Dual-Sport Double-Header Weekend (Buena Vista, VA)

With a motorcycle camping trip planned for the same weekend as VCHSS's final race of the season, I scurried to combine the two events into one weekend. That meant that I'd have to figure out a way to carry a second motorcycle on my used-and-abused jetski trailer. I chose to build two plaftorms to orient the motos perpindicular to the trailer and had the rig fabricated by Friday afternoon.



My two friends Whit and Brian would leave Richmond on their dual-sports while I trailered mine to the VCHSS race at Oak Ridge Estate. Once there, I unloaded the KTM and rendezvoused with them at the entrance. From there we set off westward toward Buena Vista.



The fall colors were in full swing, as yellow and red leaves fell from the trees above and littered the gravel roads we were navigating. Along the way we encountered a couple of cyclists pedaling the same gravel road. As we stopped to snap photos they'd catch us, then we'd remount the motos and pass them, leap-frogging a few times along the way.



Once in Buena Vista, we grabbed lunch at JJ's Meat Shak. With full bellies we headed back into the National Forest to explore and find a campsite for the night.

We found a spot off a relatively unused, overgrown trail. Once we'd unloaded our bikes and set up tents & hammocks, we jumped back on the bikes to do more exploring with less weight. Eventually we came across a far better spot with an established fire ring and water nearby, so we decided to abandon our original spot for the new one. Just before dark we had reestablished our home for the night and a few minutes later had a fire started, further bolstered by a passerby in a shortbus that gifted us a bundle of predried wood!

The next morning we rose just before sunrise, struck camp and would have been on our way if my KTM had cooperated. Perhaps because of the cold air, it did not want to fire up. As we were positioned at the bottom of a hill, we decided to tow the KTM to the top and try bump-starting my bike. After two tries it worked, but the time we'd lost meant I'd have to forego breakfast with the guys and head directly to my race back at Oak Ridge Estate. By 9am I was at the site, switching gear and bikes before the 10:45am start.

At the start line I talked with my fellow racers for a few minutes before we set off for three 10 mile loops of the newly-cut trail. As usual, I was kickstarting while most of my class took off, but with a long section in the field, I was back with the group before entering the woods. The course was extremely fun - high speed with good grip and sight lines. During the first lap I picked off a few of my fellow racers, but a stall in traffic meant I'd have to repeat those passes again.

By the end of the lap I was back in 7th place. I gained a couple more spots, but stalled again and fell to the back of the pack. Probably in a but of a rush to catch my class, I clipped a tree, sending me into another for a violent stop.

After the wreck, I gathered myself from the ground and walked to the bike to find both radiators and plastics mangled after the fall. A course marshal came to my aid and guided me out of the woods so I could limp the bike back to the trailer without overheating it too badly.

Although it wasn't the ending I'd have liked, I'm glad to have walked away from the crash without any serious injuries. I'll have some time to repair the bike also, given that the next race won't be until the next season starts in March.



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VCHSS Pipsico Scout Reservation (Spring Grove, VA)

Start, start, START DAMNIT!!!

For whatever reason, my YZ was not in the mood to race. The usual start sequence is slowly kicking over the engine a few times to "prime the pump" then one or two kicks at top dead center and it's ready to roll. Not this time, though. With three people taking turns and a few slight sputters to give us hope, we must've kicked that damn thing 200 times!

Luckily, my friend Todd saved the day again, loaning me his KTM 250 XC-F for my race.

Although I did stall his non-Rekluse bike several times, I was able to adjust to the different bike and walk away in second place.

Now to figure out what's going on with my YZ...



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VCHSS Coyote Run (Rural Retreat, VA)

After pedaling the mountain bike in West Virginia for the past three days [and sitting out the last two harescrambles], I was a bit curious how rusty I'd be once I threw a leg over my YZ.

Luckily, I adjusted to the feeling of the dirt bike within the first lap and actually felt relatively fresh despite the hours I'd logged on the mountain bike.

The bike started on the second kick and I entered the woods with a couple riders behind me [instead of watching the field ride away from me like usual]. One fall in the deep silt taught me to pay more respect to the soft surface and I was back on the bike in seconds to regain my position among the pack.

