By Billy Rainford

I’m not going to lie, I’m starting to get a little stir crazy. Usually, at this time of year, I’m happy to spend some time at home because I’ve been out in California for 5 or 6 weeks, I’ve been to a few Supercross races, I’ve spent time at my friend Brendan’s (KDEAM) place in Palm Coast, Florida, driven back and forth from the Daytona SX, the RCSX, the GNCC in Palatka, and the odd trip into Daytona to people watch at Bike Week. This past year, I’ve done none of that.

Fortunately, we’ve finally got weather around my Southwestern Ontario area that has allowed tracks to open and people have been loading up and getting out to ride.

I spoke with Kenzie Hennessy of HMX Moto Co. this past week and he mentioned that he and Kyle Snelgrove would be holding this week’s MX School at a private track near Aylmer. I Googled it and it was only 40 minutes away, so I decided to charge my camera batteries and check it out.

As soon as I backed out of my driveway and took a sip of coffee, it felt like I was in heaven. It’s amazing how much I miss the road. As soon as I’m on my way somewhere for moto my heart fills and I feel great. I’m not sure if everyone feels like this or if it’s something that was handed down to me from my parents and grandparents.

I know for a fact that my English grandfather (my dad’s dad) was a traveller and a story teller. He has the most amazing story from WWII that I still plan on compiling into a book that should really be put on the big screen. It’s crazy…and true!

Anyway, as I headed southeast out of London, the traffic disappeared and I was on some backroads that I’d never been on before. The sun was shining and I had the music going as I cruised into the sandier area that lines Lake Erie.

I’m not going to say much more about the day because I will be posting a story on its own later today, but let me just say how good it felt to be at a practice track watching people do what they love.

Keep your elbows up, look ahead, stand up, and someone pull my finger…fast!” Kenzie Hennessy | Bigwave photo

Kenzie and Kyle did a great job with the two groups of 10 riders and I think everyone had a great time. We’re still in weird pandemic times with regulations so let’s continue to follow the mask and social distancing rules. It was great to see everyone doing what was necessary to comply while still enjoying time “with” friends and riding.

We’re lucky that Motocross is a sport that can be done without having to be too close to anyone else, so we should be able to continue riding as long as we follow the rules to avoid being “narc’d” by some so-called do-gooders. Let’s not forget what happened last year.

Good times on a fun track near Aylmer, ON. | Bigwave photo

If you’re interested in riding with these guys, contact Kenzie through his Instagram. They cap it at 20 riders, so you need to get your name on the list.

Amsoil Snow Bike Final Standings

Rider Hometown Sled Points
1 Jesse Kirchmeyer Arcade, NY Polaris 778
2 Troy Horbaty Tyndall, MB Other 693
3 Keaton Ward Bozeman, MT Other 634
4 Jacqueline Riess Eden Prairie, MN Other 494
5 Jorgen Dahl brookings, SD Other 412
6 Austin Radinzel Houlton, WI Yamaha 370
7 Troy Weakley Cold brook, AK Other 354
8 Robert (bobby) Pagel Eau Claire, WI Yamaha 218
9 Nick Kraeger Constableville, NY Honda 181
10 Canyon Ashley Meridian, ID Honda 123

CSRA Snow Bike Series Ends Early

Pro/Am Snowbike

1 53 Yanick Boucher HUS 95
2 259 Taylor Ciampichini KTM 82
3 28 Sam Gaynor GAS 80
4 630 RJ Marnoch KAW 78
5 729 Ryan Hunt HUS 68
132 Seth Hughes KAW 68
7 120 Justin Brazeau YAM 65
118 Connor Henshaw HON 65

GNCC Round 4 – Camp Coker, SC

Canadian Shelby Turner raced on a 2-stroke this weekend.

WXC
PlaceNbrNameHometownBrandLapsElapsed
1001BECCA N SHEETSCIRCLEVILLE, OHYAM401:47:07.890
2650RACHAEL ARCHERNEW ZEALAND, //YAM401:47:52.579
3713TAYLA JONESAUSTRALIA, //HQV401:49:48.438
4417RACHEL GUTISHTERRE HAUTE, INBET401:50:37.639
5444KORIE STEEDEBELOIT, OHKAW401:51:47.219
6637SHELBY A TURNERCANADA, //KTM401:53:18.417
7777JOCELYN BARNESEQUINUNK, PAKAW401:57:26.239
8205PRESTIN RAINESTRAVELERS REST, SCYAM402:00:23.814
9715MARINA CANCROHUNTINGTON, NYYAM402:01:31.973
10864EDEN NETELKOSJACKSONVILLE, FLYAM402:09:42.370

