Well with the first race only a couple weeks away all of the team's race bikes are complete. After a lot of time and dedication we were able to sit back and say they are done. On April 29^th Pro Cycle hosted their annual customer appreciation day. Wide Open took this opportunity to debut all of the team's new bikes and spend some time talking with the public to help promote Pro Cycle, our sport, and our team.

Ride season is officially here! With warm weather and sunshine almost all of the tracks in Nova Scotia are open to riders to kick off the 2012 season. I finally was able to get on my new RMZ250F and absolutely love it! I want to send out a huge thanks to Anthony and Adam Turner of Podium1 Suspension and Turner Engineering who put together one amazing engine and suspension package that is absolutely unreal on all levels.

Well it’s the middle of March and usually this time of year on the East Coast it is snowing, cold, and we are all wishing it would go away. However this past weekend we were able to get out and ride a sand pit in 10 degree weather. I have been riding for 15 years and could count on one hand how many times my bike was out of the garage in March let alone riding with just a jersey and no sweaters. There was still a bit of snow present in the heavily wooded areas but all in all it was an awesome day.

With the winter season in full effect most MX racers are stuck sitting at home playing MX vs ATV, watching Supercross and dreaming about getting back on the bike. Of course there are the lucky few that have the ability to go south and ride in the warm weather and get ready for the season, but for those of us who stay here to enjoy the winter months there is X-Town in Mirabel, Quebec. They give riders the opportunity to ride year round, as long as we don’t mind the cold.

On January 26^th Andy Smith, Taber Burns, Jeremy Wallace and myself set course for Mirabel Quebec to ride at X-Town for a few days. Although we have very little snow here on the east coast this year some cold weather has set in and hard frozen ground is a little bit too unforgiving to ride.

The drive up was awesome; we could not have asked for better weather for driving and since we were not planning on riding until Friday it gave us the ability to take our time and not worry about getting there. About an hour into the trip our trailer plug came disconnected from the truck, by the time we got stopped and pulled over there was about a ¼ of it ground off. But it was nothing a little electrical tape couldn’t fix, and we were back on the road fast enough.

We arrived at X-town around 7:30 in the evening to check things out before making our way to the hotel.  We were very thankful when the staff at X-town told us we could store our bikes in there garage for the weekend and leave our trailer in their pit compound. After the bikes were unloaded and the trailer was parked as close to the main doors as possible. We threw our gear bags in the truck and headed off to the hotel.

Friday morning the four of us decided we needed to get a good breakfast before a day of riding so we walked down to Cora’s and loaded up on coffee, bacon and eggs before we left. When we got there the track looked great! I could not wait to get out and ride. Unfortunately my RMZ250F wasn’t ready to make the trip so I want to put out a huge thanks to Jeremy for lending me a KX250F for the weekend.

All three days we rode the track was in amazing condition. After not being on a bike much last year due to my injuries it felt great to pound out some laps. The X-town track was great; with the wide variety of skill levels in our group of four, it was nice to see a track that was good for everyone. As a Pro rider the track is a basic layout however it is a blast to ride and makes it so all skill levels and all size bikes can go out and have fun on the track and help to grow the sport we all love so much. X-town is a great facility for anyone to go ride and the staff and accommodations are excellent. Huge thanks to everyone at X-town for putting together such a nice facility for the MX community to ride in the off season.

Monday morning we hit the road around 6:30AM to head for home, the drive was great besides almost running out of gas and coasting into a gas station. Hahaha. Apparently the truck doesn’t get as good of mileage when we are hammering down to get home. We didn’t end up getting back into Lawrencetown NS until about 10 due to some really harsh weather near the end of our trip but all in all it was a great weekend and I can almost guarantee that we will make the trip back to X-town next winter for some riding and try and make it there this summer to check out there outdoor facility.

Thank you; Estabrooks Bracing Solutions, CTi2, Ossur, Kermaxx Performance Accessories, Printwerx.ca, Pro Wheels Racing Components, IMX Magazine, MD Distributions, Forma MX Boots, Deft Family MX Gloves, Pro-Tech Suspension, Pro Cycle, FOX Mx Gear, Motovan.com, Motoconcepts riding accessories and goggles, PRMX.CA, Golden Tyre Canada, Annapolis Pizza, Dajan Excavating, CVO, and Moto Hose USA

 Well with the weather here on the East Coast getting colder and flurries starting to linger on the forecast our riding season has come to a close, a bunch of us suited up and headed to Steve Daling's Birch Hill practice track in Pictou County for the last ride of the season.