The first lap was largely ridden with caution, but I emerged from the woods in 6th. On the next lap I was in the company of most of the rest of my class and one-by-one I made my way around them to secure first place! I slipped by a couple other riders [from other classes] and did my best to put some room between myself and second place.

By the end of the second lap, I was relatively confident I could keep the position, so I decided to moderate my speed and stay on the bike. Strangely enough, though, it was in my third and fourth laps that I had my biggest wrecks! I was bucked by the tail of the YZ going over a hump, which nearly threw me over the handlebars! Later, I pinballed between a set of trees, came off of the bike, and watched it roll about thirty feet without me!

In any case, I stayed in first and finished out the fourth lap with nothing more that a bent radiator.



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Thomas, WV

For the Labor Day weekend, my wife Rebecca and I decided to visit one of our favorite towns in West Virginia - Thomas. We left on a Wednesday night and stayed at a tiny home AirBnb just above the town.

While we were there, we worked remotely and rode the nearby trails:

JR Davis Trail

The JR Davis trail is within the Thomas City Park. It's short & sweet, offering a quick 3 mile loop to wear out our new puppy, Bianca!

Moon Hoodoo Rocks Trail

This is one of my favorites in the Davis/Thomas area. It's a challenging climb that ends at an otherworldly landscape of mine-scarred rocks.

Rock Shocks Trail

An alternate inner-loop of Moon Rocks is the lower-elevation ride by the Yellow Creek.

Promise Land Trail

Within the Canaan Valley State Park, this loop is a gentle, flowing loop with amazing sights of the surrounding beauty of Canaan Valley.







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Chattanooga, TN

For my wife Rebecca's birthday weekend, we decided to visit her brother and his wife at their new home in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

On a Wednesday night, we set our sights southward, driving through the night to about an hour from our final destination. The next morning we finished the drive to greet our hosts in the early afternoon.

After grabbing lunch with her brother and his wife, Rebecca and I hopped on our bikes to explore Ridge Road and its Civil War placards every 100 yards or so.

The next day we headed to Racoon Mountain to challenge ourselves with what proved to be an absolutely brutal climb!



On Saturday, Matt and Rachel planned a kayaking trip for us on the Hiwassee River. After the grueling ride on Friday, a relaxing float was just what the doctor ordered!



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VCHSS River's Edge (Sandy Level, VA)

After more than a month off the dirt bike, I was excited to jump back on the YZ for a run in the woods!



Our heat was relatively full this time around with twelve of us lining up in the 40+C class.



Slick red clay was the theme of the race, so I decided to play it safe and improve my lap times by staying on the bike. Even with that mindset, I did slide out a few times. None, however, resulted in a stalled bike, so I was usually up and running again quickly.



The course featured tight wooded sections that opened up to field sections with whoops and jumps. On the first lap I took my time, but each lap after that I felt comfortable sending the bike into the air, as I'm gaining more and more confidence doing so.



By the end of four laps I'd reached 3rd place, a finish I was happy to accept given the lack of riding beforehand.



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Big Bear Bike Bash (Bruceton Mills, WV)

This fourth trip to the Big Bear Lake Trail Center (whether part of the Fall Funduro, Dirt Rag Dirt Fest, or Big Bear Bike Bash), I was eager to share the experience with some friends.

Joining me this year were my friend Andrew (usually part of our moto camping crew), Joe (former neighbor) and Adam (current neighbor).

Joe and I had ridden Slatyfork earlier this summer, so he was relatively familiar with what to expect. Adam and Andrew, though, weren't quite sure what was in store for them!



Since Rebecca was attending her neice's wedding in Quebec, I was tasked with watching our three dogs for the weekend. In the past, I had good luck keeping them cool by periodically wetting their coats with water. This year, though, I found a misting fan at the last-minute. The fan sat atop a 5 gallon bucket and ran off a powertool battery, floating a light mist a few feet. The contraption worked wonderfully and the dogs were treated to a comfortable "air conditioning" beneath the Crosstrek's awning.



The weekend consists of a plethora of group rides, skills clinics, food & gear vendors, and live entertainment. When we arrived on Friday we set up camp and began to study the calendar of events, each picking out some rides or clinics to add to the "must-do" list.

