Monday Morning Coffee

By Billy Rainford

Happy 4th of July to those of you reading from south of the border. Both countries celebrate their identities this same weekend:

Canada Day

Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united the three separate colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single dominion within the British Empire called Canada.^[1]^[2]^[3] Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day celebrations take place throughout Canada, and are also held throughout the world by Canadians living abroad.

Although Canada existed prior to 1867 within both the French and British empires, the celebration is frequently referred to as “Canada’s birthday”, particularly in the popular press.^[4]^[5]^[6] Although the celebration does not mark the “birth” of Canada, it does represent an important national milestone on the way to full independence, with the occasion marking the joining of the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a wider federation of four provinces (the colony of Canada being divided into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec upon Confederation). Canada became a kingdom within the British Empire in its own right on that date, named the Dominion of Canada,^{[n 1]}^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] and as a result gained an increased level of self-governance, although the British parliament and Cabinet still maintained political control over certain political areas, such as foreign affairs, national defence, and constitutional changes. Canada gradually gained increasing independence over the years until finally becoming completely independent in 1982 when the Constitution Act, 1982 fully patriated the Canadian constitution.

Under the federal Holidays Act,^[12] Canada Day is observed on July 1, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case July 2 is the statutory holiday, although celebratory events generally take place on July 1, even though it is not the legal holiday.^[13] If it falls on a Saturday, any businesses normally closed that day will generally dedicate the following Monday (July 3) as a day off.

4th of July

Independence Day of the United States, also referred to as the Fourth of July or July Fourth in the U.S., is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no longer part of the British Empire.^[1] Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain rule.^[5]^[6] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.^[7]

Adams’s prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.^[8]

Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Coincidentally, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but another Founding Father who became a President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, thus becoming the third President in a row who died on the holiday. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only U.S. President to have been born on Independence Day.

(Both from Wikipedia.)

I hope everyone had a good long weekend on either side of the border. It’s the only weekend the Rockstar Energy MX Nationals takes a break this year. Traditionally, there were two weekends off between the western swing and the final push throughout the east. However, with Walton being off the schedule this year, the route had to be tweaked a wee bit to allow manufacturers and major sponsors to be at the Parts Canada TransCan at Walton Raceway August 17-21, which will be the 25 year anniversary celebration this summer. If we had taken another weekend off, it would have overlapped. So, although there is some obvious animosity between the CMRC and the TransCan GNC, it was great they could work this part of the schedule out, at least, to allow teams and riders to be at the celebration of amateur motocross in Walton and the Canadian Motocross Grand National Pro Open.

OK, so what DID happen this weekend?

WCAN at Temple Hill in Raymond, Alberta

The CMRC Western Canadian Amateur National (WCAN) took place this past weekend out at Temple Hill Raceway in Raymond, Alberta. You can find the full results HERE.

After perusing the results, it looks like there were quite a few empty gates at the event. Of course, the usual Junior classes had nearly 30 riders, but the rest look a little sparse. However, the top western riders appear to have taken the major titles like Casey Keast, Jacob Piccolo, and Josh Duerksen. Congratulations to everyone who made the trek to southwestern Alberta for the event.

With only one week off before Gopher Dunes, the Pro field wasn’t what it usually was. #69 Ryeley Gallup took the win in that class over #591 Rylan Pozdnekoff. Ryeley got a nice taste of things up at the front of the field after almost grabbing both Royal Distributing Holeshot Awards at Moto Valley in Regina last weekend. Now, all we have to do is get him east to see how he can do in the whole series this year on his KTM 250 2-stroke.

The cream rose to the top at the WCAN in Raymond, Alberta. Riders like #81 Jacob Piccolo walked away with titles at the event|Bigwave photo

Motopark Moto Cup Final Rounds

Motopark held their final two rounds of competition for this year’s New Era Moto Cup over the weekend. On a track that saw some major revisions, riders flocked to the classic track up in Chatsworth, Ontario. I raced at Motopark back in 1982 and it was almost the same then as it is now. They decided to clean the slate and make some major changes for this event. Sometimes change is good and other times it backfires. From all accounts I’ve heard, this version of the track is a lot of fun, and as Jeff McConkey said, “There wasn’t one section of the track that you didn’t look forward to!”

They even tossed in a new ‘marquee’ jump that launches riders 120 feet from table top to table top. These jumps are a lot of fun…when done properly. I remember racing at Baja Acres wayyy back in the day and having the referee tell us all at the morning riders’ meeting, “You’re not all Eddie Warren, so don’t do that table to table if you’re not at that level!” (That’s right, an Eddie Warren reference!) I hope that big jump at Motopark didn’t claim anyone this past weekend.

Full results form the weekend can be found HERE.

Here’s a set of results I find very interesting:

#184 Tanner Ward started the summer racing the Junior classes after moving up from little bikes last season. Well, he was demolishing that field and so the decision was made to move up the Intermediate classes. It looks like he’s adapting pretty well, besting #46 Marco Cannella, #424 Austin Watling, and Motopark local, Davin Grose. Keep an eye on these riders as Loretta Lynn’s closes in and they dabble with the Pro/Am class – they are the names of the not-so-distant future of Canadian Pro Motocross.

Red Buuuuuddddddd!

Jeff McConkey headed down to the annual 4th of July classic, Red Bud, this past weekend armed with a camera and one camera setting. You see, Jeff is not a photographer, but that’s not really what you need to capture the essence of the weekend in Buchanan, Michigan. Covering Red Bud takes 1 part camera, and 5 parts courage.

Jeff and Melissa did the whole camping thing with Rachel and Todd Kuli, and they made it out alive! Actually, Jeff said the shenanigans have taken a back seat lately at the event but it was still something that has to be experienced first hand to be appreciated. Yes, the amateur racing went well into the night and there were more than a few people walking around at 8am with homemade beer bongs, but the danger factor seems to have ebbed a wee bit since the old days.

I’ve gone through his photos and we will have them up on the site in this week’s ‘Faces at the Races‘ column later this afternoon, so be sure to check back for that.

Red Bud is always chock full ‘o these guys. It’s a general photog rule of thumb to keep toilets in the background to a minimum, but this seems appropriate|Jeff McConkey photo

Cairoli/Gajser Battle in Italy

Check out this classic battle between Tim Gajser and Antonio Cairoli at Mantova!

OK, although I had a weekend off from the races, I’m still way backed up with content from the past week, so I hope that was enough to get you through a nice, relaxing cup of coffee. Jeff just sent over his ‘McThoughts‘ from Red Bud and his ‘Faces at the Races’ column. Also, it was #27 Shawn Robinson‘s week for the Frid’Eh Update and we were just able to talk with him, so watch for his interview later today. Oh, and I shot photos and video from the FXR Ride Day in Winnipeg last Tuesday and that hasn’t been finished yet. And let’s not forget our mid-season Rockstar MX Nationals ‘Report Card‘ we’ll have up soon too. OK, enough telling you what we’re doing and off I go to actually do it!

Oh, and we’d like to send Jeremy Pronovost a ‘Get Well Soon!’ after reading on Facebook that he has ended his season with a crash. We’ll get in touch with him and let you know how he’s doing as soon as we can. Thanks for reading and have a great week!