So here I am, in the van on the way down south once again. It's winter break, but it doesn't seem like winter at all. Sure, it's pretty cold, but there was only a hint of snow a couple weeks ago. For the past couple of winters my dad and I have gone down south to escape the snow and cold weather of Illinois for a week. This year seems weird because there's not really anything to get away from. I could just go ride somewhere in Illinois! But what's the fun in that, right?
Today we had a plan to leave right after the work day. I'm sure we were both hoping for a quick work day so we could actually get some sleep tonight. That didn't seem to work out that well, because we ended up leaving from work at the same time, if not later, than a normal day. What to do, right?
We weren't really in that much of a hurry when we got home. Sure, absolutely nothing was packed. And sure, we did have to leave soon if we wanted to be able to ride the next day (tomorrow). Ok, I change my mind. We were in a hurry. I threw in my gear, loaded up the 250 and trials bike, and got pretty much ready to go. Of course bring paranoid, my dad wanted to bring another bike with just in case the 2-stroke decides to stop working again. So boom boom boom, we slid that into the little space left in the back. After all, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. It's Murphy's Law, man.
So off we were. Since my dad is the primary driver (I merely secondary), I had some time to kill. Well, I still do, but whatever. I got out "Around the World in 80 Days" by Jules Verne. I have been reading that for a week now. I felt like finishing it.. Anyway, that book is a perfect example of Murphy's Law. It seems like a bunch of events hinder his journey around the world. But somehow he overcomes everything. So moral of the story: we need that extra bike with. Duh. :P
Oh boy, we still have about 9 hours to go until we get to Monster Mountain (!!!) and the dark flatness everywhere seems to be making us tired. At least those blinking red lights of the giant wind thingies are kind of cool. Wheeeeeeee.
Oh, almost forgot, check out this semi-awesome video I made of myself riding some trials in my yard. Don't criticize me too much; I'm still learning. :D
Have a great day. This has been night 1 of the Super Duper New Years MX Bonanza. Boom.
-Greg
Now time for "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?" Yes.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
250 video, November
Hey everybody! This is a little video I put together on my iPhone. Most of this was on Thanksgiving today. We got the 250 2-stroke back together on Saturday after blowing it up a couple weeks ago. All good now!
Not much has been going on lately. It's getting colder, but I'm still getting out to ride twice a week. I've also started running more. You see, I used to hate running a lot. I thought it was one of the worst things.. But now I started running for some reason, and it's actually pretty peaceful! So I pretty much made an enemy into a friend. Yay!
See ya, enjoy the video! -Greg
Not much has been going on lately. It's getting colder, but I'm still getting out to ride twice a week. I've also started running more. You see, I used to hate running a lot. I thought it was one of the worst things.. But now I started running for some reason, and it's actually pretty peaceful! So I pretty much made an enemy into a friend. Yay!
See ya, enjoy the video! -Greg
Sunday, November 6, 2011
2011 Club 57 Challenge
Hey everybody! The Club 57 challenge was today! And it couldn't have gone much better.
I knew I was going to have a lot of riding at this race, so some extra rest from day light savings time helped me out a little. We even got to the track early! That's a little different than usual. So I had plenty of time to get ready for the sight lap. Ahh, the sight lap.. Some parts of the track were so slippery, especially the grass track part. At that point I got a little nervous for the race.
But what was there to worry about, anyway? This was the first race I've done where we had a dead engine start. This was good for my 250 races, but not as good for my 450 races. Ok, on to the racing part...
450 moto 1: Didn't get bike started on first kick. I was like in 8th place about 3 turns into the race. Made some passes and then got into a good battle with Malachi Messenger. I almost got by him halfway through the race, but I missed a line.. That's ok. On the last lap there was someone down, Malachi went to the inside, I went to the outside. And I just pinned it past him. Lucky me! So I got 2nd in my class in that race, but 3rd with the combined classes...
250 moto 1: Boom, holeshot! Push push push. 30 second lead. Win! :D That's about it for that moto.
