Monday Morning Coffee Opinion Column

It’s time for another Monday Morning Coffee where we talk about some of what happened in Motocross and usually much more…

By Billy Rainford

With all my driving around this continent, I’ve never actually been to Philadelphia. I can’t even think of any other big city in North America that I haven’t been to, so it was cool to check this one off the ever-shortening list.

Since I drove across New York State on the I-90 Thruway last week on the way to Foxborough, I clicked the other option on Google Maps that took me through Buffalo and then south before cutting across to the east to the usual Interstates and I’m glad I did.

At first, I was concerned that I was on 2-lane roads for the first couple hours, but Google kept reassuring me I was “still on the fastest route,” so I didn’t panic.

Quick aside: Back in the early 1990’s, a friend of mine won $10.8 million on Lotto 649. Ya, it was a pretty big deal. To celebrate with his friends, he booked a massive place in Killington, Vermont, and said all we had to do was get there and he’d take care of the rest for an amazing 3 days of skiing.

I hopped into my friend Pete‘s Chevy Blazer and we headed out. It was Pete who reminded me that everyone poops on people’s lawns in Hopkington before the Boston Marathon, if you remember from last week. Anyway, on that drive we played a game we called Up or Down? In the passenger seat, I couldn’t tell if we were going up a hill of down a hill. It was driving me nuts! Pete could tell, of course, because he was the one pressing down or letting off the accelerator. Anyway, I’m always reminded of this when I head across NY State. In fact, on the way home on Sunday morning there was one spot on my drive where I couldn’t tell, and I was driving!

Where was I…

As I made my way down and across New York State and neared Pennsylvania, I couldn’t believe there were this many mountains so close to Ontario. It was beautiful and I’m glad I took this route on my way east.

As I kept cruising along up and down massive hills and beside and over little rivers and streams, I messaged Emily that she would have really liked this drive but that I couldn’t believe I was still driving through mountains. No, not craggy, glacier-topped mountains, but definitely more than “hills.” These are mountain.

Then, I rounded a bend and saw the answer – a sign for the “Endless Mountains Information Center.” OK, so I wasn’t crazy. I felt validated.

All I could think of was how amazing the road and mountain cycling must be anywhere in this area. In fact, I think I’ll try to find a MTB event sometime later in the summer or fall to hit. Honestly, it’s beautiful over there. It’s the Pocono and Blue Ridge Mountains in that area, by the way. There may be more, but those are the signs I noticed.

It’s weird because you make your way back to Buffalo, cross the border and head towards Niagara Falls and the hills just seem to stop and you’re back in farmland. Wild stuff.

I pulled over Friday night leaving myself about a 45-minute drive into Philly and Lincoln Financial Field where the race was being held. We were running another modified schedule due to the rain that continues to fall in the north east.

I made my way into the big city and was surprised at how many people were out and about before 7:30am on a cloudy Saturday morning. Oh, did I mention the van actually had snow on it in the morning? I was not looking forward to anouther mudder like we suffered in Boston the week before.

I got my bearings close to the track and then decided I’d better find a McDonald‘s for a couple breakfast burritos and a coffee. The closest one was a couple blocks away on Oregon Street, so off I went.

This photo doesn’t do Oregon Street in Philly justice for my story, but it was the only one I could snap.

Um, I don’t want to judge, but what the hell is going on over on Oregon Street?! Like I said, it was 7:30am and it looked like a bomb had gone off! There were cars parked on the sidewalk, in the turning lanes, and on some grassy areas. It was complete chaos!

As I made my way through the area, there were menacing-looking people standing in shop doorways that were already open for some reason. Interesting people were milling and mulling all over the place. I snapped a photo through the front window but it just doesn’t do it justice.

The burritos were actually pretty good (for McDonald’s burritos) but the coffee was undrinkable; it got poured out onto some grass.

I made my way back the way I’d come but found out that you couldn’t make a left so I had to go farther along Oregon Street. I was fascinated now and enjoyed the experience. It took me through the neighbourhood and like I noticed before there were cars just left where they….died? I’m talking half on the road half on the sideway, all the way on the sidewalk, on lawns, on shop lawn, pointing in every direction. I’ve literally never seen anything like it.

I made it back to the stadium and got parked. Like last week, I layered up to the point I could barely move and carried all my camera and computer equipment along with all my rain gear toward the photo den.

There was a big line to go through the metal detectors and bag check, so I knew I was going to be late for our mandatory safety meeting. There was nothing I could do, so I just rolled with it. Would I be even later than Brown Dog Wilson?! I was. But I wasn’t last!