To start the weekend, we took a quick warmup on the Demo Route, then Adam headed to a clinic while the other three of us joined a group ride. It was a creative route, highlighting some great trails within the network.

A hot shower and personal pizza from Doan's Bones had us in high spirits to cap off day one of the event.

Sunday started with a "guided ride" (to be explained later in this post) at 8am. After that relatively high-intensity effort, I gorged on some food & drink before taking Andrew to see The Crack trail. In my opinion, it's one of the coolest trails at Big Bear, and you have to experience it each visit. Joe and Adam had accidentally turned a short ride into a long epic, so they sat out the ride. Andrew was a little exhausted also, so he wisely chose to demo an E-bike from the Specialized tent.



We set off down Little Canaan for some challenges within its rock gardens. Once through that section, we popped out to the country store for an ice cream break before taking the Roadside Trail to the entrance gate. Across the street from there began the Jump Trail which eventually led to the Crack Trail.

When we reached the crack itself, I approached the end of the crack with confidence that my handlebars would fit [since I thought they had before], only to find out that they wouldn't! The bars wedged themselves between the immovable rocks and I came to an abrupt halt! After laughing about the situation for a moment, I yanked on the bar a few times and eventually freed it from the wedge.



By the time Andrew and I were out of the woods, it was time to put the E-bike to good use. I held onto Andrew's hip pack and told him to switch to TURBO MODE! The E-bike towed us back into camp and Andrew returned it with still more than 50% of battery life left.

And now, back-to-the-beginning of the day...

This year I was set to lead the "Feat of Skill & Strength Championship of the World" after winning the event last time around. Not being all too familiar with the trails, Chuck Morris agreed to take me on a tour of his route from the previous year as we crafted the circuit of challenges for 2023.

I'd also crafted a trophy/plaque for the winner to take home with our new plasma table at work:



With the new route and trophy prepared, I was all set to lead the ride on Sunday morning. The weather, however, had other plans.

On Saturday afternoon the rain rolled in as Joe, Adam, and I set off for a short ride. It pummeled us and we were saturated from head-to-toe in no time. After changing into dry clothes and rain gear, we hunkered down under my awning for a couple hours, monitoring our campsite as it gathered standing water under our feet.

Eventually the rain let up just long enough to enjoy that night's band, but once we returned to our tents the rain returned - continuing through the night and letting up eventually on Sunday morning. Although we weren't being rained ON anymore, our gear (and especially shoes!) were still soaking wet, so we packed up the soggy remains of camp and decided to forego the competition for the promise of a warm shower back at home.

I found Chuck on our way out and gave him the trophy. He agreed to lead the ride if anyone showed. With that, we were off - arriving in Richmond in the early afternoon with time enough to lay out soggy camping gear to dry (before rain in Richmond again soaked it that night!).

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Asheville, NC

It seems that several of my friends that previously rode BMX are now getting into mountain biking. Maybe age has something to do with it ;-)

When my friend Puck invited me to Asheville to join a group of six guys staying just outside Pisgah National Forest, I jumped at the opportunity.

One in our group had never ridden and didn't own a bike, so we chose to start our trip at Ride Rock Creek, where he could rent one. The park just opened last year, offering shuttle service to the top of the mountain. It's a very similar feel to Windrock - no surprise as it was the brainchild of Neko Mullaly who had a main role in the elevation of Windrock with new trails and race series. In fact, this summer Ride Rock Creek held the second round of the Downhill Southeast series.

We took our first run as a group down the Green River Trail. We expected something mild to start the day, but even that trail was a scorcher!

At the bottom, we assured our new rider Matt that most greens aren't nearly as steep or fast, then we split into separate groups to explore the rest of the trails throughout the day.

Around noon we met back at the vehicles to down some food and a beer, and to check up on everyone's experiences thus far. After that, we headed back up to ride for a few more hours before reconvening for another group ride down one of the blue trails. Evidenced by several of us biffing on that run, we decided that fatigue must have set in and chose to call it a day and head back to the cabin to relax.

