Farewell to Cycle News

There are some nights you go to sleep knowing that the next morning, the world will not be the way you left it. Your life will be turned upside down and nothing will be the same again. The things that were going through my head when I was out jogging will not be on my mind anymore. Deadlines, bike tests, heading to the races next weekend, none of that will matter come tomorrow because I will wake up on September 1, 2010, unemployed. My job as an Associate Editor for Cycle News weekly motorcycle newspaper will be over, and after over 40 years of publication Cycle News will close its doors.

That day of change is upon me – a day I’ve been dreading, but anticipating for some time now. That doesn’t mean I saw Cycle News folding – just that I’m well aware of the fact that no matter how good things get or how bad they get, they never last. I’ve been through some tough times (we all have) but I’ve been especially enjoying life in the last few years. That’s actually quite an understatement...

I feel so incredibly fortunate and thank God each and every day for the amazing life I have. Maybe it sounds like some trite rhetoric but I’ve learned to savor the good things, recognize a gift when I see one, and take advantage of the time I’m given. Each day this year that I woke up and found the world just as I left it, it felt like a gift.

Not for one second would I ever assume that I earned – or was even worthy of – the role I had at Cycle News. All the amazing opportunity that came with it came courtesy of all those who came before me. Over 40 years of hard work by dozens and dozens of journalists have made Cycle News what it was (probably at least half the journalists in our fair industry have had some role in Cycle News over the years). Like a mountain that kept on growing, Cycle News kept rising, and earning respect of the industry. Then I came along four-and-a-half years ago, and through sheer luck (and some good friends), I stepped into the role of Associate Editor. At the time I hardly knew what I had become a part of, but I soon realized that I was standing on top of the mountain, and had been given the esteemed privilege that comes with being the voice of Cycle News.

It was more than a dream job. It was the job I never even knew existed! Kit Palmer and Paul Carruthers spoiled me rotten. I worked my ass off, but it hardly ever felt like work. Even things like pulling an all-nighter after a national and heading straight to the office from the airport for a 10 hour day of shipping don’t suck when you love what you do and love the people you work with. These last few years have been a bit rocky, but it when the going got rough, we had each others’ backs. We kept each other laughing and kept putting our best foot forward because we all believed in what we were doing.

At a time like this, plenty of people will say, “You’ll move on to bigger and better things.” Now I’m not a pessimist, but I find that hard to believe. It’s probably like winning a championship; there’s nowhere to go but down after you’ve reached the top. I was lucky enough to land a spot like this once, and it’s hard to believe that lightning will strike twice... as much as I’d like it to.

Before I go to sleep tonight and wake up to find the world not as I left it, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who made my job possible, and everyone who made it fun. Most of all, I want to thank everyone who came before me at Cycle News and built this mountain that I got to stand on top of for a while. It’s been a great privilege and a hell of a ride.

Temperature (and Pressure) Rising

Well, I just survived the most difficult week of my professional career. I still have a job (for now) and hopefully next week will be better. Times sure are tough with the economy and when I look back, it really puts it into perspective how lucky I’ve been to have such a great job. Hopefully things will keep moving forward, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no matter how good things are, or how bad things are, they always come to an end eventually.

(Photos to come...)

It’s been an exhausting week so I’m not even going to get into it. I’m just going to ride motorcycles, keep my head down and keep writing stories as long as I keep getting a paycheck. We’ll deal with the next step if and when it comes.

Anyhow, the last blog I did was around X Games time and I had just returned from Michigan with an injured wrist. Since then um... let me think... what have I been doing? Well I got to join my mom and her friends for dinner when Heather was in town. It’s always a treat to see her and it’s interesting to see the parallels our lives have started to draw. We’re both enthusiasts in male-dominated sports, and although there’s not much in common between dirt bikes and horses, we still have a lot in common when it comes to things like traveling the world, constantly needing to prove ourselves, dealing with injuries and disappointments and still finding the motivation to keep moving forward. I’m in media and she’s a competitor, but sometimes she writes for magazines and occasionally I race, so we share really unique perspectives and both take a lot of interest in what the other is up to in life. She stays at my mom’s whenever she’s in town, and we often get to stay up late swapping stories. We have really great conversations so it’s always a treat to see her.

Another recent treat was getting to go down to Matt and Erin’s for Brian’s 10th birthday party. We had chicken divan and chocolate cake and got to spend the evening playing with the 1.6 million kids that always seem to congregate around their house. Every time I show up, it takes me a while to sort out which ones are Matt’s and which ones are the neighbors’. Occasionally one will disappear to the neighbor’s house, or a few will magically appear in Matt and Erin’s back yard. It’s hard to keep up but it seems like they have a good thing going on. Little Travie keeps up pretty well with all the bigger kids, and he’s got a set of pipes that will let you know if anything is wrong if you’re within a mile radius. Sean showed us his brand new Fender Strat and amplifier that he got for his birthday a few days earlier, and we got to watch Brian open up his brand new laptop computer that he got for his birthday! Can’t believe those little monsters are 10 and 12 years old now!

It was good to see the whole crew especially since I didn’t get a chance to make it up to Refugio this year. I had planned on going up for the last weekend of the trip, but ended up having to go to Oklahoma to cover an EnduroCross race. Of course, once again, we had record heat in the area. It was humid and miserable and made me realize why I pay the big bucks to live in the lovely and permanently air-conditioned Orange County.

The day I traveled to Oklahoma City was Mark’s birthday – a day that is obviously an emotional one. Mark and I were both really bad at remembering birthdays, but we ALWAYS knew each others and we always went big on birthday presents. Mark has given me things like a Play Station, an iPod, and I gave him stuff like Crossfire boots (they’re $400 top of the line motocross boots) and a DVD player. It was like we’d try to outdo each other. I always think of what cool thing I would have given him and wonder what he would want me to have on my birthday.