With the Atlantic race season over it is time to start training and prepping for next season. Thankfully we are still getting some decent weather besides being a little cold allowing my buddies and I to pound some laps at the track. Last week I got my first chance to ride a fuel injected Honda 250F at Miller Meadow MX, and I have to say they are a blast to ride! Within a few laps I felt right at home. The front suspension was a little soft for my liking, but the bike handled great. The motor was strong and made a ton of power up top. After riding a few laps it’s really made me consider getting a 250F to run some Nationals next season. I still don’t think I can part with my YZ250; the 2-stroke is just too much fun.

The weekend after our last race was the Montreal SX and we made the trip to do some reporting for Inside Motocross & Off Road Magazine with Paul Jordan who was going to shoot some photos and cheer on our Atlantic Canada riders. I chose not to ride the SX this year since I missed so much time riding this summer with my injuries. Paul, mom, dad and my girlfriend loaded up my truck Thursday afternoon and started the 13 hour drive to Montreal. We drove all night and landed at our hotel about 7:00am after getting almost no sleep in the truck we all crashed till about 10:00.

Once we were up and had some breakfast the girls wanted to do what they do best and take in some of Montreal’s prime shopping while Paul, dad & I headed to the stadium. When we got there I immediately wanted to check out the track and pits to see who all showed up. There was a great turn out of Atlantic riders at the race including Davey Fraser, Brad Lockhart, Johnny Montes, Damon Baker and David Strang.

I ran into another newly moved in Atlantic rider Tyler Medaglia and was surprised to see him on a Honda CRF450. Tyler and Klatt were both under the same tent however it was not the Blackfoot rig, instead Klatt on his Yamaha and Tyler on his Honda were running out of the Oakley trailer. Talking to Tyler he said he felt right at home on his CRF. We chatted for a little bit and watched the MX2 Class practice. I stayed around to watch all of the first practices and ran into a good friend/sponsor of my race team Marco Dube. Friday night we all went out for supper at Thursday’s in downtown Montreal then hit the beds after a long drive the night before and long day at the track.

When we got to the track Saturday one of the rhythm sections had been changed to a massive Triple-Triple section for those that wanted to try it and really increased the flow around the track. All of the main events had some amazing racing especially the MX2 moto with both 1^st and 2^nd going down in the last corner and making a mad dash to remount and race to the line for the win. I was super pumped when fellow Atlantic rider Davey Fraser took 5^th overall on a borrowed YZ250F!

The ATV riders surprised me throwing there quads around like I do my YZ. One of the best shows of the night had to be the freestyle with all the guys throwing down a huge bag of tricks including Tom Page’s 360 Body Verial.

The Side by Sides proved to be a great crowd pleasing addition to the weekend.  Their main event was exciting to watch with only 4 of them making it out of the first turn cleanly. We left the stadium around 11:00 and headed back to the hotel to unwind. Sunday morning came early so we loaded up at 8:00am hitting the road  for the long drive back to Nova Scotia.

I want to thank everybody that has made Wide Open Racings 2011 season possible, Estabrooks Bracing Solutions, CTi2, Ossur, Kermaxx Performance Accessories, Printwerx.ca, Pro Wheels Racing Components, Inside Motocross & Off Road Magazine, MD Distributions, Forma MX Boots, Deft Family MX Gloves, Pro-Tech Suspension, Pro Cycle, Motovan.com, Fox Eye Wear, CVO

The Atlantic Region Fall Series came to a close Sept 24^th at Riverglade MX Park in New Brunswick. Friday morning we loaded up the trailer and headed to the track for Saturday’s race. The weather was not looking good with rain in the forecast but Mother Nature pulled through and made for an excellent day of racing keeping the track conditions absolutely perfect. The Riverglade crew worked hard and opened up the off camber section before the big spectator triple finish line which was a great track change making for some epic moto finishes in the last race of the season.

Coming into this round there was some real championship battles in a majority of the classes and it definitely showed with everyone on the track bringing their “A” game and riding with a make it or break it attitude. In the 85cc 7 to 11 class Justin Leger who has had an amazing fall series stepping up his riding to challenge one of the hardest kids to beat on a 85cc bike in Atlantic Canada Brett Young. At the end of the day Justin and Brett swapped wins in their two motos giving Brett the 1^st overall in the Championship and Justin Leger finishing a close 6 Points behind in 2^nd.

