steve fracy

Chris: After living there for two years, I know what you are saying! We arrive in Nashville at 4pm on Sat. Will be arriving at the TTC on Sun Am. We are booked in for the entire camp as well! Steve

Hey Craig: Will Pat be riding the Indoor on the Saturday or even better, be available for any of the instruction at the TTC. Would sure love to meet both of you as it is a rare chance for me and my family to make this big trip!

Spinner: Thanks, looking forward to meeting you too. Matts bike is awesome! He has gained leaps and bounds since getting it and is now riding some of the lines I ride! Very, very happy with everything on the little GG! Copey are you gonna be there....I will have use of my buddy Barrys Sherco while there,and after seeing there is gonna be a gate trial, thought I would ask him if I could enter that! Hope you guys have lots of advice for a YOuth National rookie! Spinner, what class and how old is your son! Steve

Chris: Cool pictures! Looking forward to meeting you at the TTC! steve

Brian: I am happy to say that we are making the long trip from the Westcoast of Canada this year to to TTC. A homecoming of sorts for me. First time back in TN since I lived there and was a memeber of the STRA in 1987-88. My son Matt is signed up and we are so excited about our trip. The whole family is coming and we are very lucky to have some tremendous support from our good friends Barry and Renee from Huntsville, AL. Looking forward to seeing old friends again, meeting all of you on here that I have not met before, having a great week, and helping my son do some great riding! Cheers, Steve

Marzochhi could not keep up with the demand this year. Scorpa also using same forks, so I guess the problem is not being able to make them fast enough.

He is not smiling because he flew all that way to get 2 WINS! and although we are all proud of him this side of the pond, he did not get those two wins = no smile! Keep fighting Pat!

He has been riding the US Nationals in Colorado this past weekend! Probably be home in a couple days!

Yes!

Copey: Well it was interesting tonight to get home and ride my 05 4T in comparison to the 08 I rode on Sun. That was after riding my 300 Fantic all weekend too! My bike I think has comparible power for sure. A bit quieter too. With my bars and the RYP half back pegs, I much prefer the riding position on my bike too. The new bike has very nice suspension, and just feels a bit more re-fined. Very quiet engine! Nice bark to the exhaust but not too loud like some others. I also rode a Beta 4T for the first time too. Very nice bike indeed, but in the stock form, felt like a TL125 in comparison to the Sherco 3.2.

Hi guys: Well I am a total 4T convert after owning my 05 for a full year now. An ex-Paxau minder bike from Duluth and fully sorted!!! Spent first part of the time on it getting it dialed in for me! Just got to ride a brand new 08 on the weekend and man is it sweet! I did notice a slight difference between map1 and 2 though. It felt quite a bit quicker off the bottom on the 2 position and would reach max revs quicker too! Overall it felt just more re-fined than my bike, although I did like the riding position of my bike better with the RYP pegs I have! Steve

I have had a full year now with my Sherco 4t and absolutely love it and the 4t power! I find I dont need the revs like I did with a 2stroke. With a 2stroke the technique is more to get all your revs at the beginning of an obstacle and then roll off for grip. With the 4T you can actually ride differently and use the torque and grip of the engine and ride with a more constant speed and still get great grip! Thats what I find anyway and it really suits my riding style(if you can call it that). steve

I think Ish misses the 3.2 motor though.....how could you not!

Lee: Or anyone else who knows, how much fork oil in the standard 300 forks...... Thanks, Steve

That concept of shorts outside the riding gear was done some 25yrs ago in US Nationals...... bonus points when you guess who it was and where! Ron Commo is exempt from this quiz!

Anyone know what happened to Colton Haaker on Day 1. I dont see him at all in Day 2 either

Craig: Thanks for that, and thanks for the great coverage for those of us watching so closely because we cant be there! It is almost like being there! I hope this is the point where Patrick realizes he can really do this!

Well done Patrick today with a fantistic come from behind victory today on home ground in front of the home crowd!!! What a huge achievement and boost to your confidence! Keep up the good work and bring home the championship! Steve

Glenn: All I know is that the front brake on my 300 works signifigantly better than the 240 I had. That is not to say the 240 was bad either, but the 300 makes it real easy to lock up and get the back wheel off the ground. steve

Al: Well I can sure relate to being so busy with life and frustrated with not getting to do ALL of the things you want to! That being said, if there is any chance you CAN make it, it would be great to see you again! Even though I am sure you dont remember me, I do remember meeting you in the time I spent living down that way! Lots of great reunions planned while I am down there again for the first time since 1988. Flights are booked, bike is reserved and accomodations all set too! Just cant wait! Steve

Al: Will you be occupying cabin 5 at the Youth Nationals this year Steve

Glenn: Thanks for asking, and sorry to hear about the injury Yes the 300 performed flawlessly! I was a bit tentative for two reasons. I only got to ride it around the loop the day before the event to try and break the engine in, and it has been a long time since I have ridden it. But, that aside, it was brilliant and the Fantic continued its unbeaten streak . I wish I knew how to post pics, but if you go to Outlaw Daves website and look on the gallery, there is a ton of pics from the Joe Brown Trial 08. wwwoutlawtrials.com Steve

Northern Norm: I have been busy organizing and riding a two-day trial over the last three days and clicked back on here only to be absolutely in shock at the length of this thread, and the direction it has gone to. First off, from where I sit, it seems odd to me that guys from the UK would be SO vocal in the way that they are. Not negative I guess, but certainly a bit confrontational. I wondered for a while why that was. Everyone likes to cheer for there favorite rider, but in this case it seems to me that Pats results and ability are a defenite threat to everyone who is from Europe, or the UK.That is a great thing! Having only ridden abroad once I am hardly calling myself an expert at all, but, I do know all the things you have tryed to explain are really hard for us North Americans to adjust to! It is a REAL obstacle, something that anyone from the UK or Europe would never understand unless they spent a considerable amount of time over HERE. It is hard for anyone to deal with major culture differences like we have. Oh I know the two Continents are considered equal in moderization, but truthfully there are HUGE differences. When I came back from being at the Scottish and being in Scotland for 3 weeks, I never ever realized how spoiled we are over here.......with pretty much everything. That being said, if it were me in your guys position of handling Pat (and I truly hope I someday get an opportunity like that with my son) I would just ignore anyones elses opinion of if he will make it or not and do what you guys feel is the best for Pat and what will help him the most to let him succeed. Do it YOUR way, and let the naysayers keep quiet when he DOES succeed!! Just my two cents worth! All the best to TeamSmage and be determined and dont let up! cheers, Steve

PA: Big two day event in the Vancouver BC area in the middle of July. Contact me for more info OK. Steve

Hi guys: Just thought I would let all you regulars know that I got my 300 back up and running. The motor is like brand new! Just in the nick of time too as our first vintage ride of the year is this weekend. I hopefully will post some pics. I also have some bits coming from Chris at classictrial and will post pics of the transformation to a trick, lighter 300. Cheers, Steve