450 moto 2: Bad start again, hectic first turn with some guys going down in front of me. But I got by it fine and started pushing. The guy who beat me in the first 450 moto was right in front of me, and I knew I had to pass him to get the overall win. And guess what happened on the second to last lap: he fell over! Boom, I got around and just kept it on two wheels for the rest of the race. 1st overall!
250 moto 2: Ok, at this point in the day I was pretty tired. But I had to try and win the overall. So I started it off good with another holeshot! About two turns into the race my fingers and my legs started cramping up. Ouch. But I got relaxed and kept pushing. It was on the second or third lap when I stalled my bike, which allowed Scott Zont to get by. He was right on me, anyway. At that point there was absolutely no one behind me for quite some time. So all I had to do was ride out the race to get the overall win. Well, I kept pushing but I also didn't stress about it too much. I had to focus on not messing up in some rutted woods sections..
So today was a successful day! Two 1st place overalls. So now I'm super tired from the four 30 minute motos...
Have a nice day! -Greg
I knew I was going to have a lot of riding at this race, so some extra rest from day light savings time helped me out a little. We even got to the track early! That's a little different than usual. So I had plenty of time to get ready for the sight lap. Ahh, the sight lap.. Some parts of the track were so slippery, especially the grass track part. At that point I got a little nervous for the race.
But what was there to worry about, anyway? This was the first race I've done where we had a dead engine start. This was good for my 250 races, but not as good for my 450 races. Ok, on to the racing part...
450 moto 1: Didn't get bike started on first kick. I was like in 8th place about 3 turns into the race. Made some passes and then got into a good battle with Malachi Messenger. I almost got by him halfway through the race, but I missed a line.. That's ok. On the last lap there was someone down, Malachi went to the inside, I went to the outside. And I just pinned it past him. Lucky me! So I got 2nd in my class in that race, but 3rd with the combined classes...
250 moto 1: Boom, holeshot! Push push push. 30 second lead. Win! :D That's about it for that moto.
450 moto 2: Bad start again, hectic first turn with some guys going down in front of me. But I got by it fine and started pushing. The guy who beat me in the first 450 moto was right in front of me, and I knew I had to pass him to get the overall win. And guess what happened on the second to last lap: he fell over! Boom, I got around and just kept it on two wheels for the rest of the race. 1st overall!
250 moto 2: Ok, at this point in the day I was pretty tired. But I had to try and win the overall. So I started it off good with another holeshot! About two turns into the race my fingers and my legs started cramping up. Ouch. But I got relaxed and kept pushing. It was on the second or third lap when I stalled my bike, which allowed Scott Zont to get by. He was right on me, anyway. At that point there was absolutely no one behind me for quite some time. So all I had to do was ride out the race to get the overall win. Well, I kept pushing but I also didn't stress about it too much. I had to focus on not messing up in some rutted woods sections..
So today was a successful day! Two 1st place overalls. So now I'm super tired from the four 30 minute motos...
Have a nice day! -Greg
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Getting colder
It's starting to get colder here in Illinois. Luckily I've had a good amount of riding lately. A couple weeks ago I went to a GP race at Sunset Ridge. That was a kind of weird day because we woke up super late but still had plenty of time to get to the track in time for the 450 class. Since it was more of an old-school type of race, I put on some UFO retro gear and raced my 250 2-stroke. I remember that in the first moto I had a good battle with some guys the first two laps and then caught up to first place. But the leader started pulling away from me in the woods section every lap. 2nd place wasn't too bad! The arm pump from that race was kind of bad...
The 2nd moto started off good with a good start, but went bad pretty fast. First lap in the woods I went off the trail and, therefore, had to get off my bike, pull it back, and then get going again. That made pretty much everyone pass me... So I started pushing hard and slid out in the grass track part. That race just wasn't very good for me. I still ended up passing a bunch of people and getting 4th place or something. 3rd overall on the day wasn't that bad! That was the first race I did since the Lake County Fair.
The following weeks it started raining a lot more and, therefore, there was a little less dirt bike riding and a little more mountain bike riding at Ray's MTB. That place is funnnn! It's not as fun if you face plant in the expert jumps, though. Yep, I face planted in the expert jumps. Kind of hurt... Now I've recovered from those injuries, though.
