Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

Good morning and welcome to another edition of the Monday Gate Drop presented by DeCal Works. As I’ve said many times, if you need a brand new, awesome set of custom graphics then DeCal Works is the place to go. Just log onto www.decalmx.com and in minutes you can design any type of graphics that you want. It’s that easy. You design it and they will ship it right to your door with detailed installation instructions.

I hope everyone had a great weekend right across this awesome country of ours. In Ontario, at least it was an absolute beautiful weekend as the sun was shining and the temperatures were perfect. I spent my weekend around two different sports as Saturday morning my son was playing in a hockey tournament in Collingwood, ON, then on Sunday we made our way down to the sands of Gopher Dunes for the AMO/ CMRC Amateur National Qualifier. As I mentioned, the weather on Sunday was amazing as the Schuster Family had the track in pristine condition for everyone in attendance. Even the mini track has some changes made to it as a few jump faces were peaked up and a really cool set of whoops were added.

Gopher Dunes was in true Gopher Dunes shape yesterday for the AMO/ CMRC event. photo by James Lissimore

Although I’ve attended numerous events at Gopher Dunes in the last few years, I actually haven’t ridden the track in almost six years. I really have no explanation as to why, because during my serious racing days I always enjoyed racing there. Anyway, back in March when the 2015 AMO/CMRC schedule was released, my son made me promise that this weekend I would load up my bike and go play in the sand with him. Well, as the Dads out there know, when you make a promise like that it’s pretty much a done deal.

I’ve been riding a long time, and like most vet riders I have that comfort zone that doesn’t like to get disturbed, because of that I kind of go into each race these days without getting too nervous. However, heading into yesterday I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs (yes, I really did just say that). For some reason, riding a 450 in deep sand like Gopher Dunes has always freaked me out a little bit, simply because of the few times when I’ve attempted it, things didn’t always work out. The relationship between rider and a four-stroke takes on an entirely new meaning in the sand. Gone are the brief but crucial moments when you can relax and take a short break. I think because of the power, the weight and the engine braking, you really have to work harder than you used to in the two-stroke days to keep a 450 straight and somewhat on top of the deep sand. Long gone are the days of floating over bumps and free-wheeling into turns. Now you have to continuously drive the four-stroke in every section of sand and it takes an incredible amount of energy. While I had a tremendous amount of respect before for these modern riders that can ride sand well on these new bikes, after yesterday that respect has turned to true admiration.

While having said all of that, I can tell you that I accepted that challenge yesterday and got completely out of my comfort zone. In the end I had a blast trying to ride the rough Gopher Dunes circuit. At times I was able to find some somewhat smooth lines, but at other times I was forced to just pound through the three feet deep holes. I felt like a mixture of Colton Facciotti and Kyle Keast, albeit about twenty seconds a lap slower than those sand monsters. It was an awesome day and I couldn’t have survived it without my newly serviced suspension by MB1 Suspension. My Sturgess Cycle KXF450 worked great yesterday and it was only because of MB1 Suspension.

Luke Tricco was on the gas yesterday at Gopher Dunes and won the overall in the 85 7-11 class.

Actually, even though yesterday was rough and challenging for all the riders at Gopher Dunes, everyone I spoke to after the race raved about just how much fun they had. While there were many great performances yesterday, the two that stood out to me were the rides by Mikey Walker and young Luke Tricco. Both of these Moto Park sponsored riders dug deep during their second motos and not only won them, but also won the overalls in the Vet Junior and 85 7-11 classes. As I said, those were just two of the many solid rides that stood out yesterday at Gopher Dunes. Good job to everyone who survived yesterday’s tough conditions!!

Going from jubilation to a little sombre news, Nathan Bles was at Gopher Dunes yesterday with his freshly broken arm in a sling. As all of you know by now, Nathan crashed this past week and broke his humerus bone. It’s a pretty bad break and one that will require surgery this coming week. Nathan mentioned that he hopes to be back later this summer at either Sand Del Lee or Deschambault but at this point it’s too early make any sort of predictions. This is heart breaking for Bles as he spent almost all winter down south working his butt off to prepare for the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan, and with this injury he may have to wait until next year. This is the cruel side of our sport. Unfortunately we see this type of stuff happen way too often. Remember just a few weeks ago another one of Canada’s top young pros, Dylan Kaelin, suffered a season ending knee injury while doing his team photo shoot. Dylan had also spent the better part of the winter in warmer climates training hard so that he could try to improve on his breakthrough, eighth place finish last summer in the MX1 class.

Redemption Racing KTM rider Nathan Bles was injured last week while practicing and will miss at least the first half of the 2015 series. This is very sad news indeed. photo by James Lissimore.

However, as they say, the gate will drop this weekend in Kamloops regardless of who’s there and that is a fact of racing. Nathan Bles and Dylan Kaelin are two very different individuals, but one of the traits they share is that they’re both very determined and not afraid of hard work. This no doubt will serve them well as they recover from these injuries and hopefully they’ll come back stronger than ever.

As I mentioned, the nationals kick off this weekend in Kamloops, BC and I believe we’re all in for a treat. Both the MX1 and MX2 classes are going to be stacked with talent and the racing is going to be incredible. I’m actually leaving on Wednesday morning for Vancouver to get a head start on the opening round festivities. On Thursday I will be attending a media launch in Whistler for the all new Chevy Colorado pick-up truck, which will be a little different for me and MXP Magazine. While in Whistler, the attending media are going to get to not only test drive this new truck, but we’ll also be going hiking and mountain biking. The entire experience sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun so stay tuned to read all about it. After my visit to the Whistler area, I then fly to Kamloops on Friday to join my motocross family for round one of the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals. Please check back with www.mxpmag.com tomorrow for a complete MX1 and MX2 preview where we’ll talk to experts Ryan Lockhart and Kyle Beaton to get their thoughts on what might go down in the first four rounds of this awesome series.

Who is ready for the start of the 2015 Rockstar Energy Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan? photo by James Lissimore

Well, that’s it for me this week. Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a great week. For riders in Ontario, here is the updated AMO/CMRC schedule as a few dates have recently changed, including this coming weekend where the location of the event has been changed to Moto Park. As I said, have a great weekend and ride safe!

Please Note the stars are new dates and venues:
****May 31 – Motopark AMO ANQ #3 (ATV’s Included)
June 14 – Walton AMO ANQ #4 (Vintage Included)
****June 20 – Walton AMO RD2 Provincial Series (ATV’s/Vintage Included)
June 27-28 – Motopark Cup RDs 3-4
July 4-5 – – Sand Del Lee Cup RDs 3-4 Ironman Series/AMO, MMRS SPRING PROVINCIAL SERIES
July 11 – Gopher Dunes
July 12 – Gopher Dunes Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross National – RD5
July 18 – Sand Del Lee
July 19 – Sand Del Lee Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross National RD6
July 23-25 – Deschambault, QC Eastern Canadian Amateur National
August 10 – 16 – Walton Parts Canada Trans Can
September 12 – Motopark Open Practice
September 13 – Motopark AMO RD3 Provincial (ATVs)
Sept. 20 – Gullymor AMO RD4 Provincial (Vintage Included)
Sept. 26 – Sand Del lee MX101 Eastern Final
****September 27 – Walton AMO RD5 Provincial (Vintage Included)
October 4 – Gopher Dunes AMO RD6 Provincials (ATVs/Vintage Included)