Rider Updates
Apr 21 2018
First race of the year went well! Had zero bike issues, zero tip-overs, and zero broken bones! Went 7th and 8th for 8th overall, out of 17 total racers. I was only able to race innovation on my CR500, USPS lost a rather important box of parts for the YZ125 in the middle of the week, so the YZ was not even close to being in rideable condition. Huge thank you to all of you guys that have supported me over the years, as well as those who have been generous enough to help me out this year! Bulldogs is only a few weeks away, hopefully it goes as smooth as today did!
Apr 13 2018
Finally back to work! I've actually been back to work for a few weeks now, but anyway.... My elbow is back to how it was before, but my ankle is still gonna need a bit more healing before its back to 100 percent.
The 1994 YZ125 is nearing completion, just need to get a new set of ASV levers and a bunch of misc. bolts. The 1986 CR500 simply needs fresh fuel and then it will be good to go! Hopefully everything goes smoothly. I'd hate to miss the first race because of something stupid.
Finally got registered for spring/summer college classes. Hopefully it doesn't have an impact on my ability to race like it did last year!
Feb 27 2018
Post op recovery is going well, still have a while yet before I go back to work. Got the suspension for the YZ125 and CR500 sent off to a fellow VMX racer to be set up for me. I also updated this years race schedule, gonna be racing 26 races this year if all goes to plan! Will be posting pictures when the bikes are back together! Also, thank you Factory Backing for the awesome throwback graphics for the 125!!
Jan 31 2018
Guess who had surgery today! Had a plate and 5 screws taken out of my right elbow. That hardware was installed after I got hit by a drunk driver a few years ago. Apparently I managed to break one of the screws, I'm assuming it was from one of my many get-offs at the track. I also had a bone spur, as well as a significant amount of scar tissue removed from my left ankle, which was left over from when I broke that 5 years ago. Hopefully this all will help with my post-race pain! The spinal fusion I have from T2-T6 is a whole different story, but probably will stay where it is for the rest of my life. I'll be healed just in time for the first race in April!
Side note: my right arm is in a sling, my left foot is in a boot, and I can only use one single crutch with my left arm. Multiple people have said that I am the perfect example of a "walking" train wreck.
Dec 17 2017
This year is finally coming to a close. Finished up my first semester of college, and picked up a 1994 Yamaha YZ125 today! Plan on racing Transition and Innovation this coming season, and for seasons to come. Needs a little TLC and updated per sponsor specs. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Nov 18 2017
Life has a way of getting ridiculously busy! I started college back in August, doing some pre requisite classes for a Nursing program. Unfortunately, school is more important than racing, and school also takes a good bit of money. Was not able to attend the last two races of the Michigan VMX series due to this, but it is what it is. School is going well, and I should hopefully be able to begin the nursing program in August of next year.
I'm currently looking at buying a 1994 YZ125 for the Transition class next year. If everything works out, I'll be able to race two classes! I'll also be uploading season pictures in stints (each racer got a memory stick with all of the pictures from the season when we were at the banquet).
Thank you to everybody for their support this year! Was not my best season by any stretch of the imagination, but I still had a lot of fun! Hope everybody has a great holiday!
Sep 5 2017
Twisted was a bit of an odd day. Practice went on without a hitch, but the issues started when moto 1 rolled around. Took off from the gate with the bike popping and backfiring. Made it about 100 yards before it let out one last backfire and died. Pushed it a considerable distance back to the truck, fearing that the engine had blown. Did the usual diagnostics; check compression, hear for any odd noises in the bottom end, etc. Discovered I had no spark; turned out the kill switch wire had come undone somehow and was shorting out against the fork. Got that fixed with some expert usage of electrical tape, gave it a kick, and it exploded back to life. 2nd moto went off without a hitch and ended up getting 9th overall. There's a lot of new, fast riders this year. Between that and the fact that I REALLY don't want to get hurt again, I've been staying in the middle-bottom end of that pack.
Can't wait for polka dots!
Aug 15 2017
This is the 5th time I've tried to update here, hopefully it works!
Cadillac was pretty uneventful. Moto 1 went off without a hitch; good clean racing was done by all. Moto 2 was fairly rough. The track was destroyed by the time I went out in the afternoon. Also had some issues with my neckbrace continually become undone.
