I hope everyone has taken a road trip, with the boys, with family, with girls - to enjoy the sights and the free spirit that often overcomes a person when they get out of their comfort zone of home.  Privileged is how I'll explain the people I've been able to travel with and share some very cool experiences, and a few not so cool ones that we laugh about now!!  But, hey, that's what life is about!

    One of my first big road trips was to the Six Days in Tulsa, OK in 1994.  Burt Petersen was riding Junior Trophy and at the last minute I was changed up from his mule to a club rider.  My wife Terri travelled the long way from Southern Alberta to Tulsa.  During the trip, which ended up being 22 days long, we kept a journal in the truck to note any and all cool things that happened to us.  Recently I found the book and as you could imagine, some pretty boring notes. 

    Like the abundance of road kill in Wyoming, no homeless???  We followed a custom combine crew in southern Montana, and eeked ourselves as we passed a grain truck that was pulling a grain auger down the interstate with some heavy wire.  Burt and I scared the knapping Terri driving through Arizona by slamming on the brakes, screaming "Not the children, oh my God, what have we done!!!"  She thinking that our swerving had ended the lives of some new Americans, when in reality it was the wind blowing thistles across the highway.  As a dirt biker, you realize that we get bored easily, and we have to find amusement somehow.

    Ever hear of "majority rules" when it comes to pit stops?  1998, 5 of us drove the 16 hrs to Washougal to watch Ricky killl 'em.  The boys decided that a few road bevvies should hit the spot, and while good times were had by all, we do realize that what goes in must come out.  And MR BEER SWILLER, who, is bragging at his consumption rates, soon turns into a ball of concentration and pain as he's the only one who needs to pit.  Good times watching the men become boys again!!!

    The King of all Rednecks, Clint Riviere, has a food group called Ketchup.  During our trip to the Six Days in Poland, the man never ate, due to the abundance of Katsup and no Heinz.  Yes, guys whine, yes, we ignored him, however he is no dumby.  The following year, in Slovakia, the man came prepared, walking to the restaurant or cafeteria with his bottle of JUMBO Heinz. 

    This is the same trip he earned his infamous nick name...a name that has earned him international respect, as a man who defies political pressure, and takes no gaff from locals.  The Aussies called him Kung Fu Clint, and would solute him by standing like a stork, on one leg, arms up and out.  Just in case you decide do drive over Clint with your car, and think the locals will back you up don't.  It will turn into an international incident of fairly extensive proportions, and you will pay, with a kick, heard, once already at least, around the world.

    It is the cold day of winter that I remember these stories, laugh, and then get motivated to live more in the coming year.  Have some good ones kids…let's hear about them!!  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ever said anything that you regretted?

    Me either, but it looked like I might for a while, after my first blog about Ryan Hughs' thoughts about the 'softening' of the motoworld.  Thoughts which I...let's wait for it...agree with.  But you gotta remember that this guy is the guy that pushed his bike up a hill, then through a few corners after his bike snapped a chain in a season when he was within a grasp of a US National MX Championship.  Ryan knows desire, understands it, and ooooozzzzeeeessss it.  Therefore, he can speak that way about it.

    Me, perhaps I don't have the desire or the titles to prove it, but I've been witness to it.  I've only ever been really choked a couple times while on a bike.  This one occurrence will never leave my memory, and motivates me daily in what I do for myself, my family, and my sport.  It was at the beginning of a special test in Poland at the International Six Days Enduro.  I was riding Trophy, meaning I was riding in the midst of the best of the best.  Intimidated?  Yes. Was I learning anything?  Hell yes! Was I slower than everyone else?  Absolutely not!!!  But at the beginning of this particular test, we were piling up at the start.  There was some jockying for starting position going on, as people didn't want to get held up in the test by slower riders.  I was surrounded by riders, when some dude beside me starts to move forward with me.  As he does so, he looks up at me, sees the Maple Leaf on my helmet and tries to push in front of me!  The dude thought just because I was from the "Great White North" I deserved to be behind him.  LOL...not so fast.  Don't assume.  I started and finished the test in front of 'the dude'.  Desire.

    Bjorne Carlsson, Factory Husaberg rider, rode 17 or 18 years of pro at the international and World Championship level, one World Championship, and  5 or 6 2nd place championships behind guys like Mario Rinaldi, Giovani Sala.  He has bad knees.  Really bad knees.  He showed me one day how loose they were, and I've never seen anything so poorly attached.  But he still had feeling, and DESIRE, and refused to let any pain or poor strength slow him down and stop him from his goals.  He refused medication when he was sick, and like Bob Hannah, said " don't need no stinkin' pills"!!  I called him 'the bear' when he got his race face on, there was nothing gonna slow him down.