Still, August 13 was a good day for me this year. Even though it was Friday the 13th and I had to get on an airplane. Given my track record for traveling this year, I expected nothing less than disaster, but much to my surprise, it all went extremely well! No delays or truant co-pilots or screaming children. I sat next to a really cool guy on the plane who used to be a pastry chef and we were chatting about being foodies and our conversation turned into discussing the path toward achieving goals. Are we guided by fate or is it through our own drive that we reach our goals? We came to agree on the idea that “once you visualize your goal, the path becomes clear.” It was an interesting conversation. I love how you can sit down with someone and have such a deep conversation about life for a few hours without ever knowing the others’ name, or ever seeing them again. It’s one of life’s random treats (and one of the only good things that ever come from being on an airplane).

Another treat on this trip was that my best friend Laurette was also on it. We went out to dinner at “Earl’s” – a place that we randomly picked from the list of BBQ joints that my GPS gave us. It was this little rib shack in Edmond, Oklahoma that had the BEST ribs I’ve ever had. It was utterly amazing, and the fun part was that since we were in the middle of nowhere, Laurette and I shamelessly dug in, gnawing meat off the bone with BBQ sauce all over our faces and sticky handprints on our beer bottles. “Another round!” Laurette shouted to the waiter with a mouthful of rib meat. We just cracked ourselves up as we pigged out on fried okra, ribs, corn on the cobb and baked potatoes. And then we followed all that with a massive peach cobbler. YUM!!

We were so stuffed that we weren’t hungry until the next afternoon at the races. We both like to make sure we’re coiffed and poised when we’re at industry events, and all the guys treat us like such ladies. We were laughing thinking about what they’d say if they saw us elbow-deep in BBQ sauce stuffing our faces and chugging beer the night before.

The race went awesome. Laurette killed it on the mic (as always) and the story turned out great, although it was hotter than a sauna in the Lazy E Arena.

Not much else has gone on in the last few weeks. My wrist is steadily getting better, and though it’s not back to normal, I’ve discovered I can do a few hours of riding here and there without aggravating it. The following weekend (last weekend) I didn’t have to work, so a group of friends and I went out to Glen Helen for a local race. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced and it felt really good to get back out on the track for some bar-banging. It went really well and I won my race (yay me)! The guys were complaining about how “hot” it was there, but I was like, “Pssh! This is nothing! It’s not Budds Creek, so I have no complaints!”

Like I said earlier, work has been quite a roller coaster ride in the last week or so. So things have been quite stressful, but whatever. It is what it is and I’m just going to ride bikes and write stories. And eat brownies. And hope that next week is better.

Man Down!

Yep, I pretty much roached my wrist in Michigan. It wasn't one particular incident or a crash or anything; it's just really sore from overuse. It doesn't take a crash to get injured in this sport. Riding dirt bikes is really tough on your body and things like repetitive movements and hard impacts on the motocross track, or rocks and sticks flying at you on the trails is enough to sufficiently bang you up. So that's where I'm at right now. Michigan was the final blow. Not only do I have the wrist problem but also scrapes and bruises all over.

Above right: Me and my friend Steve Cox (a fellow journalist) taking a self-portrait in the X Games press box.

I wonder what that must look like to people in public. One time I got clothes-lined by a big branch and it scraped up my chin and left a big scrape across my neck. A few days later I was sitting at the car wash and noticed the people around me looking at me funny with sort of a worried look of pity. Then it occurred to me that I probably looked like I was choked and punched in the jaw. I could almost hear people thinking, "Leave him, honey. He's not going to change."

Even though I'll be dialing back the riding for a bit, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm slowing down (unfortunately). After the Michigan trip I took Tuesday off (even though I was supposed to go to the KX450F intro which would have been another rough day of riding in 100+ degree weather) and got some much needed rest. But then Wednesday it was off and running again.

Right: On Wednesday we got an up close and personal look at the 2011 Alpinestars product line.

Wednesday we were invited up to the Alpinestars headquarters in Long Beach for their presentation of their 2011 line of protective wear. These sorts of presentations always remind me of college classes because they go through a slide show of their new products, pointing out every last detail right down to the contour of the zipper tab. We scribble down notes and ask questions, then break for coffee. Then more product presentations then we break for lunch, then we get to shoot pictures, do interviews and tinker with the new products.

After that I headed straight up to the STAPLES Center in Downtown L.A. to pick up my media credential for the Summer X Games. I'm a total moron and actually thought we had another week before X Games started, but it sneaked up on me and on Tuesday I was saying, "Aaah! It's in two days!"

Right: The press box at the L.A. Coliseum: Not such a bad office!

ESPN is really getting in to motocross events, and every year they add more competitions to the Summer X Games. It's great for the riders ESPN is really good to its athletes. While the riders have to pay money to compete in the AMA championships, ESPN actually pays the riders just to show up. They have rich purses that pay all the way down to last place so no one leaves empty handed. They give them gift baskets and treat them like royalty so it's really great to see my friends getting treated like the athletes they are. And it's a huge amount of publicity which is a really great thing for the sport so we try to support it as much as we can.

I spent all day Thursday at the L.A. Coliseum where the Moto X Racing events were being held. All day my "office" was in the press box on a beautiful day overlooking downtown. The racing was great and the girls in particular put on a great show. I love watching the Women's Moto X because it's the first and only form of Supercross racing for girls in the world, making it the single most prestigious race for WMX riders. I also love watching the expressions on people's faces when they see how fast the girls are.

A lot of them are girly girls, too, which I love. One of the most important messages I like to give little girls is that you don't have to act like a boy to ride with the boys. You be as girly as you want to be! Not that there's anything wrong with being a tomboy... but being "in touch with your masculine side" doesn't mean abandoning your feminine side. I always see girls in the sport who feel that showing any type of femininity equates to showing weakness (I used to be one of them). But I finally realized, "You know what? I like to curl my hair and paint my nails. And yes, I may squeal at spiders and cry at weddings but that doesn't make me any less of a rider!"

