Cinco De Moto, amigos!

Mark your calendar for May 5th & 6th, 2012 and get ready for the 6th Annual Steel Stampede!

We could have used a more flattering photo, but then again, we’re not very nice people.

If you missed it at the Trials:

Mike Lake built it, and Tom rode it to a class win.

Better get that 1/16th turn throttle replaced before the next event, Tom, or I’ll have some crash video of you to show off!

What a great event! Almost 70 riders Saturday, and over 160 on Sunday. Sure was fun seeing everyone out there competing, volunteering, cheering, or just hanging around the pits sharing a beverage and a tall tale or two.

Anyone have any complaints or ideas on how we can improve next year?

I’ll chime in first and say that if you were a trials rider on Saturday who cut across from the dirt road up to section 7 (the sand section) and you felt your ears burning Sunday morning, it was because this old lady was busy raking your tracks and cussing your bad manners!

I know it sounds stupid, but we’ve got a couple of folks that live on the Ranch who want to shut down the race, last year they took pics of the off-trail tracks and made a big stink, so this year Pete asked everyone really nicely to please stay on the marked trails. So, why oh why were there folks that felt the need to do a little cross-country riding? Sigh. Okey-dokey, I’m off my soapbox and back to saying, WHAT A FREAKING AWESOME WEEKEND!

Seriously, could the weather have been any more perfect? And what a great group of volunteers! Many of ‘em are out here supporting a sport they’re not involved in, and having a great time doing it – Crooked River Ranch Volunteers ROCK!

It was a natural terrain track, so it changed every lap, and boulders appeared in the course seemingly from nowhere, but you guys and gals took it all in stride and were absolutely flying out there.

I’m in the middle of posting huge batches of photos on flickr, I’ll have them listed by rider number so you can find yourself (just type your rider number and “Steel Stampede” into the Flickr search box). I saw many other photographers with some exceedingly nice equipment also documenting the action, so if they chime in with photo links, I’ll pass those along as I get them.

Pam’s Pics Here!

Matt Holloway’s Pics Here!

Just a few quick things that really stick out in my mind:

Listening to the birds sing in the crisp morning air, watching Dick Mann and the gang doing tech inspection.

Watching Ed Parsons have way too much fun driving that Rhino on the track delivering food to the workers before the race. Meals on Wheels on Speed!

Seeing Rod Kentner and Randy Limbeck walking the track kicking rocks before the race. So good to see these past super-fast locals out enjoying the day after both have suffered some extremely serious injuries in the past few years.

One of the racers breaking a clutch perch at the end of his first lap, restarting the bike and soldiering on to finish the race with his clutch lever flapping. That’s hard core.

Seeing tons of license plates from out of state and thinking how much cash it cost just for those riders to get to the race. That’s commitment, folks. You have my respect.

A row of small boys, all intently watching the racing. Who needs Playstation when you’ve got old bikes and fast riders?

Seeing something in the distance which stops me in my tracks. What the heck is that thing?

Smelling some very wild fuel mixes – from regular race gas, to oxygenated fuels, to something with acetone in it? Oh, and the Castrol! Dang, that stuff still smells cool, even though it gives me heartburn.

The pack of Hodakas – all four in a line during their second moto – I really love that 100 class, it’s super fun to watch.

So, what mental pictures did you take away from this weekend? It’s why we do this stuff, and why we’re not sitting at home watching reality tv, and why on Monday, when someone asks you what you did this weekend, you have something real and interesting to tell them.

Go ahead, brag a little, you earned it.

67 riders enjoyed one of the first beautiful days we’ve had in months, a tiny bit of wind and about 60 degrees, darned near perfect riding weather.

The sidecar class tripled in size this year (from one to three!), those monkeys sure got a workout!

The Highlander participants had a great time, and they’re hoping we’ll make it an annual event with the trophy handed down every year and the winner’s names engraved on the blade.

More pics to come, but here’s a batch to whet your appetite:

…working on the recipe for perfect track conditions and sweet trials sections!