While recovering from those injuries I decided to go to the last Red Bud practice day of the year. The track was really soft from the rain. But it was also really good! My practices were going really good, I was riding the fastest I've ever ridden there before. It felt good! But in the second to last practice I blew up my yz 250... This was the same lap that I got my fastest lap. Danggg. And when I went out for the last practice on the 450, I crashed pretty hard coming out of a turn. I didn't know it until I got off the track, but I had dislocated my pinkie. Ouchie. We got it back in place, though. It was a pretty destructive day!
Lately there's been more rain and more riding. The rain has given me a little extra time to do things I haven't done. Like write this blog. And apply to colleges. Yes, I actually started applying to college. Pretty crazy, I know.
For the winter months my dad and I are trying to make my 1974 CB200 awesome. I hope it comes out good. I'll try to keep all of you updated.
-Greg
The 2nd moto started off good with a good start, but went bad pretty fast. First lap in the woods I went off the trail and, therefore, had to get off my bike, pull it back, and then get going again. That made pretty much everyone pass me... So I started pushing hard and slid out in the grass track part. That race just wasn't very good for me. I still ended up passing a bunch of people and getting 4th place or something. 3rd overall on the day wasn't that bad! That was the first race I did since the Lake County Fair.
The following weeks it started raining a lot more and, therefore, there was a little less dirt bike riding and a little more mountain bike riding at Ray's MTB. That place is funnnn! It's not as fun if you face plant in the expert jumps, though. Yep, I face planted in the expert jumps. Kind of hurt... Now I've recovered from those injuries, though.
While recovering from those injuries I decided to go to the last Red Bud practice day of the year. The track was really soft from the rain. But it was also really good! My practices were going really good, I was riding the fastest I've ever ridden there before. It felt good! But in the second to last practice I blew up my yz 250... This was the same lap that I got my fastest lap. Danggg. And when I went out for the last practice on the 450, I crashed pretty hard coming out of a turn. I didn't know it until I got off the track, but I had dislocated my pinkie. Ouchie. We got it back in place, though. It was a pretty destructive day!
Lately there's been more rain and more riding. The rain has given me a little extra time to do things I haven't done. Like write this blog. And apply to colleges. Yes, I actually started applying to college. Pretty crazy, I know.
For the winter months my dad and I are trying to make my 1974 CB200 awesome. I hope it comes out good. I'll try to keep all of you updated.
-Greg
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
My summer 2011 video
Watch this if you want. But as a warning, it may be pretty mind numbing. Enjoy!
Monday, September 5, 2011
2-stroke madness
Hey everybody! It's been a while since I last wrote. Drum roll...
By no means have my last weeks been filled with boredom. Well, it depends on what you consider exciting, so I'll start with the more "boring" stuff. School started. In the middle of August. Yes, it's pretty early. But this means that we'll get out of school earlier. And that means an earlier graduation!
I know most of you probably don't care, but I'm gonna say it anyway... I have a fully packed schedule at school. I wanted it this way, so I get what I asked for. Some classes are pretty easy so far. It seems like I have a pretty balanced class list. That being AP Chemistry (hard) vs all the rest (easy). Well, pretty exciting, huh?
On to the more exciting info.
The first travel in a couple weeks for me was to the Indianapolis Moto GP race. I must admit, it's kind of boring to watch the racing for me, since I don't know everything going on with their technique and stuff. But the atmosphere there is amazing. Thousands of people. All these people walking around doing whatever they're doing. There are plenty of bikes, of course. Ducati Island is a really cool place. Ducati bikes everywhere. A fashion show of clothing with "Ducati" written all over them.
Then there are the vendors. Or manufacturers. Whatever. It's cool to see the street side of Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, KTM, Honda. It expands my vision of them from just motocross to other areas. Me gusta.
Well, enough of that. On to some Mx. We recently rebuilt my 125 into a 144. It unfortunately seized earlier in the year. Now it's all fixed! That's the only bike I rode for two or three weeks. Sooooo light. The first ride on it went good for me, not so good for my friend Cody VanBuskirk who injured his shoulder pretty badly. Slick tracks and high grass = not so good.