Races at Valley MX were a bit rough. Had a rough interaction with the ground during practice and wound up with a concussion (will link crash video below). Chipped my O'Neal Series 10 Helmet and indented the interior foam. Unfortunately that helmet is retired for the season; I've brought one from last year out of retirement as I am currently unable to afford a new helmet.
Polka Dots was a mess. Rained all day and a bit the night before. At some point during practice I had blown a radiator hose on the CR500, so that bike was done for the day. Borrowed a fellow vintage racers 1996 CR125 for Moto 1. Ended up not racing Moto 2 due to track conditions and safety conditions.
Log Road was a BLAST!!!! Rode Transition on the 1996 CR125 that I borrowed from the aforementioned vintage racer, as well as riding my usual Innovation class on my 1986 CR500. Motos were essentially back to back. Moto 1 of transition I was still getting used to the itty bitty 125 and learning the track. Pulled off from that race, went and grabbed the 500, and went right back up to the starting line for Moto 1 of Innovation. I cannot begin to express how immensely different the bikes are in their personalities. The 125 was playful and did whatever you wanted; whereas the 500 was authoritative and did as it pleased. The contrast of the bikes Moto 2 Transition Log Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1hiIWny0I8made for a VERY fun day, and I can't wait to have more like it!
Valley Crash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yuG-5gl49M
Log Road Transition Moto 2: https://www.youtube.com/
Jun 7 2017
Been a minute since I've updated here, and for that I apologize. Races at Battle Creek MC went well, got 6th overall on day 1 of racing. Unfortunately, dad fell over pretty good in the second moto, broke a few ribs and collapsed his right lung by 80%. Had to load everything up and take him to the ER, where he received a chest tube and got to stay the night for four days. Wasn't able to race at Battle Creek on the 21st because of all that. Also was not able to make the race at Big Air due to a depressing lack of money. I'll be at Cadillac MC on the 25th for sure though!
I also want to thank Gaerne for supplying a new pair of MX boots! Can't wait to ride in them!!
Apr 12 2017
Racing at PTR went well! Ended up getting 7th out of 13 the first moto. Absolutely botched the start by getting hung up in the gate, but was able to recover from that pretty quickly. Was feeling pretty good until the last lap when my arms started to lock up. Going to the gym has definitely made a positive difference in my riding. I don't get nearly as tired as I used to, and the bike is considerably easier to move around. Unfortunately I was not able to race the second moto. At some point during race 1 I lost the oil drain plug. Thankfully the bottom end didn't cooked! Got that repaired yesterday so it'll be good to go for the races at Bulldogs.
Video of Moto 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6IIfnjHOD0
Mar 29 2017
Got a number of updates. Got a new job at the University of Michigan Hospital back in December; figured since I was there on a regular basis I may as well get a job there. I work in the Operating Rooms helping with surgeries, with my personal focus being orthopedics. Funny enough, I knew half of the ortho doctors from previous interactions with various injuries.
Started hitting the gym religiously back in December as well. Have gained about 10 pounds since then and am down to about 4 percent body fat. I'm still about as big around as a twig, but I'm a strong twig! Hopefully the increase in strength will help me muscle around the old CR500. I'm shooting for 3rd overall this year and I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Speaking of the CR500, I got it back up and running. Just did a top end and some slight port work. Still running a bridgeless exhaust and a myriad of other mods. Need to re-jet it yet.
Lastly I ordered in a new set of gear from O'Neal (thanks guys! And thank you to their rider support guy that answered a few of my questions). Stuck with the red, white, and blue theme that I've always run. I'll have a picture of me in said gear posted here shortly. Still need to order in some new lenses for my goggles from SPY, as well as a few other miscellaneous bits of gear that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Can't wait for the first race on April 8th!
Oct 31 2016
Sorry for the late update, life has a way of getting in the way sometimes. Another season has come and gone. Racing at Baja went well! Had one guy in my class go hard down in the first moto and ended up missing the second. I rode well and got 5th overall in that one. Had a better start, came out 3rd after the first turn. Quickly discovered that the track had gotten VERY rough (almost unridable) and adjusted my riding accordingly. Ended up cross rutting in the first lap and going down. That was pretty much the end of it for me, I ended the race in 7th, for 7th overall. Thank you to all the companies that supported me this season, I feel that next year will be even better!!
