Suthin SpodeFest 2003

I am so sore today that I can barely move. I feel bad for _SOLO_ though... he was tired too but he had to listen to my babbling all the way back to Spartanburg so he didn't get to take a nap like I did. I have driven that stretch so often I can sleep, drive and talk all at the same time :)

Ivan

Well, first off... the fest could not have came at a better time! One more week and I probably would have just gotten out of the sport altogether and became a monk somewhere.

This past weekend we had the Suthin SF at TNT. Unfortunately, due to the rain the trails were closed so the SF was sorta fragmented. On Saturday a lot of people went to Manchester for some trail riding while I and the other half stayed and rode the track at TNT. The traction was almost perfect and the changes to the track were AWESOME.

I can't comment on the Manchester exploits other than the lies I heard from Gomer. However, one *almost* truth did come out. First, Gomer posted how he fixed MX Tuners and Lemmings bike the night before but we found out that wasn't the case but then MX Tuner was talking about his sore back and Gomer was smiling and trying not to talk and covering his mouth. This lasted all of maybe 25 seconds before Gomer started jumping up and down, pointing at MX Tuner and screaming "I spanked you, I spanked you, I spanked you" like a 5 year old girl! However, none of us believed it and thought Gomer was just talking about the night before when they were at Gomer's house. Even now I'm not sure if Gomer is telling the truth with pride or MX Tuner is just letting Gomer live in fantasy land :)

Ok, backup... James, Linus, Lemming, Wrench, SpokerAce, _SOLO_, Brad (from my work) and a couple others hit the track. My arms start hurting right off the bat. From my funny bone to the tip of my pinky I felt like I was being stabbed. I tried not to let it bother me and tried to keep up with Lemming who has gotten really fast in MX and is even better on his new CR450F.

The changes to the track were really nice. The track is still jumpy but the landings are rounded more and there is a lot more forgiveness built in to things so you can work your way up to the jump better. Some have said that the track was too easy but last week John Dowd happened to show up on a Friday and when some of the other riders said it was too easy he replied back that he thought it was a great practice track and that he would like to have one like that in MA. I guess you can call that an expert review :)

By the third lap I was jumping all but 4 things out there and 2 of those I have jumped before but just didn't feel too confident about it. By the end of the day there was only the filled in Gully, ant hill and long step up that used to be a triple that I was not doing. I did do another step up though where you have a long face and you hit it in second and land softly up on top... it was probably the coolest jump I've ever done and is right now my favorite jump on the entire track!

We did our usual ride a few laps, rest, lie about how fast we were then ride a little more.

As for the lies... well, I'll be honest - Lemming is faster than he lets on (I am not sure but I think he was the fastest Spode out there), Wrench is turning better than last year, Brad is much faster with his new seat tank combo, Linus really moves in the corners (get him a bike with updated suspension and we are all in trouble) and James is riding almost as fast as me coming back from a broken shoulder... I think the couch riding he has done has actually helped him. This year is going to be fun racing with him... at least for the beginning of the season until he gets back into riding shape and starts leaving my tail again!

After we got tired out we decided to watch MX Tuner throw a top end in _SOLO_'s yz125 in less time than it takes Gomer to drink one fermented beverage! I bet MX Tuner would have done it faster if he didn't have so many people talking to him the entire time.

Saturday night we ate some of Linus' ribs that he cooked for us. DAMN those were the BEST ribs I have EVER had. I am not a fan of ribs too much but I could eat those ribes 4 or 5 times a week they were so damn good. Mucho impresso!

After some BS'ing and watching the Great Outdoors we all roll out and hit the bed. I slept in my trailer and was very comfortable thanks to Lemming's big propane heater. Then at 4am I get up and when I come back I try to light the heater to get comfortable again. It took me 2 hours before I finally gave up! I was so pissed and worried that I broke it. Turns out I'm just stupid b/c I forgot to press a little red button to help ignite it! Doh!!!

Anyway, the MX school came way too soon the next morning. I had only had a few hours of sleep and was feeling really bad and ran down. I tried to move onward though.

The school was fun. Ike Dejagger is a very entertaining and fun teacher. He showed me a lot I was doing wrong, including my arm position. When I thought they were up they were too far up and when I would relax they would go too far down. Now I have a much better understanding of where my arms and the rest of my body should be. Once he cleared up my mistakes with my arms the other positions were much easier and balance improved a lot.

We did everything in 1st or 2nd gear except for some races to and around a tire but it was very informative and gave me a lot to work on on my own. At least now when I work on it I have an example to go by and can relate it to something I have done so I know whether it is wrong or not.

Lemming and this other guy Al were the stars of the class. Al showed us just how much power a CR500 really has and how hard it is to control... he was much faster on the 250! Lemming showed us how to start a CR450F since he kept stalling so often :) Wrench and Brad had a little contest on who could crash the most graceful but Mike came out of the wood work to have what I think is the best one when doing a stoppie :) Jeremy was the most consistent and I can't think of anything to say about how he was riding... damnit! <vbg>

After the class though I loaded up and just stayed around to bs. I was wore out and felt sick. I felt sick the rest of the day and still am a little under the weather today but have a lot more energy than before. I am sore as can be but am happy for it.

I then helped keep people off the track during a maintenance period and got to laugh at Dave after he lost his keys! Luckily they found them a little later and in all honesty... I didn't laugh until after we found them. I promise Dave, really! <g> Dave has a new YZ250 but he spent a little time on his little YZ133. I personally think he needs the YZ250 to even have a chance racing in JMX next year so I hope he doesn't get too sentimental ;) He definately needs to start using that extra power before his son gets on a bigger bike and makes him look really slow :-)

The fest was a great time and it was so good to see so many great people. I only wish I could have ridden with Brian, Angie, Grinch and the rest of the GOR dudes on Sunday. I'm sorry guys, I was too whooped.

A special thank you goes out to Barbara who owns TNT. She was wonderful and gave and gave and gave of her time and her facility so we could have a good time. Without her and TNT I would miss out on so many great things this sport has to offer. We love you Barbara and we appreciate you tremendously... THANK YOU!

Thanks also to Gomer who picked up the ball and got everything organized. With some of the other things lately I have not put the effort into planning that like I should have done. Gomer is much busier than I but he still picked it up and helped make the fest a great time. I do not know what this sport would be like without him!

I am so glad that everyone made it and look forward to next year when we do it again. And for the JMX racing crew (James, Wrench, SpokerAce, Mike T and Dave) I am really looking forward to the hot Saturday nights racing under the lights and telling lies!

Ivan

And you believed James? Sheesh... :)

Ivan