Right: Reigning WMX Champion Ashley Fiolek getting ready to put the smack down at X Games!

Anyhow, enough of that tangent. So X Games was fun, as always. While I was there I got to see Doc Bodnar. He's the AMA Supercross doctor who travels with the series and they have a big rig built into a medical center that they bring to all the races. Doc Bodnar is a super cool guy and always tells me that I can come see him or call him any time if I need anything so I asked him if he could take a look at my wrist. We X-rayed it and nothing's broken or fractured; he says it just looks like tendinitis. As common sense would dictate, I just need to rest it and ice it until it heals.

So that's a drag because we have a lot of testing to do at this time of year, but oh well... a few weeks off the bike is a relief sometimes. My feminine side certainly appreciates the occasional break! :)

There Are Trees in Michigan... Apparently

I've been trying to keep up with writing at least once a week, but obviously I'm a little behind. Usually Tuesday - my slowest day of the week - is my day to "blog it out" but last Tuesday I was in a coma (read: sleeping like a narcoleptic baby) for the majority of the day, still trying to recover from my Michigan trip last weekend. We went to Traverse City, Michigan for the 2011 Husaberg intro, which was held at the Jack Pine Enduro, one of the AMA National rounds, where we got to ride and race the new 'Bergs.

Photo right: A lovely self portrait while taking a break along the trail during Saturday's test session.

I'm sure most of you saw all my FaceBook posts about the travel debacle leaving LAX and going through Detroit to Traverse City, Michigan. As always, it was one ridiculous incident after another: bags lost, gates switched, delays, severe weather, etc, etc. I don't even feel like I should waste time writing about it. These silly travel adventures are sheer entertainment at this point, and fortunately I've A) come to expect it, and B) no longer sweat it. The only thing that ever gets me worried is when I have a deadline and I can't get home to work on my story.

The only thing worth mentioning, however, was the short flight from Detroit to Traverse City. We were on a small plane and a thunderstorm was still clearing up, but we were cleared for takeoff. It was quite unnerving and I was worried I would see my dinner in reverse because they expected a really bumpy flight. But our pilot seemed to find a nice little altitude pocket - there were storms above us and clouds below us, but we had calm air. From the storms above us, we could see lightning bolts striking all over, and in between the cloud layers the sun was setting. It was a pretty amazing sight - somewhat apocalyptic! I took a picture with my phone (above right), but it doesn't do the view any justice. The layers and colors of the sunset were really amazing. I'm glad I had a window seat for that flight!

Since my flight and another guy in our group were late getting in, we had the KTM sales manager from Tennessee picking us up at the airport instead of my friend Christy (who works for Husaberg). So I get a message on my cell phone from a guy named Jeremy, speaking in the thickest Southern accent you could imagine. He and his brother were to pick up me and Nathan Woods (one of the Husaberg racers) and take us to the hotel about an hour and a half away.

I was supposed to get into Michigan in time to join the Husaberg crew for dinner, but my flight didn't reach Traverse City until 10 P.M. Our bags weren't there yet and they said they'd be on the next flight about an hour later. So we went out to dinner and then came back to the airport about 11:30 P.M. We were on the road by midnight and to the hotel at 1:30 A.M. It was a very long and exhausting day, but that guy Jeremy is one of the funniest guys I've ever met and it was a fun adventure. Driving to the hotel we were on nothing but back country roads, one after another with thick woods on each side of the two-lane highway. We had to drive cautiously because there were deer everywhere and plus it was kinda foggy. It was an interesting drive.

Photo right: There are lots and lots of trees in Michigan. This was only Saturday's test loop. Sunday's race course was easily twice as dense!

I crawled into bed at about 2:00 A.M. and of course, we were due in the lobby six hours later for breakfast! That's the thing with these intros - they keep you busy, busy, busy! I think they don't want you to get bored or something, so they very rarely give you any down time.

The next day we drove out to the race site and had our little 2011 Husaberg model presentation. There were only three editors at this one - myself, Tom Webb and Jimmy Lewis (He's the editor of Dirt Rider that I used to fight with night and day when I worked there. But the funny thing is that Jimmy and I are pretty cool with each other these days. We actually hung out all weekend and had a great time!)

It was a brief presentation, and with such a small group, it was a pretty fun casual day of riding and shooting. They set up a two mile loop for us to ride, which I thought was going to be too short, but it was a very slow and technical two miles so it did the trick for us.

I spent most of the day on setup; I was having a hard time getting comfortable out there because it's wet sandy ground and really technical trail between trees, over logs, rocks, stumps, between trees so close together you had to slow down and physically push the bars between the trunks to get by. I've said before, when I'm on, I'm really on, and when I'm off, I'm really off. Well, I was off and having a frustrating day because I couldn't find where to make adjustments. Fine tuning is a hard thing to do when you're on a strange bike in a strange place in conditions you don't usually ride. If I had the bike at home and went on my regular loop in Mojave, I could figure it out pretty easily, but Michigan is a little trickier.

I really wore myself out riding the loop over and over again, trying to make improvements. But it was important to get it right since I'd be racing this bike tomorrow. I got a satisfactory setup going finally, but not before a few tip-overs, and a few trees jumping out in front of me (those suckers will get ya!).

This was to be my first National Enduro, and since I had done well at a local enduro I did last year, I thought maybe this could go pretty good. Well I was wrong! It was friggin' crazy!!! Okay, these special tests weren't dangerous or anything - no drop-offs, hill climbs, boulders, etc, but just tight, tight, tight trees snaking our way in between for miles on end. Imagine trying to ride a motorcycle through a crowded restaurant. Seriously. That's what it's like, only for nine miles!

