August 2009

Aug 30, 2009

Powder Mountain MX, Video Footage From Day 1, Aug 29, 2009

This was really a great event. The final, main heat of the 450 pro riders was a real highlight for us. The riders definitely turned it up a notch for the final and it turned out to be a pretty good race. McGrath pulled away at the end to the delight of the crowd. The smaller bikes were fun to watch too, especially the 85cc class. It was worth the time we took to attend the event, hopefully it's here to stay! Check out this video footage or click here for a photo gallery.

Powder Mountain Motocross Results, Aug 29, McGrath Takes Win

The brand new track designed by Jeremy McGrath at Powder Mountain Ski Resort proved to be all it was hoped for. This was a great event at a great location high in the mountains of Ogden Utah. For a first time event of this kind, at this location, it seemed to be very well planned with adequate shuttle service and on site facilities. We arrived before the bleachers had filled up, but opted to pick a spot closer to the track by negotiating one of the steep slopes surrounding the track. The track was set up so that two large jumps were in view, one being the finish line. The trees within the course made it hard to see some portions of the track, but that's motocross! We really enjoyed the event and hope that it's here to stay!

We arrived in the early afternoon as some of the final heats were getting under way. It's too bad the step up jump was not more visible. You can see one rider above floating up the track amidst the trees. The pro riders got some serious elevation gain on this one! McGrath ran through the first heats with ease taking the win in each of the 2 qualifying heats.

It was a riot watching the 85cc class. These kids were flying! There was a pretty good wreck right in front of us when one of the riders over jumped this jump, landing too far back on his bike. He looked to be ok when the took him off on the stretcher.

The final heat of the 450 Pro Riders was a great race. McGrath got out first as can be seen by this photo of the riders off the first jump of the first lap, but only by a bit. By the time these two rounded a few more corners McGrath had been passed! The battle for the lead continued for about half the race until McGrath made the pass and began to pull away. Every lap after that he added to his lead and crossed the finish line first living up to his name "showtime" as he crossed the finish line. Our spot down next to the track gave us a great vantage point as he rolled by after the win. He stopped momentarily to give the crowd some love pointing and giving a thumbs up. Pretty cool stuff, even for an old guy. Our kids really had a great time too, watching one of the heroes of the sport as well as the many other great and talented riders.

See some Video Footage of the event!

Jeremy McGrath, Powder Mountain Motocross This Weekend!

We kind of spaced off this event that is happening this weekend, Aug 29-30, 2009 at Powder Mountain Ski Resort! It looks like it's going to be a great event with an unbelievable track. The track was designed by supercross legend Jeremy McGrath. The track was cut right into the ski runs and takes advantage of the radical elevation changes of the mountain. The course is beautiful and should challenge pro riders, but still be makeable for the novice and intermediate racers as well. The track was designed in a "green" way, taking care to tread lightly with the machinery etc. Come first snowfall there should be no sign that a motocross was ran there. Open practice for the weekend’s races is Thursday and Friday, ten bucks per rider, with races running Saturday and Sunday. There is no admission for spectators for the practice sessions. Practice on Saturday and Sunday runs from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and racing runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. All races have qualifiers and there will be a heat race and LCQ (Last Chance Qualifier) to cut the field to one 40-man/woman main (if necessary).
Anyone who brings a Monster Energy can will get in free at the gate thanks to Monster Energy’s “Go Green” recycling program. Racers will receive free product courtesy of Monster Energy.
Here's a picture preview of the course! It looks awesome, it would be great to make it up there this weekend for some of the event...it might even be worth fighting the crowds and traffic! Powder Mountain had a Video of the course as well, check it out! You can also check out the Race Schedule if your thinking of heading up.

Directions & Spectator Info:
LOCATION 19 miles northeast of Ogden, Utah 55 miles north of Salt Lake International Airport.

DIRECTIONS FROM SALT LAKE CITY Take I-15 north to Ogden’s 12th Street, turn east and follow the signs through Ogden Canyon.

DIRECTIONS FROM PARK CITY Take I-80 east to I-84 junction, then west on I-84 to exit 96 and follow the signs.

FREE PARKING: Parking will be very limited at Powder Mountain. Please park at the Wolf Creek Festival Field and catch the free shuttle. Shuttles run continuously starting at 9am on Thursday/Friday and 7am on Saturday/Sunday. If you proceed to the resort and parking is available, the cost will be $10.

Thursday and Friday open practice: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm ($10.00 per rider, spectators FREE)

Saturday and Sunday racing: Practice 7:00 – 8:00 Racing 9:00am -7:00 pm (spectators $5/day)

Children 4 and under are FREE

All races will have qualifiers: There will be a heat race and last chance qualifier to make it to the one moto 40 rider Main Event. Opening ceremonies will take place before the first Main Event each day: Approximately 2:00 pm.

