Life is Grand

Isn't it?  I don't care to ponder its meaning or get philosophical or anything, just wanted to say how great life is.  I hope it is treating everyone reading this equally well.  Not to say I don't have financial, family or other issues or that I am not stressed beyond belief at points throughout the day or week, but regardless of all that life is amazing.  I see people way too caught up in possessions or perceptions (especially in Arizona for some reason) and it just makes me sad for them.  Don't be those people.  RC

A New President

Tonight was pretty historic.  i think it will be one of the defining moments of our generation, one that will be talked about in history books and classrooms around the world for a long time.  I realize that people in this sport tend to skew Republican and think that a Democratic President would shut down all of our riding areas.  So while many of the people who read my blog may be disappointed with the outcome of the election, I feel that it is good direction to be going in America.  Under Clinton, we had a huge budget surplus, a healthy economy and even places to ride our dirt bikes.  So what if he ran an intern in the oval office?  He is married to Hillary, so can you really blame him?  I hope that we experience equally prosperous times under President Barack Obama.  I, for one, and hopeful.  RC

The Anniversary

Not only a good band from the midwest, but also the event of the day.  I have been married for four years to the most amazing friend, wife and mother I have ever met.  She has given me the two gifts that I cherish the most in my life, Everett and Audrey.  She has also given me about a million smiles, a few tears and a lifetime full of memories.  Happy Anniversary to us.

Yesterday, Anniversary Eve if you will, Jesse and I flew up to Idaho to meet with Terry, Max and Craig from FLY Racing/WPS.  They have a first class operation all the way, and I am pleased to be aligned with them for the ninth straight season.  Oh, and Idaho is such a great place.  I love it up there.

With some time to start anew, we are all excited about the approaching season and getting ourselves into the best possible place before the gate drops in Anaheim.  We are busy, busy, busy right now building bikes and getting schedules set.  We have a few race bikes and several practice bikes for sale if anyone is in the market.  You can always reach me via e-mail (team@teamsolitaire.com) for this or any reason.

Hope everyone is having a great week!  RC

The Perfect Day

This may be mundane to those of you without kids, but any parent will understand.

Today was the most perfect day I can remember.  I woke up with my daughter at around 6:00 AM (okay, so it didn't start of perfect as I like to sleep in).  I spent almost two hours playing trains, reading books, eating breakfast and just loving on my little princess before she was ready for a nap.  About that time my son work up, so I put her back to bed with my wife and Everett and I played golf, soccer and baseball in the front yard for an hour.  

At ten, I took Everett to soccer practice and we had so much fun.  At his age, I still get to participate (bonus!) so I have as much or more fun than he does.

When we got home from that I took a nap, as I was sleep deprived from a recent trip.  This afternoon the whole family went for a hike, along with Jake Marsack who has been staying with us for about a week.  Now I am in bed and ready for a week of preparation leading up to the US Open in Vegas.  But today was probably about as perfect as they come.

NOFX CONCERT

NOFX from stage right.  Don't Call Me White...

Jesse, Eric "The Intern" and I got an invite from Erik Sandin to check out NOFX last night.  Erik is the drummer of the band, and they were playing at a festival-type show called "Edgefest".  Basically, pile about ten thousand people into a field in, get them drunk and play loud music is the business plan of the promoter.  It just may have been the best people watching I have seen since two weeks ago at Newark Airport.  

Anyway, we got to hang out on stage for the show, which was a good thing because I could still smell the B.O. and beer from there and I was a good twenty feet away.  Plus, we got to watch all the kids trying to crowd surf that got flung on to the ground when they reached the front of the crowd and there was no security there to catch them.  But most of them were drunk enough that they didn't feel anything anyway, even the eleven-teen year olds.

I like NOFX because they stand for something.  I really applaud Fat Mike for being a voice, probably an unpopular voice to most people in the motorcycle industry, and he doesn't seem to be afraid of criticism.  I kind of struggle with that because I recognize that a lot of people (sponsors, fans, etc.) that might disagree with me may be less supportive of my program (and I need all the help I can get).  But as I age, I have begun to realize that I have to just be myself whether people like it or not.  This blog, since it won't be through RACERX anymore (I have a new one on their website) will be more of my personal voice.  I am also going to try to update more often with inside stuff on the team, etc.  Kind of a real behind the scenes that doesn't have to be so "PC".  I hope you like it. 

Politics as usual...

What does that even mean?  I mean, politics are everywhere.  Everything you do in life is in some way influenced by the people you know who either like or dislike you, support or oppose you, agree or disagree with your ideas or plans.  Other people's thoughts or objections should have no bearing on the decisions you make, but inevitably those outside influences factor in.  Frankly, it sucks!  The older I get the more I just want to tell the naysayers (especially the ones who don't have the intelligence, fortitude or even the slightest idea of how to do what I am doing) to go straight to hell.  I mean, do you look back at life from the porch on a rocking chair and give a second thought to the people you ignored along the way?  F them.

Politics on a larger scale are equally as frustrating and annoying.  After watching the GOP convention tonight, I can honestly say that I have never seen a more tired, obese, genuinely uninteresting group gathered in one place.   I mean, seriously, this is the best we have to offer?  I wouldn't trust a 72 year old man to drive my kids to school or even drop off my dry cleaning, let alone become the next president.  It is mind-boggling that this is the best we have to offer.  At least Obama is a great spokesman, which let's be honest with ourselves, is 90% of success.  I mean, these are the people that voted for George W. Bush - TWICE.  Let's keep going down this road, the last stretch was so smooth.  Either way, I am over all the political advertising interrupting Family Guy.  

RC

  

Stuff and things

2008 Hare and Hound Champion Destry Abbott

My attempt at a scrub

Taylor Roberts is fast.  Lookout for this kid in the very near future!

Hello world wide web.

One thing before I get started on my things.  Josh Morros, who is one of the most naturally talented people I have ever witnessed ride a motorcycle, is in bad shape right now.  He crashed hard while running second in the National Hare and Hound last weekend and was injured very severely.  Destry went for help upon finding Josh, but being out in the middle of nowhere, it was some time before medical attention arrived.  He was airlifted to the hospital where he remains.  Please keep Josh in your thoughts and hope for the best possible outcome.  This is the kind of stuff that makes me wonder about dirt bikes.

I have been working pretty hard this week, trying to get my shit together and finish out the season with a couple of decent finishes.  I sit here wondering what happened to this train wreck of a season I have had, and I can trace it back to a lot of mistakes made.  But I can either dwell on that or do something to fix it, and I have been trying to fix it.  I will go into Southwick with a better attitude, as I worked on my technique with Destry Abbott this week and feel confident I will be better that Millville.  Thank you Destry for helping me out.  Us old guys need to stick together.

Below are a few photos from riding today.  Check out this new track in Arizona @ www.grindingstonemx.com.  The track is amazing.  It doesn't feel like an AZ track, as they brought in sand for the entire track and picked almost every rock that did make its way through the thick sand.  Kudos to them for a great new place to ride.