Aug 30 2016
Racing at MPX went very well! Everybody had a good time, and the track was pretty safe (aside from a wall jump that got the better of our points leader). First race was awesome, battled our 2nd place points holder in the series for about a lap. Held down 3rd place until I got tired and eventually passed. Ended up placing 4th in the moto. Didn't ride as well in the 2nd moto, but still got 4th overall. Didn't do too terribly great on the gate drop, and was still pretty tired from the first moto. GoPro footage from moto 1 is linked below. Also, I will be uploading some pictures from the day shortly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlxTEMUvLnE&feature=gp-n-y&google_comment_id=z12wjtwjuxafedc3s22gex4husiofxojc04
Aug 16 2016
Sanbox ended up getting rained out. We got there the day before to we could camp out, and it was raining rather hard all day. Had some INSANE thunderstorms throughout the night and into the early morning. The track was a total mess; there were trenches from the rain that were over 4 feet deep, right in the main straight. That race will be rescheduled, not yet sure of the date.
Races at Cadillac went okay. Went down in both motos (apparently I don't know how to turn my motorcycle) and got ninth overall. Luckily I'm still holding 4th in points in the series, but the 5th place rider is chomping at my ankles to get ahead! Hoping MPX goes better and that I'm able to hold him off for the rest of the season!!
Jul 18 2016
Decided to go racing at Battle Creek yesterday, with my 2 week old fractured collarbone. Didn't really race; more so just rode around and took it easy. Didn't want to make my fracture any worse. All in all it was a relatively good day; I only had one small -stupid- tip over in moto one, but thankfully it was onto my right side. My shoulder fared relatively well until I came across braking bumps, which I can't complain about. Tommy ended up ringing his bell pretty good in a crash. He tried to avoid landing on somebody, and in turn crashed off the side of a tabletop. Ended up with a slight concussion and a rather large bruise on his right leg. Another buddy of mine (Chad Morehouse) gave me some tires to try, hopefully they'll work well! Looking forward to racing at Sandbox on the 31st!
Jul 7 2016
Shoulder is doing a bit better. Actually popped my collarbone back into socket the other day. Set my elbow up on top of the tailgate of my buddies truck, felt it go "POP", and a good bit of the pain I had went away.
My GoPro angle of the crash. https://youtu.be/V7nJpSY7PgA
Jul 4 2016
Crash from spectators point of view. Also uploaded a pic mid-crash and a few others
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWtrzPxaHLo&google_comment_id=z13gzfto1lzvshdzg04cjhazfua5srnynic&google_view_type#gpluscomments
Jul 4 2016
Had a bit of a rough day at Valley MX yesterday. Practice went pretty smoothly, but everything went south after that. Fouled a plug at the gate; ran back to the trailer to get a plug and wrench, and was able to get it running again JUST in time for the gate to drop. First three laps went pretty good, I made some suspension tweaks and the bike was a good bit easier to ride (for a CR500, anyway). Last lap I came down a sweeping turn that was watered just moments before and lost the rear end. The bike swapped back and forth a few times, I hit the berm at the edge of the track, and my rear tire hit a rock -boulder- about the size of a basketball. Rear tire kicked up, front tire tucked and dug into the berm, and I went sailing over the bars. Landed left clavicle first into the ground while my bike nearly did a complete frontflip. After a few moment of laying on the ground in pain I managed to gimp off the track and eventually ride back to where I was parked. Ended up getting a DNF for that moto. As I was about to get ready for moto 2, Tommy (the same guy I mentioned in my previous Rider Update) grabbed my helmet, got on his bike, rode away and hid it so that I wouldn't further injure myself (good thing he did. I'll circle back as to why). So, needless to say I didn't race moto 2 and thus also got a DNF there.
By the time I got home last night I still had a good bit of pain in my left clavicle. Earlier today I decided to go and get it checked out down at the hospital. Turns out my left clavicle was fractured in the crash, and was also slightly dislocated from the shoulder.
So, doc says I'll be off the bike for about 6 weeks. I, however, fully plan on holding down last place using only 1st gear at Battle Creek in about 2 weeks.
Also, I got the crash on 3 different video cameras and one conventional camera. I'll be uploading all that when I'm able
Jun 28 2016
Sorry for the delay in updates since the last race, life got busy REAL quick.
The day leading up to and the day of the race at Freelin MX (6/19) were interesting. My dad headed to the track early with the bikes and RV, and I was supposed to arrive shortly thereafter with a fellow VMX racer Tommy (I'd been helping him out when possible since the loss of Kevin Stone). Tommy ended up working MUCH later than anticipated. Didn't leave my house until about 12:30 AM, the day of the race. Arrived at the track around 2:30 AM and fell asleep around 3AM. Woke up at 6 AM, paid the gate fee and registered, and helped Tommy get his 77 RM250 ready for the race. We also did some work on his early 70s (can't remember the exact year, think it was a 71) IT400, which belonged to the late Kevin Stone.
