Ask Ping

Curious in Canada,

I can’t believe Roger is still grinding out season after season. The travel alone is enough to drive a clean, God-fearing man to a raging alcohol addiction. Sure, the racing is always fun but the position of team manager requires a person willing to commit their entire life to the job. When RD does decide to hang it up there are a few guys who could step in and do a great job. KTM likes to keep it Euro when they can so it wouldn’t shock me to see Kurt Nicoll’s name come up. Erik Kehoe would be another guy I would call. “The Hog” is as professional as they come and there isn’t a person in the industry that doesn’t like him. Plus, Kehoe has instant street cred. Casey Lytle and Ryan Morias could both slide into the position, especially if Roger took them under his wing and got them going. My wild card pick for the spot would be Chad Reed. I know he says it’s great to be home at Yamaha but if the right opportunity came along I’m sure he could make a new home. If Reed wants to, he will make a great team manager one day. He’s already been through the team owner position and his attention to detail when it comes to testing and bike development are second to none. He’s still very passionate about racing and he would do a great job. But… he would have to leave Florida. I’m not sure he would want to uproot the family and move to California. You can’t blame him. I can’t believe I still live in California. It will be a sad day when Roger calls it quits. Those shoes are almost too big to fill.

PING

 

Ping,

I’ve been a fan of the sport for 25yrs and one thing I’ve always been curious about is what happens/where do the bikes go after each supercross? Specifically speaking, the east coast rounds?

Thanks!

?,

Where do they go? You mean, like, do they go on a vacation in the Florida Keys while the series moves back west? Unless some teams are whisking their machines off to the tropics for a vacation I’m pretty sure the bikes get loaded into the semi and get sent off to the next round. If the next round is a West Coast round the East Region bikes are left upstairs in the storage area. Most transporters have an upper level that are split into rider lounge and cold storage where bikes and equipment are kept. I know RC has a boat in Destin—I’ll ask him if he takes Kenny’s bike down there during spring break and gets it laid. I’ll get back to you.

PING

 

Pingaling,

After years of riding nothing but the track, I made the switch to riding and racing offroad primarily.  I still hit the track and I notice a lot of positive change in my riding. Balance, elbows up, standing up more, looking ahead, and momentum have all improved. Heading into the woods really improved my fundamental skill on the bike. Dodging trees for two hours in a hare scramble forced me slow down and focus on the little details that, for some reason, didn't get a second thought to at the track. 

I found great return in crossing over into another discipline, so I wondered why not a lot of other people do it as well? Namely the pro MX/SX guys. Enduros, trials, and endurocross seem like it would be helpful to any rider. Aaron Plessinger is a multi-disciplined rider that comes to mind. 

What about you Ping? Ever ridden the woods at race pace? Just be on guard for the occasional deer and banjo music. 

Thanks!
Georgia woods guy