Gone Riding?
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 | 12:00 PM
Share
Comment
Email
PrintThe season is over, but soon testing and prep for 2013 will begin. But in between sits a sweet spot where the riders can actually relax and unwind for a few weeks. Unless you're racing MX of Nations, or coming back from an injury, most of them don't ride at all this time of year. We ran through our contacts and fired off a bunch of texts with the question "Have you been riding?" Here's what we got back.
Wil Hahn - "Nope I haven't ridden. I've been in Kansas with my friends watching local races and going to a benefit for a childhood friend. Now I'm back in Texas helping my dad and having some quality family time."
Dakota Tedder - "I turned 21 the Monday after Elsinore, so I've been doing what I haven't been able to do my whole like hahaha. I've also been surfing and jet skiing. Just got off the largest ship in the world, Allure of the Seas and now going on a private boat in St. Thomas. I'll be home in a week, for a day, then I fly with my brother Myles and a few friends to Nicaragua for a nine-day surf trip. Then I'll come back home, get my knee scoped and get ready for Lites West Coast SX."
Kyle Chisholm - "Nope, no riding for me. Just relaxing and doing a lot of golfing!"
Bobby Kiniry - "I've done some outdoor riding and was going to do the GNCC at Unadilla but my bike broke. Other than that I've been fishing a lot and even going to enter some tournaments!"
"Nope I haven't ridden. I've been in Kansas with my friends watching local races and going to a benefit for a childhood friend." - Wil Hahn
Simon Cudby photo
Jason Thomas - "Nothing at all, I'm retired bro. Although I do have the German SX series and a bunch of Euro races to get ready for."
Andrew Short - "Nope, I haven't ridden at all but I did go to a rodeo and visited some doctors."
Eli Tomac - "I haven't ridden since Elsinore. My program has been archery, elk hunting and golf."
Justin Bogle - "I've actually only ridden once, at the Warriors for Freedom ride day at Reynard Raceway. Other than that one day, I've been laying low and enjoying my time off."
Jake Weimer - "Actually today [Tuesday] is the first time I'm going to ride since Elsinore. I have been golfing a lot and going to the beach. It's nice to spend time with friends and relax from all the traveling."
Ben Lamay - "I've ridden one time since Elsinore. I'm just kinda' relaxing and training off the bike. I'm working on all my deals for next year and working on my track at my house."
"Nope, I haven't ridden at all but I did go to a rodeo and visited some doctors." - Andrew Short
Simon Cudby photo
Alex Martin - "I'm back in Minnesota for a month spending time with family and friends. Taking some time off from riding, but I've been doing quite a bit of running and cycling and hope to do a half marathon and some mountain bike races this fall."
Gannon Audette - "I've basically just been doing the same thing as in season. I've still been doing some riding and still training and gym and all that. I think I'm going to go to Texas and do a few pro ams with Munn Racing and take it from there. But basically still doing the same thing as I was in the season."
Les Smith - "I broke my leg at Unadilla and had surgery the week after, so I haven't been able to do too much, just been spending some time at home with family and living a normal life for a few weeks. Been hanging out with friends and watching football. I just started walking and got back in the gym and look forward to getting back on the bike in just a few weeks."
Kyle Peters - "Since outdoors I've been out here in California just training and getting ready for supercross. I went and bought a bike and I'm just riding as much as possible."
Davi Millsaps - "Haven't done any riding. I am on break for a few weeks, spending time at Havasu with friends and family."
Justin Brayton - "Haven't ridden at all. Took a weekend vacation with my girlfriend Paige to the beach, and I've just been hanging around not doing much. Nice to be able to wakeup and not have to be anywhere specific."
PJ Larsen - "Haven't ridden. Channel surfing/working on a deal for next year/working on Visalus [new business venture]."
