Frid’Eh Update #53 – Happy New Year

By Jeff McConkey and Billy Rainford

Official or unofficial, Week #53 belongs to Halifax, NS rider, Davey Fraser. – Bigwave photo

This would be Week #53 of a 52-week year and would belong to Atlantic Canada’s favourite son, Davey Fraser. But since this Frid’Eh falls directly on New Year’s Day, it didn’t seem right to bother anyone. Davey will be #36 in 2016. I know, I know, he was already that number not long ago…2013, actually. I didn’t want to bother him, since it’s New Year’s Day and all, but he was available for a short chat. He said he was “not happy about the repeat number” for 2016, but laughed and said he has “lots of old jerseys to use.”

Direct Motocross: Hey, Davey, what’s up?

Davey Fraser: Well, there’s not much going on this time of year, besides work. I had a fun 2015 of riding and meeting new people. I’m looking forward to 2016 and doing it again. Right now, I don’t have to much planned but I do know Freedom Cycle and Kawasaki are backing me again, so it should be another fun year.

We don’t want to bug you too much today, but maybe just a couple questions. What was your favourite race from last summer?

Favourite race for me has always been River Glade because it’s the closest thing I have to a home race, even though I’m still 3 hours east from there. It’s always a fun race too because that’s the race that things always click for me.

Things DO usually click for Davey at the River Glade National. – Bigwave photo

Davey usually wins the Brian House Memorial as top finishing Maritime rider. – Bigwave photo

But now with Pleasant Valley coming onto the schedule, I will probably have a new favourite race next year. I might actually get to sleep in my own bed that weekend!

And with Supercros right around the corner, what about your SX experience? Tell us how different/tough it is to race/qualify for one of these things.

My experience with Supercross was fun, for sure. It was really tough and I went into it very unprepared. If I were to do it again, I would definitely only do it if I had the time to prepare. When I went to Toronto SX it had been a month and half since I had even ridden a bike (Laughs).

Davey went into the Toronto SX “unprepared,” but he went into it! – Bigwave photo

Well, we won’t keep you long today. Thanks for the very quick chat and Happy New Year. This isn’t really much of a ‘Frid’Eh Update,’ but it’s #53 so we wanted to see if you were around for a talk.

Happy New Year to you too. Anytime…I’ll take it!

#36 Davey Fraser getting cozy with #22 Dylan Kaelin at the 2013 MMRS Madoc National. – Bigwave photo

Yup, he was #36 just a couple years ago. – Bigwave photo

I’m curious what Jeff McConkey would score this get-up on his finely-tuned ‘fashion scale?’

This one goes back a few years! – Bigwave photo

Have a look around this shot at the Sand Del Lee National. – Bigwave photo

Who knew back then that it would be #25 Tyler Medaglia who would steal his Brian House trophy in years to come?! – Bigwave photo

Thanks for the chat, Davey, and Happy New Year! – Bigwave photo

Jeff McConkey

Hey, guys. Happy New Year! This is usually the time where social media has all the cheesey ‘this is a new year, new me’ blah. blah, blah garbage. I, personally, look forward to the New Year, as it means Monster Energy Supercross is only one week away. I was actually just over on Racer X browsing and was very pleased to read how excited a few of the Racer X staff was to return to Toronto. Heck, they even mentioned our awesome pre-race and post-race festivities. It doesn’t get much better than that!

With 2015 coming to an end, I was just going over my Most Memorable Moments. There are quite a few that stick out, but I won’t bore you (yet), and I’ll just give you a few:

5- Jessica Patterson shows up in Ulverton: It was a very cool surprise to have (in my opinion and many others) the greatest female racer of all time show up at the 3rd and final round of the Women’s East National Series. Although ‘JP Money’ completely dominated, it was a very good thing for our girls. I hope it was an eye opener and lights some fires under the butts of our Canadian racers and pushes them to work harder and get better. Thank you, Jessica, for showing us just how good you are!

4- Americans coming North: As much as people bitch that ‘our rides shouldn’t go to foreign riders,’ our series would be pretty bad without them. They are raising the level of competition and creating interest in our series in America. Yes, I’d like to see more Canadians on teams, but only if they deserve the ride.

3- Kaven Benoit’s Dominance: Kaven was on a completely different level this past season. Yes, he was amazing on his 250 2- stroke, but, don’t kid yourself, Benoit would have won on a 250f. Aside from a few great rides from Jimmy Decotis and Jeremy Medaglia, nobody was going to stop Benoit. It wasn’t just one thing, it was a combination of many. Benoit’s fitness was amazing, his team was fantastic, and he rides the 2-stroke as if he were made for it. There was no stopping him.

