Decal Works Presents The Monday Gate Drop

As we sit on the eve of the month that officially brings us Spring, and what most of us call the beginning of our riding season, the folks at DeCal Works are not only the proud sponsors of this Monday Gate Drop, but they’re also ready to get you the very best graphics this industry has to offer. All you have to do is log onto www.decalmx.com and within minutes and a few clicks of your mouse, you can design and order your very own set of custom graphics.

While I’m not sure what the weather is like where you live on this final day of February, but as I look out my home office window, it doesn’t really look like Spring is around the corner. The weather this past weekend in Southern Ontario continued to follow the trend of this Winter as yesterday was 10c and I even saw Social Media posts of people out riding. However, today is cold and snowy and tomorrow they’re calling for 15-20cm of snow. I guess there are still a few weeks until the official first day of Spring, so this weather is expected. I also noticed a lot of Social Media posts about some lucky people who are packing up and getting ready to head South to get some early season riding in. If you’re heading down South from Ontario and you usually use I-75 as your route, please check ahead as I believe the World’s longest Interstate has been closed all weekend through the Knoxville area. This is due to rocks falling onto parts of the highway so who knows how long it will be closed for. Anyway, check ahead so you can avoid any delays on your journey South.

Somewhere in heaven I bet there’s some pretty cool tracks getting built right now. R.I.P Chick!

As we’ve had to do on way too many occasions during these past few months, the motocross industry in Canada is mourning the passing of another member of our moto family. Ralph “Chick” Schumilas passed away this weekend after a long battle with Cancer. There aren’t too many people in our sport who didn’t enjoy the fruits of Chick’s labour during the late 1990s and early part of the 2000s. You see, Chick as he was known to almost everyone (I actually didn’t even know his real name until this weekend), Chick was one of the most well-known track builders in our sport. He made running a bull dozer look like a cross between a rodeo and a ballet, and at the time, no one did it better. Whether it was Ghost Hill, a bunch of National tracks, or numerous practice tracks, Chick was the man and he will be missed!

I have many memories of him from our days at the race track. He was not only one of most friendly and upbeat individuals, but he was also full of encouragement whenever it was time to race. As a racer at the time, one of the many things I liked about Chick was that he was very open to suggestion about track changes, and even sections he had just built. There were a few times I went to him to complain about a jump face or something that needed fixing; he was always very accommodating as he understood that we were the ones who had to go out and ride on the track and that sometimes things look different when you’re seated on a dozer. I think he loved watching riders race on his tracks as much as he loved building them, and to me that is pretty special.

My best ‘Chick’ story comes from the fall of 2000 when he drove two hours to my house to build me a SX-type track. I had rented a bull dozer for him, however, the one that I had rented had just returned from a rental where the person had put some bad diesel fuel in it. We obviously didn’t know this until Chick got 20 minutes into the job and the dozerstarted coughing, sputtering and losing power. We quickly figured out the issue and for the rest of the day, poor Chick had to stop every 20 minutes to drain the float until the water had worked its way out of the fuel.

I will never forget him getting on that dozer, putting in his ear plugs, turning the throttle wide open and then he was gone. Within a few short minutes one jump was built, and then two. He was a magician and I just sat there in awe watching him. After an hour, I had to go and take care of a few things, so before I left I asked him if he wanted anything for lunch. His reply was “Oh, I don’t know.” I asked him if he had any plans to eat something in the next eight hours that he was going to be on the dozer. He said that a water or two would be nice! Well, when I returned a few hours later I brought with me a sub and a cooler of water, and then my parents made him a huge dinner at the end of the day. When all was said and done, I couldn’t believe the work he did in just one day, it was amazing.

As I said, that was in the fall of 2000 so the track didn’t get a lot of laps on it as I was recovering from a shoulder injury. The following Spring, as the 2001 Toronto SX was approaching, I had invited a few riders up to get some much needed SX practice. During the week before Toronto I had the likes of Casey Johnson, Pedro Gonzales, Mike Treadwell, Chuck Mesley, and Sean Hamblin just to name a few. For two days we all rode my ‘Chick’ built track and had a blast. All of the riders loved it and when I mentioned that to Chick the next time I saw him, a huge smile came across his face. He will be missed on so many different levels, and he leaves us as not only a man, but as a true representation of one of the great eras in Canadian motocross.

Who’s ready to visit this building on March 12th?

I know this is a little short for a Monday Gate Drop, however, I’m going to leave it as a tribute to Chick. With the action that we saw on Saturday night in Atlanta, I am more excited than ever for the upcoming Toronto SX. Yes, we are less than two weeks away from the race inside the Rogers Centre, and judging by the ticket sales, I’m not the only one who is excited! This event is going to be the biggest ever in Toronto, and if the previous rounds are any indication, the racing is going to be incredible. I hope everyone has a great week and travel safe.

Finally, if you live in the Lindsay, Ontario area and you want to do some pre-season training, then head on over to the new GearHouse Training Studio and get some intense training done with Shandell Przybilla. She offers an AlphaMX program that will get you ready for the tough season ahead. Here is her info as well as Shandell’s first Monday Morning Gears Inspirational quote. Have fun and have a great week.