"Haven't done any riding. I am on break for a few weeks, spending time at Havasu with friends and family." - Davi Millsaps
Simon Cudby photo
Zack Freeberg - "The day I got home from Elsinore I started prepping my supercross track so I can start riding that. Then went to the beach in North Carolina for a couple of days and now I'm on my way home to get a head start on supercross."
Kevin Rookstool - "I had an EnduroCross the weekend after Elsinore. We still have three more rounds of EX so I'm still racing. Now I can put a little more focus on the rest of the EX races."
Ryan Sipes - "Not riding yet, but getting back at it this week."
Mike Alessi - "I took a week off and went to Catalina with Danielle. I just started riding again yesterday and doing suspension testing for the next few weeks getting ready for the MEC."
Derek Anderson - "I've got two down soldiers; both of my bikes are down at the shop getting fixed, so since the last National I've been a bum! I caught a cold too, so that hasn't helped the motivation to get going again. I've just been trying to get a hold of people to ride for, but at the moment it's not looking too promising. I've been stressed on what I should do: move to California or Texas, train for SX or stay at home and save money for next year's outdoors. If sponsors don't come through, it would be hard to do SX on my own, so just trying to figure all that out. At the moment, enjoying home cooked meals, seeing my friends and sleeping in my own bed!"
"I took a week off and went to Catalina with Danielle. I just started riding again yesterday and doing suspension testing for the next few weeks getting ready for the MEC." - Mike Alessi
Simon Cudby photo
Tucker Saye - "I haven't ridden since Lake Elsinore. I've just been relaxing and getting back into the swing of things at home. Spending time with friends, hitting some golf balls and enjoying the cooler Colorado weather. I plan on getting back on the bike tomorrow [Wednesday] and doing some local races in the next few weeks."
Phil Nicoletti - "I'm just hanging in NY doing some local races in the Tri-State area, seeing all the people I grew up with and spending time with my family. I'm still trying to secure a ride for 2013."
Kyle Cunningham - "It's been fun. I played some golf and took a week off from riding, but I went out today and rode the 450, so possibly I'll be at the Monster Cup!"
Travis Baker - "No riding since. I just got married and started putting our house together."
Tommy Weeck - "Well my end of the outdoors ended a lot sooner then I wanted. I have been doing about three months of rehab since I broke my leg, and am spending my last few weeks before I start riding with my parents on vacation in Maui! I start riding next week, so it's time for me to get back on my grind to get ready to race."
Did you like this article?
Check out ON TOUR
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
The Monster Energy Supercross tour is staffed by an intensely dedicated group of sponsors and support staffers. Here’s what life is like on the SX road. Page 136.
Look for the verified symbol 
Impulse Studios
Its been a long year for most "Not All" Milsapsthe dudes MO is always the same he has been goofing off all year............Give the ride to someone else......
Andrew I really like a nice even steven,but I think his best days are past.......
Hope he can still bring it for a couple of years though.........Moto is tough on the body and mind............I thought JT Money was retired that didnt take long............Glad to see he will still be somewhere what does it all mean ? No one knows but once its in the vein it will never leave...
Are the Tedder's wicked rich or what? They have their own race team with no sponsors (from what I can tell) and spend time traveling the world surfing? Lucky sperm club I guess.
I find it funny to see a front runner like Alessi already getting some training in while most of the other squids who suck in comparison are lounging around. There is a reason why the top guys are the top guys - hard work!!!
RC would have been hammering out laps after taking a day off after Elsinore. Mental toughness pays physical dividends.
Me, on the other hand, I would be turning into beach slime in the tropics until 2 weeks before A1.
Dungey...............riding.
U know it smokey
I've been catching up on some reading and doing some research. I also wrote and recorded a few new songs, but mostly just been going to work everyday from 8:30 to 5:30 writing code for the man and pickin up paychecks.
Thanks for caring.
@Tom, something like that. Their dad is the head of some huge company out in CA i believe.
