he is putting real effort into his riding and it is starting to show. I am now a liked member of my neighborhood because I passed out the Vidalia onions he left with me. For those of you who don't know what Vidalia onions are...I feel sorry for you.

Wrench was his normal, helpful self. It's nice to have a real mechanic around instead of just me with 3 wrenches and a hammer! His latest failed gymnastic attempt through the trees left him a bit sore, but still riding.

_SOLO_ was great to have around, even if the kids did cry when he spanked them on the PS2.

JBoomer was the big disappointment of the weekend. Instead of a cute, capable chick that rode, we ended up with him! Even though I gave him a hard time, it is very nice to know that we have such fine, capable, young men who are willing to do whatever it takes to enable the rest of us to live the wonderful life that we do here in the US. I hope all of them know that they are appreciated and respected.

I hope that people will find similarities between myself and OB1. He has been in the sport a long time (even more than me) and continually gives a lot more than he gets with all of the work he does to keep riding areas open in the southeast.

It was good to finally see Brad (SpokerAce) back out on a bike. Rumor has it he has started riding those JeySky thingies and might abandon us.

I'm glad HammerinHank and son made it out, even though I didn't get to ride with them. Lori went to the Univ of SC with Hank and his wife back in the stone age.

Lemming was his usual fun self, even though he left Julius Pleazer home to wash the dishes and clean the house.

Crash was so much fun to ride with since we were the same speed. I wish he could have stayed longer, but he needed to get home to his expecting wife.

Speaking of wives...Joe made the mistake of handing me the phone when his wife called. In my sexthietht lithping voithe pothible, I thanked her for thending her thrtapping young man to play with us!

All-in-all...another chance to get together with a great group of people (and Ivan) and even get to ride some in between.

(Eddie...my Momma calls me Mike, Josh)

Click to expand...

Ooops, sorry about that! I had some much I wanted to say I guess my mind got ahead of my fingers!

Guys, I had an absolute blast! Being the first arrival, I was blessed with a clear track to myself. For those of you who witnessed some my my riding "prowess", just imagine what you missed! With my solo warm-up finished, in comes Boomer. Soon thereafter, out goes my pride, damn, that fella can ride! He took his first lap slow {probably read that post by HLG}, second lap was full bore BttW! I rode his CRF, and knew it was a bike to be respected, gonna have to get a little CRF into my BWP.

Moby, my bikes name {If the bike is Moby, who's dat on da back?}, did really well with a much more qualified Pilot {Boomer}, and proved that the BWP could cross the double!
With Boomer giving me a pace run, that single-to-tabletop was history in short order. Being a freelance Honda suspension demolition tester, I needed that jump in my reportoire! Now, where are those new fork seals?

I really enjoyed meeting all you guys, the rides were great, who knew a little Lemming could raise such a cloud of dust? Must have been the extra exhaust from that irradiated pasta! Joe, thanks for the photo duty! HLG those burgers and dogs hit the spot, take some time for yourself dude! The fireside chat was a classic, might have made a good AA training film! Let's do that again sometime!

My weekend ended on a downer though. After crossing the SC line, I checked the voicemail on my phone, my grandmother in NY, who is fighting cancer, has suddenly reached the terminal stage, its a matter of keeping her comfortable now. Since I am on dial-up, I will be laying low to keep the line open. She is a Christian woman who led a good, hardworking life. You know, being an Air Force brat, and not seeing much of my extended family, the memories are golden, untainted by day-to-day conflicts. I did get to carry the family up last August, and she met her newest great-grandchild while still relatively healthy. If you are the praying type, one would be appreciated.

Robert

I had a good time with you guys Sat. I just flat ran out of energy, having a newborn hasn't left me with much time to ride, and I have become soft while sitting on the sofa. I could ride for about half a lap at speed then I had to slow down. Next time I hope to come prepared to ride at Gomers ironman pace.

AP is great track and the sawdust has made the turns nice and loamy. Getting lost on the trails wasn't much fun. After shutting my bike down to listen for other bikes all I heard was the birds chirping. Finally after burning half a tank riding in a 5 mile circle 3 times, I found my way out.

OB1 sorry about your grandmother. It sounds like she has had a good life. I will keep her in my prayers.
George

Robert- said a prayer for your Grandmother... Glad we finally met after all those posts on GOR and here.

George- next time head North (if there is enough sun to throw shadows so you can get a direction), and you will get to the lane that runs along the field, go left (west) and it takes you to the main road eventually. But you had a nice peaceful ride in the woods, right? :) And about the track, a half lap is my limit too, butI have no hope of running Gomer's speed. :(

And what was Gomer's comment regarding my spode like noises about? I thought I was being discrete about any alleged noises. :) How embarassing...

