“I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.”
It’s Christmas in New York and my first away from home. I just opened the box my mom sent with all my stocking stuffers. I thought I’d outgrown stockings, but the tradition continues. Mom, I’m still holding the Flarp! Noise Putty over your head!
One tradition I hate to violate is riding on Christmas. It was always my father’s tradition and one we never violated. I remember the first year I got a dirt bike for Christmas, a brand new ‘96 XR 100! I was 11 and we loaded up, despite cries from my mom. “It’s tradition!” we’d say, and head out to the nearest riding area. It was always a gas and we’d join a slew of riders out there trying out their gifts, too. Here in New York, everyone goes boarding on Christmas, or sledding since it’s, like, 30 degrees. I’m staying inside to watch Christmas Vacation for the umpteenth time, another family tradition! Check out this photos I uncovered from the good ol’ Florida Trail Riders days. One year, I lined up as Ms. Claus! It was classic!
Merry Christmas!
As we round out the rest of the year, like most people, I’m wondering what to call the next decade. Is it twenty-ten? Two-thousand ten? I’ve heard two-ten and oh-ten. What about 2KX?
Tim McGraw’s song, Something Like That, was the most popular song from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 17, 2009 with 487,343 spins! The New York Times dubs Tiger Woods the person of the year. ? Time Magazine’s 10 Worst Things About the Worst Decade Ever!
Check out the view from James Stewart’s Florida home on MTV Cribs. He must fit like half of Haines City in his backyard!
Then, there’s his F430 Ferrari, priced at oh, say, $187,925 – $282,618, not including the custom wheels that he designed himself. Woo!
JT’s been in the news lately, in motocross and on the Billboard charts. Timberlake hit with his new single, Carry Out: “Take my order cause your body like a carry out, Let me walk into your body till you hear me out.” Sure takes some contemplating, but JT$ said it straight up in the Racer X interview with his words on Tiger’s drama. Interesting.
Need some reading material? Check out the research paper I contributed to. Well, at least took about two hours out of my day to sit down with one of my classmates/reporters and talk about dirt bikes and my perception of extreme sports athletes. But I was left out of the finished piece – com646_extreme_sports_final – a paper examining the role of media in shaping the group and individual identities of extreme athletes. They pooled 27 people, 20 men and 7 women from 14 different sports and named motocross seventh on their list, but failed to mention motocross AT ALL in the entire paper!
“We were forced to use only a few to back up our points so not everyone made it in unfortunately,” the reporter said in consolidation. “You did say some good stuff though.”
Damn right I did. Oh, well. Another classmate profiled me for his ‘day in the life’ story, which we turned into an afternoon mountain bike ride. He pegged me on-point and sincere, but I’m willing to bet the writer paraphrased a few things and/or did not use a tape recorder. Sure, that’s beside the point. Check.it.out. Day in the Life – Nanavati
Google alerted me on a similar article on shredding stereotypes and modern perceptions of extreme sports by Cameron Livermore. The article quotes a guy named James Stewart, but I did my research and it’s not the real JS7, nor does Livermore explain just who this James Stewart is. (He’s a research associate.) One should know better than to use a quote from someone with the same name as the best athlete in the sport, without explaining there’s a coincidence! It’s not like he went out and got an interview with James Stewart, Jr. Ha!
As always, the dawning of a new year draws much anticipation for the 2010 Supercross season that kicks off on January 9 in Anaheim, Calif., and this year’s no different. SPEED TV recently announced plans for an unprecedented night of live television at Anaheim 1, the first and biggest race on the schedule, and I can’t wait to tune in!
Something strange happened last week to Patrick Stephens, a motocrosser who once suffered a crash at Dade City that confined him to a wheelchair. Read the story, courtesy of ABC Action News.
As for the passing of Mike Cinqmars, The Daily Press in Victor Valley, California reports that “the results of an autopsy performed Wednesday came up inconclusive.” Rut-ro!
Having just read George Orwell’s essay on Politics and the English language, I cringed at Thursday’s headline in the South Florida Sun Sentinel: FBI offers $10,000 reward for ‘Motocross bandit.’
Really? A motocross bandit? What, was he robbing banks in a Fox jersey? Wearing Scott goggles? Riding out on a KX250? Curious, I clicked on the news story and saw surveillance photos from inside the Bank of America and the suspect in a black motorcycle helmet and jacket. I found nothing ‘motocross’ about him! Now, to the average reader, I’d be splitting hairs, but not to a motcrosser! According to Orwell, “The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent whether his words mean anything or not.” Hmm…More from the FBI
Check out the New Zealand Herald’s coverage of Ben Townley: keen, fit – and back with vengeance.
Today, take a second to remember Mike Cinqmars, a pioneer of freestyle motocross and X Games silver medalist. He was 31.
Just the other day, a new friend sent me a chain letter text message that said:
“2009’s is nearly over so pass the smile 
to anyone that made u smile this yr. It might suprise u how many u get bac.”
