Ping,
I can't help but notice the huge divide between the demographics that SX and MX each respectively draw. I make it to at least one SX a year and there are a pretty diverse group of people. You've got your bro'd out dudes wearing dickies flat brimmed hats and the latest monster apparel, soccer dads who seem to have arrived accidentally and XXL dudes wearing 10 year old size L Fox tees (who I'm pretty sure are really quad riders). I've never been to a motocross but the crowd they show on TV appears to be nearly completely comprised of F250 drivers and Toby Keith fans. What's with the difference? Is it because it's too cold in January to take your shirt off and shotgun something-lites in the name of all things moto? Or do you just sweat so heavily in black dickies that the dude bro's can't risk to venture outside? Maybe there's another reason altogether that just escaping me? What are your thoughts on the matter?
Enjoying red bud in the AC,
Aaron
Aaron,
Sadly, Southern California supercross rounds are a bit of a dude-bro gathering spot. Like moths to a flame, anyone with a sleeve of tattoos, a flat-billed hat, and a black tee-shirt swarm when they see the bright lights kick on at Angel Stadium. Armed with Keystone Light and vapor cigarettes, they descend upon the pit area and talk loudly about how "sick" they are on a dirt bike. This crowd is largely SoCal based, though, and they don't travel well. They showed up when pro motocross was at Elsinore and Pala, and a few make it out to Glen Helen, though the steep terrain is difficult to navigate in Dickies and skateboard shoes while holding a cigarette and beer. The national crowd has more fans who actually ride. I'm not talking about one weekend per year out in Glamis or Ocatillo Wells, either. These fans ride tracks or trails as genuine enthusiasts. Of course you get to places like RedBud and there is a large college crowd who probably doesn't ride and just shows up for the party. Those kids are awesome/out of their minds depending on whether or not you are partying with them. Fans from every corner of the country are different. Unadilla has their own kind, Washougal fans represent the Northwest culture, and in Tennessee there is another different crowd—very different. That variation keeps things interesting and I, for one, am glad the crowd varies from stop to stop.
PING
Mr. Pingree,
What happened to the pit bike craze? Did the "Great Recession" kill it or was it really just a fad and doomed from the start? Do you still have/ride a pit bike?
Sincerely,
Bart
Former Reeg/Sano/BBR pit bike owner
Bart,
The recession definitely wiped out the pit-bike industry, but it had probably peaked already and would have slowed down on its own. What started as a fun way to race motorcycles in your backyard with your buddies on stock Honda Z-50s turned into a separate niche market within the motorcycle industry. Big events were created, including the Super Bowl of pit bike racing, the Mini Moto Supercross in Las Vegas. New brands were popping up everywhere, and instead of stock 50cc bikes, the standard engine jumped to 88cc and then to 124cc dual overhead cams with race fuel, titanium fasteners, and custom race-exhaust systems. Yet again we took something simple, pure, and fun and turned it into an ugly, steroid-injected version of itself. Welcome to America. One of my good friends owns Red Baron, one of the main pit-bike manufacturers, and we had a lot of fun going to the races and developing their bikes. Since the market has slowed down, I haven't been on a pit-bike, but I do miss the early days of it. Mitch Payton used to have races under the light at his old house on off-weekends, and those were still the best times on 50s. Maybe someday a fun event like that will pop up and the mini craze will ramp up again.
PING
Ping,
It's that time of year again where some riders head off to Europe to cash in on some overseas supercross racing. I don't recall Carmichael or Villopoto doing much of that… is it a coincidence that they have dominated the last decade? Are those races a distraction or do RC and RV just not like to fly.
Rich
Boise, ID
Rich,
I think there are times when racing in Europe can be good. I had several seasons where I was riding a new brand and I just needed to get some racing in before the start of the U.S. season. Couple that seat time with a fat check and a paid trip to Paris, Geneva, Genoa, Barcelona, etc, and it seemed like a no-brainer. But there is something to be said for the focused mind-set that Ricky Carmichael and Ryan Villopoto always had. Their first priority was to win in the U.S. so they kept their eyes on that prize and block out distractions, even if it meant leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table. I always had a tough time saying no to big chunks of money like that, and maybe that's part of the reason that my championship trophy room is just a spare bedroom with a bed, a fake plant, and no trophies.
PING
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