Competed in the Pro Am at Glen Helen over the weekend. It is a 3 day race with a supercross on Friday, MX on sat, and a GP on Sun. I wasnt in the best of shape but did OK for not racing in 8 years. I was suprised at how many people commented to me on the Husky. Bike ran perfect and was not giving anything away anywhere. After all was done, was 1st in the Old, Fat, Bald class. Life is good! Onward to Baja Bill
Great riding! And your 1 pic sort of says it all :0) ... And sounds like a great 3 day event ... I'll go out on the web and read more on this event ... PS -- Husqvarana has the history and style to make it a top brand world wide but its got to advertised at all levels till sales move it up the current day ladder ..
Yep, could you supply more details? I could not find any real stuff about this racing on the web ... Were 2t machines allowed to race?
Sorry for being late to responding, work stuff. The Pro Am is kind of a fun type of event. Only a few take seriously. It used to be a big affair. This years attendance was down. could be weather or ? Its a SX, MX, & GP rolled into 3 days of fun. This year Gary Jones helped lay out the SX & GP Courses. He was on hand with his 2 sons riding and racing. He was talking to everyone asking for comments on the course, schedule, etc, anything that would make the event better. Gary is a Class Act. My wife & I have a history of racing the Pro Am. Back since we were dating. We showed up on Thursday to kind of scope out the tracks and to blow the cobwebs out of the bikes. Little History We have spent the last 5 years overseas, and started working on our Bucket List for when we got home. Mine - I bought 2 of the Zip Ty race bikes, a 09 TXC 510 ex Nick Burson race bike, and a 09 TC450 with his upgrades. WAY faster than I am. The man can build a bike. I had planned to race the TC in the SX and MX, and race the TXC in the GP. Thursday, I had a great time on both bikes. Both have a different personality. Both seriously fast. Big smiles. Went to the hotel. Took wife to Ontario Mills mall/Victoria Gardens for a great dinner and let her shop. Please somebody explain to me how my $70 race fees equal her a $700 shopping spree. Friday. Cold and overcast. SX was on the agenda. GH had built a new SX track. As a 55 yr old fart, it was great. It was as a SX track should be. No do or die doubles or triples. All jumps were tabletops. It was really a lot of fun. Tight, it flowed, and it was not beyond my abilities or intimidating. Talking about being low key, 1 kid, ( he was younger than me on a 250f ) broke a throttle cable in practice. Mom jumped in the truck and went to Chaparrel for a replacement. It was fun to watch several dads trash on his bike to get him on the line. 1 dad went to the starting gate and explained the situation, and they held up the start so this kid could race. It was great, no mini dads, and everyone working together. Doesn't happen enough. Another great evening dining at the mills. Saturday- Cold and overcast. We could see rain coming soon. GH changed up the schedule and got everyone done before the rains came. Sunday- Cold and Overcast, Muddy from yesterdays rain. The course was fun. Gary used parts of the Main Course, up and down Mt St Helen, Parts of the REM track, Both of the ridges behind both tracks and he used the full Off Road truck course along with the sand washes. The scary part was he used the big downhill west of Mt St Helens, with a 90' turn at the very bottom. I had a good time. GH age classes are a run what you want type of race. My main competition was on a RM250 2T. We talked and BS'd between each moto. I will be back next year. I highly recommend it if you want to have a good time and are not that serious. Bill
I swear Gary lives at GH, evrytime I've ever been there he is there. Sounds like a fun weekend, what classes did you race? 50+ open? And without knowing the rules for Ray, these events rarely have bike restrictions, once you get into the age bracket racing-read vet age + there are usually no limits to what you ride ie. Open. Some series and events do have LWT and HWT breaks but not most.
This event sounds very good to me with all the safe jumps and low key approach ...I'm just not too interested in the high speed , low drag stuff when it can be avoided .. Gary Jones? Is this the same Gary Jones that was racing bikes back in the ~70s on the national and maybe world class level? Maybe he rode a Penton or something like that?
Gary Jones former 250 MX National champ, brother DeWayne was also a Nat caliber racer back in the day, Dad was dealer/racer/mech/engineer/fabricator type guy, those guys did all kinds of race mods to their machines at a time when it was all race/test to failure, fix it and make it better self fabrication. This one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Jones_(motorcyclist)
These are the true pioneers of the sport .... I found this on WIKI ... Sounds pretty cool, huh? And he is only 7 yrs older than me ... Gary Jones (born April 22, 1952 in Southern California) is an American former professional motocross racer. He won the first three AMA 250cc Motocross National Championships, riding three different brands of motorcycles, a feat which has never been repeated. If I was around, I'd like to do that race or at least attend ... PS -- Guys like Gary have really forgotten more about riding and wrenching than most of know ..
