By Billy Rainford
Hello again from the little single-axle trailer parked at Viney Ranch in Murrieta, California. It’s really amazing what Ulf and Cheryl have carved out for themselves right at the centre of USA Motocross. There’s always something going on here.
We had a delicious BBQ last night that Cheryl cooked up with Michael Lindsay from Vital MX. I think I learned more about the inner workings of American MX and SX in one meal than I’ve learned in all my years of going to the races. He’s been on the inside for years and it was great to just sit there and listen to his many stories.
Today, Noah Viney and Parker Ross will be heading over to Fox Raceway in Pala for some MX riding and instruction from Ryan Hughes. I’m definitely going to make my way over there. Emily and I stopped in the other day to check out a few riders getting in some laps on their SX track, but today I’ll be focusing on these guys on the MX track.
Of course, I’ll walk over and see who’s getting ready for Phoenix this weekend, as I’m sure there will be a bunch of riders there for that.
Like I said, there’s always something going on around here!
And you can basically see the new home of the KTM North America Group from the top of the driveway here. They’ll be moving to this new and expanded location soon and it will be quite something when it’s done.
I stuck the camera phone out the window as I drove past the other day. Check it out:
On Sunday, I shot a bunch of video of Ulf and his meticulous track prep as he got the 14-jump whoop section ready for another week of training. You just never know who’s going to show up at this place!
I’ll edit it and get it up on the site as soon as I can.
As I was standing on the side of the track on Saturday afternoon at Angel Stadium, someone was suddenly right beside me but in the stands saying my name. It startled me a little, but as I turned around it was Dusty Wise from Ontario. Dusty was in California for the first time and all on his own. He was having the time of his life and said he has fallen in love with the California coast. Duh!
He described the trip as a “bucket list” trip and was driving up and down the coast like a complete tourist, taking in all the sites along the edge of the Pacific.
I didn’t know it at the time, but he was posting live videos on his Facebook page of his time there. I clicked on one and he was just having a blast talking about what he was seeing as he was sitting in the stands watching riders practice and qualify for the night show.
Unfortunately, he was leaving on Sunday and so we didn’t have any time to hang out away from the stadium or to bring him here to Viney Ranch to really freak him out! Haha. He would have called his wife to tell her he’s staying.
He said he had time to do another drive up and down the coast from LA to Newport Beach and back and just loved it.
I even saw on his social media that he may be back again for A3??? He may have been joking, but that’s what Californication will do to you! Great to see you, Dusty. Were you serious about coming back so soon?
He’s an old high level racer and I should have asked him to give us his thoughts on the racing. Oh well, we’ll ask him in 2 weeks. 😉
Oh, before I forget, let me tell a quick story…
So, I’m staying in the little camper trailer here at Viney Ranch. It’s amazing but I’m not running water or using the bathroom, just to keep my usage to a minimum. Very Canadian.
It got kind of late last night and I hadn’t brushed my teeth or used the facilities yet. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and walk over to the back sliding door that goes into the kitchen. Everything is dark.
Everyone is obviously in bed and asleep, so I don’t want to wake anyone up. However, they have a small dog that can be a little barky, so I want to put at least a small light on so that if she hears me and comes out she can see me and not freak out.
I find a light switch and turn it on. IT’S THE GARBURATOR!
Yep, that nice, calming sound of a dry garburator going crazy in the night. FAIL! Sorry, everyone.
We held our annual People’s Choice Rider of the Year award again this year and I just tabulated the votes and we can announce a winner.
Last year, things really took off when we had a battle between Tallon Unger and Sam Gaynor, with Tallon taking the narrow win.
This time, Sam was in the running again but he was up against a stronger marketing firm and Travis Barrette is the 2021 People’s Choice Rider of the Year.
Not to take anything away from Travis, he’s nice guy and really loves the sport, but I bet he gets a bit of a laugh out of this one too.
The Podium:
- Travis Barrette
- Sam Gaynor
- Dylan Wright
Jess Pettis Injury Update
As you’ve all heard rumours about, I’m sure, Jess Pettis took a hard fall and ended up taking a ride in an ambulance. I wasn’t there but it seems every second person I bump into down here was!
It happened at State Fair SX track a couple weeks ago. Jess took a hard crash in the whoops section and ended up with what has been described by 80% of my conversations as a compound fracture to a wrist (20% were citing a collarbone fracture) and some internal trauma that caused Jess to be spitting up some blood.
It was obviously a hard hit and we’re wishing Jess all the best as he comes back from this injury. He really doesn’t want to talk about it but I wanted him to know we’re all wishing him the best.
I actually picked up Kevin Tyler in Corona on the way in to Anaheim on Saturday morning. Like I said, you never know what’s going to happen or who you’re going to see down here. Even though he went against what Google was telling us, we managed to make it to A2 in time for track walk.
From Saturday:
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OK, my coffee cup is empty so I need to remedy that. Lots of things coming up this week, so be sure to check back periodically.
Have a great week, everyone.
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