Monday Maniac #27

by gauldy107

Another weekend in the books and the celebration of Canada Day was a sweet success. The weather was absolutely spectacular in Southern Ontario and seemed to be the same just about everywhere in this beautiful nation of ours. So many Facebook pics, twit pics and general updates showed that people really enjoyed this long weekend. For me it was a weekend off, one that I have not had in about 10 years. I enjoyed the holiday by boating all weekend, riding on Saturday and many social beverages with good friends. It’s hard to rebound after a weekend like that, back to reality. Work pretty much sucks 24/7 no matter what you do so after having three days of rest and relaxation, getting to the Monday Maniac is a bit of a tough one. I mean, who really reads this crap I spit out anyway, right? LOL

Hope everybody enjoyed the Canada Day long weekend as much as I did.

Okay, first thing’s first. Ryan Lockhart seems to be full of confidence right now. Bets are being thrown around everywhere regarding his racing at Gopher Dunes in less than two weeks. Back in 2012 I got off the couch and rode for the Monster Leading Edge Kawasaki team. It was a great experience; I went 14-14 that day in the MX2 class at Ste-Julie. It was such a good time because of what came during and after the event. A pool of money began from within the industry that day on what my finishes would be. Not one person guessed the scores that I finished with, and the pool of money was somewhere around 250 bucks, if I remember correctly. We are going to do this again and it starts now. I want to raise well over $250 and have sort of like a 50/50 draw for the Gopher Dunes National. Just predict how you think Ryan Lockhart will finish. So far Matt Lee, Brad McLean, Frankie Bellissimo, Iain Hayden and I are all in. If you can guess Newf’s moto scores you will get half the pot with the rest of the money going to the Injured Riders Fund. Last time I did this, like I said, nobody won so all the money went to the fund. It was a lot of fun and putting a little wager on it and giving that money to help our fellow downed riders was such a success. This is all cash and it will be for those who attend the race at Gopher on July 14th. Hopefully we will see you all there. Come to see me if you want to join in on the fun of “How do you think the Newf will do?” You can give any amount. So far we are near the $100 dollar mark. I’m sure Mr. Popular, Ryan Lockhart, can garner well more than the 250 I raised!!!

Ryan Lockhart is super confident right now, or is it cocky? It’s not cocky if you back it up!!

I think it could be time for an update on “MXP Leads the Way”, the program where MXP donates $500 to three riders to help them get to Steel City on the September long weekend at the end of the summer. I actually haven’t chatted any rider yet as I will pick these guys at the end of July. The frontrunners have to be Colton Facciotti, Tyler Medaglia, Dusty Klatt, Jay Burke, Jeremy Medaglia, Dylan Kaelin, Jared Allison, Parker Allison, and Kyle Beaton. I’m not giving the money to an America rider (sorry guys), I’m also not giving the money to a rider that doesn’t race our nationals (sorry Cole Thompson). I wanted to help the riders that support our series and are from Canada. Now the question is who will surge to the front of this pack and take the dough that I will be presenting after Ste-Julie? This could be a tough choice, plus we have to figure out what riders are even thinking of doing it. I know Dylan Kaelin mentioned way back at the beginning of the year that he was into it. I remember Team Royal Distributing KTM Red Bull Fox Team Manager, Andy White, asking if this was also for factory riders (yes it is). So there is some interest, and who doesn’t like free money? This $500 will basically pay for sign in and the license to race; the rest will be up to the racer to make it happen. MXP will be publishing a big story about the race and the program in the issue following Steel City, and will give as much love as possible for the three riders that are picked. We have been raising money all summer for this project and so far the feedback has been outstanding from our followers. We have nearly already hit the mark of $1500 (by selling T’s, hats, subscriptions), and whatever we get over and above will be given to the Injured Riders Fund.

MXP leads the way. Who do you think deserves the money? E-mail me gauldy@mxpmag.com

The last update coming your way is the Charity event that will be held in October at Motopark. Iain Hayden and I will be doing a one-off event on the final weekend of October with a Halloween theme around it. Stay tuned for more on that in the months to come.

ECAN this weekend in Deschambault. Who’s going? I am.

Well that’s all I have this week. No insight, no drama, no bitching, no theories. Hopefully you guys still read it and want to be a part of the upcoming ideas we have here under the MXP wing. Cheers