    Another story about knees.  Erzberg 2009, Moose was practicing on the endurocross course, when a rain slickened track caused his Husaberg to fall from beneath him, causing Shane to tweak his weak knee.  A day later, as he's stretching, I notice the bruising on his leg where his knee brace straps had cut into his legs and bruised him!!!  Did he limp?  Yes. Did he complain?  No.  It had to obviously hurt, his straps bruised his legs!!! 

    Desire overcame the pain, the trouble, the strife.  Racing, like life, presents its challenges.  You can perceive these challenges as a route to failure or motivation to make you a better stronger person.  We know which route the other half took.

    We've heard all the jokes; the "chicken vs. pussy," a phrase made famous by No Fear over a decade ago, all sorts of clichés about testicles that haven't dropped yet but I hadn't heard of "pussification" till the other day when I found Ryan Hughes on a radio show.  He was talking about the latest generation of motocrossers and called it the "pussification" of America. 

Most of us have been 'Wowed' by watching SX or MX.  Whether it was some guy holding the throttle on through a corner longer than anyone else or jumping higher, further, scrubbing... Heck even crashing wows us.  But, honestly, how often have you ever been wowed in off road? 

I mean, I've seen my buddies open my face with a hill climb, down hill, corner speed on ice more than once.  But only recently, have I had my jaw honestly hit its stops, and no offense to a few of my buddies and their obvious skills, but boys you don’t come close. Lol

First incident was 1997 at the World Enduro Championships in Parry Sound.  David Knight was at the height of his domination. He was starting the last test of his weekend, the extreme test at Hurd Pit.  Riders started by going through the gates and immediately hitting a pile of sand approx 8 ft wide and 30 feet long.  This pile had started flat but was now a whooped out piece of junk that frustrated riders.  We watched a number of riders try to accelerate through this section, only to wheelie their bikes into the face of every whoop.

Some faster than others, some quite fast, but no one faster than the big Manx man; out of the hole he was no different, but what he did through the whoops was remarkable! Instead of muscling his bike from face to face trying to keep his speed, David was going fast enough that he was pushing his bike to the earth when and where he wanted it to.  It was an incredible sight to see him 'place' his bike where it needed to be. That was THE first time I have ever seen anyone honestly and completely ride their motorcycle. Everyone else is simply along for the ride, almost like riding a bull.

My latest 'sighting' was this past weekend.  Moose (aka Shane Cuthbertson) and Foordy (the Englishman Stephen Foord) took a road trip to Nampa (Boise), Idaho for an AMA EnduroX.  Might I quickly add that the old guy podium had a dude with all his hair, who rode the only Husaberg in the event?

Anyway, I digress. Taddy Blasusiak: anyone within a stone’s throw of an event that that man competes in is a fool for not going.  When guys like Geoff Aaron, Mike Brown, Cody Webb and Justin Soule, very talented men to be sure, look like they are pedalling tricycles around a bmx course compared to Taddy, well, it’s incredible!

Example, the water 'puddle': its entry is a small dirt ramp and a 2’ log, essentially a 30" kicker, then the puddle, followed by a 4’ stack of heavy logs. Exiting the second puddle, power pole sized logs up the slope to a huge sand pit.   Any who, last lap of practice Brownie was hovering two corners back, lurking; he rips by the flagman, and kicks his KTM into the air doubling into the second water hole.  Made it look like you and I could have done it with a shopping cart! But remember, dry approach, dry kicker log; it makes a big difference.

The night continues. In the main Taddy hole shots and doubles in, Mike doubles, but the traffic is too thick so no one else does for a lap or so.  Cody Webb tries it but lands on the green stuff. Taylor Roberts tries, doesn’t work out so well for him, but he continues racing.

 Taddy and Mike are the only ones to jump it every lap. 

By now, the traffic has left the approach slippery and the log soaked.  Mike manages to jump it in a conventional way, but Taddy sky shots, with the bike pancaked and then drops it down to earth – perfectly, every time!  It was like a scrub, but not. It was midair bike control.  Amazing!

Then, once Taddy took the well deserved checkers, we left our seats only to stop at the base of the stairs to watch Taddy go nuts in the start straight with his KTM; nose wheelies, wheelie donuts, nose wheelies circles, and nose wheelies with one foot on the bars. Man that kid can ride!

That’s a Wow Factor!