Well hello again my moto brethren. I know that it has been a while or so, people tell me, but the Reverend has been busy. So here we go, I am going to give you all I have.
The last few races have been, well lets just say freakin' HOT! The only good thing about a hot race is the fans. I think you all know what fans I speak of. The racing is pretty good too. It looks like the next race is going to be hot as well so make sure you wear your sun glasses so you wife or girl friend doesn’t catch you looking at the doubles.
We have had great turn out for the races and the track has been great so that is good for the club. There are more than just races going on at the track. Once in while you get a race treat with a few guest stars. If you are in the right place at the right time you get to ride with guys like Davi Millsaps, Paul Carpenter, Jack Carpenter, Steve Hatch, Brian Gray and a ½ dozen other pros. There is nothing like the taste of roost coming off a pro's bike. It really has an impact on you if you get my drift. I have to say RickyG held his own. I passed Paul Carpenter like he was coming at me! OK so his bike broke and he was pushing it but I still passed him - that has to count for something. Either way just being able to say I rode with guys of that caliber made me smile for a week. They loved our track and the Prez busted his butt keeping it watered for us. That’s right, we made him water alone. He needed the work out for his triathlon on the 17th.
I got to chat with Steve Hatch for a while and he was super cool. Paul and Jack Carpenter are always willing to hang with the local guys. As for the other guys they were pretty cool as well but they were like fish out of water. They were strangers in a strange place and not always that talkative. If you live this sport these are the things that make it all worthwhile. One day when I am old, like 40 or something I will talk tall tales of my ride with these guys.
RickyG and Super Don Gentle headed out to Unadilla on Sunday to catch the National. I am convinced Ricky Carmichael is a machine. They should not be looking at the bike or the gas he puts in it but rather the bionics that were installed in his body. He may not have won the first moto because Stewart tried to use him for a spring board but he is the MAN! I caught a glimpse of RC in the pits after the crash and he is just like us. He has a great four letter vocabulary. I would have been tweaked if I came back with knobby marks on my back.
As for the 125 class Broc Hepler has got what it takes. He and Millsaps put on a great show of speed in moto one. Unadilla is one of those tracks that can break the best riders. It was so hot the fans were dripping as much as the riders. There is no shade at Unadilla and that makes for a hot afternoon.
That’s it for now. I will have more soon. Don’t forget that the Camp and
Ride is coming up in a few weeks. Check the web because I will most likely change the date.
Until then ride safe and get an air conditioned suit.
~RickyG
PRA’s second race of the 2005 season is behind us and what a race. The day was long and HOT and the track was perfect. I was surprised to see the hot weather didn’t have a few more bikini tops. Maybe there was but I don’t remember. I think I suffered brain damage from dragging the water hose around. Maybe it was because it was the first 90 degree day we have seen in two years but Sunday was HOT! I noticed that the water crew dwindled down to only a few by 3 o’clock. I have to admit I ran into the woods a few times to cool down. The heat was making me dizzy, dizzier than normal anyway. I also admit that I used my four letter vocabulary several times under my breath watching the smarter 4 wheeler mounted track pilots. You may say to yourself that they have it made. Not really though, they are just smarter than the average track technician. You can accomplish 4 times the amount of work on an ATV than running around the track on foot watering. This is a mistake I won’t make at the next race. My dad always told me to work smarter not harder. Even a 41 I don’t listen. How about the flaggers and the start gate guys? Most of them had no shade and stood there for 12 hours in the sun for less than minimum wage. If I start a business I want to hire these people! I am personally going to donate 6 fold-up chairs to the club so no flagger has to stand all day.
If you think that the people in the tower had the best job, try again,
as the top of the tower was hotter than the track. I have to say I have been a board member for 8 years and have a new respect for all of the ladies that have worked the tower. It really is
a difficult job. Often all of you guys and gals never get a thank you, so from all of the board at PRA, THANK YOU! We could never pull it off without all of your help.
Why do they do it? It’s not the money, although that is nice. It’s being a part of something as cool as MX racing. When the day is done and you had 500 racers come though your track and not once did you see dust and a few people came up to you and said your track rocked today, it puts a smile on your face. For the club members that donated yesterday, it meant 3 points, so you have to find some other joy in working the race.
Don’t get me wrong racers, we sincerely appreciate the fact that you come out on a 90 something degree day and race our track. That is why we work so hard to make it fun for you. We have received a lot of good feedback from the new start location and the track has gone back to its outdoor roots. There are still plenty of jumps and technical stuff but I really like the MX feel of the track. The next race is June 26th and according to the grand wizards of the farmer’s almanac we are supposed to have a dry summer. So, we will be out watering again and doing our best to keep it real for you.
Ride hard/Ride safe and stay out of my way.
~The Reverend
Whuz up my moto brother’s? Well we just came off of a very successful James Henry ride and if you missed it you missed out on an awesome day and tons of food. The weather couldn’t have been better and the track was race day perfect! How sweet is it to ride a perfect track and take your time learning the lines? I’ll tell you how sweet it is, its pretty damn sweet. There are a lot of people to thank for this and I don’t have al the names but a few are Ned Munier and Dave Phillips and family for the perfect track and cooking all that food. These are people the track has always counted on and never let anyone down.
Most of all I have to embarrass the VP, Don Gentle. Donny has spear headed the whole thing from the ramp we built to the JH ride. I have put together enough meetings and functions in my life to know what a pain in the rear fender this can be and he has been the guy that brought it all together. I am sure JH is very grateful and might even ask himself why a Motorcycle club that he didn’t even belong to has reached out so much to help him. If you were wondering the same thing you probably have never been down and out before or needed to be scraped up off the ground and carried or flown away to a hospital for doing something you love even though you knew it had some very serious consequences if you messed up. Well a few of us know what it’s like and when you need that kind of help you will have only wished you were there for someone. So, a big thank you to all that have helped out and were a part of this and I am sure I speak for James when I say thank you from him and his family.