When I got my first look at the track I was very impressed. I don’t think it stopped raining the two days leading up to the race, but when they pulled back the tarps the track was dry! Even the new plywood around the edges of the track was in good shape. The only problem you could see during track walk were some of the transitions were mucky meaning they were likely going to get pretty rutted up, but that was it! Kudos to the track crew again this week.

Last week, the guys digging and pulling bikes out of the mud got the MVP.

Not only was the track in good shape but the rain had stopped and we didn’t see any for the rest of the entire event! I never once had to put the clear plastic bag over my cameras. The only negative part was that it was cold. I don’t think it made it over like 7 Celsius, so I had to borrow BDW’s scooter to go back to the van for gloves and then everything was perfect.

MMC isn’t where I usually do any sort of talking about the racing, but I’ll be sure to post up a race report a little later. I usually try to focus on things you likely didn’t see on the broadcast, so watch for that.

250 podium: Cole Davies, Haiden Deegan, RJ Hampshire.

250 Main Event Results 

POS#BIKERIDERINTERVALBEST LAP (LAP #)TOTAL TIMEHOMETOWNTEAM
1100 COLE DAVIES19 Laps48.322 (5)19/16:09.993Waitoki, New ZealandMonster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
238 HAIDEN DEEGAN1.21148.823 (9)19/16:11.203Temecula, CAMonster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
324 R.J. HAMPSHIRE Holeshot6.28948.958 (8)19/16:16.282Hudson FloridaRockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
456 SETH HAMMAKER6.82949.013 (3)19/16:16.822Bainbridge, PAMonster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
530 JO SHIMODA11.85348.572 (4)19/16:21.846Suzuka, JapanHonda HRC Progressive
61 TOM VIALLE12.40148.907 (5)19/16:22.393FranceRed Bull KTM Factory Racing
736 GARRETT MARCHBANKS28.02949.807 (5)19/16:38.022Coalville, UTMonster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
892 MAXIMUS VOHLAND30.65249.779 (7)19/16:40.644Temecula, CAMuc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha
919 JORDON SMITH33.43349.669 (4)19/16:43.425Belmont, NCTriumph Racing Factory Team
1010 CHANCE HYMAS36.00749.305 (5)19/16:46.000Pocatello, IDHonda HRC Progressive
1137 COTY SCHOCK37.96649.618 (3)19/16:47.959Dover, DEMuc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha
1223 JULIEN BEAUMER39.45549.667 (4)19/16:49.447Lake Havasu City, AZRedbull KTM Factory Racing
13166 ENZO LOPES42.97350.007 (4)19/16:52.967BrazilToyota Redlands BarX Yamaha
1441 NATE THRASHER44.46150.197 (6)19/16:54.453Livingston, TNMonster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
1559 CULLIN PARK47.17950.539 (5)19/16:57.171Clermont, FLPhoenix Racing Honda
1683 AUSTIN FORKNER52.82949.928 (8)19/17:02.822Richards, MOTriumph Factory Racing
1755 HENRY MILLER1 Lap51.232 (4)18/16:34.588Rochester, MNStorm Lake Honda Buddy Brooks Racing
1893 MICHAEL MOSIMAN1 Lap50.072 (2)18/17:07.260Sebastopol CAMonster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
1963 HUNTER YODER2 Laps50.926 (4)17/16:27.025Menifee, CAPartzilla Blaster Power PRMX Racing
20115 GAVIN TOWERS9 Laps50.285 (4)10/9:41.415Pittsburgh, PAPhenix Racing Honda
2187 HARDY MUNOZ17 Laps52.680 (2)2/2:21.800Temuco, ChileMunoz Racing
2234 DAXTON BENNICK DNS19 Laps 0Morganton

250 EAST POINTS

1 24 R.J. Hampshire 117 4 20 25 18 22 8 20
2 56 Seth Hammaker 117 18 5 20 25 18 13 18
3 1 Tom Vialle 115 17 18 22 22 20 0 16
4 10 Chance Hymas 103 16 16 18 1 15 25 12
5 59 Cullin Park 91 15 11 13 9 14 22 7
6 41 Nate Thrasher 89 14 17 14 8 25 3 8
7 31 Max Anstie 78 25 22 16 15 0 N/A N/A
8 34 Daxton Bennick 77 -5 22 0 15 11 17 17 0
9 92 Maximus Vohland 74 -3 1 13 17 12 16 4 14
10 55 Henry Miller 57 11 12 10 0 10 9 5
11 83 Austin Forkner 53 5 15 5 10 12 0 6
12 60 Carson Mumford 51 12 14 11 3 11 0 N/A
13 87 Hardy Munoz 45 9 10 12 0 13 0 1
14 75 Gage Linville 42 10 8 2 0 2 20 0
15 47 Levi Kitchen 39 13 25 1 N/A 0 0 N/A
16 192 Jack Chambers 34 3 7 9 0 0 15 0
17 89 Trevor Colip 32 6 9 6 0 0 11 0
18 195 Lance Kobusch 31 8 0 0 0 7 16 0
19 50 Cameron Mcadoo 20 20 0 0 N/A 0 N/A N/A
20 148 Justin Rodbell 18 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 18 N/A

