Bill Smage was kind enough to send me over 90 photos he took at August's Duluth National. He takes lots of photos, often of non-Pro riders, so if you rode Duluth look through them all and see if he got any of you.
You can view them all at this smugmug gallery, but here are a few of my favorites.
If you're going to be in Moab with a trials bike, seriously think about doing the 5 Miles of Hell trail. http://www.utahtrials.com/5moh/5moh.html and here's another http://myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson/5moh.htm Do a google search on "5MOH"... lots of stories and info. It's not in Moab (at least an hour drive away) but I've tried to ride it on my regular dirt-bike and bailed, so want to try it on a trials bike some day. I know there's plenty of people who can and have ridden the 5MOH on their full-size dirt bikes... and they are my hero's.
Also, closer to Moab, think about spending a couple of hours playing around at Klondike Bluff. It's not as famous as the Slickrock trail, but still lots of slick rock to ride on and not as many mt bikers giving you the fish eye.
And don't worry about the spark arrestor. Unless things have changed in the last couple of years, the only rangers you'll ever see will be if you ride in the national parks (either Arches or Canyons, both open to riding but only on marked trails) and even those rangers didn't even look at any of the bikes people were riding last time I was there.
As a Pat Smage fan, I've really enjoyed this thread. Cope, you nailed it. And Noel, thanks for contributing. I continue to be amazed at what you guys are able to do with the resources you have available to you.
And please Pat, keep your blog going! It's fantastic just the way it is. I don't know if it's intentional the way you are "wearing your heart on your sleeve" like you are, but man, what a refreshing break from the drivel we get from most corporate sponsored riders (just how many times can someone tug the bill of their cap during an interview?).
And does anyone have any idea why the 3rd lap scores for many of the pros improved so dramatically on Sunday? Cody went 11-16-3, Bruce went 15-16-6, and Will went 14-16-7. Huh?
I'd be happy to come up with something, but I sure would like to include a little bit more about about other riders than Patrick... riders who I don't know and don't hear much about. I've heard nothing about the venue or weather or anything. I've done my usualy Smage-centric writeup on my own blog (wismoto.com0, but if anyone wants to email me, PM me, or post here with how the weekend went, I'd really appreciate it.
And what happened to Chris? He went from 1st and 2nd place to 4th and 5th place finishes? Altitude? Locations not suited to his style, or at least, what he's used to? This is the internet, so opinions are welcome...
Bernie Schrieber was never a house-hold name, but I would say that trials itself was bigger in the USA then than it is today. I say that based on two datum. One, I've read that the number of entries at US Nationals were much higher back in the 70's then they are today, and two, I remember I was given a choice in 1976 as a 12 year old as to which bike I'd like as my first motorcycle, a YZ80 or a TY80 (at least I think it was a TY... it was a mini trials bike from Yamaha). I carried around both brochures for about a week, and while in the end I chose the YZ, it was a surprisingly difficult choice given that I lived in the desert at the time and had never ridden a trials bike. Something about the pictures held a major attraction to me.
Anyway, I don't think many kids are today trying to make the same decision, if only because there are very few dealerships in the USA today where you can see both trials bikes and off-road/mx bikes side-by-side.
Im not really getting it. I thought my quick letter was pretty good.
motofire, do you see any difference between the two statements "The editor seemed mildly interested" and "your publication holds little interest"?
If not, then yeah, you really aren't getting it.
Thanks for writing the letter though, it probably lit a fire under her and she now knows that this is bigger than just little Elkhorn, WI.
Great job getting this into that paper Craig. Next we need to get this into the Milwaukee Journal or one of the big Chicago papers. But they'll probably want to interview Patrick himself, so it might need to wait until he gets back from Europe.
I would agree with you whole-heartedly if you are implying that the baseball "World Series" is misnamed. What a joke that is.
I'm talking about geography here, and the costs to attend every event. If the vast majority of the events are held in Europe, then doesn't that put non-Europeans at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to adding up the costs to attend all the different events? A true "world championship" shouldn't give a large advantage to someone living in one geographic location.
And yes, Craig is right, I'm thinking mostly about Patrick Smage. Here's a kid who's still in school, so he can't just pick up and move to Europe yet. He'll have that option in a couple of years, but at least for now he's lucky that there are three rounds like this all lined up back-to-back during his summer break. And in addition, at least there was one other round being held in the America's in Guatemala, so don't go getting rid of that one yet. Just add a North American round in Tennessee next year. That's what I meant by "If anything you need more like Guatemala".
I'm off tomorrow for four days of family camping, including 2 days of trials competition (Wauzeka - yeah baby!). I hope when I check back here Monday afternoon that there's lots of info on how Patrick did and how he looked, etc, from people who were there. Come on you guys, tell us Yanks what you think of our hero! He's just a farm-boy from Wisconsin, so go easy on him, introduce yourself, and don't be put off by his quiet nature... he's really a great kid. Give him an equal chance - let's see what he can do. If he does well, and moves on over the next couple of years to be a full-on World Championship contendor, well... just think what that would do for the popularity of observed trials in the USA -- a not-insignificant potential market. And I'm not talking about a potential market for trials bike manufacturers, though there is a bit of that, but rather for sponsors and TV rights, etc.
Agreed with everything you had to say Nick, up until your last paragraph. Doesn't the "World" in World Championship mean anything? How is Guatemala a bizarre location when its one of the few locations outside of Europe? If anything you need more like Guatemala.
Here's an idea... trials could take a page from the US Supercross series, where they run the big bikes and top riders at all rounds, but the "Lites" championships are split up between East and West coasts.
So along the same lines, at least in the Youth class, you could split the world into Hemispheres, like Europe-Africa, Americas and Asia. Have an equal number of World rounds in each hemisphere, but run separate Youth series (and maybe Junior class?) in each Hemisphere, so you'd end up with a European Youth Champion, Americas Youth Champion and an Asian Youth Champion. The rider wouldn't have to be from the hemisphere they compete in (a European could compete in the Asian Youth Championship), but they could only compete in one of them each year. With the age limitations already in place in the Youth series you don't need to worry about having the "pointing out" rule they have in the SX series.
At the end of the season you have one final round where the top riders from each hemisphere are invited to compete against each other, with the winner being declared the World Champion. This final round is held in conjunction with the final round of the full-blown World Championship.
Anyways, there are probably thousands of reasons why this wouldn't work, but the current series sure doesn't seem like a World Championship to me.
Thanks, and any photos you can send me Craig would be mucho appreciated. Especially if they are of Patrick or other Wisconsinites.
I called RYP and ordered several things, and they said they'd include my World Fund t-shirt with that order. I should be sporting it at Polo this weekend. Thanks for setting that up.
But they'll probably want to interview Patrick himself, so it might need to wait until he gets back from Europe.
Ohio Endurocross
in USA Trials
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Twins, separated at birth, meet at Ohio Endurocross