The next day five of us met our friend Chris that lives in the area to ride Trace Ridge. It was the perfect mix of technical climbing and blazing descents we were looking for! We finished our ride just as the rain began, which seemed like a perfect time to pack up and head to Mills River Brewing for lunch.



After three days of riding (we shuttled on Friday too), we were pretty exhausted, so our final night was our most tame. The next morning we cleaned the cabin, packed our cars, and headed home.

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VCHSS Peninsula Classic (Windsor, VA)

With a live start scheduled for our "Hamtown" race, I was excited for a promising start without the fear of being left behind by my class, should my Yamaha choose to be reluctant to kickstart.



As expected, my class of ten riders entered the woods at roughly the same time. I began to look for passing opportunities but unfortunately stalled the bike while slowing for a stopped rider. Although my bike has the Rekluse clutch, it usually takes a moment to warm up the engine before it's reliably "stallproof."

While I attempted to restart, those I'd passed quickly got around me. Eventually I was up and running again, but now with no one in my class within sight. I settled in with Lory & Mike from the next class. Passing opportunities were scarce and with Lory & Mike battling for first place within their class, I knew they wouldn't be willing to pull wide to let me by.



After a couple laps, though, I did manage to get by them and set my sights toward catching those in my class. A few had gone down while I was with Lory & Mike, so I knew I wasn't too far from the front. On one of the trips through the start/finish I saw that I was actually in 2nd place! I doubted I'd see Brent Lilly, but to my surprise I did actually catch him on the last lap!



When we reached a stuck rider I took an alternate line, smashing through a couple saplings and eventually emerging from the woods ahead of Brent. For the first time in the race, I let myself go full throttle to ensure that I could keep the position. It worked out - no falls and no sign of Brent nipping at my heels for the remainder of the lap.

I dismounted after passing the finish line to see how the battle between Lory & Mike would end. I saw Mike appear from the trees with Lory right behind him. They both gassed it through the short field before the finish line and Mike was able to hold off Lory by barely a wheel!



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VCHSS Hillbilly (Rural Retreat, VA)

Welcome to the THUNDERDOME!!!



This was my first time at the Wythe Raceway, and it was one to remember! The start of the race and each subsequent lap was through the infield and outer loop of the banked dirt oval track. It was an eerie and exciting feeling to slide around the corners on the edge of control.

In the woods, there was relatively grippy mud, with offcamber root sections to keep you on your toes. Near the end of each lap, the singletrack widened and a motocross section emerged underneath the cover of trees. To say the least, this was my favorite course so far.



I had a decent start, and was near the front of my class of seven riders before sliding wide on a corner and chasing them into the woods in fourth place. Eventually I did reel them all in, showing 2nd place on the timing board as I headed into my second lap. On the start of that lap was the infield section. I passed a couple more riders (not in my class), but bumped the final rider in the middle of a turn, stopping my front wheel and forcing me to bail off the bike. I walked back to the bike only to watch several pass by. I slowly picked them off in the woods and was back in the hunt for first place within my class.

Eventually I caught the first place rider, Brent Lilly, and passed when an opportunity arose. As I approached one of the hillclimbs, I saw a mass of stuck riders completely blocking the way. My friend Lory went partially up the hill, but eventually came back down to where I was waiting for a path to emerge. Brent showed up and immediately tried to get around - and did! I was there for maybe a minute longer before deciding I could sneak around the outside to pass the struggling riders.

On the final lap, I decided to settle for second place since Brent probably had a decent lead after the hillclimb logjam. I let Lory by me so that he could battle for first in his class, which he successfully did. When I reached the finish line, I saw that Brent bested me by about a minute. I was glad to have made the decision I had in order to get through the day without incident.



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VCHSS Blue Ridge (Martinsville, VA)

After two days on the supermoto track, I think my legs were feeling a bit too "jello-ey" to be much of a competitor.

As usual, I was kickstarting while the rest of my class sped away from the start line, but luckily I knew the immediate bottleneck waiting just feet away would stack them up pretty well. In fact, I got tangled in a downed rider literally feet from the start.

Within probably the first five minutes, I'd slid sideways and off the bike for a moment, which was all the proof I needed to know this was going to be a "war of attrition."



I settled into place and decided to attempt to stay on the bike, rather than worry about jockeying for position.

