Photo Report: GPF in 36 Hours

Apr 4 2012 - 2:46pm - bigwave

Photos and Captions by Billy Rainford

GPF in 36 Hours

When John Roney from Xtreme Toys London mentioned Tuesday that he needed to go to the Georgia Practice Facility (GPF), I quickly jumped at the opportunity to head down to catch some of our Canadians training for the 2012 season. The plan was to leave Friday morning, pick up both Justin Roney and Nathan Bles, and return to London Monday afternoon. That didn't leave a whole lot of time to get the coverage I wanted, but I couldn't afford to be a choosie beggar (patent pending), so I packed up my 9800 and camera bag (full of a few things courtesy of new dad, Sean Bowker) and off we went down the I-75. Here is how the whirlwind trip went.

We met at Xtreme Toys on Dundas east of London, ON and left mechanic, Ken Thiessen, to hold down the fort. Here he is with his duct tape and hammer getting ready to get to work.

It was John Roney, Theo Bles, and me in the motorhome. As soon as I got behind the wheel to take my turn, traffic came to an abrupt halt. I actually drove for 5 hours and only covered 20 miles. It was easily the worst drive I've ever experienced.

We eventually made it to GPF and, as always, the place looked amazing.

The supercross track is very enticing, but most were there preparing for the outdoors.

You do not want to stand still on one of these little beauties. I sat for a rest on one at Gatorback once...once.

We got there at 6:15pm and Nathan and Justin suited-up for some track shots. As soon as they hit the dirt it was made very clear to us that riding stops at 5pm sharp! We were basically sent to the office.

Not a problem, though. Tyler Medaglia was there and always has something going on. He spent some time making a bmx jump course, so I grabbed my camera and he went for it.

The place was getting very quiet as summer and the hot, humid weather approach. Other Canadians there were Chase Van Buuren, Zach Ruff, Colton Facciotti, and Noemie Desilets.

John Wernsdorfer of WMXtreme is an encyclopedia of motor building. He did the bikes for Taylor Miller and now has Nathan Bles this year.

A big group of us headed out to a restaurant in Thomasville.

There is no riding at GPF or MTF on Sundays, so we headed to Shane Lusk's track, half an hour away in Bainbridge, Georgia.

There may be riding here on Sundays, but there is definitely no one allowed past the fences at this place! I got a severe tongue-lashing from Shane and Ezra's father about the risks involved in taking motocross pictures. Gotcha!

It was 33 degrees for the two days we were down south.

If you're wondering how Tyler looks on his new GPF Viral Oils Honda, don't worry, he is going to make things interesting this summer, for sure.

Noemie drew up this motivational white board for Nathan.

I call this one, "Can of Beer on Tailgate."

Theo Bles leaning on his son's MPH WMX Honda 250F.

Noemie's dad, Martin, couldn't get away from this little moth. It made for some cool photo ops.

The moth on Noemie's foot...or is that Theo's foot?

Motocross championships come at a heavy price.

Shameless product placement.

17-year old, Justin Roney, will move up to the intermediate class this year and was down in Georgia for a month getting ready.

Tyler Medaglia takes his training very seriously. He times his motos and tracks his heart's performance.

Justin Roney's Xtreme Toys KTM 250F at Lusk's.

John Wernsdorfer takes meticulous notes on everything to do with his motor's performance.

You have to do what you can to keep all your moto gear clean and dry when living out of an rv.

I always say you have to experience a deep south Waffle House. I talked the gang into driving to Thomasville on our final day there. It wasn't as good as I've seen, but it was still an interesting trip.

John posing with his work of art.

Nathan Bles's bike will be one of the trickest at the track this summer.

Zach Ruff and Chase Van Buuren put in a lot of hard laps together while we were there.

Martin Desilets watching his daughter, Noemie, put in a 20-minutes +2 moto.

This was her first day back on the bike after breaking her collar bone. Here she is on her father's KTM.

Roney putting in a hard moto at GPF.

A trip to GPF isn't complete for a photographer without parking at the base of the big step-up.

#134 Justin Roney

#27 Nathan Bles on the step-up from another angle.

Bles crushing a luscious sand berm.

Justin Roney.

Zach Ruff.

Chase Van Buuren.

Star Valli Yamaha rider, Jeremy Martin, was ripping the place to pieces while we were there.

I wandered through the gate to see what was going on next door at MTF. Martin Davalos was on the track and here are Dakota Alix and Joey Savatgy's bikes.

Noemie Desilets.

Tyler Medaglia and Nathan Bles taking a break after doing some hard laps.

Ok, Tyler asked if I'd help him get his bike up into a tree house so he could jump off it. I said, "Sure." Um, I thought he meant his bicycle! Nope, he wanted to jump his 450 off this thing. As I pulled from the front wheel and he pushed, we got to the top of the steps and they started collapsing and separating from the rest. I jumped for the top and Tyler held on for dear life. It was an interesting few minutes that could have made it on the "Dumbest Things on Wheels" show.

As we were packing to leave, Zach Ruff was relaxing and soaking up some late-afternoon rays.

He and Van Buuren will spend the rest of the month at GPF with Facciotti.

GPF owner, Josh Woods, says they just had their busiest winter season ever. He has his 2005 CR250 2-stroke apart getting ready for his return to Walton in August. Thanks for the hospitality, Josh.

As we were leaving, Scott 'Donk' Donkersgoed showed up in the big Ti Lube Foremost Insurance rig.

He said he was going to do some 'sick whips' the next day. That's kind of like the old surfing adage that goes, "You shoulda been here yesterday!" See you in Nanaimo, Donk.

Noemie and Martin are also staying south for a while longer. She will compete in the Quebec provincials and the eastern rounds of the women's nationals.