250 WEST POINTS

1 38 Haiden Deegan 171 17 20 25 22 25 20 20 22
2 100 Cole Davies 154 14 18 20 20 15 17 25 25
3 23 Julien Beaumer 145 22 25 22 18 16 14 18 10
4 30 Jo Shimoda 136 25 15 16 12 18 16 17 17
5 37 Coty Schock 115 16 16 17 14 22 5 14 11
6 36 Garrett Marchbanks 110 13 14 N/A 16 17 13 22 15
7 19 Jordon Smith 108 20 22 18 25 0 N/A 10 13
8 93 Michael Mosiman 99 7 13 15 17 20 7 16 4
9 63 Hunter Yoder 68 9 12 12 8 11 4 9 3
10 65 Lux Turner 63 11 0 11 11 13 6 11 0
11 52 Anthony Bourdon 54 15 11 13 15 N/A N/A N/A N/A
12 302 Parker Ross 51 5 7 10 13 8 0 8 N/A
13 61 Cole Thompson 47 12 10 0 3 9 0 13 N/A
14 166 Enzo Lopes 43 N/A N/A 5 0 14 N/A 15 9
15 91 Tj Albright 36 8 6 8 10 3 0 1 0
16 25 Ryder Difrancesco 35 18 17 N/A N/A 0 N/A N/A N/A
17 115 Gavin Towers 35 3 4 7 0 5 2 12 2
18 54 Jett Reynolds 34 0 9 9 4 12 0 N/A N/A
19 101 Dylan Walsh 31 0 3 4 7 10 0 7 0
20 134 Avery Long 20 10 0 N/A N/A 4 0 6 0

450 podium: Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb, Ken Roczen.

450 Main Event Results 

POS#BIKERIDERINTERVALBEST LAP (LAP #)TOTAL TIMEHOMETOWNTEAM
14 CHASE SEXTON25 Laps47.771 (9)25/20:53.803La Moille, ILRed Bull KTM Factory Racing
22 COOPER WEBB2.65448.072 (9)25/20:56.458Newport, NCMonster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
394 KEN ROCZEN Holeshot24.04048.620 (3)25/21:17.843Mattstedt, GermanyProgressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki
427 MALCOLM STEWART35.42048.538 (3)25/21:29.223Haines City, FLRockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
517 JOEY SAVATGY37.80348.943 (3)25/21:31.606Clermont, FLQuadlock Honda Racing
632 JUSTIN COOPER41.67048.888 (21)25/21:35.473Cold Spring Harbor, NYMonster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
714 DYLAN FERRANDIS42.91749.549 (11)25/21:36.720Avignon, FrancePhoenix Racing Honda
87 AARON PLESSINGER48.52349.065 (7)25/21:42.326Hamilton, OHRedbull KTM Factory Racing
957 BENNY BLOSS1 Lap49.409 (13)24/20:59.600Oak Grove, MOFactory Liqui Moly Beta Racing
1046 JUSTIN HILL1 Lap49.566 (5)24/21:02.273Yoncalla, ORTeam Tedder Racing
1149 MITCHELL OLDENBURG1 Lap49.102 (3)24/21:11.070Alvord, TXLiqui Moly Beta Factory Racing
1212 SHANE MCELRATH1 Lap49.577 (4)24/21:19.865Oakland, FLQuadlock Honda Racing
1345 COLT NICHOLS1 Lap50.094 (8)24/21:21.539Muskogee, OKTwisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
1451 JUSTIN BARCIA1 Lap50.941 (16)24/21:26.603Monroe NYRockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racing
1528 CHRISTIAN CRAIG1 Lap50.655 (6)24/21:36.085Temecula,caMonster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
1686 MITCHELL HARRISON1 Lap49.782 (6)24/21:38.085Brighton, MIPartzilla Blaster PRMX Racing
1715 DEAN WILSON1 Lap49.966 (3)24/21:46.127Glasgow, ScotlandHonda HRC Progressive
1811 KYLE CHISHOLM2 Laps51.493 (4)23/21:09.469Valrico, FLTwisted Tea HEP Suzuki
19146 KEVIN MORANZ2 Laps51.929 (10)23/21:16.699Topeka, KSChampion Tool Storage Geebo KMR KTM
2043 GRANT HARLAN2 Laps52.392 (4)23/21:22.776Paso Robles, CAGizmo Mods RockRiver Yamaha
2133 FREDDIE NOREN2 Laps51.443 (3)23/21:27.585Lidköping, SwedenISRT/MX4Christ Kawasaki
2268 JEREMY HAND2 Laps51.668 (4)23/21:34.478Mantua Oh