The part that really stole my thunder was that I was on row 32 (in an enduro you start in rows of six riders separated by one minute) and all the Pro and A riders are in the 30s. So yes, that meant that there were super fast and aggressive guys who are racing for a championship behind me, and on these tight trails there is no where to get out of the way! I felt like ALL I WAS DOING was getting out of the way of other riders. Every 30 seconds I was trying to pull over, and at some points, all I could do was lay the bike down and let them ride over it because there was no where to go! It kinda sucked the fun out of it, and after the third test, I decided to call it a day. My wrist was in a lot of pain - even more every time I had to pick up the bike - the bike was billowing smoke because it was overheated, I thought I was going to throw up and I was waaaaay behind, meaning there was no way I could stay on my minute. After the third test, I reluctantly bowed out of the rest of the race and headed back to camp on the paved roads.

It was really a bummer especially because everyone was going on and on about how the fourth test was the best one of the day, fast and fun, "perfect berm after perfect berm" and only six miles. Had I just completed that I would have recorded a finish. Oh well. Like I said, I'm paid to write stories, not win races. I had spent ample time on the bike to get an impression, we had our photos, and I can't afford to hurt my wrist any more than I already had because we have a lot of testing to do this summer. Anyway, that's what I reasoned to myself. But honestly, a DNF still always feels like a big fat failure. :(

That put a damper on my afternoon, but the evening was by no means a wash. We all went out for a big dinner and then headed back to the hotel to grab a cooler of beer and head to the jacuzzi for some much needed chill time. I was even more sleep deprived by that point, but it's hard to toddle off to bed when there's fun to be had! I usually don't get much sleep on trips simply because there are too many better things to be doing. I can sleep when I get home!

The trip home was filled with more delays and screaming kids, turbulence, over-booked flights, etc, etc. On the way there I didn't care so much, but when I'm trying to rush back to the office on a Monday and have stories to complete, things all of a sudden become far more irritating! But like always, I made it home, cranked out the stories and we got the issue out the door. From there, I promptly went home, crawled into bed and stayed there for 20 hours. Yes, I slept most of my Tuesday away which is why I didn't get my blog done until now, but boy did it feel great!

Sizzlin'!

Man, it seems like hot weather is following me wherever I go. Or perhaps I'm following it! As usual, it's been busy, busy and go-go-go lately, and it all seems to be in record heat!

Last week we finally picked up our shiny new 2011 Kawasaki KX250F and in order to get the jump on the story, of course we want to get out and do our testing as soon as possible. Thursday we threw together a ride day at Glen Helen - a place we typically do a lot of riding, testing and photoshoots. Well, it was a good day, only it was 104 degrees out there. Oh well, like I was talking about in my Maryland story, this is the part of the job that makes it feel like work. You still gotta get out there and put time on the bikes. No whining!

We got a good few hours of riding in before we had to surrender to the heat. No matter how much you try to drink fluids and pace yourself, it still comes to a point... But it was hard to complain after remembering how brutal that East Coast heat was a few weeks ago. No matter how bad the dry desert heat gets, I can always say, "At least it's not Budds Creek!"

With Thursday's testing out of the way it was now time to relax and be a girl! :) Every now and then I get to clean up a little and reward myself with a pedicure, or better yet, a trip to the hair salon. Last week I got to enjoy both, and what better time than right before a weekend in Vegas?!

Speaking of brutally hot, Las Vegas certainly tops the charts. But you can always look forward to the air conditioning blasting wherever you go. Since you rarely go outside in Las Vegas, I was looking forward to "chillin' out" in the 115-degree temperatures!

I was headed to Sin City for the opening round of EnduroCross, which is my FAVORITE series in the world! Not only is it the most entertaining type of racing ever invented, but every single one of those guys out there racing is a friend of mine. They're the coolest people and it's the toughest form of off-road racing out there, so the EnduroCross Series is what I look forward to most every year. Oh, and Laurette is the announcer for the series, so going to those races also always means a weekend of QT with my bestie!

The series is only six rounds and goes from July to November, so the season opener is always like a reunion. It's lots of hugs and catching up with guys from around the world who I only see a handful of times a year.

Friday evening was the kickoff party at Pole Position Raceway, a go kart track co-owned by a lot of guys in the motorcycle industry. It's a good place for socializing, interviews, pictures and of course, some cut-throat kart racing!

It's tempting to want to jump out there on the track and do some kart racing with everyone, but since I was enjoying some girliness for a change (and still feeling kinda sick from Thursday's hot weather workout), I wasn't about to join in. Those karts are much gnarlier than they look. They're really a workout! You're sure to have sore arms and shoulders the next day. And you get slammed around in the driver seat from the high-speed cornering and you'll end up with bruises on your sides and hips. And then there are always the take-out moves that will really leave you banged up! It's all in the name of fun, and those things really are a blast, but sometimes it's nice to just chill out and stay clean. I was fresh from the salon and determined to keep my head out of a sweaty helmet for at least three days.

The racing was great and true to Vegas form, the after-party was also a blast! (Photo right) Here's a self-portrait of Herm and I enjoying a 3:30 A.M. breakfast in the Orleans Casino!

Sunday was pretty brutal, though. The traffic on the way back to LA was a nightmare. Oh, and did I mention it was 118 degrees in Baker? I left Vegas at 2 P.M. and the temperature never got below 110 until 6:30 P.M. As always, it was so nice to get home to my beach town where it's 70 degrees and overcast!

Then it was your typical Monday: exhausted and working like mad to get the issue out the door. Now I get a few nights in my own bed until I'm off again on Friday. This weekend I'm headed to Michigan... or Minnesota or something... for the Jack Pine Enduro. 'Tis the season for new bike intros and for the 2011 Husaberg model launch they're flying us out for the "Cowbell Classic" to ride and race the new FE 450s. Can't wait!!!