If you were wondering the stats we gave James $3200.00. Additionally, after all of the bills were paid the club donated 450 dollars and picked up the insurance for the day. We had about 150 or so riders and several people gave directly to James, so his family received a little more than that. All the people at the gate and on the track donated their time and then some. For those of you who helped out with track preparation and maintenance thank you as well.
I hope I have said thank you to everyone - if I missed you sorry!
So what’s next at PRA? Our next race is June 5 and all those standard rules apply. If you don’t have a calendar look on the web as it is there. The Batavia club ride is next weekend and if you did not pay me don’t bother showing up - I will give you the Alpinestar! We have 40 people plus spectators and that’s all I can have. Bring some food and drinks - we will have a grill and it will be a do it yourself thing. We have the track from 10 am till whenever we pass out from exhaustion or our wives and girl friends make us come home.
I was unable to contact everyone to give you all an entry ticket so bring your I.D. Your name will be on a list. If it is not on the list you do not ride. I will be checking everyone that rides so beware of the Reverend RickyG. This should prove to be a great time and remember this is a thank you to the club members that donate all their Saturdays and Sundays all year with nothing more than a few points to show for it.
One last note, Batavia will be holding a SuperMoto for all interested.
Click here for the flyer.
~The Reverend RickyG
Something to read while you warm up!
It’s hard to believe that in less than three weeks we will have our opening work day but it will happen, short of another snow storm. Instead of a clam bake we will have Uncle Dickie Cater it. It has been a little while since I gave you all something to read so pull up a chair, relax, and dream of a warm sunny day. One has got to come sooner than later since we are in March already. So what has been going on you ask? The Supercross season has definitely given us something to watch on T.V. The last few races watching Carmichael and Reed lap up to third place and swap places for the lead has been awesome. My only regret is that I won’t make it to a SX this year other than Toronto. How bad does it have to feel getting lapped and riding for a factory? Someone must have put bad gas in Paul Carpenter’s bike - we all know he can ride better than that. The Reverend even scored PC’s autographed jersey to hang on the wall. Ye-Ha! Being an RC fan I can’t wait until Stewart is back because I think RC is going to take him to school and give him a little MX spanking! (that should be good for a few e mails!)
If you attended the banquet I bet you had a good time, short but good. We didn’t have a million things to give away this year but what we gave away was real good stuff. The shirts didn’t get here in time and we almost didn’t have the mugs. Talk about last minute! Thank you to all that supported the Bruce Stratton jersey auction. We got 125 dollars to help out James Henry and his family. As much as the auction and the ride on May21 (it is open to the public so spread the word - all proceeds will go to JH and family) was in honor of James, we all need to remember his super wife and new baby. They have their work cut out for them and she has the heart of a saint! So be there on May 21, ride and remember who you are helping. There are a bunch of pictures to follow that show the guys that helped build the ramp. Also thank you to Bruce and family for donating the jersey. For those of us that know Bruce it is not easy to get a jersey out of him. (just kidding, Bruce!).
Following the banquet was our Ohio ride at the NEMX track. I can’t tell you how good it felt to ride after such a long cold winter. Everyone showed up and as you would expect there are a few stories to follow. But before I tell, sorry to all of you who did not get a chance to go but space is limited. Next year we will go to Syracuse at the new Head Rush track and we will let more people go. Some of the gang were so impressed that they took home a little Ohio soil with them. Scott Vandewall took home a big bite and left parts of his RM behind as a reminder. Mark Bisik found it hard to get around so he purchased a new pair of crutches for better leverage. 12 of us rode Thursday and Friday so we were feeling the pain - oh how good it felt. If you felt that bad at work you would go home and cry to your wife for some comfort. There is nothing like the sweet pain of self inflicted moto pain, even if you get no sympathy from the home team. Was it warm? If you consider riding in Siberia warm it was. You could get in about three or four laps and you coughed up ice cubes. I think I saw Ned Munier freeze-frame over the table top. We had things to give away but they never made it into anyone’s hands because the riding never stopped. For all you guys who didn’t know all those drinks and oranges were for us ..oops, sorry. It was so loud you didn’t here me yelling. If you didn’t get a chance to ride, don’t worry we have another PRA ride in May. Where you ask, and how do I get in on it? Well here is the low down. It is open to the first 40 WORKING members and will be held at Batavia on May 29th, a Sunday, from 10 am until at least 5 pm . The cost is 15 dollars and you have to have your money in by May 1, 2005! No ifs, ands or buts! Send it to: Rick Grisofe 11 Cornflower Dr N. Chili NY 14514. Make the check out to the Palmyra Racing Association. Don’t think that because you know the Reverend that it will buy you time ‘cause it wont ( that was for the Posse). Once we hit 40 I will close it down and if you send your money in late well then too bad. By now you know the rule “you snooze you lose!”.
If you really want to go on a trip of a lifetime next March there are three of us going to California to MX vacation. We will ride two pro tracks out there including Glen Helen. If you are serious we have room for two more, maybe three. The cost is 250 a day for bike and lunch plus your flight. For more details contact who else, The Reverend RickyG.
Lastly, the Mini Baja race is in May. The track will be closed from May 4th through the 9th. So happy riding and keep your eyes on the web for more information.
~Rickyg …out!!
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