Sturgis is always one of my favorite weeks of the year. Not many times I can take a few days off work and do any kind of motorcycle riding I want to. Friday before the rally my brother and I loaded up and pointed out sprinter van west. We arrive in Nimo around midnight. We found a random parking lot near the trail head and went to bed. Saturday morning we took off with a few good friends from back home and hit the trails. We rode roughly 10 hours on some of the gnarliest trails the hills have to offer. Our father borrowed us two of his trail bikes with the understanding we buy parts to replace anything we brake. Needless to say, it might be cheaper just to buy the bikes from dad. They are both beat.
Sunday morning was load in for the Buffalo Chip TT AFT national. I was sitting the day out so we put My brother onto one of our 2017 CRF 450’s. He qualified well, rode a solid heat race and put himself in a good spot for the semi. We were on rain delay for a couple hours. His semi was the first race back on track. On the first lap of the semi he was well inside the top 9. He made a risky move in the tight left hander and slid out. If he could have pulled it off we would have gotten a few guys and been able to ride it home and into the main event. Well, he hit the dirt. Got up dead last and in typical Cole fashion, he put a show on for the sold out crowd doing wheels any chance he could. On the last lap he hit the jump harder than he had all day. When he landed onto the flat ground the front end broke. Luckily he is 100 percent okay. The bike however… I’m scared to unload it and see what’s actually damaged. I’m just happy Cole is alright. With all the bad things that have happened to my close friends and family lately it really sent my head for a spin.
Monday I rode my grom down to Needles highway. If you have never experienced Needles I highly suggest getting away from Main Street. What an experience and fun ride. I will for sure be doing it again next year. Hopefully with no rain this time.
Tuesday was the Rapid City Half Mile. Put on by a good friend of mine Terry Rymer and Black Hills Harley-Davidson. My best buddy, Brad Baker offered up his Indian FTR-750 for us to ride. First free practice I quickly found the day was going to go a lot harder for me then I wanted. Mentally I don’t think I was in a position to really send it. I called Brad and had a good talk with him about where I was at mentally. He just told me to go have fun and everything will go smooth. Heat race was miserable. But our times got faster and I got a little more comfortable. During the semi I was going faster every lap and not looking like a fish out of water. All and all I am very happy with how things went. It took a lot for me mentally to even put the leathers on. Tuesday was more about getting out there and doing it for myself then it was for results. I really can’t thank everyone of my supports enough. They are with my through the good times and the bad. I am happy to have such great relationships with each and every one of them. Vanilla Cycles, THANK YOU!!
That’s all for now. I’m now off to take a look at my 17 Honda and get a parts list made up!
Cheers,
KA25