Practice went okay. Almost ended a flagger while trying to avoid another rider on a face of a jump. Aside from that, it was the usual practice shenanigans. Didn't do well at all during both motos. Between the 90 degree heat, 3-ish hours of sleep, and god awful arm pump, I wasn't able to ride nearly as fast as I could have. But, with all things considered, I suppose I can't complain about my 6th overall. With that place finish for the day, I jumped from 7th in the series to 5th, with 4th being 8 points ahead of me.
Not sure if I'll be able to make it to Valley MX this coming weekend. My truck has been in pieces the past few week (turbo decided to die at 345k miles) and I'm unbelievably short on free cash. I'll definitely have to play it by ear.
May 31 2016
Moto 1 of yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DxKr0fEs0E
May 30 2016
Races today at Log Road went well. Got the holeshot in moto 1 and finished 4th out of about 16 guys. Moto 2 I botched the gate drop and made a few mistakes, which caused me to get 5th in moto 2, for 4th overall. Everybody raced well and had a great time! Got video of Moto 1, will link through youtube when I get it edited and uploaded.
May 26 2016
Here's Moto 2 at Polka Dots this past Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3njqwDH5Es
May 23 2016
Races at Polka Dots yesterday were..... interesting to say the least. Practice went off without a hitch, but I was thrown through a bit of a loop with them running the track backwards this year. Somewhere between the last lap of practice and the gate drop of Moto 1 my rear brake stopped working. Between that, a front brake that leaves much to be desired, and dry loam, my corner speed wasn't the greatest. Also figured out the main jet is a bit too large when I blubbered out of the first gate drop.
Gate drop of Moto 2 was considerably better, got it cleared out and was battling with a few other CR500s for the holeshot. That was about the only good thing that I did well that moto. On the first lap I fell in the finish line S-curve due to the front tire washing out (too much front brake and dry loam). Was able to recover from that and crash on the last lap because of the same reason. This time though, my right leg got stuck under the bike. (You're not having fun until you're stuck under a CR500 that's happily idling away in third gear with the rear tire tryna take a bite out of your foot!) One of the vintage guys stopped racing, pulled off, and helped me to my feet. Decided to let him finish ahead of me for him helping me out, it was about the only thing I could do to repay him for what he did.
I do have gopro footage of practice and both motos. I'll be linking them via YouTube once I get them uploaded.
May 9 2016
Yesterday, the Michigan Vintage Motocross club lost a dearly beloved member; Kevin Stone. He had a hard crash during practice, and passed later that day due to his injuries. It put a large cloud over us for the rest of the race day, and everybody tried to not push their limits... I ended up getting 7th overall on the 1986 CR500, and -considering what happened earlier that day- I am perfectly content with that result.
Also, last week I received Ryno Powers 'Gold Medal Package'. Between using that and hitting the gym, my strength and endurance on the bike has increased noticeably. Thank you to Ryno Power and all the other companies that continue to support me; it GREATLY helps keep this sport affordable!
If you would, keep the Stone family and the Michigan Vintage Motocross club in your prayers...
Ride in Paradise, 17E. Keep the tracks well rutted until the rest of us arrive.
Apr 22 2016
Finally found a minute to give an update on everything.
The first VMX race at Bulldogs went very well! Our group (Michigan Vintage Motocross) had the largest number of entries to date: 61! I ended up getting 9th out of 19 racers. Still getting used to some new things I've done to the old 86' CR500; and still trying to get back into riding shape.
I don't think I'll be going to the race at Big Air MX this weekend; my tow vehicle has been acting up recently. I also broke my back there nearly two years ago, so I'm not too terribly fond of the track.. If I get my truck sorted out I'll probably go to practice at Twisted MX instead. I should be making it to the May 8th Vintage Race at Portland!
I've also been slowly working on a Eric Geboers 1989 RC500 replica. I have a coke-bottle swingarm ordered, got custom Sunstar rims and black Talon Hubs. Also have a DynoPort Big Volume exhaust and awesome numberplate backgrounds from Factory Backing! It's not much to look at now, but as progress is made I'll be uploading pictures.