450 POINTS

1 2 Cooper Webb 278 18 20 14 22 22 25 25 22
2 4 Chase Sexton 266 25 16 18 25 17 20 20 17
3 94 Ken Roczen 240 22 18 22 20 1 22 22 25
4 27 Malcolm Stewart 204 12 15 13 12 25 18 13 16
5 32 Justin Cooper 203 15 11 16 9 18 17 18 18
6 7 Aaron Plessinger 184 13 0 0 13 14 13 15 20
7 51 Justin Barcia 181 16 14 12 10 16 15 16 12
8 21 Jason Anderson 151 20 9 20 15 20 16 11 14
9 46 Justin Hill 149 14 8 7 16 12 12 17 15
10 12 Shane McElrath 136 9 5 5 8 13 10 9 11
11 14 Dylan Ferrandis 135 0 13 6 11 0 14 14 10
12 49 Mitchell Oldenburg 103 6 3 9 5 11 8 10 9
13 57 Benny Bloss 101 0 6 10 3 9 0 5 6
14 17 Joey Savatgy 97 1 12 11 7 15 9 12 13
15 45 Colt Nichols 93 -5 0 4 8 6 10 11 7 7
16 3 Eli Tomac 80 17 25 15 18 5 0 0 N/A
17 1 Jett Lawrence 71 10 22 25 14 N/A N/A N/A N/A
18 96 Hunter Lawrence 62 11 17 17 17 0 0 0 N/A
19 11 Kyle Chisholm 52 2 2 0 4 7 5 2 3
20 86 Mitchell Harrison 47 5 0 0 0 6 6 6 5

This coming Saturday, our north east residency (I remember how much people loved that word during the COVID times…) takes us back to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. It’s another unavoidable drive across the I-90 through NY State that hopefully a few days at home will have me mentally ready to pull off. Luckily, I’ve got a short memory!

Devyn Smith Raced the Stumpjumpers Desert 100

From stumpjumpers.org:

The Infamous Stumpjumpers Desert 100

Since 1969 when this annual race began, the Desert 100, once known as Mattawa, has been the most prestigious off road race of the year. On Sunday morning the air is buzzing as 1000+ racers prepare to compete in the weekend finale. Riders of all ability levels will position across the longest start line in North America and await the cannon blast that signals the beginning of their 100 mile trek. Racers will make a mad dash to their bikes, get them fired up and finally take off in a drag race across open desert in this infamous sprint to the flags for the chance at the hole-shot. After that its a battle with each other and the desert through relentless channeled scablands that put the riders and their machines to the test over the next several hours to finish 100 miles. The proud racers that do finish will cross the stage as everyone cheers them on. A few will be going for the win but most will be just looking to finish the most challenging race in Washington.

Check out his post from his Instagram page:

Shelby Turner 4th at GNCC Round 5

WXC – Bike – Class Results
Place Nbr Name Hometown Brand Laps Elapsed
1 444 KORIE STEEDE BELOIT, OH HQV 5 02:10:45.190
2 713 TAYLA JONES CHESTER, SC HON 5 02:10:52.018
3 001 RACHAEL ARCHER TE AWAMUTU, NA KAW 5 02:15:02.037
4 550 SHELBY A TURNER BARONS, AB GAS 5 02:15:48.239
5 580 BROOKE COSNER HONEA PATH, SC KAW 5 02:18:49.978
6 525 ADDISON HARRIS SMITHFIELD, RI KTM 5 02:21:59.299
7 482 CARLY LEE MILLVILLE, NJ KTM 5 02:22:45.548
8 412 DANIELLE MCDONALD PARKES, NA YAM 5 02:24:23.256
9 215 ELLIE WINLAND ZANESVILLE, OH YAM 5 02:27:17.159
10 924 ADDISON J ELLIOTT LASCASSAS, TN KAW 5 02:31:14.691
11 715 ASHLEE M GAGE SHOSHONE, ID KAW 5 02:38:02.458
12 207 PRESTIN RAINES TRAVELERS REST, SC BET 4 01:54:48.300
XC1 Open Pro – Bike – Class Results
Place Nbr Name Hometown Brand Laps Elapsed
1 530 BENJAMIN M KELLEY HARWINTON, CT KTM 7 02:59:43.439
2 557 KAILUB K RUSSELL BOONVILLE, NC YAM 7 03:00:38.430
3 212 RICKY A RUSSELL DUVALL, WA OTH 7 03:00:40.558
4 342 CRAIG B DELONG WAYNESBURG, PA HQV 7 03:01:19.619
5 198 LIAM DRAPER AUCKLAND, NA YAM 7 03:01:59.490
6 007 JOSH V STRANG DENVER, NC BET 7 03:02:04.588
7 314 GRANT R BAYLOR HONEA PATH, SC KAW 7 03:05:07.211
8 514 STEWARD BAYLOR JR HODGES, SC KAW 7 03:06:03.859
9 003 JORDAN P ASHBURN LIVINGSTON, TN GAS 7 03:06:24.398
10 336 RYDER LAFFERTY ELKIN, NC HON 7 03:08:19.178
11 347 EVAN SMITH JEFFERSON, GA YAM 7 03:08:28.410
12 178 LYNDON SNODGRASS AUSTRALIA, // HQV 7 03:19:31.731
13 707 JASON C LIPSCOMB PARKERSBURG, WV YAM 7 03:27:23.178
14 008 MICHAEL WITKOWSKI CATAWBA, NC HON 3 01:16:03.955
DNF 001 JONATHAN S GIRROIR BOONVILLE, NC KTM 0 00:00:00.000
XC2 250 Pro – Bike – Class Results
Place Nbr Name Hometown Brand Laps Elapsed
1 922 GRANT W DAVIS MESHOPPEN, PA KTM 7 03:00:13.779
2 990 CODY J BARNES STERLING, IL HON 7 03:01:09.438
3 035 ANGUS J RIORDAN AUSTRALIA, // KTM 7 03:02:12.934
4 246 NICHOLAS DEFEO MYRTLE BEACH, SC KAW 7 03:04:33.053
5 235 BRODY JOHNSON LANDRUM, SC HON 7 03:07:07.075
6 719 JHAK WALKER MORRISONVILLE, IL BET 7 03:08:14.728
7 441 MICHAEL DELOSA GILLETT, PA YAM 7 03:16:40.290
8 293 HUNTER D BUSH SCIOTA, PA KAW 7 03:16:46.448
9 213 TOBY D CLEVELAND ERIN, NY HQV 7 03:18:32.930
10 454 LAYTON J SMAIL COVINGTON, WA KAW 7 03:19:12.279
11 382 KENNETH HELD TABERNACLE, NJ HON 6 03:03:27.935
12 199 ZACHARY N DAVIDSON IRON STATION, NC HQV 6 03:04:29.595
13 226 JASON T TINO PHILLIPSBURG, NJ GAS 4 01:46:28.859
14 206 JOSHUA M TOTH HICKORY, NC KAW 2 00:49:47.298
DNF 526 DAKODA DEVORE UHRICHSVILLE, OH HQV 0 00:00:00.000

Something I don’t always do but did this week is take a second to enjoy and take in the fact that it’s pretty rare to be able to wander around the bowels of all these amazing stadiums. Throughout the halls there were amazing photos from events held at Lincoln Financial Field over the years. There were some stunning shots!

One of my close buddies wore a #7 Eagles jersey for high school photo day way back in the 1980’s, so it reminded me to take a second to look around. I found an old #7 photo in a hall so I took a selfie with it and sent it to him.

This shot above is the actual hallway the team rushes out of their dressing room and onto the 50-yard line to start the games. My back is actually to the stadium entrance here. Like I said, it’s pretty cool to get the opportunity to do this every week!

#78 Cade Clason back in action.

It was great to see Partzilla PRMX rider #78 Cade Clason back in action after breaking his arm in Tampa. He was down and at the back of the pack early in the LCQ so he didn’t get to head to the Main, but it was great to see him back and representing the Canadian team with #86 Mitchell Harrison in the 450 class.

Speaking of Mitchell Harrison, did everyone see him up in 3rd place early in the Main after that first turn pile-up?

Have a great week, everyone. It’s supposed to hit 20 Celsius here today, so it looks like I’ll get out on the Scott Foil with Greg Poisson to try and get myself in some sort of cycling shape after this long winter. I hope that got you through another cup to start your week.

The Scott Foil XL is for sale!
See you at the races…