After four laps, I finished in 7th out 11 riders. Still, though, I was happy to have completed the four laps without serious injury to the bike or myself.



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SMEC '23 - VIR (Alton, VA)

With all of the VCHSS races going on this summer, I really didn't expect to be available to ride or race this year's SMEC. As luck would have it, though, the VCHSS race ended up being only a short drive past VIR, so I was able to get in two days of SMEC practice before swapping dirt tires back onto the YZ for that Sunday's harescramble.

My wife Rebecca booked a hotel in South Boston for Friday so she could work remotely then join me at the track with our three dogs. I was also able to convince a couple of my VCHSS friends to stop by the track to check out supermoto for the first time. They were intrigued and I'm still holding out hope of making a few converts out of the harescramble crowd!



I was hoping to reconnect with a highschool friend who'd just gotten into miniGP racing. Unfortunately he broke his collarbone riding at CMP a couple weekends prior, so he was unable to attend the SMEC event.



It seemed to me that this year was the largest turnout I'd seen, including several new riders from New York. Also, a rider from Hickory, NC who was camping next to me. Another new face decided to make the drive after seeing my previous Youtube videos - just the effect I was hoping they would have to help inspire "newb's like me" to give the sport a try!



On Thursday we ran asphalt only while Steve Ingram shaped the dirt section, then on Friday we were unleashed to try our skills on the full course.



I liked the arrangement this time more than ever. The entrance featured a familiar jump, berm, and stepdown. Next, though, was a set of whoops followed by a berm before a double that was steep, but landed on a more mellow transition. Since that lip was so tall, you didn't have to worry about having a bunch of speed to clear. This was especially nice, since you didn't have to "shut it down" right away before the exit berm.

The first run, though, did claim a few riders as they had more speed than they needed - sending them over the final berm and/or crossing up the bars and collapsing INTO it.



I was one of the lucky few to stay on the bike the entire two days, although my very last run was capped with a near over-the-bars landing from the stepdown. I decided I'd tested fate enough and threw in the towel on that Friday afternoon.

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VCHSS Knockdown (Randolph, VA)

A decent start (last into the woods, but not by long) and a few passes during the first lap had me somewhere near the front of my class. Then, during a muddy climb after a water crossing, my chain came off the rear sprocket!



I was fortunate that a couple teeth were still holding on, allowing me to get it back on, but not before my entire class had passed me by.

After those three minutes or so off the bike, I didn't expect to see anyone in my class again. I just kept up the pace for the next couple laps and did eventually recognize Brandon Mills from my class. Once I snuck around him, I wondered if I might be able to catch anyone else. To my surprise, I saw Clint Showalter, then Brent Lilly, and Jeremy Brown. As I'd learned during earlier laps, many of the "passing lines" on this course were actually "traps" usually ending in trees too tight to fit through. I calmly waited for an actual opening to get around each rider and by the end of the race I had snagged 3rd place, even with a superman wreck right before the finish line [that took out several riders - some carted off to the ER].



Even with that over-the-bars moment, that final lap was the fastest of anyone in my class!

It was a a brutal race, but I was glad to come from behind and catch my class after what felt like an eternity trying to reposition my chain on the rear sprocket.

Before the next race I'll be replacing a bent radiator and washing the mud from my YZ, before swapping over to the 17" Supermoto wheels for a "double-header weekend" May 5th-7th.



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VCHSS Oak Grove Farm (Altavista, VA)

Another sluggish start yielded surprisingly good results!



Although I was "waving goodbye" to my class in the first few seconds, I reminded myself to take it easy when looking for a pass and didn't have too many offs while trying to catch my class.



There was one noticeable hangup, when a crowd of riders collected at a water crossing. Unfortunately, I was stuck in the mud for about 90 seconds while I watched most of the riders I'd passed get back ahead of me. Eventually, though, I reeled them back in and had 3rd place in my possession for the finish!



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Wave Daze - Spring 2023 (Virginia Beach, VA)

With all the dirt biking and snowboarding happening recently, I'd almost forgotten about jet skis! Maybe it was just winter ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Luckily, the Superjet started right up when I removed the battery tender and pushed the button - whew!

