THE RIDE 2022
Living a fast pace life, being on the constant go, and out of state most weekends, it’s nice to be reminded to be present and to be surrounded by great individuals who remind me why I do what I do with an added bonus of riding epic single track on our dirt bikes.
Riding in the hills of Tuscumbia never get old. The views amaze and we always have a spectacular time. Four years strong with “The Ride” and it just keeps getting better and better.
This year we had two special guests, Weston Peick and Damon Bradshaw. I was ecstatic to hear about the attendance of Peick. For me, it’s neat to nerd out on what it’s like to race Supercross / Pro MX with someone from my era. Not to mention, with a dude who got a factory ride after starting in a van. So, without a doubt, I put myself in a conversation to learn.
I had the opportunity to lead a group, team Zulu.
Friday, all the guides and sweepers did a pre-ride with hopes of familiarizing themselves with a decent chunk of all the cool trails we would get to ride. Leaf covered trails with hidden rocks, logs, and holes, leaving myself and many others on the ground. Gotta love it! I put in 40 miles on Friday and still only knew how to start each loop and that was about it… I am pretty directionally challenged.
Saturday morning, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast before sorting out the groups and starting the epic trail ride. I had 10 rider’s in mine and my dad was our sweeper. The first section of trail was 12 miles and a but on the more technical side with some amazing views. I had a solid group and we did not have any issues and had a decent pace. We actually caught 3 groups in front of us, everything went smoothly. I even had 4 other’s request to join my group. We breaked for lunch before hitting the next loop of 22 miles (mostly race trail). Me being me, I managed to get us all lost, not sure how, or where exactly but we finally got back on the correct loop. During this loop, I actually got to experience “Grandma’s Kitchen” for the first time and I went right in the middle of it. Grandma serves massive rock boulders in her kitchen. I made it through clean. At the end of the day, I logged 35 miles.
After all that riding, it was time for the games. Bob with Fly Racing is in charge and the judge. I usually don’t participate but Bob made me partner up with Weston Peick for the egg game. The egg game is where you have someone driving the dirt bike and a partner on the back of it placing eggs on the barrels with a goal of being the fastest and no broken eggs. Our first attempt, I smashed the crap out of the first egg. Like broke it and then smashed it with my hand, it was funny. Since us and two other team’s broke eggs and had close times, we got to redo it. Let’s just say, we crushed some souls that round. We had zero broken eggs and a super-fast time. It was fun…. And who wouldn’t want to ride on the back of Peick’s bike?!
After the riding was done, everyone met at the campfire to have a Stag for Frank Leivan. We lost Frank Christmas Eve. He and the Leivan family is why I race, done the things I have done, and a lot of why we have a bike shop. It is different without him around, telling stories, giving advice but I do know we are doing exactly what he would want us to do.
Sunday morning, we divided into groups again and got to ride a different loop. I really have no idea how long this loop was. Going up a rock ledge, I wrecked and landed directly on my elbow. It hurt a lot. I rode a few more miles but untimely decided with high amount of pain and no grip, I should not be trying to ride. I was pretty bummed. I don’t think anything is broke but my elbow is extra achey, swollen, and bruised. But that’s what happens when you find a rock with a bone.
From the sounds of it, Team Zulu had an absolute blast all weekend which makes me happy! It’s hard to decide on a good pace for other people especially when keeping safety in mind. It all went well and my entire group rode AMAZING!
During the course of the weekend, I tried out some Fly Racing goggles and I was highly impressed. I liked it better than my current set up. So, if you’re looking for new goggles try out the Fly Racing Zone or Zone Pro goggles.
This event was the most miles that I have ridden in a weekend since being back on the bike and it was just another reminder of why I love riding my dirt bike and the people involved with it.
Special thanks to Fly Racing & WPS for backing this event and the Leivan’s for making this happen and bringing us all together. We can’t do epic things like this or race without the people taking the time to make it happen and supporting us and the events. Keep that in mind when you are shopping.
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