Until then, I got some more "work" to do (aka riding dirt bikes) this week. But fortunately temperatures are only supposed to be in the 90s. Hmm... I might need to put on a jacket.

Return to the Meadows!

Another weekend, another adventure! This time we took a trip up to the Sierra Nevadas to Kennedy Meadows. During the summer it’s too hot to ride in the local desert areas we typically frequent, so about once a year we make the trek up into the mountains north of Lake Isabella for a cool summer retreat up in the mountains and some great trail riding at 8500 feet.
As I was heading up the mountain, I was talking to Katie (Turner) and heard that Vicki was in labor and headed to the hospital! I was in the middle of telling Katie that I was mountain bound and might not get reception up........
Fortunately Vicki and I have always had a really strong connection and I could feel that night at the campfire that it was done. The baby was here and all was well. Thomas Steven Chase is a spitting image of his daddy and Vicki is a stud and toughed it out without an epidural. Go’on wicha bad self, baybe!

Kennedy Meadows was pretty sweet. I got set up despite a tent pole malfunction... aka I left four poles at home. Fortunately I got some mad skills and with some ingenuity we were able to improvise. It’s a good thing we got it all sorted out because at three separate times during the first night it POURED on us. It was coming down so hard at one point I was sure I’d wake up rafting down a raging current on my air mattress, but I stayed dry to my surprise.
We rode all day Saturday – and I do mean ALL DAY. We had a three-hour outing in the morning which included the whole group – Me, Dennis, Leo, Gray, his kid Race, and Keith. We hit some pretty rough trails which 50% of us were enjoying, but it had been a while since a few of the guys had ridden, and being at nearly 9000 feet only makes things harder. We headed back for a lunch break and a while later we were headed back out for round two.
The first ride was 20 miles (and mountain miles are a lot more challenging than desert miles!) and this time we were bound and determined to make it all the way up to Osa Meadow. And when I say “we” I mean me... kinda dragging everyone else with me. We got a little over an hour into our ride and Leo and I stopped at an incredible little creek crossing. It was beautiful with lush grass, flowers and flowing water. It was a good place for a break so we stopped and waited for the others. And waited. And waited. When no one came we finally turned around and back tracked, about a half mile back we found Dennis, Keith and Gray parked at a road crossing. They were off the bikes, helmets off, sprawled on the ground in the shade – done.
“We’re tired, Gray is cramping up and my back hurts,” Dennis said. They were going to head back the way we came, but Leo and I decided to forge on to the meadow. I remember vividly the last time I was there. It was about five years ago and Mark was with us. The ride was awesome and the meadow was absolutely breath taking! It looked like a movie set! There’s a picture of all of us sitting on a log overlooking the meadow and it’s still hanging on the wall in the shop at Mom’s. I was really looking forward to seeing it again and ridng the trails again.
About a half hour later Leo and I reached the meadow. It was as beautiful as I remember, but the trails are really whooped out after years of use. Oh well... it was still a fantastic ride.
Leo and I could have gone back the way we came, but we decided to make a loop instead of back-tracking our way back. Dennis had told us that it was a really looooong loop to go all the way around, but it didn’t look all that much further on the map... That’s officially the last time I’ll ever doubt Dennis. That stupid map isn’t to scale! We took Granite Trail all the way up to Jackass Peak (it’s actually called that) and headed back to camp on Jackass Trail. What “didn’t look that much further” ended up being an extra 17 miles! It was fun, but a much longer ride than we were anticipating. Needless to say, we were wiped out at the end of our ride, but very satisfied that we got so much out of our day.
The next morning we headed back down the mountain. It’s a pretty amazing drive because one minute you’re up in the mountains and it’s 70 degrees, but 20 miles later you get back down to the desert and it’s 104 degrees!
The trails weren’t as good as they were five years ago, but it was great to be up there again and it meant a lot to me to make the trip again. Monday morning and it was back to the grind. True to form, it was a grueling Monday – bruises, scratches, sunburn, bug bites, sore muscles and exhausted. Good times!!!

This coming weekend it’s the opening round of EnduroCross in Las Vegas. This is my favorite series and the Vegas rounds are always a blast! I’ll be rooting for my boy Kyle (Redmond) to win, and also trying to stay out of trouble. Hopefully at least one of those will happen!

Merry-land and the 12 Hour

Wow... not even two weeks and I already have so much to catch up on! It’s definitely been a busy month. The day after my last blog I was on a plane to Washington D.C. where I’d be staying for a week (Waldorf, Maryland actually). There was an AMA Pro Motocross National at Budds Creek that I was covering on Saturday, and the following Tuesday/Wednesday there was going to be a new bike intro at the same track. So rather than fly home Sunday and come right back on Tuesday, I just stayed for the week.

(left) Self portrait at Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.

After the two weeks before that I thought it would be nice to have some down time and be able to sit in my hotel room and relax a bit – which I did for about two hours on Sunday morning before I was itching to go do something. No bikes, no friends in Maryland and I was climbing the walls with boredom. By Monday afternoon I was going stir crazy because I had to stay in the room and get my story done, and then be at the computer all day because that’s the day we go to print.
Finally on Monday afternoon I got to get out for a bit. I headed over to Chesapeake Bay to check out some of the beaches. Here’s a tip – what they call a “beach” is basically a dumpster full of sand emptied out onto some boulders. And get this – they charge you to step off of the boardwalk and onto the sand. There are people standing there like at a subway ticket booth making sure you paid your $8 to be on the “beach.” Pfft!

(right) The boardwalk is free, but you gotta pay to walk on the sand here!

The bay was beautiful, though. It was blazing hot and the humidity was off the charts, but other than that, it was nice. There are crabs everywhere and lots of geese on the beach. Quite a change of pace! I sat down at one of the boardwalk restaurants for a bowl of crab chowder and a glass of wine. That was also nice... but it would have been a LOT nicer with some company!