On a cold Thursday morning I headed east to the shores of Virginia Beach. Although I arrived with plenty of time to ride, I decided to simply unload the ski, get signed up, and wait out the 55 degree day for the promise of a Friday in the 70's.

The next morning, a quick look at the surf report indicated no need to hurry, with the largest waves arriving around 5pm.

By noon I was setting up my spot on the beach and heading into the chilly waters for my first ride.

Knocking off the cobwebs and simply enjoying the thrill of staying upright, I wasn't out to learn any new tricks (I'm 42, I don't learn ANY new tricks). It was fun, though, to feel the thrill of boosting off a wave or carving into one about to break!

That night I visited a friend that works at Love Song's back bar, before returning to the Schooner Inn. In the morning, the rain had moved in, so I packed up my gear and headed home rather than stand out in the wet to spectate.

Although the weather didn't cooperate this year, it was still a great way to start the season and get back in the tray of the stand-up.

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VCHSS Central VA Trail Riders (Randolph, VA)

Good start, great finish!

Three kicks and the YZ was moving, putting me near the middle of my class as we entered the woods! During the first lap I did the majority of my passing, with good opportunity for alternate paths on the course allowing for better access to pass.

As far as I could tell, I was near the front of my class by the end of the first lap. Once in the woods for a few minutes, though, it's difficult to know if you're behind someone in your own class or one of the dozen-or-so others. With the constant need to catch, then pass the rider ahead, finding a good pace is relatively easy - I simply needed to "coach" myself to stay calm and eventually reel them in one-by-one. Despite this coaching, though, I suffered ALL of my falls during the second lap, when it seemed that I was encountering the largest majority of other classes to circumvent. Nearly every fall I had was the result of taking a compromised line (usually at high speed) to sneak around a slower rider. Even those that would eventually give way had the chance of taking me out, since I'd typically lose focus on the tight trees just ahead of them, knocking my bars on more than I cared to count.

After I was relatively sure that my class was behind me, I decided to pace myself behing other riders. Although I knew I could probably ride a bit faster, I was happy to stay on the bike and finish out my third lap without incident.

When I passed the start/finish I looked at the electronic timing board to see that I was correct - first place!

With this result I'm certainly more committed to attending the full series of races this season, hopefully with a few repeats of today's favorable result.



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Brian Head Resort (Utah)

While in Nevada for a work trip (Conexpo in Las Vegas), I rented a car and drove Northeast to see what snow remained on the slopes of Brian Head Resort in southern Utah. What I found was superb! The resort had experienced some late-season snowfall amounting to over two feet of the soft stuff on top of an already solid base!



I arrived on Friday afternoon with enough daylight left in the "night ski" period to ride for several hours before the sun set. After a few runs to get acclimated with the resort, I drove into nearby Cedar City for ovenight lodging.



Early the next morning I was back in the resort's parking lot, waiting for the lifts to start spinning. By 9:30am I was on the way up the hill for a complete day in the snow.



The riding was great, with enough snow to allow me to take short detours into the trees. Although certain areas "flatten" too much to ride through, there were still plenty of areas to explore. All in all, I was delighted to find such good riding without having to drive an additional three hours to the more well-known Utah resorts such as Park City.



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VCHSS Oak Ridge (Arrington, VA)

The first race of the VCHSS season was one to remember!



Although we had some warm days in "Early Spring" that was not the case on this mid-March morning. Temperatures in the 30's had snow falling on the crowd of competitors before the start.



Although the first lap had some traction to offer, by the 2nd 10-mile loop the red clay had developed a shiny, slick coating - inducing two-wheel slides and more washouts than I could dare to count.



My only "serious" wreck was during an attempt at passing. My handlebars entangled with the rider I was besting, and eventually my bike came to an abrupt halt when I slammed into a tree just outside the singletrack trail. Although a section of my plastics went flying, I was back on the course in a few seconds, with a smoother pass in mind once I reached the slower rider again.



With temperatures as low as they were, the battery on my HeroMAX didn't make it through the first lap. It was an eventful lap, though, since I was left kickstarting my YZ while the rest of my field left the start line, which provided the need to catch and pass several riders within the first 10 miles.



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