DOH! I can't believe I didn't mention George...or even remember to ask about the baby!

Well...I actually can believe it, I was falling asleep while typing all of that last night and in my mind I was going around the campfire and the camp sites. George left early Saturday and must have parked out of direct site from the Gomermobile.

I'm *glad* George wasn't too fresh, when he is I can't stay with him.

Joe...they must have been spode noises as they really had an effect on Ivan... :o

Robert...I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure that she would be happier knowing that you were doing what you love. I told the kids that it was fitting for us to do what Lori would want us to do on Mother's Day...enjoy being together and enjoy riding.

Aonia

Man! what a riding event! Fun meeting some of the GOR / DNR community. Thanks Joe Reitman for making this event happen :) And what a treat to meet the special guests Dr. Dennis Medsker and his wife! What outstanding people :thumb:

Just listening to this guy evoked a wealth of riding topics worth mentioning.
Topics discussed: good balance practice/techniques (use stand); body positioning; head plunge for adjusting flight altitude/pitch; look ahead when cornering, head up (not down); breathing properly, learning techniques at slow pace (pee-wee) – burn into nervous system so to someday become “automatic” (techniques and adjustments necessary then become from unconscious mechanisms; look/think the successful outcome or mastery of the obstacle – objective: achieve total concentration, flow and control (ability to switch on automatic pilot); blipping throttle to achieve smooth rear wheel landing and forward momentum; “old” dogs can learn new tricks.

This has me re-evaluating my kid's future riding development
as well as my own :clue:

Great day of riding, meeting internet addicts :laugh: and positive instruction by a proven leader in MX Racing instruction.

Joe, any chance we can organize this type of event again?

Where to start? First, I had a great time and as usual all the folks were great, helpful, and interesting; it was great to meet most of you :nener:

A big thanks goes out to HLG for shimming my valves (can I say that in public???) on Sat morning as a made the MickieD's breakfest run. He did stick me with having to reinstall the plastic, which is all he trusted me to do (I can't blame him). After the CRF was running I did attempt to ride it, but it just wasn't working for me. Yes, I'm still scared of the track and jumping after my MX incident last year :( Thus, my CRF spent most of the day hauling Jeremy and Danny around the track while I played in the woods like a good rodent.

Without a doubt the highlight of the trip was buzzing around the 13-mile trail (although it was more of a road) on the fiddy, even though I was experiencing headshake at speed. Brad did his best to keep up with me, but was slowed by his continued laughter of me bouncing all over the place. Ivan then got on his 150 and thoroughly kicked my butt on the next loop (can you say suspension). I’ve not ridden with Ivan for some time (since the last spodefest??), but his woods riding has improved 200%. One of these days he’s going to give me a run for my money.

After hauling my butt out of the truck on Sunday morning, I decided to head for home. Work really has me running and I needed to finish up a few projects before Monday. Additionally, my legs were so sore from riding the fiddy that I could hardly walk :yikes:

Side note here.

I couldn't make it but attended the race at Parker Valley on Saturday. Do you know who's name was on the starting grid for the 250 D race???????????

Ivan Lei...... However you spell it.

It actually had Ivan racing a bike number 899. Plus it was a Yamaha. I looked around the pits a little but never found him.

Sounds like you guys had fun. BTW I got real tired in the race but ended up getting a 2nd place overall. The "winner" got disqualified for running a 125 which is against the rules.

Aonia II is already in the works... Details soon. Or another option to suit the SC and NC crowd- maybe Turkey Creek mx? Is it any good? Any trails over there? Amenities? If so, sounds like a job for the energizer bunny (Mike) and that Truespode fella. :P

Lemming- I too am becoming more skeered (respectful? :) ) of the mx track. This seems to worsen with age- coincidental? I think not! LOL Lets just say I may have to buy some of those knuckle protectors soon...

Gomer- Been meaning to ask you a cooking question (you are the expert after all. :) ) The brand name and model ot that fancy grill- I have decided that the hydrocarbons from my open flame grill may not be the best for Matt's allergies. :(

Well, I dunno how in the world I missed this thread! Better late than never eh, Guess old threads never die! My only excuse is that the commercial HVAC business is hectic this time of year..........

First, Robert I am sorry to hear about your grandmother...

We had a great time, Mike have you installed that wood block ( Speed controller ) under the rv's gas pedal yet? LMAO

All who attended is a class act! was really great meeting all of you!
Lemming, man you are fast in the woods! I wanna try and follow you in the trails at TNT......

I have since got a new ( heavier ) rear spring, and grabbed a Yoshimura pipe! Bike works much better,
Aaron's cr80 broke another piston skirt recently while at Durhamtown, so I sent the cylinder and head to E.G. to get the big bore kit and some special porting! patiently waiting it's return, that should be a fun little bike.........