In the MX1 Intermediate class Patrick Reid had the points lead by 9 points and after suffering a huge crash in practice resulting in 8 stitches and some bruised kidneys, Patrick showed he is a true racer continuing to ride in all of his motos to take home the MX1 Intermediate Fall Series Championship

The battle of the day had to be in the MX2 Intermediate Class. David Strang ran away with the championship but #778 TJ Martin and #777 Curtis Doucet were tied in 2^nd coming into the last round making tensions high and the anticipation for the moto start off the charts! In Moto one TJ and Curtis battled almost the entire moto with only a max of two bike lengths between each rider until Curtis made a slight bobble causing him to drop back and TJ get the advantage going into moto two.  In moto two TJ and Curtis met on the track once again pushing each other to their limits, the finish of this moto would show true heart and determination by TJ making a last lap last corner pass grabbing a handful of throttle exiting the new off camber section and drag racing Curtis to the checkers edging him out by a wheel length and taking 2^nd overall in the series!.

Once again Wide Open Racing came with their minds set on the Podium. Chelsey Hall just missed out on getting the hole shot in both her motos and went 4 and 4  for 4^th overall on the day claiming 2^nd place overall the Ladies Championship. The youngest member of the team Logan Gallant was the star of the day taking 3 out of 4 moto hole shots finishing on the podium in 3 of 4 motos and moving himself to 3^rd overall in the MX2 Junior and Schoolboy Championship. Johnny Gallant had a full day of racing running both the Vet Junior and MX1 Junior. He finished strong in Vet Junior, breaking into the top 5 overall on the day after battling from dead last to 7^th in moto following a turn 2 crash. In MX1 Junior Johnny rode two strong motos in the highly competitive class finishing in the top 10 overall for the day and taking 8^th Place overall in MX1 Junior for the Fall Series. I myself had a strong day of motos taking 4^th overall and the highlight being getting the hole shot on my 250 two-stroke.   

I want to thank everybody that has made Wide Open Racings 2011 season possible: Estabrooks Bracing Solutions, CTi2, Ossur, Kermaxx Performance Accessories, Printwerx.ca, Pro Wheels Racing Components, Inside Motocross & Off Road Magazine, MD Distributions, Forma MX Boots, Deft Family MX Gloves, Pro-Tech Suspension, Pro Cycle, Motovan.com, Fox Eye Wear, CVO. Thanks again to everyone.

Well it’s been three weeks since I got back on my bike, and it feels great to be back out pounding laps on my YZ250.

August 27^th brought the Maritimes sunny weather once again for the 3^rd last race of the Atlantic CMRC fall series, held at Riverglade MX in Moncton NB- home to one of the CMRC Nationals. The track was groomed to perfection and ready for the races on Sunday. Once again all of the Atlantic riders came out swinging and put on a show for the fans with some amazing racing. It felt great to get back behind the gate and ride a moto for the first time in 10 weeks. I missed both hole shots by about a tire length which is a great feeling when you know you are the only 250 2-stroke out there.

Once again the Wide Open Racing team had a good race finish strong in their classes. Logan Gallant pulled 2 hole shots and a 2^nd place start in his motos and finished strong putting his WOR KTM150 amongst the top of his classes once again before suffering a flat.

Johnny Gallant had good solid moto starts and rode strong; he finished 14^th in the ever growing MX1 Junior Class despite some bad luck.

Chelsey Hall is getting faster every race weekend and had a two amazing starts in her Ladies motos, finishing strong to keep herself in the championship points chase for the CMRC Atlantic Ladies Fall Series Championships.

One of the big stories of the weekend is the 7 to 12 85cc Class with the young Justin Leger from Shediac, NB, continuing to challenge the ever hard to beat Brett Young by swapping 1^st and 2^nd in the 2 motos keeping the Championship points chase separated by only a few points.

Another race weekend down and only one to go in two weeks time, Strangs MX race this past weekend went off without a hitch, all of the Atlantic racers could not have asked for nicer weather or a better prepared track that Richard Strang and his entire crew had ready for the race day.

