What a difference a day makes at this time of year in this country! After riding in 18C on Friday, we got about 10 centimetres of snow on Sunday here in my neck of the woods in London, Ontario.
I joked about how we all had to scramble to find our shovels and car snow brushes but I’m going to level with you…I don’t shovel in November. There’s just no way it’s going to stay for the entire season, so I refuse to admit fall is finished until much closer to Christmas.
And it looks like I’m right because it will be 11C again by Thursday, so I’ll suffer with wet shoes as I walk to the van for the next couple days. Oh, I also refuse to wear boots until then, too.
Mother Nature must have forgotten about the coronavirus and the resulting border restrictions this year. Normally, I’d be loading up the #DMXVan over the weekend and getting set to head south on I-75 to Florida and the Mini O’s. Not this year.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been all ready to leave when all of a sudden we’d get some crazy weather. It’s like clockwork. I always seem to be taking photos of the van all ready to go covered in snow, fog, or rain coming down sideways. If this were a normal year, she would have gotten me again. Nice try, MN, but I guess you didn’t get the memo!
It’s the start of the 49th Annual Winter Olympics at Gatorback Cycle Park just outside Gainesville. I’m glad this year didn’t happen to be the 50th because I’d hate to miss that one. And if you tell me we’re going to be still dealing with this craziness in a year from now, I’m not sure what I’ll do!
You can catch all the action LIVE on RACERTV. I’ve got it playing in the background and hearing their voices announcing makes me really miss being there. I’ve got a friend out in Vancouver who looks almost exactly like Rodney Tomblin. It’s creepy. He’s a two-time Olympian but really doesn’t fit the profile.
#158 Nathan Snelgrove from Essex, ON is on the track in 65 (10-11) Limited and in 9th place in his heat for gate pick. And as I typed that Nathan has dropped off the top 10 on the results sheet. I gave him a long distance whammy! Sorry, guys.
Anyway, I find these guys very entertaining to listen to. Jeff Hines, Rodney, and Wes Cain do such a good job of calling the races like normal while throwing in the perfect amount of nonsense to keep listeners and watchers paying attention. Have a great week, guys.
Here’s the link for Day 1:
https://racertv.com/2020/11/23/thor-mini-os-day-1
LIVE TIMING:
http://resultsmx.com/minio/liveresults.asp
I know that Noah Viney is also there this year, so watch for him to be a contender, just not in Supercross. He’s still nursing that horrible burn he got a few months ago. I saw a recent photo of it and it looks extremely painful even after all this time. Watch for him on the MX track later in the week. Good luck, Noah.
Also, Ulf Viney will be sending us a few photos and some information throughout the week. No pressure, Ulf…
Canadian Riders:
#95 Evan Stewart – Holland Landing, Ontario
#164 Ryder McNabb – Minnedosa, Manitoba
#25 Tristan Dares – Rockwood, Ontario
#300 Weston Snelgrove – Essex, Ontario
#157 Ryder Snelgrove – Essex, Ontario
#158 Nathan Snelgrove – Essex Ontario
#626 Ethan Darrach – Moncton, New Brunswick
#409 Brennan Schofield – Falmouth, Nova Scotia
You can keep an eye on which classes these riders are signed up for HERE.
If I missed anyone, please let me know so we can keep up on how their week is going.
I heard Rodney say that there were 2302 entries in the Supercross portion of the week and that they actually had to cap it so they could get through all the racing this week. As we know, people are chomping at the bit to get back to racing and it looks like they’re running this event as if things are actually normal in the world.
They also gave the track a full make-over, for the first time in a few years.
Good luck to everyone.
Denny Stephenson is Missing Since Last Monday in Nebraska.
Nobody wants to jump to any conclusions, but this is getting pretty scary. If anyone has information on anything regarding Denny’s possible whereabouts, please message Denny’s father, Don Stephenson.
Frank Luebke from Manluck Rock River Merge Racing Podcast
If you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, we got in touch with Manluk Racing owner Frank Luebke to talk about the big news that they’ve joined forces with Rock River and Merge Racing for the 2021 AMA Supercross and Lucas Oil Motocross season.
From the MMIC:
In October of 2020 the sales trend continued to be very positive despite some inventory challenges. If you had the opportunity to take in a “Town Hall” meeting at one of the shows you may remember the words “Inspire – Explore – Engage – Integrate“. In 2020, Inspiration was provided by Covid19 and cabin fever. Self isolation provided endless time to research recreational pursuits & Explore riding. The dealerships quickly evolved to meet Covid safety protocol to be able to Engage the customer from a distance of 2m. Now comes the next challenge, how do we Integrate these new and returning riders? How do we keep them Excited about riding?
It’s really unfortunate the the Canadian motorcycle show series has been cancelled for 2021. This would have been an awesome venue to communicate and keep all the new riders engaged. Instead we will have to use alternate methods to welcome new riders to our sport and to our community. We will have to encourage them to be the best riders they can be through continued training. Sometimes there are negative connotations about the word “school” that probably dates back to teen years. Riding schools are fun and super beneficial. There’s no shame in taking training, there are only positive benefits. One of the leading causes of PBS (Premature Bike Sale) is fear after a small incident. A trained rider is a more confident rider and confident riders, ride with a smile.
The pandemic has certainly constrained the ability to socialize. 2020 has been a year to ride more and talk less. However the nature of our sport is based on recreational distancing. On-road or off, we ride socially distanced. For new riders it’s important to be welcomed to the social scene. Hopefully in 2021 “Moto Socials” and similar events will return. Another cause of “PBS” can come from not having anyone to ride with. Perhaps “New Rider” events at the dealership level can help integrate these new riders to the communities.
For off-road riders the solution is to join the local club or provincial association. This is a great place to learn the trail system, learn the do’s and don’ts and hang out with people who love to ride too. It’s important to note that the same sales success in off highway vehicles has also been shared with mountain bikes, hiking gear and practically all other outdoor recreational sports. The potential for trail conflict has never been higher as all parties adapt to the rules of the trail. The preservation of riding areas is dependent on new riders knowing the rules (i.e. heels before wheels). New Rider events at the dealership and the clubs are essential to the education of the new riders.
Eric Pritchard the President & CEO of MIC in the US recently made a great statement. The pandemic is not a business plan! Who knows what 2021 will bring. One thing for sure is the need for businesses to be flexible and for dealerships to keep riders Engaged and educated.
If you want to get involved in motorcycling check out “GoMotorcycling.ca“. For those interested in ATVs & Side-by-Sides please stay tuned for our new website “GoRiding.ca” (live but a work in progress). Please “Like & Follow” our social media channels.
Here are some great hashtags to include in your social media posts#GoMotorcycling
#GoRiding
#RecreationalDistancing
Click here to see the full Canada Now or Actualité Canada reports.
