What up Pingaling!
I hope you are doing great. I have been busting my ass to put together a sort of re-birth of the classic SX warmup race dubbed the Perris Invitational. I have wanted to bring it back for a while but the stars have aligned at Milestone MX and Dec 14th it’s on! We have a great group of riders committed to the event, a respectable purse and live webcast coverage but my question to you is this: The original Perris Invitational was one week before A1! We have three weeks but some teams/rider are still saying no because it's too close. Is it an advantage to get some racing under your belt before you line up for A1 or is the sport so on the edge now that you have to just show up and hang it out? As a former team manager what would you say to your riders? Would you encourage them to do it or restrict the team from racing?
Aaron Cooke
Aaron,
I heard the news that the race is back and I’m hoping you get a good turnout. Back in the early 1990s the GFI Perris Invitational was a big deal. Much like having a helmet with a custom Troy Lee Designs paint job, a mullet and a neon t-shirt as an invite to Goat’s race was a big deal. They brought out a briefcase full of cash to the winner and most of the sports best showed up to blow off the cobwebs before the opener. I think it is a good idea to race once or twice before Anaheim. My opinion is that you are more likely to get hurt riding around at your practice track than when you are competing. You are more focused when you are racing and less likely, or at least no more likely, to make a mistake than if you were practicing. So, unless these team managers are going to have their riders just hang out on the couch until Anaheim to keep them safe I think they are making a mistake by not putting their riders in a real race environment. Grow some balls, fellas. This isn’t a yoga class… get your guys out there. Spinning laps with your mechanic watching is one thing but lining up with 21 other guys is another.
See you this weekend.
PING
Hey Ping,
New in May of 2013 road the bike at the track 5-6 times trail ride ,went to winterized it very cold last couple days put stable in the gas started it letting it warm up it started making a very loud squaeling noise then it went away about 2minutes later came back then went away,and I shut it down,any help would be great.
Thanks again
Mark here in Michigan
Mark,
I gotta be honest here, Mark, this one is a little out of my wheelhouse. I mean, this isn’t Ping’s Garage and Tech Tips. Sounds to me like you’ve got some kind of wild animal stuck in your airbox or something. Maybe a squirrel or some other type of vermin? Do you have a shotgun? Try putting a few rounds into the general vicinity of the air filter and see if the noise goes away. That little guy isn’t going to be safe behind a well-oiled Twin Air, am I right? You know what… scratch that I’m a terrible mechanic. I would suggest finding a good mechanic and having him look at it. Or, if that isn’t in the budget, how about finding a good pest control service? Maybe they could lure the sneaky little fella out with a Twinkie or something? I don’t really know I’m just kind of spitballin’ here. If that isn’t the kind of advice you were looking for I’m not sure what to tell you. Best of luck with your animal-infested machine.
PING
Ping,
I’m a student in college currently studying exercise science. The topic of PED's and steroids is discussed quite a bit. What I’m wondering is, when a rider gets hurt and heads to the Asterisk mobile unit to get a shot to numb the pain, what exactly is in that shot? Could this be considered a PED?
Zak
Syracuse, NY
Zak,
The short answer here is no. Toradol is the intramuscular injection that most riders would get if they had an injury they were trying to ride through. It is an NSAID [Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory] drug that works to decrease inflammation, and thereby pain, from an injury. It is the drug of choice because it is not a narcotic; it does not cross the blood/brain barrier and does not alter a rider’s ability to think clearly on the track. While it does help with moderate pain it can hardly be considered a performance enhancing drug. Unless you would consider baby aspirin and a Band Aid a PED also.
PING
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