I bet that "back in the day", if he wasn't recovering from an injury, Guy Cooper's idea of a break would be riding a trials bike or blasting through the woods. He just loved to ride.
@SpottedMarley
Hey spotted TUT WHAT kinda Code Egyptian hieroglyphs HA HA LOL
What a waste of an article.
I think most of these guys SHOULD be riding.
Sorry if they really want to be "in it" then they should be putting in some time.
They can relax, but weights, light riding, yoga should still be in their program.
@LarsLarsen ... sometimes I shit-you-not .. it definitely seems like it.
Especially when I'm asked to dig through some ancient legacy code and locate broken artifacts
@ SpottedMarley COOL ! Let me know when you come across anything from the Boris Karloff The Mummy specifically about Im-Ho-Tep.. Im looking for his pinky ring
On what f*cking planet does Davi Millsaps look at himself in the mirror and say "I need a break for a few weeks, I have been working too hard"? The guy is such a waste of space, same with Brayton both are lazy whine asses.
Hey Pizza mouth I keep brayton you can throw Milsaps back in the oven with a few anchovies............Fish Breath !
@tomktm Ditto on your second paragraph. If I were some of these guys I'd be embarrassed to admit I wasn't riding. Pretty much says 7th, 9th, 12th, 20th or wherever they finished is good enough. That's why there's only one GOAT. He waited to retire before getting fat and lazy.
My guess is RD and RV are riding.
Derek Anderson needs a ride. Great showing at Elsinore. Towed the line all year the hard way.
Yea from my perspective i think the riders should get back to riding sooner, but oh well. I'm sure after racing the nationals all summer i would want a little break too, but life is all all about doing stuff you don't want to do. Im not surprised to Alessi is back riding already..... Hope the Dunge is training for supercross, I'd like to see him get that SX title this year........
@pizzacorner, you are wrong about Brayton.
I have said it for years, these guys must not understand how lame they sound, taking a brake and Dungey is beating the brakes off of you. This is why the gap between the 450's Top 5and the rest of the field is so large, they really thing there doing something. Its sad fellas!!!
i guess i need to go to the eye doc...
i thought this said GOON riding...
now thats a freebie idea for ya racerX
ifyouknowhatimsayin'
two forty one!
For those of you who think these guys do not deserve a break, you are absolutely nuts and have no idea how demanding and crazy hard racing the nationals is.....especially if a guy raced SX. Every single guy on the gate from 1st to 40th needs a break. The old adage of more is better is just plain wrong. Part of the problem for a few of the riders you all are bagging on is that they go too hard all the damn time. Training yourself into the ground and churning out lap after lap does NOT always result in better results. To the riders.....enjoy your time off and see you at MEC!
To RXVT-thats why they settle for 15-25th place,their hearts are just not in it anymore-#'s:18,10,11,53,21,etc...Weimer and Brayton on factory rides too?C'Mon Man!!!. Lets hope they don't line up for MEC,expecting a "good showing for my sponsors",let alone even see the box.Let some new blood race since these old dogs-I am one too-wanna laze arond and pick up a check on Fridays.Don't see ANY of Mitch's PC boys say "Oh we're laying around and whacking golf balls till A1 to get started training."
@RXVT, You're talking to a bunch of Keyboard hero's... Here's an idea to these people. Let's just take away your vacation time from your work, make you work every god d*mn day and see how you do. The reason you see the Top 5 guys always training is because they always have a race to compete in (MEC, MXoN, SX, MX) That's year round work and hardy anytime to rest.
Pizzacorner - I've seen Brayton mountain bike "for fun" - his training - here in NC. The guy is an animal, winning pro races and doing 18 miles on a mountain bike faster than most people on here could do them on a road bike. I can only imagine how much he trains to be in that kind of shape.
somewhere RV2 is grinding laps......and you can take that to the bank.... But until anybody on here is standing in these guys shoes why bag on them....they'll get what they put in....thats how it works ...always has.