We've been thinking about it for a while now, about getting a 250 2-stroke. To me this kind of bike represents having power at your finger tips (actually wrist and motor, ha) and keeping it fun. So one morning my dad said he found one for a good deal. Bam, after a mountain bike ride with Chris Favro, we were all over that bike. I tried it out in the street in front of their house (imagine a 2-stroke pinned, shifting gears). Mucho power. So I took out the money.
I wanted to try it out right away, of course. To Kody Kamm's track we went. If you've ever been to this track, then you know it's not really a place to take a bunch of explosive power. But I wanted to. You see, if I liked it at this track, then I know I'll like it everywhere! Rain the night before helped me out. The track was just about perfect. And I was the only one there. I liked the bike.
The next day (Labor day), my family and I trekked out to Red Bud. The track was perfect. Ruts and traction, yet not too many deep ruts. I took the 250 2-stroke (yz) out there first. Good. Second time out on the bike = not so good. It seized in the fricken rollers! Second day riding it and it seized. I thought these things were supposed to be cheaper...
Luckily I had two other bikes with me, too. I felt fastest on the 125, but the 250 (4-stroke) actually pulled me around the fastest. Of course. The last session of the day was actually my best session out there. Yes, with all the bumps everywhere.
Well, that's about it, people. Gotta get up early in the morning. Later! -Greg
By no means have my last weeks been filled with boredom. Well, it depends on what you consider exciting, so I'll start with the more "boring" stuff. School started. In the middle of August. Yes, it's pretty early. But this means that we'll get out of school earlier. And that means an earlier graduation!
I know most of you probably don't care, but I'm gonna say it anyway... I have a fully packed schedule at school. I wanted it this way, so I get what I asked for. Some classes are pretty easy so far. It seems like I have a pretty balanced class list. That being AP Chemistry (hard) vs all the rest (easy). Well, pretty exciting, huh?
On to the more exciting info.
The first travel in a couple weeks for me was to the Indianapolis Moto GP race. I must admit, it's kind of boring to watch the racing for me, since I don't know everything going on with their technique and stuff. But the atmosphere there is amazing. Thousands of people. All these people walking around doing whatever they're doing. There are plenty of bikes, of course. Ducati Island is a really cool place. Ducati bikes everywhere. A fashion show of clothing with "Ducati" written all over them.
Then there are the vendors. Or manufacturers. Whatever. It's cool to see the street side of Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, KTM, Honda. It expands my vision of them from just motocross to other areas. Me gusta.
Well, enough of that. On to some Mx. We recently rebuilt my 125 into a 144. It unfortunately seized earlier in the year. Now it's all fixed! That's the only bike I rode for two or three weeks. Sooooo light. The first ride on it went good for me, not so good for my friend Cody VanBuskirk who injured his shoulder pretty badly. Slick tracks and high grass = not so good.
We've been thinking about it for a while now, about getting a 250 2-stroke. To me this kind of bike represents having power at your finger tips (actually wrist and motor, ha) and keeping it fun. So one morning my dad said he found one for a good deal. Bam, after a mountain bike ride with Chris Favro, we were all over that bike. I tried it out in the street in front of their house (imagine a 2-stroke pinned, shifting gears). Mucho power. So I took out the money.
I wanted to try it out right away, of course. To Kody Kamm's track we went. If you've ever been to this track, then you know it's not really a place to take a bunch of explosive power. But I wanted to. You see, if I liked it at this track, then I know I'll like it everywhere! Rain the night before helped me out. The track was just about perfect. And I was the only one there. I liked the bike.
The next day (Labor day), my family and I trekked out to Red Bud. The track was perfect. Ruts and traction, yet not too many deep ruts. I took the 250 2-stroke (yz) out there first. Good. Second time out on the bike = not so good. It seized in the fricken rollers! Second day riding it and it seized. I thought these things were supposed to be cheaper...
Luckily I had two other bikes with me, too. I felt fastest on the 125, but the 250 (4-stroke) actually pulled me around the fastest. Of course. The last session of the day was actually my best session out there. Yes, with all the bumps everywhere.
Well, that's about it, people. Gotta get up early in the morning. Later! -Greg
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