My WOR team had an amazing day with Logan Gallant getting two hole shots finishing 3^rd overall in the School Boy Class and taking home a solid top 5 in the MX2 Junior.

Chelsey Hall not only got her first ever hole shot but hole shotted both her motos to bring home 3^rd place overall in her class.

Johnny Gallant had two solid starts and ran top 10 in the closely packed MX1 Junior Class, battling the entire length of both motos, looking to move into the top 5 overall in points.

I had a solid day of racing myself being the first full day of racing back following my injuries with 4^th place finishes in all of my MX Pro GP motos and just missing out on the hole shot in my last moto of the day.

MD Distributions, Marco Dubé, one of the team’s sponsors was down from Quebec for the race weekend. Marco hung out in our pits for most of the afternoon getting to know the entire team. All the riders on Wide Open Racing were excited to get to meet and chat one on one with a two time Canadian Champion and meet one of the sponsors that help us out.

Marco was in NB promoting the new Delft Family MX Gloves which the entire Wide Open Racing team is now wearing and absolutely loves. If anyone has the opportunity to try a set out I highly suggest you do. 

I want to thank everyone that makes the teams race season possible: Estabrooks Bracing Solutions, CTi2, Ossur, Kermaxx Performance Accessories, Printwerx.ca, Pro Wheels Racing Components, Inside Motocross & Off Road Magazine, MD Distributions, Forma MX Boots, Deft Family MX Gloves, Pro-Tech Suspension, Pro Cycle, Motovan.com, Fox Eye Wear, CVO.

Aug/22/2011

Well it has been a busy 2 weeks for me here on the East Coast after the nationals getting everything cleaned up and ready for our next CMRC Atlantic Region round at Pleasant Valley MX. If there is one thing the Maritimes brought to the 2011 riding season this year it would be rain; it seems for every hot and sunny day we get it is followed by 3 or 4 days of rain. That said, we could not have asked for better weather this weekend.

It rained all week but Friday turned hot sunny, and the good weather stayed for the entire weekend. 25+ degrees and a track that required no watering do to the rain early in the week. Robbie Cooke owner of PVMX opened the track up on Saturday for an open practice to allow riders to get the feel for it and make for some awesome racing on Sunday.

Sunday morning came quick with the sun in the sky as the smell of race gas filled the air as everyone prepped for what was sure to be an awesome day. My Wide Open Racing team was on the gas again with Logan Gallant taking top 5 overhaul finishes in both the MX2 Junior and the School Boy Class, Chelsey Hall took 4^th overall in the Ladies and had a very strong ride in the last moto of the day despite a last lap upset which allowed the rider behind her to get right on her heels, thankfully Chelsey did not stall her 250F for we know how 4 strokes can be to start! Johnny Gallant finished just outside the top 5 in the MX1 Junior despite some tough luck getting pushed over a berm in the 2^nd moto and a bad start in the 1^st moto.

Congratulations to everyone and thanks to all of our sponsors that make my team and racing possible.

It's been 9 weeks since my crash this spring and after ordering my new Leatt Brace the last week has been the longest. I was finally able to throw my leg over the bike again and ride some laps this past Thursday at Miller Meadow MX Park. I loaded up around lunch time on Thursday and headed out to Logan’s to pick him and his bike up before heading to the track.

I got my gear on and started my bike up for the 1^st time in weeks. Nervous was an understatement; I felt as if I was on the line at a AMA Pro National all that was going through my head was “Is my neck healed? Is my shoulder going to re-separate if I land the wrong way?” After a few slow laps to get the feel of the bike underneath me everything started flowing back, I was railing the corners and nailing all the jumps, after a 10 minute moto I realized that I am defiantly down on conditioning but after not doing anything for nearly 9 weeks it felt great!

On Sunday the entire team loaded up and headed to Mount Thom MX Park. This place is the definition of a riding facility with a huge GP style track, big jumps, awesome soil and elevation changes. This is one track that could hold a National tomorrow with no problems. It was a great day with everyone putting in some good hard motos and getting ready for the race this coming weekend at Riverglade MX in Moncton NB.

I want to thank all my sponsors that make this possible: Ossur, CTi2, Kermaxx Performance Accessories, Printwerx.ca, Estabrooks Bracing Solutions, Pro Wheels Racing, Pro Cycle, Pro-Tech Suspension, Forma MX Boots, Fox Eyewear, Motovan, and IMX magazine.