(right) Canadian geese kickin' it on the Chesapeake Bay shore.

That’s the weird thing about all this travel. Yeah, it’s cool and all, but it feels kinda empty when there’s no one there to share it with. It’s like someone says, “Here you go. You can have the coolest house you ever dreamed of, but you can’t ever have people over.” So is your house still as cool?
Anyhoo, my solitary confinement ended on Tuesday afternoon when the editors and Kawasaki peeps showed up for the KX250F intro. At last! Social stimulation! Tuesday night we all hopped on a shuttle bus and went across town to dinner at a Persian... Mediterranean type place. Steak and shrimp, tandoori and baklava! Mmmm...
Wednesday was our intro at Budds Creek and wow was it a brutal day. Record heat in the area, high humidity and NO BREEZE whatsoever. It felt like you had to cut the air with a knife to even walk through it, and we were going to be riding motocross in this!
I usually don’t have a problem with heat at all. Triple digits – no problem. But I’ve never been in humidity like that. Just a few laps in and I was feeling light headed and nauseous. After I pulled in for a break it got worse. I was dumping ice water on my head and even on my feet, but I couldn’t cool off! My heart was still racing and my vision was starting to tunnel... not good. After a few hours of rest, and letting the temperatures drop a bit, I tried riding again. (I know that might sound crazy, but that’s the thing with this job. You can’t exactly just sit back and say, “It’s too hot to ride,” after Kawasaki has put on this big event and flown you across the country for the North American launch of their new flagship motocross bike. You gotta tough it out. Even after 30 hours of traveling and no sleep, you gotta freshen up, clip on a smile and go to the welcome dinner. Or if you’re sick, hung over, sleep deprived and it’s snowing outside, you have to finish your motos for the shootout. A thousand people would kill for my job, so there’s no complaining and no cop-outs! This job is a privilege and a responsibility and I never forget that.)
I got in a few more laps before I started feeling sick again. I tried my best – we all did – but the weather just wasn’t cooperating. At least we got some good photos done that morning so it wasn’t a total wash.
We had another great dinner that night. This time it was barbecue. It’s weird but Maryland feels more like a Southern state than some actual Southern states do. The barbecue dinner was great, but at that point I think I would have settled for an IV and a salt lick.
Thursday we headed home. I spent most of the day Thursday and Friday still feeling sick and dehydrated. I was starting to worry because Saturday night we had the Glen Helen 12 Hour endurance race which, as you can imagine, is a really demanding race. You can’t go into that feeling under the weather. That’s what happened last year when I had the flu, but still tried to tough it out because I didn’t want to let the rest of the team down. I ended up in the hospital the next day with bronchitis.

(left) Saturday night - time for some night racin'!

Fortunately I woke up Saturday feeling like a million bucks, and we were off to the races! My friend Brandon, our photographer Mark Kariya (I always call him Kato) and one of his friends who I just met (Adam) were the four riders on our team. We were riding the Beta 400 RR (the same bike we rode and shot up in Arroyo Grande a few weeks ago). The 12 Hour race was at night this year – 5 P.M. to 5 A.M. – so we had the bike and our helmets rigged up with HID lights.
The course was brutal – really rough and pretty technical with some treacherous downhill sections. It was pretty punishing... just how I like it! At the end of an endurance race, or a Baja ride or an enduro, you should feel like you were just dragged behind a truck. That’s my philosophy! So for sure, I left this event happy.
Things got interesting at about 2 A.M. when a water main broke and sent a big fast-moving river down the middle of the track. That was rather surprising to come up on in the middle of the night. Each lap the river was getting longer and stretching further down the course so it certainly kept us on our toes – and struggling to dry off by the fire between rides.
I felt I rode well. I had quite a few close calls where I thought for sure I was going down – one of which was a nose-wheelie after an awkward landing from a step-down. I hit some big rocks and square edged bumps that kicked me totally sideways but I always managed to keep moving forward with the rubber side down. We had no busted grips or bent levers in the end. But in typical “Jean” style, I did actually hit the ground once – I tripped and fell walking to the bathroom.

(left) Here I am at 4:30 A.M. heading out on my last ride.

We finished the race 12 hours and 250 miles later. It was my rotation by the end of the night so I got to be on the bike as twilight broke, and I got to take the checkered flag. It’s always a sweet feeling to come through the scoring chute with the flag waving and your teammates high-fiving you. And I love LOVE riding the ridges of Glen Helen as the sun comes up. It’s such an incredible feeling when the light finally breaks, and you have that feeling of relief and accomplishment that you made it through the night. The rest is always downhill after that. Surviving the night without crashes or breakdowns... or emotional meltdowns... is always the toughest part of the endurance races.

(right) This pedestrian bridge was part of the course. Here I am coming down the stairs just before dawn.

Night riding is really a trip. Even though you’re on the same trails you were on in the daylight, it’s a totally different experience. It’s like one minute you’re feeling so peaceful and the next you’re remind yourself not to panic. It’s really strange being out in the wilderness alone in the dark. The headlights cast really strange shadows as you go by, and sometimes it looks as though the bushes are moving. Every now and then you might see glowing eyes of some curious critter (hopefully they don’t jump out in front of you). And there are almost always photographers camped out on the course. You don’t know they’re there until you’re blinded by a flash as you come through a corner!
I almost forgot how much I love night riding. The 12 Hour was a lot of fun and we were all stoked to get a finish. We didn’t place very high, but we had fun, didn’t have any breakdowns or injuries, and we all left the next morning still speaking to each other. So I’d have to say that was more successful than plenty of the other endurance races I’ve done!

(right) 5:15 A.M. - our team celebrating our finish at the Glen Helen 12 Hour Endurance Race.