I shook my head and smiled at the obvious spelling errors. Text messaging is making us lazy! But that’s another topic, altogether. Read more. I thought back to the beginning of this year and who was making me smile and how much that’s changed since I moved to Syracuse for school. Now, an entirely new circle of friends makes me smile, along with my professors, my Canadian roommate, other acquaintances and just New Yorker’s in general. I’ve noticed how some have a tendency to end every sentence with a question and they’ll use phrases like, “It’s wicked cool,” instead of “That’s sick.”
Speaking of slang, ESPN’s Brian Tunney came up with a list of reasons why BMX is the better action sport. With tricks called the grizzly air, which I had to Google – it’s a type of one footer – BMX sure is different!
Now, from motocross.com, here’s what really happened at the 2009 Mini O’s, but not one mention of Orlando’s factory-backed 9-year-old Jordan Bailey except that he won both supercross and motocross championships and three out of four motos in the 51 (7–8) Stock class. This week, I’m giving Jordan a call to set up an interview for the January issue of FLmx! Stay up.
“”A writer can spin on about his adventures after thirty, after forty, after fifty, but the criteria by which these adventures are weighed and valued are irrevocably settled in the age of twenty-five.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Instead of waking up early to hit the malls and go shopping, I spent Black Friday (my birthday) surrounded by sunshine, my true family and friends at the 38th annual Thor Winter National Olympics in Gainesville, and that’s worth a helluva lot more than what was on sale at the mall.
By the time I arrived on Friday, the weeklong event was winding down, but that morning, we paid tribute to Oscar Diaz and set up a table full of custom designed t-shirts (Thanks J-RO!) next to his #468 Honda and a collage of smiling photos of him.
A number of people stopped to ask who the shirts were for: “What happened to Oscar?” I tried to explain it…if that’s you, click here.
Rest In Paradise
I stood there all day catching up with friends and talking business with the big whigs, watched FL’s Ian Trettel win all of his motos, (He went on to win ALL four championships in 250 A Stock and Mod and Open A Stock and Mod), saw Malcolm Stewart in his street clothes, still nursing his injured shoulder, chatted up Kyle Williamson about his new PintoMX Web site. (Check out his voice interviews with guys like Trettel and Gannon Audette.) I kept hoping to see Ricky Carmichael walk by so I could wish him a happy birthday, too, since RC tweeted about being at the Mini O’s earlier in the week, but I missed him.
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- Rest In Paradise
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- For Tanner Krahenbuhl
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- Tevin Tapia over Lance Vincent until Trettel came in for the kill
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- Welcome to paradise
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- Catch up at jromx.com
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- We love you, Oscar
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- Jessica Patterson wins 1-1
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- Ian Trettel on the gas
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- pantsaggin.com = dedication
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- All smiles for 68
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- sound it out
Driving home, I figured I’ve fit more into these past 25 years than I ever thought possible, which makes me more excited for the next 25 years!
Check out more Oscar coverage, here!
38 years strong!
…I was snapping pics at Gatorback, watching guys like Justin Barcia and Taylor Futrell tear it up in the 250A/Pro-Am Stock class, both of whom have since gone on to become professionals and household names might I add. What’s more, Barcia won rookie of the year! Now, as I sit here sifting through these old photos, I wonder who will go out on top this year at the Mini O’s, and who might be signing autographs next year; Barcia’s signing all week at Mini O’s. Without further ado, I offer you a snapshot in time…
If looks could kill...
The 250A/Pro-Am Stock class started things off
Barcia gave chase to Mike McDade
Futrell, 277, got tangled in one moto
This year, one thing's for sure: All eyes are on this guy, Malcolm Stewart, who went 8-0 last year on a two stroke! Now that he's in the A class, can he repeat?
If you’ve ever wondered why it’s called motocross and not motorcross…read this for a laugh. There’s even a reference to being lazy! “As all motocross people are in a race to get to the end of everything including words.”
Legend has it: Carey Hart’s up for FMX Rider of the decade. I <3 Hart!
To ride or not to ride? That’s the question for MX 691, Rhode Island’s newest exclusive off-road riding park, which happens to be zoned for residential use. Whoops!
Also, some very light reading with the essentials of air filter cleaning! That’s one of the few things I learned how to do as an amateur! Thanks, Dad. (Oh, and by the way, I received a letter from Ford Motor Company in the mail notifying me of a defect (09S09) in the Explorer, and until I can have the recall service performed, I need to park my vehicle outdoors away from structures to prevent a potential fire from spreading! Seriously?)
One week until the 38th Thor Winter National Olympics presented by Pro Circuit at Gatorback in Gainesville!
First up Monday is the supercross track
Let the shenanigans begin!
Did anyone else see Vanilla Ice on the Early Show last week? Notice who was in his entourage? “A scary barefoot clown dressed up as Santa.”
I remember meeting Ice a few times, mostly at his Holiday Block Party in West Palm Beach. (This year marks the 4th annual on December 5.) He was always pleasant to his fans, collecting toys for tots, showing off his cars, bikes, etc.
Ice playing with his car
One time, I approached him, ”Hey, Vanilla!” I said, smiling still like a teenager. “It’s Ice,” he said, sort of barking at me. I laughed. I’d blown it. Whoops!
Ripping a burnout on the Wes Kain Mafia mobile