Wednesday morning and you’re slogging away at work while the Crooked River Ranch water truck, backhoe, and the AHRMA artisans  are beginning to make magic happen.

Rain Monday, sunny skies today, a few more showers forecast and clearing by Saturday. Can it get any better than this? It will when you arrive!

Tuesday afternoon and the gang's hard at work

…who knows at this point?

At least we’re not running around like chickens with our heads cut off, which could mean we’ve done this before and got it all in hand, or it could mean we’re just clueless.

Speaking of cutting off heads, the wizards in the machine shop have done their magic and the Highlander Trophy is complete.

There Can Be Only One!

Incredibly cool, if you ask me. Better do some lifting exercises on your sword hand, this baby is massive and no lightweight. It’ll definitely make a statement hung on the wall in your shop or trophy room at home.

Ride the Support Class in Saturday’s trials just for the cost of entry ($10 for day entry, $35 for Trial entry), no need for AHRMA membership!

Support class bikes do not need to meet Vintage rules, but must run a trials tire on the rear and have some way of showing a line number on a front plate (pie plate and Sharpie marker work great).

You won’t get points towards any other events, but it’s a great way to get some trials experience without breaking the bank.

Support class riders can select any of the 4 lines depending on their skill level.

1 = Hardest, most challenging line. Best for riders with Trials experience.

2 = Intermediate line, some difficulty. Good option for experienced trail riders with no Trials experience.

3 = Fairly simple line. No problem for a trail rider.

4 = Beginning line for riders with little or no Trial or trail experience.

Ready for some serious competition? So are we!

If you’d rather wait until you get to the event to sign up for the Highlander Award, that’s cool. Or jump right in with both feet and send us an email (mail@powroll.com) saying you’re manlier than the Old Spice guy and will be competing.

Here’s all the info you’ll need – add a little skill and luck and you’ll be going home with an incredible trophy and some pretty awesome bragging rights.

Where: Big Dog Saloon

When: Wednesday, April 27 at 5:30 pm (Boy Scout meeting will be Tuesday, check with Troop Leader for location information)

Who: All Trials and Motocross volunteers, especially if this is your first year helping out.

Want a free tee shirt? You’ll need to show up at this meeting for your voucher to receive your shirt at the event.

Contact Pete Fisher at 541-923-0017 or email mail@powroll.com if you can’t attend or if you have questions.

but warming trends are on their way, at least that’s what the weather guys tell us.

Speaking of cool, we went retro for this year’s event poster. Sure would be neat if there was someone out there still using hand silk-screening on that crappy cardboard they used to use. Funny to think those old posters we used as parts-box bottom reinforcements or stuffed in front of the truck’s radiator on cold mornings are now considered “art” and are worth some serious cash on Ebay. Maybe in 40 years, this one will be a coveted “Vintage” example of the genre? Probably not, but I’m going to keep my copy just in case.

2011 Steel Stampede Poster - how many AHRMA logos can you spot?

It was really fun doing the research for this project. We started first by dragging out a bunch of old photos I’d acquired from a Spokane-based photographer who worked races in the 1960′s and early 1970′s. We wasted plenty of time just wandering through these great pics. Towards the bottom of the pile was the photo you see above, and we all just stopped and said “that’s the one!”

I love the variety of gear these guys are wearing. It wasn’t many years after this that safety gear became very homogeneous and riding couture turned us into a bunch of cookie-cutter clones, albeit a bunch of much safer clones, but there’s something really cool about the yard sale look here.

Next came the text. Seems like an easy prospect, but everything I did looked WRONG. Although I’ve dabbled in art for years, I never really studied graphic arts or the history of graphic artists. I ended up spending plenty of time online reading about old advertising and printing companies, and how their artists would usually hand paint or letter the main text on most posters, and how they could pop one of these beauties out in no time flat.

Vintage Isle of Man poster

This explained why, no matter what font I used or how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the new poster to really have that true old-school feel. So, back to the drawing board (literally) and some hand-drawn embellishments to the main text did produce a more vintage-worthy final product.

What do you think? Did we get it right?

Pam Falcioni