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Betty Blog #30

I remember getting Motocross Action Magazine. I would read the thing cover to cover until the cover fell off. I loved Jody’s Box written by the editor, Jody Weisel. I imagined living in California with the gang, hitting races at old Chicken Licks Raceway. I read the race reports over and over, especially the ones on the big amateur races. I remember seeing photos of Brian Swink and Buddy Antunez, and being envious of their cool mini rides wishing I had a DMC Kawasaki or R&D Suzuki. It was the latest news in the world of motocross that happened...three months prior. The world has changed.

Do you Twitter? Not too long ago, that was an absurd question. If I had asked most people five years ago that very question, no one would understand. However Twitter, the instant message service that allows basically anyone to share information and pictures from their mobile phone immediately within seconds, any information can be blasted around the world.

Did you know Josh Hansen has been hanging with Kelly Osborne -- Ozzy’s daughter? Did you know that Josh Grant was bored at a MRi yesterday after a crash at Southwick? Did you know that Chad Reed hopes to be back riding next week? Did you know Ryan Villopoto is going hunting in Alaska? Instantly, we are updated with interesting to disturbing to pointless updates from our heroes, friends and people we could care less about, and that is for the most part Twitter.

This year would be the year of Twitter in motocross. A huge influx of riders began using Twitter to update fans, sponsors and friends. Twitter gives us insight into the happenings that we do not always see or hear in tight little 140 character tags. Log on to a Twitter list that has riders, industry and reporters sharing their thoughts. You can get a behind the scenes feel, and up to the minute scoring of any race. Last weekend on my way home, I watched my phone Twitter update from Southwick. I knew when Jeremy Medaglia crashed, Nick Wey giving a shout out to John Dowd, read how Steve Matthes sat and ate pizza with Jason Thomas, Trey Canard and Timmy Ferry after the race. It is a background glimpse into the race, the lives and the people of our sport.

I started tweeting, twitter updates, twits, whatever you call it this year. It is hard to be witty on these things, and hard not to feel like you are talking to yourself (which you kind of are), but people appreciate it. Twitter is a shared experience for those who cannot and even those who can be, in our case, at the races. Parents who cannot be at the races, riders not yet at the track, or people just wandering the pits  interested in what is happening all get to be in the know and so many have said to me...thanks.

Where does it go from here? I don't really know. Video streams, information feeds, opportunities for people to share multiple experiences from multiple locations around the world and eventually beyond. For me it is about following my sport, and as a fan, an opportunity to feel like a behind the scenes member. It is just one more way to know about the athletes, happenings and the people in motocross.

Williams' World #13

I know, I suck again, another gap since my last blog. Since Gauldy is the only one that reads it and he’s my boss, luckily I only have to put up with grumpy phone calls and emails from him. (Just kidding)

Even bell gets into the fun at indi - sort of

I’m happy to be back as it’s been crazy for the last two weeks, and also the moto world in Ontario. Deano continues to do well south of the border, and there was another big race in Walton; sadly another missed Walton experience for me. While my old friends Richard Grey and Kyle Stephens are out there making new waves in the pro ranks, I have been involved with the western swing of the Know Show. The Know Show is an action sports trade show that most of the snow/skate/surf/bikini shops from Manitoba west come out for. There’s a golf tournament, soccer game, parties at night, a bar, and DJs blasting tunes at the actual show. Overall it’s a good atmosphere. We do this twice a year out west; there are two in the east (one in Quebec and one in Ontario - twice a year), and a number of big ones in the US. To that end, we also have big national/regional golf shows that we set up booths for to showcase new product. I still can’t figure out why the motorcycle industry in Canada doesn’t have something like what they do in Indianapolis for the US. It would be at this Canadian ‘Indy’ show where we as brands, distributors, etc. would set up booths to showcase new product to the accounts before they are available in stores. It would also be at this show that the accounts would book what they wanted to bring in for the spring to be ahead of the game for the benefit of the consumer. It also allows distributors for brands like us at Rampion to be better prepared for what is hot and what is not, therefore being better educated to bring in the proper amount of product that is forecasted to sell for the season. Instead, the reps have to visit each account, present to each buyer (if they give you the time) and compile a list of orders. This works and would continue to work, but doesn’t give the vibe and atmosphere that I feel the Canadian motorcycle industry ever so badly needs.

Team ogio at the know show golf tourney

There are pros and cons for both, but in any case I don’t understand why this hasn’t even been discussed within the industry. There are obviously bike and sled shows for the consumer, which usually go off great, but this is when the accounts/distributors already have the product and are trying to sell them!

I think with one national show in Canada each year, it would allow the accounts across the country a chance to rub shoulders at the industry parties or on the show floor, and for the accounts, for voices to be better heard by the manufacturers and distributors that are selling the product to the trade. I seriously think that this is something that the Canadian market is lacking and everyone is trying to figure out why and how the industry continues to take a dive. There’s no doubt that the labour and shipping crisis overseas has something to do with this, but everyone pooling together to try to increase the hype of the sports and the brands in a collective manner would, in my opinion, help combat the tough times we are going through.