This week it’s back to the grind. I’m actually glad to have a quiet week in the office with no grandiose plans for a while. It’ll be good to get caught up on some stories and let my body get some rest. I’m sun burned, I have sore muscles from head to toe, blisters on my hands, poison oak on my arm, bruises on my thigh, a cut still healing on my knee and I’m in desperate need of a pedicure. And then there’s that dirty Beta still sitting in my garage... ugh.
Such a tough life! ;)

Garage Grumblings

Spending time in the garage is definitely not my favorite. It's too often boring and/or frustrating, and always ends with dirty, chewed up fingers and grease stains on my arms. But when I get a new part or accessory, it's not that hard to motivate myself to run down to the garage and start wrenching away. It's like a new toy that you can't wait to play with, so even with the busted knuckles and black fingernails, it's worth it the next day.
There's a certain time of year, however, that makes me reluctantly drag myself into the garage, more demotivated than ever, for a painful day of turning wrenches. That time of year is when our long-term bikes have to be returned to the manufacturers. Before we hand them back we have to put all the stock parts back on, clean it and service it.
I knew it was coming. My phone buzzed on my desk and it was Tim Olson from Yamaha. I knew why he was calling... and that's why I didn't answer. Two hours later he called again. Damnit. There was no denying the inevitable. It's time for the WR250 to go back to Yamaha.
Of course, it could be seen as a good thing since this means that we'll be getting the new models soon. But it's never easy to give up a bike you've grown comfortable with and had so many good times with. This WR in particular has been in my possession for two years. We've been to the desert, the mountains, the track, we've done endurance races, we've tumbled down rock piles, we had silly days where we just spun donuts until we fell down. We rode rock faces in San Diego, we nearly burned up the clutch trying to climb sand hills in Cudde Back, we splashed through streams in Arroyo Grande and sat atop incredible mountain tops in Arrowhead. This was even the bike I took on my legendary Malcolm ride!
Sure we had some rough times. We had busted fork seals, plenty of smashed levers and some substantial front fender damage from going over the bars on more than one occasion. Okay... more than four occasions. But I also had some of the best two-wheeled times on this WR in the last year and a half. I had my best race EVER on this little guy at last year's VCMC Enduro Qualifier in Gorman. I still enter the intermediate class in off-road races, and this time, not only did I win my class, but I overalled the women's expert class too! The first woman expert rider finished over ten minutes behind me. Smack down!!!
But like all things do, good or bad, my time with the WR has come to an end. My only time left with "Papa Smurf" would be in the garage putting all the stock parts back on. It's like moving day, or cleaning up the morning after a party. It's like moving the morning after a party. It sucks that much. Yesterday was that day and I reluctantly washed, serviced and tore down the WR250. I took off the steering stabilizer and mount, hand guards and the Motion Pro variable rate throttle kit. I remembered all our good times together as I inspected the battle damage - bruised plastics, bent radiators, busted hot start lever perch (that was from last year's Glen Helen 12 Hour). The chain hung in there really well. It was definitely beat, but still spinnin'... ah the miles on that chain.
We skipped through meadows, we climbed Paiute Mountain Peak, we weathered the craziest flash flood I've ever witnessed, we soldiered through dusty races in triple-digit heat and icy cold mornings which made us both grumpy. But our time was up.
Parting with this little guy wasn't easy. He peered at me in my rear view mirror as we headed down the 605 toward Cypress. "Where we going today?" he asked. I hadn't the heart to tell him it was all over for us.
Phil Collins' touching ballad "Against All Odds" came on the radio and I could no longer hold back my sorrow. Tears began to well up in my eyes as I approached the Yamaha warehouse. (Okay, I made that up, but it was still a sad moment.)
Goodbye my little WR. I will always remember you and treasure our time together. At least until I get a new one and have even better times.

Texas, Arrowhead and Betas - oh my!

At last, here it is. Your window to my world. My outlet for the random things I do and the even more random things that go through my head. Not only is this a great way to keep up with where I've been and where I'm bouncing off to next, but it's also going to be a good way for me to remember what I did last week. Sometimes even I can't keep up with my own schedule!

Last week is a prime example of how much running around I do. On June 4th I headed to Texas to cover the AMA Motocross National (big pro race) in Freestone which is about an hour south of Dallas. It was over 100 degrees and reeeeally humid. (I heard some people saying it was 108 but I don't know if I believe that.) I'd been hearing the horror stories leading up to the race so I made sure I was ready. Bathing suit, shorts, flip flops and I didn't even bother to dry my hair; I just put it up in a clip. Call me crazy but it felt kinda nice to me. Of course, I love the heat and when you're ready for it, it's not that bad. If I had to be racing in that, well... that's a totally different story. But I was sitting in the shade sipping my cold water so I didn't have anything to complain about.
Anyhoo, the next day I had plenty to complain about. Long story short, I missed my flight which was at 6:15 A.M. I know what you're thinking - sleepy Jean was running late and missed the flight - but that wasn't even the case! True, it was my responsibility, but for once, I wasn't just running late. I got a little lost on the way to the airport and then had a fiasco at the rental car drop off, got on the wrong shuttle to the terminal. Not only did the bus take forever to close the damn doors and get going, but I mistakenly thought the buses all went to the same place. Turns out only one goes to each terminal and I was headed to C when I needed to be at E.
"Okay, no problem," I thought. "I'll just take that handy little train thingy that goes terminal to terminal." Wrong. You have to be checked in to use that and I needed to be at my terminal to check in! So I sat out on the curb waiting for the airport shuttle that takes you around. The wait time said, "10 min." I was biting my nails as it counted down and relieved when it got to 2 min., but it stayed on 2 min for about 10 more minutes!
Finally the damn thing comes and I get on. If you've been to DFW you know it's about the size of Delaware and takes forever to get around. You seriously have to get on a freeway to get to the next terminal, so it took some time, as well. I had originally arrived at the airport about an hour early and with no bags to check I thought I would be fine. Well I missed check in by about 5 minutes.
Yet again, I thought, "No problem. I'll just get on standby for the next flight." Well, I didn't get on that one. Nor the next one, the one after that, nor the one after that. Stuck in Dallas, I was! This story goes on and on and I just don't even want to remember that misery. Actually the only miserable part was that we were going to print the next morning and I had a five-page story due and we're required to be in the office at 7 A.M. on Monday. I didn't end up getting home until 2 P.M. on Monday after going through Vegas to LAX and having to take a $70 cab ride to Long Beach Airport to get my truck. Ugh!
So my week started off with a staggering sleep deficit and it didn't get much better for the rest of the week. But that's the way it goes when you live life by the seat of your pants!