Saturday Evening Live Music and Awards Ceremony 6:00 - 10:00 pm

Live Music and Awards Ceremony

6:00 - 10:00 pm

Fish Lake, Aug 2009

This weekend we traveled South to meet family at Fish Lake for the weekend. The weather was fairly good all weekend with just a bit of wind and some lower than average temps. We had the opportunity of staying in one of the cabins in the area, so we opted to leave our trailer home this time. The cabins were really well kept and offered an amazing view with easy access to the lake,trails, lodge and whatever else is available in the area. We have fished the lake before with varied results, but since we didn't have a boat available this time we all ended up choosing not to. We did some hiking, water balloon volleyball, and even had a space derby competition on the deck of the cabin, but mostly we just got together to relax and have a good time. There are no atv's or motorized vehicles allowed within the boundaries of Fish Lake, but within 10 to 15 minutes there is access to a number of roads and trails. The lake itself is very large, six miles in length and about a mile wide. At about 9,000 feet the lake is usually too cold for swimming, but is excellent for fishing with the correct know how and equipment. It's also a great place to ice fish in the winter. Fish Lake is located along Highway 25, about 7 miles east of Highway 24. It is about 20 miles northwest of Loa and 34 miles southeast of Richfield at I-70. We didn't remember to take the camera out of the bag till we were on our way out, but here's a few pics taken near the cabins.

Hyde Park Fun With Spud Guns, Dirt Bikes...

We spent some time this weekend with Family in and around Hyde Park in Cache Valley. We spent a lot of time shooting the spud gun and it worked flawlessly all weekend. We went through 2 bags of taters and shot all sorts of homemade rockets and other projectiles..it's always fun to blow shit up! We also spent some time at the fair in Logan, fishing at an awesome fish farm in Smithfield, and even got some dirt biking in. The fish our kids caught were very impressive and very tasty. All the kids got a chance to reel one in. We didn't remember to take the camera everywhere we went, but we did get some video of the potato cannon and some dirt biking in the hills near Hyde park. We had a great weekend despite a bit of rain. The only thing we had planned that we didn't get too was the target shooting, the rain kind of delayed some of the activities Saturday morning. Check out Owen shooting a tater through a 3/4" piece of laminated particle board!(we may have used an extra ration of mapp gas a few times.) The gun fired %100 of the time with no misfires! We were fed well with fresh corn on the cob from the garden, food from the grill, and some great insight from Grandpa. Please enjoy this short video of some of the fun!

The Honda 2009 CR250 2-Stroke?

Has Honda gone mad and all of the sudden decided to start producing 250cc 2-stroke dirt bikes again? No, unfortunately that hasn't happened, but that's where Service Honda comes in! THIS is the 2-stroke 250cc dirt bike that Honda should be producing! Service Honda takes a modern Honda frame, suspension etc. found on Honda's 250 4-stroke machines and fits it with a 2001 CR250 2-stroke engine. Those who know me know that I am a little biased to the 2001 CR250, so when I saw this I definitely had to check it out! This Service Honda "250AF" 2-stroke machine is lighter, more nimble and more powerful than the competition. Not only does the 250AF perform better than the 4 stroke competition it is vastly cheaper to maintain, cutting the TOTAL operating budget for a national outdoor motocross team by nearly one third! The 250AF is legal for AMA amateur racing and most other organizations in the 250cc class. The initial price tag is not cheap however because it requires customization, starting at $10,599. There is also a "250AFX" available that is the off-road version of this bike. It maintains the X's battery and headlight and comes equipped with a kickstand again using the 2001 CR250 2-stroke engine as the powerplant. Reviews on the bikes have been good, but there is room for improvement with the lack of R&D that the 2-strokes have been receiving lately at Honda. If only Honda could see the error of it's ways and go back to producing the CR!, without the electronic powervalve of course. At least there are some out there that realize there is still a need for a basic, simple, effective off road/race bike! Some of us don't race, we don't need electric start or even a headlight and a battery. Don't let the simple 2-stroke do it all bike die! Yes, there are benefits to fuel injection, electric start, the added tractability of a heavier 4-stroke etc., but all of it comes at a cost. My old 2001 CR can be easily rebuilt in my garage, fires up with a single kick..abuse it, tip it over, beat it up and it still fires right up like and old friend should. It's nice to see Service Honda sticking to the principle of raw simple power in a lightweight easy to use and maintain package. Hopefully companies that still have 2-strokes in their line-up will continue to "keep it simple stupid", but also continue research and development with the idea to improve within the realm of that simplicity. What has happened to R&D that moves towards simplicity instead of away from it? Hopefully the consumer will continue to reward these companies with their wallets based on these benefits. Come on, I can't be the only one out there that still yearns for these basic, simple 2-stroke machines! Can I?