2- The Top 4 in MX1: Matt Goerke, Colton Facciotti, Brett Metcalfe and Cole Thompson were all on another level. It really upped our series to have these top stars all riding so well week in and week out. They raised the bar and that led to fantastic racing every round.

1- AX Tour comes to Canada: I honestly feel that this is one of the greatest things to happen to the sport of motocross in Canada. It is going to help our riders get to the next level for many years to come. I can’t wait to see the new dates and venues for the future.

That’s it for me this week. Be sure to take a look at my ‘Out of the Blue‘ with Megan Griffiths. Megan has a ton of talent on a bike and is definitely one to keep an eye on. Have a great week, #smileforBC! and I’ll see you next week.

Billy Rainford

Thanks, Jeff. And don’t worry, everyone, Jeff will “bore you” with lots of input in our upcoming countdown columns coming soon on the site. Hey, it’s the time of year for both serious and non-serious Top 10’s! Speaking of which…

Another year has come and gone here at Direct Motocross. It was a year filled with new adventures and unprecedented reach and entertainment. Having taken the reigns in January of 2015, it was not without pressure and heightened expectations that I headed into the new year. I am forever grateful to Kyle Carruthers and those who came before him at the DMX helm.

Kyle is now working for Under Armor in the outdoor category and is as busy as ever. He is still in touch on a regular basis and is always quick to lend a hand whenever possible. In fact, we met for a coffee the other week when his duties brought him to London with some spare time. We discussed everything possible in the world of Canadian moto and beyond. As a new home owner with his wife, Leanne, Kyle now heads into a new chapter of his life but still tries to find time to check in on ‘the scene’ often.

January is a time to reflect on the past 12 months, and Kyle is always someone I find myself wondering about. It was his hard work ethic and trust in me that has taken our site to the level it has reached today. I just wanted to take this time to thank him for always believing in me and allowing me, basically, unfettered control of my content in years past. I now know from experience that handing over the keys to your life’s work is no easy feat.

As we move forward into 2016, our goals remain the same: keep bringing Canadian motocross, and motocross in general, to the forefront with coverage from the ground up. We promise to continue giving all of our amateur and professional riders and racers coverage as they strive to achieve their goals. As I always like to say, “If there’s a Canadian racing abroad, I will do my best to be there covering all the action!” That will not change this coming year. In fact, we are right now getting set to head out to California to catch all the action of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series|An FIM World Championship.

With Canadian Cole Thompson set to compete in the 250 West series for the Slaton Racing team, we don’t want to miss a turned wheel. Between coverage from Tyler Spikman and myself, we should be able to give you a close-up look at what Cole and the team go through as the weeks pass, not to mention all the other racing action and behind-the-scenes stuff you can handle. It’s already setting up to be an exciting winter!

Also, we want to be sure to thank each and every company out there who has been behind DMX and our content from Day 1. Of course, none of this would be possible without their confidence and support. With that in mind, we plan to elevate our coverage and bring as many eyes to their brands as possible. We understand this is a symbiotic relationship that only exists to coexist.

Please be sure to click the banners you see on Canadian moto sites. Those impressions matter in this new world of online content.

From the bottom of our hearts and the depths of our laptops’ hard drives, we thank you. From the outside, running and/or working for a motocross media outlet must seem a glamorous and exciting venture. Well, it definitely holds enough excitement to keep even the most ADD-afflicted person focused, but glamorous? No, not even close. It’s long hours of driving and and staring at the glow of your laptop’s screen in some of the most removed-from-civilization wifi locations you can imaging. But would I change a thing? Nope. The lure of a motocross adventure is like none other. Once two wheels get in your blood, you’re hooked. Try as you might, there is just no walking away from it for long.

After a long week of covering a multi-day amateur championship south of the border, you’re usually ready to glue yourself to the couch forever. But then a day without moto passes and you find yourself looking for your next fix. You are most likely reading this as a rider/racer and can relate to the way you feel after a tough moto or even an injury. People think you’re crazy for being able to focus on nothing else besides healing quickly so you can line up on the gate again somewhere as soon as possible. Well, it’s the same thing once you’ve retired from racing and are on the other side of the camera lens. It’s a drug…a sickness, and not even ‘more cowbell’ can cure it.

Short and sweet, this New Year’s Day. I trust everyone is safe and sound this Friday? I hope you all had a happy and successful 2015 and that positivity follows or leads you into 2016. Thanks for the support, and we look forward to bigger things in the future. Whatever happens, it’s going to be an adventure!