Stuck in Phoenix

What would they say on the Carmax report?

There are a lot of things that suck about living in Phoenix in the summertime.  The heat, the fires, the snakes and brown air come to mind.  For me, trying to ride a dirt bike during the day, it is especially tough to keep any bit of moisture on the track or create conditions that would replicate what I will be riding and racing on the weekends.  

In an effort to improve my tracks, I have been going out early and watering with a 1000 gallon water wagon hooked up to my van.  It has been working alright, but yesterday the intern and I ran into a major problem.  When you have a 1/4 ton and about 8000 pounds of water in a trailer, let's just say it takes a bit to stop.  I came upon a water mane break on the property where I have my outdoor track and before I could shut it down front wheels of my van were buried 3/4 of the way in the mud.  After two hours of digging with a broken shovel, pushing, creating water drainage sytems and stuffing miscellaneous pieces of building material under the tires, Eric the intern and I became "unstuck".  Another day, another adventure.  Welcome to Phoenix.  RC

Riding today

I rode for the first time earlier today at the Brawndo test track.  My cousin, Steven Stultz, and I did a bunch of prep work and actually cut in some new sections.  We watered for a few hours and then got to business.  My ankle felt better than I anticipated, but it was still pretty tender if I dabbed it in a corner.  I think it will be good for the weekend, but I will get the chance to test it out again a couple more times this week.  

I want to thank a couple of people for helping with my rehab.  First off, Dr. Steve Navarro has long been a huge help to me at the races.  Also, Glenn Micheels from Parkway Chiropractic in Phoenix has been doing everything he can to get me back on the bike as soon as possible.  Thanks to both for all of your assistance.

Who moves to Phoenix...

Besides me?  I mean, honestly, this place is borderline uninhabitable.  It is 9:15 AM and already 102 degrees.  And I am the moron loading up my motorcycle to go riding in it!  My wife better realize how much I love her for me to move here.  

Last weekend at Mt. Morris was a good one for the team.  Bob ran a solid 12/11, and I had a good first moto before injuring my ankle.  Ryan Grantom also stepped it up and picked up his first national points with an 18th place second moto finish.  Congrats to RG.

My ankle is still jacked up over a week later.  I did some ligament damage and the swelling is just not going away despite my ankle residing in a bucket of ice for the last seven days.  I am going to attempt to ride today and see how it feels.  I will keep you posted, but regardless I plan on being at Colorado even if I have to bring a syringe or a medicine cabinet full of pills.  Okay, maybe not that far.

I am off to ACP to ride, so have a great day.  

RC

Hello Again

Sorry for the lapse in coverage on the old Blog.  No excuses, just didn't really feel like writing between all the things going on, and honestly just didn't want to write about the things going on.  We had some changes in the team since I last wrote, but it has been a catalyst for the team and things are looking really good on that front.

I am writing from my hotel in Morgantown, WV.  Tomorrow is the High Point National MX, and it is looking to be a muddy one.  It seems that more often than not, we have mud to contend with at this event.  But you never know, maybe the track crew can get it decent before tomorrow.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I am not going to get too long winded here, but I will leave you with some photos from the past few weeks.  Enjoy.

Hunter Ashton and I as dads.  Who would have guessed it?

Brandon Johnson hitting some huge dirt jumps in San Diego

Destry Abbott can whip it better than you.  And me.

A New Day

Glen Helen was a rough start for the nationals for me.  In a nutshell, it went like this:

Saturday I missed the first practice due to a bike problem, so I hit the track for timed qualification (five laps) with no prior track time.  I managed to run a 2:50 lap time, which was about 20th quickest, but since I was in the B practice with more fast riders, I did not qualify and had to run the consi race.

I got fifth in the consi.

In the first moto I had a typical horrible start.  I was around 35th, but moved up inside the top twenty by the second lap.  I kept rolling, moving up to the rear fender of Vuillemin for 15th on the third lap.  I tried to get aggressive in the sand but crashed in the process.  I got up quickly, took off and promptly went over the bars due to a stuck front brake caliper.  I returned to the pits for moto two.

I was packing my gate for moto two when my mechanic mistakenly left the start gate area.  The AMA would not let me race and DQ'ed me for my bike leaving the start area.  That rule is stupid and is set up to watch people fail.  No signs, no warning from the guy standing at the gate, just a quick DQ.

I drove home.

That was my weekend.  I hope Hangtown goes a little better.  I am not in too much of a writing mood right now, but will catch up with this blog again soon.  Thanks for reading.

Ryan

Dry Run

Hello big, big world.  It has been a very full week of preparation leading up to Glen Helen.  After the SX banquet, the family and I headed back to PHX for a little R&R.  That lasted a day or so, before going back to my hometown of Albuquerque to visit family and partake in my mother's belated birthday party.  Unfortunately, I had to leave ABQ in the middle of my trip to attend the 2009 FLY Racing photo shoot.  I left late Thursday and returned Friday afternoon.  The party was on Saturday, and it was great to see my mom enjoying herself so much.  She is always glowing when her grandchildren are around.

The Clark family returned to PHX on Sunday, just in time to celebrate mother's day with my mother-in-law.  Actually, I watched the kids while they all went to a movie.  The way I see it, every day is mother's day.  Just kidding, honey.

This week was more moto related.  Jesse and I drove to Glen Helen for testing and I also did some riding with Steven Stultz, Destry Abbott and Taylor Roberts.  My bike is working GREAT.  At Glen Helen, my lap times were a click off the top guys, but I think it is time I can find over the next week.  I am hoping for a great start to my motocross season.  

That is about it for now.  I am trying to do a sprint triathlon in the morning on Sunday, so I will update if that comes to fruition.  Thanks for reading and have a stellar weekend.  And congrats to Mr. Nappi! (I'll call him that so he doesn't whack me Danny).

Leaving Las Vegas

The final SX of the year took place tonight at Sam Boyd Stadium.  Things started off rocky as Kyle Partridge knocked himself out in the second practice session.  It turned around later, with Kiniry pulling a huge holeshot in the West Coast Lites heat and finishing a strong fifth.  

I crashed in my heat, leaving the LCQ as my only route of main event entry.  I had a horrible start, but worked through the pack to pick off Jeff Gibson with two turns left for the second and final transfer.

In the main I was railing.  I was literally feeling better than I have all season, moving up through the field steadily and finding myself in 12th at halfway.  I clipped a tuff-block and bent my brake pedal around lap 14, which caused me to take about a 35 second pit stop to kick it back into a usable spot.  I ended up 15th at the end, but I rode awesome and gained a grip of confidence tonight.  I am really looking forward to outdoors!

RC