Vegas is the place where assignments go to die. But Bike Week isn’t much different.
I’m down here in Florida, and as always, there’s so much to do here that you end up not doing much at all. During Bike Week, there are usually three or four things going on at once, so you have to first choose to not do it all, and then choose which things you can. For me, getting on a computer and doing work seemed to get the short end of the stick every time. Sound like Vegas?
My week started Sunday morning when I flew from Indianapolis to Orlando, and then hopped in a car with Scott goggle guy John Knowles to head to the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series opener. This race would begin a two-week litmus test for our sport in the new economy. Attendance at the Florida and Georgia GNCCs, at Daytona, and at the Amateur Nationals in Texas next week will really help gauge how healthy our sport will be in 2009 and beyond.
The new GNCC facility at the River Ranch is huge, so people were too spread out to really tell if the crowd was lighter or heavier than usual. All day, people were asking, “How are the crowds? Is everything looking good? Are there as many people as last year?”
The verdict came in when Tuesday’s motorcycle race was over. Last year’s GNCC in Florida drew 1291 riders. This year’s drew 1287. In comparison to daily reports of the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping every day, or rising jobless claims, this is a huge relief. As I say, nowadays, keeping your job is like getting a raise. Staying the same as last year is good news.
For more on the GNCC, check out my Quick Fill column at GNCC Racing.com
HERE.
On Wednesday after the GNCC, we headed to Dade City to visit
Chad Reed’s practice track. Travis Pastrana was out riding with Reed when we arrived—TP wants to race the St. Louis supercross this year, because he designed the track. Here’s a shocker: he looked fast, but then he crashed and was done for the day. Travis stepped off on a step-on step- off, and while someone else might have been able to shrug the crash off, Travis doesn’t bounce up so well anymore. TP limped around for the rest of the day, but honestly, he might have brought that limp down to Reedy’s house with him. You never know with that guy.
Reed rode along with
Tim Ferry, Michael Byrne and
Jason Thomas for the rest of the day. It was beyond cool hanging out with these boys. Do you want to know what a day of riding is like for these guys? You already know. It was just like you and your buddies—the bench racing, the wrenching, the jokes, the stories—it was so familiar. The only difference came after they fired up the bikes, because they were attacking a huge supercross track with speed and skill 99.9999% of the human population could not do. But in between, things were just the same as any other buddies hanging out at any other track in the world. They say the riders are different away from the track. Well, yes, they’re different than they are on race day, but they’re just like you and me.
For another take on the day, check out Billy Ursic and Steve Matthes’ blog here on RacerXOnline
HERE. They at least have some crappy photos up.
Yesterday we visited
James Stewart’s house (yup, Reed one day and Stewart the next. Someone’s gotta’ do it…). While Reedy’s place is a fun place with a garage and a trophy room and a bunch of killer tracks, Stewart’s place is like a full-on business. This is a compound, a factory, an assembly line that builds a champion. There were people everywhere, building tracks, washing cars, and building buildings. On the track, Stewart was out riding with
Josh Hill and
Broc Hepler, and just like at Reed’s they did motos together with staggered starts. But I think even Broc and Josh were a little in awe of the place—I know we were. Even the jumps on the outdoor track were super-sized beyond normal human comprehension. I’ve seen cool stuff in my life, but nothing like the Stewart compound.
Ursic and Matthes blogged on about this, too. Of course my stuff is cooler, but If I throw them a bone here, I might get on their expense tab for a beer or two. So please
CLICK HERE.
I tried to make it to Daytona last night to catch some AMA Flat Track racing, but I had to stop at a Starbucks to write that Quick Fill column and a ton of other stuff for the GNCC this weekend in Georgia. Heck, on the way to Stewart’s house we had to stop on the road so I could email a GNCC story off to Cycle News. There’s just so much to do here that it’s really hard to get anything done. I didn’t finish last night’s work until 10 p.m., so I never made it to the Daytona. Racer X ad man Jason Berry kept texting me to rub it in “Mate, we’re sitting right next to Nicky Hayden, and the racing is awesome. Thanks for not coming!”
That’s life in Florida during Bike Week. It’s Vegas for motorcycles, and you’ll never get to do it all. So that’s why, in a unanimous vote, this week’s Blogandt Noun of the Week Award goes to….
Florida!
That’s it for now. I’ve got a ton of notes left over from the Indy supercross (feels like that was a month ago) that I will post up here later today. Hope to see some fans down in Daytona today. It’s another big litmus test for our industry.