On Tuesday we headed up to Arrowhead to do some riding up in the mountains. It was a gorgeous day and the trails were amazing. It's always fun to get out during the week because you can ride all day and not see any other riders. We stopped at this creek crossing that looked like a movie set. The creek opens up and it's deep enough to climb on the rocks and jump in. And the water was surprisingly warm. So yeah... we had to take a break and go for a swim!!! I've never done that before but I've always wanted to! I thought my jersey would be wet and dirty for the rest of the ride, but to my pleasant surprise it was not. In fact, I even felt kinda clean at the end of the ride! haha
Tuesday night we met up with our photographer and piled in my truck to head up to San Luis Obispo. We had plans to meet up with Beta and ride the new 400 RR at a private ranch in Arroyo Grande the next morning so to make the most out of our day we went up Tuesday night and got a hotel. We didn't get in until midnight so it was another short night.


Wednesday morning we all met up for breakfast and headed out to the ranch. I had been there once before in December for some riding and photos and we had such a blast. Our only complaint was that it was on the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year! Well this time was much different. We had plenty of daylight and we were done before the sun was.
The shoot went well thanks to the lovely and talented Kato (our photographer's name is Mark Kariya but I've always called him Kato). We got some great action shots with some pretty incredible scenery. As planned, we hurried up and whipped through photos so we could get plenty of riding time in. There was one really nice creek bed shot that was working out pretty beautifully. I can tell when Kato is on to something because he gets that funny look in his eye. He had me doing pass after pass through this rocky creek bed, then I'd climb out, go back around and drop back in. Again and again and since I knew he was really getting something good, I kept plugging along as tired as I was. Each time I went through I was tracking water and dirt onto the river rocks so it was getting really slippery and tricky so I had a couple small crashes in there. Not the end of the world, but getting up, lifting up the bike and getting going again really saps your energy. So I was whupped and that was only our first shot!
We had several more angles to shoot from after that so I was effectively worn out. The photos turned out great (thank goodness) but underneath my shiny new helmet and sharp-looking gear, I was dripping in sweat and fighting to hold my little noodle arms up (gotta have those elbows up for the photos)! In the end, it was a great day at the office. Yes, I'm spoiled rotten and I thank God for it every day of my life!
After two full days of trail riding in the mountains, I was seriously beat - both figuratively and literally as I had several tip-overs on Wednesday. We sat down to a nice big dinner at Chili's in Arroyo Grande - there's nothing quite like a big steak and a brownie ala mode after a full day of riding.
By the time we got home, unloaded, showered and into bed it was 2 A.M. And of course, I had to be up and in the office at 9 A.M. Thursday morning. It sounds grueling but at that point, I hadn't been in the office since the previous Thursday so I couldn't exactly ask for it off. It's alright, though. Like the saying goes - you can sleep when you're dead!

On Friday night we got ready to head back up to Arrowhead for a second helping. We had such a great time and wanted to do more exploring on Saturday. Well, after my little "accident" on the beach cruiser, our plans fell through. I was trying to hop up onto a curb - like I've done 1,000 times on a bicycle - but the front wheel never came up, I guess! I hit the curb and went completely over the bars, landed on my head (fortunately on the grass) and busted my knee open on the curb! It wasn't until I was looking up at my friend next to me and wearing the bicycle as a hat that I realized what happened. Yeah, I'm an idiot. That will probably make this year's "top-five stupidest things I've done" list. And I wasn't even drunk! Granted, I wasn't sober either... but I for sure wasn't drunk enough to make a mistake like that. Maybe I just had too much motorcycles on the brain. My friend Jerry swears he saw me try to blip the throttle. I really hate crashing. I swear, I don't do it that often, but for how much I ride, it seems like I always have bruises and scrapes all over me (many of which aren't even actually from crashing - just from riding). I've definitely had my share of crashes and at this point, I've gone over the bars more times than a pole-vaulter.
Our change of plans on Saturday took us down to Kurt and Laurette's house, which is always fun... and then painful the next morning. It was an indulgent night of wine, cheesecake and the best pizza I think I've ever had. The next morning we raced from Laurette's house (in Temecula wine country) all the way back to Orange County to get Jerry to the airport by 10 A.M. (made it!) and I continued on to my mom's house in L.A. for Vicki's baby shower and then dinner at Jim and Alice's.
I was totally zonked by this point - and starting to feel that beach cruiser crash - but I had to stay for dinner to spend some quality time with my babies! Matt and Erin and the kids came up, which is always a treat.
Ten o'clock Sunday night I finally crawled into bed at the end of my marathon week. It was a blast - like they always are - and now I think I'll spend the next two days sleeping. I need to get all caught up by Friday when I start all over again. Friday morning I head to Budds Creek, Maryland for another AMA National Motocross race and then I'm staying the week for a Kawasaki new bike intro (more riding and more photo shoots). I'll have a few extra days in between events out there, so perhaps I'll go spend some time at the Capitol and in the Smithsonian!