POINTS

WXC – Bike – Class PointsRND 1RND 2RND 3RND 4 
PlaceMakeNbrNameFinishFinishFinishFinishTotal Points
1YAM001BECCA N SHEETS2121110
2YAM650RACHAEL ARCHER1212110
3BET417RACHEL GUTISH344475
4HQV713TAYLA JONES535374
5KTM637SHELBY A TURNER456664
6KAW777JOCELYN BARNES667758
7YAM205PRESTIN RAINES778854
8KAW444KORIE STEEDE113547
9YAM864EDEN NETELKOS10991046
10YAM715MARINA CANCRO12810945
XC1 Open Pro – Bike
PlaceNbrNameHometownBrandLapsElapsed
1514STEWARD BAYLOR JRHODGES, SCYAM703:03:27.670
2114JOSH V STRANGAUSTRALIA, //KAW703:03:30.958
3003JORDAN ASHBURNLIVINGSTON, TNHQV703:08:00.950
4530BENJAMIN M KELLEYHARWINTON, CTKTM703:09:17.417
5314GRANT BAYLORHONEA PATH, SCGAS703:10:29.570
6206JOSHUA M TOTHWINSTEAD, CTKTM703:12:43.099
7739TREVOR BOLLINGERMORGANTON, NCHQV703:16:58.899
8543BENJAMIN HERRERACHILE, //SHR703:19:00.890
9212RICKY A RUSSELLDUVALL, WAGAS703:20:17.677
10121CORY BUTTRICKLOGAN, OHBET703:29:43.900

POINTS

XC1 Open Pro – Bike RND 1RND 2RND 3RND 4 
PlaceMakeNbrNameFinishFinishFinishFinishTotal Points
1KTM530BENJAMIN M KELLEY512486
2KAW114JOSH V STRANG327283
3GAS314GRANT BAYLOR144580
4HQV003JORDAN ASHBURN436370
5YAM514STEWARD BAYLOR JR81167
6KTM206JOSHUA M TOTH853657
7GAS212RICKY A RUSSELL665950
8HQV989THADDEUS DUVALL225
9YAM523LAYNE MICHAEL77131125
10SHR543BENJAMIN HERRERA10911814
11HQV739TREVOR BOLLINGER1279
12KTM902TYLER D MEDAGLIADNF1286

Full results HERE.

Next round:

RD 5 – TIGER RUN

Location Big Buck Farm – Union, SC
Time April 17, 2021 – April 18, 2021

Connor Stevenson LLAQ in Colorado

Connor Stevenson was in action at a LLAQ at Thunder Valley in Colorado. | Jack Jaxson photo

Canadian Connor Stevenson won both the 250 B and 450 B Limited classes at the LLAQ on Saturday at Thunder Valley MX in Lakewood, Colorado.

He was back in action Sunday for the Mod classes. He was 3rd in 250 B Mod (fell) and 2nd in 450 B Mod. His dad, Craig Stevenson, said he was a “little under horsepower for a mudder at Thunder Valley.”

Sales continued to rise into January 2021.

From MMIC:

February 2021

More bikes and ATVs sold! How long will this trend continue? A key factor in prolonging the trend will be to ensure that all of these new riders are informed, educated and trained.

Informed can be as simple as letting new riders know about local clubs, associations, training and gatherings. If you are a dealer perhaps you could put together a grab bag of brochures or invite the new riders to a “Newbie Night”. Welcome them to the riding lifestyle. “Hey there’s a meet up at Johnny’s Burgers every Thursday night” or “there’s a club ride starting at the Old Coach trailhead starting a 8am Sunday mornings, newbies are welcome”. 

Educated can be providing the basics of riding. “Hey did ya know it’s heels before wheels, always yield to hikers, horses, etc when you’re riding your ATV” or “cold tires are slippery, take extra care until you have a couple kilometers on the bike every ride” or “try to avoid painted lines, especially in the wet”. 

Training, is there any substitute? On road or off road it is the best investment a new rider can make. Why learn the hard way?

Ultimately it’s up to us to keep the trend going. The pandemic is not a business plan. Things will return to normal and if we do the little things the new normal will involve riding.

Casey Keast Tells the Highway Accident Story

In case you haven’t listened to Casey Keast tell the story of his terrifying crash on the highway on the way back to California with Kevin Urquhart, here it is:

OK, I hope that got you through a cup of coffee to get this Monday going. Be sure to check back later. Have a great week.

Cade Clason says, “Have a great week and we’ll see you at the races…” | Bigwave photo