This is the kind of fun we have a the indi dealer expo

Anyways, back to my excuse for the lack of a blog over the last week. After the Know Show in Vancouver, we then had all of our golf reps come into town for sales meetings for next year’s new golf products.
One thing of interest is our new underwear line that we are launching globally that will cater to every industry we are in and then some! This brand is owned by a good friend of mine and his partner, Colorado Avalanche’s Scott Hannan. It takes men’s comfort in underwear to a whole new level!
Check out www.mypakage.com. I have no doubt that this is going to be the most exciting and new brand out there in the moto, snow/skate, golf, and overall sports industries since the introduction of the bra for women! We already have players from the Canucks, Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche testing and using the product. In Canada, top Canadian Freestylers Jeff Fehr and Reagan Sieg are wearing them, racers Kyle Beaton, Colton Facciotti and Richard Grey too, and the biggest news being legendary Canadian racer, TV host, bike tester, future pro Wiffle Golf legend and mouth, Ryan Gauld is now actually wearing underwear, and they are PKG’s!

Kyle Beaton raced walton while testing the PKG's

I also forgot to congratulate to OGIO’s Travis Pastrana for another X Games gold medal, and to OGIO’s Jordan Szoke for setting a new Canadian record. Szoke took home his seventh title with a perfect season in the Canadian National Superbike Championship. Szoke earned all seven pole positions and all seven victories making him the only Superbike racer to have done so in history. Jordan also closes off the season with the most National Superbike Championships ever won by a Canadian road racer with, ironically, seven.  ”This is a dream come true,” says Szoke. “There has never been a perfect season in motorcycling other than Ricky Carmichael, so to share that statistic with someone like him is pretty special.”

A record setting Jordan Szoke with his babies

I’m off to a wedding party, then a wedding tomorrow, some family time with my sister who is in town, and then hopefully I’ll go for a bike ride and take in a game of golf this weekend. Enjoy the rest of your August and keep your drives straight down the fairway!

Betty Blog #29

My son jumped his bicycle off the dock nose first just now. It took about five minutes to formulate the idea, figure out a plan, set it up and then ultimately summon the bravery to do it. We are on vacation in Northern Ontario, way north, as in about two and a half hours west of Thunder Bay at Melody’s Dad`s home, which sits on a secluded lake. It is a quiet, welcoming place (unless you’re the black bear who’s been tipping the garbage). We decided at the last minute to come here, although we’ve been planning since last Trans Can to take a week off to recharge before the fall season of motocross. Melody, my son and his best buddy (both eight), Melody’s 88 year old grandma, and Gary, our dog, and I drove here straight in a 17 hour marathon all night.

6:00am - Sunday. I wrote the intro Saturday, sat down on a couch and fell asleep.  I am now sitting on the deck by myself. The lake is smooth as glass and a small layer of mist hovers above.  One week ago, at this very time I was walking towards the track and passed the main tent on the final day of the Walton Trans Can, and more so, the final day of the 2010 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals. That day and that time of day is a moment at that event you completely feel; it is tangible. The week leading up to the event is exhausting, emotional, stressful and yes, exhilarating.  The week of the 2010 Walton Trans Can was fantastic this year. The track crew did an amazing job, the racing was top notch, and the weather smiled on us despite the forecast. As I walked, looking out at the track, I could see the end. The luck, the great racing we had witnessed, we needed one more day, ten more hours for the pieces to fall into place. We got it despite the 100 percent chance of thunderstorms. There were blue skies, a warm breeze and fantastic racing.

Monday - 6:30am.  My eyes pop open, and I look around to orient myself. I can hear an eagle that has found the fish we laid out on a log for it the previous night. Originally, we talked about going away the Monday after the Nationals to just get away and take a breath. At big events or a series like the Monster Energy MX Nationals, when you work them they become ingrained in your routine. My eyes popped open last Monday at the same time, as they will each day for weeks to come. Last week it was anxiety; I couldn’t sleep in. I was thinking “Do I need to be at the track?” It is what riders are talking about when they talk about the grind. Your body and your mind become tuned to training, riding, and racing, and the same happens in running events, managing teams, or working with riders. Your body becomes a tightly wound spring that cannot just be clicked open and released. The grind calls your body awake for weeks leading up to the occasion, plus it takes weeks to wind down.

Tuesday and it is just after lunch. The sun is perfect and warm, and a cold beer sits next to me. The dock ramp is old hat now and the boys are trying to lure an old bass from under the dock into a net. The bass is clearly using his advantage of intelligence on the boys, and when they stop to strategize, he steals the skanky worm they used that was floating on the water. It is good, and I watch the two begin to blame each other for being outwitted by the fish. Down time from any type of work allows your mind to wander, and often inventory life. Family and friends, health and a life we can love, doing things we love.  Sunday at Walton, as my Dad walked up on the stage with the sword, was all before me. My family around me working on what they love, good friends next to me and all around in the sport, and the place they love to be. My son, proudly standing in the winners’ circle next to Bobby Kiniry’s bike, and Melo chatting happily to some friends behind the stage. Sitting here typing, more than that very moment, I see it is the things and people I love, the sport I love despite the exhaustion, and just like the perfect sun and my cold beer right now, it is the life I love.