This weekend is the "Tennessee Knock Out" Extreme Enduro at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie Tennessee, just west of Chattanooga. The "knock out" format has two amateur races on Saturday, with the fastest 60 from the first race qualifiying for the second races, and the fastest 30 from the second amateur race qualify for the Expert Race on Sunday.
The pre-qualified expert field (along with the amatuers who made it from saturday) run a 13 mile race Sunday morning, and only the top 15 make it to the final.
The Final Race is 10 laps on the "Short Course" which is directly behind the main pit area. It uses much of the same terrain used for the World Trials championship, and has some very good locations to spectate from.
The cost to watch is only $20 for the weekend, and camping is only $15. If you are a fan of Extreme Off Road racing his is one of the absolute best events you can go see. The location is beautiful, and you can stand right next to the action.
The per-qualified Expert field includes all the big names in Extreme Enduro such as Taddy Blazusiak, Mike Brown, Cody Webb, and Kurt Caselli
For all the details go to www.tennesseeknockoutenduro.com
I rode in this Ride for the first time last year, and I will continue to Ride in it every year I can. There are lots of rides out there for good causes, and this is one of them. At the end of the ride they have some of the children who have, or have had, brain tumors tell their story, and it really brings what you are raising money for into focus. These are kids, just like your kids, or grandkids, who weren't delt the life cards of good health and no problems. They tell their story of what they want, and what they like to do, and what they dream of doing, and its just what every other kid wants. They want to go to the Prom, drive a car, go to school, have friends, and just live a normal life. Donating a few bucks and going for a ride seems like a very small thing to do to contribute.
The ride starts and ends at Pellissippi State Community College. Registration starts at 8:00am and closes at 9:30. Kickstands go up at 10:00am sharp, rain or shine. Registration is $50 and includes a light breakfast, beverages, lunch, and puts you in the drawing for a Free Honda motorcycle which will be given away at the event. More info at rideforkids.org
My old 400 KTM is a pretty versatile bike, great on the trails, and after adding some dual sport tires and some lighting, a street legal dual sport bike that gets 55mpg and has a 150+ mile range. The one thing about it that did NOT work was the stock KTM seat. Not so good. Actually, it sort of sucks.
Oh, but a solution was just up the road at Dual Sport Touring in Friendsville, Tn. They can take your existing seat and build it just the way you want it. What I did was pick up an old seat on e-bay for $15 bucks, and let them use the stock seat pan to rebuild from scratch something that was wider and flatter. Basically something that you could sit on all day while riding back roads.
Francois and Megan delivered my new seat to me just before we started what was to be a 161 mile day of riding forest service roads, along with some asphalt sections. The difference between my new seat and the stock butt punisher was immeasurable. The only way I could have ridden 161 miles on the stock seat would be if I stood up for 100 miles. The key is the increased width. As you can see in the pictures, the "Sitting area" was increased from 4 1/2" to 9 1/2".
The fit and craftsmanship are excellent. I've had higher priced seats before, and they weren't any better than this. They can also do custom colors and different textures, I chose solid black with the carbon fiber look on top, but KTM orange was available. I really like the way it looks, but the side panels in orange would look pretty sweet too. Total cost was $175, and I had it back within a week! The good folks at Dual Sport Touring picked it up in Knoxville on Tuesday, and brought it to me on Sunday. No shipping cost. Heck, I bet Francois would have put it on for me if I had asked!
If you're interested in getting a seat made just the way you want it, give Dual Sport Touring a call 865-995-9505
Thanks to all the people who helped make the 2 Wheels for Meal fundraiser a success. Over $1500 was raised for the Mobile Meals program, and some money is still coming in. Pretty good for an event that was planned in three weeks! We had a lot of non-riding folks who came out to support the event, and while the numbers from the motorcycling community weren't what we were expecting, the people who did come were VERY generous with their contributions.
Thank you to everyone!
Mobile Meals is one of the best programs around, and the've been around for 41 years. However, times are hard, and they are in a pinch. If you have ever known an elderly person who couldn't get out to buy food, or if you have ever helped deliver food to these folks, you know the value of this program. 100% of all money raised will go to the Mobile Meals program and will be donated on their telethon on July 29th, "by the motorcycle community of East Tennessee." Please help spread the word on this event, and do your best to ride or just come by. Free Lunch, Live Music, and a good cause. You can't beat it! Come by from 11:00 till 2:00
Directions from I-40. Take I-275 North, Take the first Exit (Baxter Street) Turn right on Baxter, and Immediately right again on Val Street. (Val turns into Marion St) Follow Val Street around the Corner to the Shafer Insurance Building.
If you are looking for a Trail Riding club in the upper East Tennessee area you need to check out the Mountain Trail Riders Association. I haven't ridden with them yet, but I plan to. They are a relatively new club (founded in 2009), are a non profit, and most importantly are extremely active in keeping their few remaining area riding areas open. They are also very involved in the new, 8.600 acre, Doe Mountain OHV area.
Their meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at Pardners BBQ at 5444 Hwy 11E in Piney Flats just south of the Bristol Motor Speedway.
Another really cool thing they are doing is raffling off this SWEET 1975 Bultaco Pursang to raise money for their club. $5 a chance, or 5 for $20. Check out their excellent website, www.mountaintrailriders.org
As expected, the AMA Tennessee National held this past weekend was off the charts! In fact, it may have been off the charts even more than the promoters anticipated. I was told over 40,000 general admission tickets were sold online, and one guy who was parking cars told me, based on what he had seen at NASCAR races he estimated 70,000. I don't know the numbers, but it was a lot. We got there Friday night and the parking was well over 50% full. From where we were camped on a hill you could see the road coming in over 1 mile away, and it was bumper to bumper from 6:30 till 1:00. Keep in mind the Saturday Pro Race was book-ended by Amateur races on Friday and Saturday, so a healthy crowd was already there.
The track layout was great,
and since it lies in a valley there were amble places to watch from
that offered views of lots of the track.
Like most great events,there is no comparison between watching on TV and being there in person. Seeing the speed these guys carry,
and the elevation they get on the jumps, is unbelievable when your standing 30' away.
Josh Grant roosting!
TV camera stations were everywhere you looked.
Event hat, cool event tiger striped T-Shirt, a new toy Honda, and a place to play right next to the fence so you can see your favorite rider come by. Think the little guy will remember this day?
Gosh I hope this comes back next year!
