Colby Gatlin - Local Kid, Supercross Star

East Tennessee's own Colby Gatlin of Lenoir City recently won the 7 - 9 year old class at the Ricky Carmichael Supercross in Daytona. A Supercross track is intimidating for an adult, imagine what it must look like from behind the bars of a 65cc minibike! Shown here with Ricky Carmichael himself, Colby is no stranger to success. For the past three years he has qualified for the Loretta Lynn's Amateur Nationals, which is the top 42 kids in the Nation in their respective class. Last year running the 50cc 7 - 8 year old class, he finished 4th overall, and even led off the line, (he won the holeshot award). His goal for 2013 is to qualify for Loretta Lynn's again, and of course win it. At the recent Thor Spring Classic at Mills Creek he finished 2nd in 7-9yr, 65cc stock, 2nd in 7-9 yr Modified, and 4th in the Big Boy class where he raced against 11 year olds.  Colby attends Eaton Elementary School in Lenoir City, and his proud parents are Carie and Chris. I suspect that we will be hearing more about Colby in the future

Two Wheel'n the Smokies Rally - April 12-13

Two Wheel'n the Smokies is a new, 2 Day event that is based at the Talley Ho Inn in Townsend Tennessee. Set for the Friday April 12, and Saturday April 13, the event boast a Custom Bike Show, Swap meet, Vendor Exhibits, organized rides around the area, and a Kickstart Party with live music on Friday. For more info and registration checkout their website www.twowheelnthesmokies.com , or call 1-800-487-3333

Slate Creek Adventure Ride April 13th and 14th

Part of the AMA National Adventure Ride Series, $70 gets you route charts which covers 500 miles of Rural backroads, Jeep Roads, and Forest Service Roads in Eastern Tenn and Western N.C. Elevation changes from 1200' to 4300'. For info email John Strange at jbsaki@gmail.com, or call at 865-322-0193

2013 New Years Resolutions

2012 is just about to take the checkered flag, and the 5 minute board is up for 2013. As a general rule I'm not that big on making new years resolutions, maybe because I never really have that much desire to actually follow through with them. Yeah, there are the basic resolutions that people make, spend less, lose weight, get in better shape, wag more-bark less, etc etc. Maybe what I need to do is set some motorcycle goals that have a little more of a fun factor involved...

So, (in no particular order) for 2013 I pledge to make a halfway decent effort to:

•  Make it to a least one of the 3 US MotoGP Races

•  Go to the World Trials round at the Trials Training Center

• Go to the AMA Bristol Outdoor National Motocross at Muddy Creek
• Learn to ride my Trials bike decent enough to compete at the vintage trials at the Barber Vintage Festival this Fall.

• Get my 73 TL 125 running (see above resolution)
• Get my 76 Triumph running and actually ride it.
• Update Cycleblend more often

• Log more miles in 2013 than I did in 2012 (or 2011)
• Go on 2 fewer dirt bike rides that end with someone going to the Emergency room.,
• And most importantly,  appreciate the time I get to spend talking to my motorcycle friends.They don't last forever. (RIP Ed Nabors)

Well.. that should be plenty. I can always ad to my list later.  No need to get crazy about this resolution stuff!  
I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe New Year! 
Russ 

Garage Tip - Great ( and cheap) Parts Organizer

I've recently discovered that Food City and Kroger have some really good parts organizers. For some reason they aren't with the automotive stuff, so look in the produce section. They come with rabbit food, and ranch dressing. Maybe they are made for mechanics on a diet. After you throw the vegetation out in the yard, and order some hot wings for the ranch, you've got a great tray to put those parts in that were previously scattered all over the work bench. 

World Trials and AMA National to East Tn in 2013!

 

 MARK YOUR CALENDERS NOW!!   2013 is going to be a GREAT year for watching top level motorcycle competition in East Tenn. It has just been announced that a round of the FIM World Trials Championship will be returning to the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie Tn (just outside Chattanooga) on May 25th and 26th. I was able to attend the last time the world guys came here in 2006, and can tell you first hand this is one of the absolute coolest things you can go watch. Bring the kids, and stand back and try to figure out how these guys did the things you just saw them do. The Trials Training Center is an easy drive from Knoxville, and just right for a day trip. Their website www.trialstrainingcenter.com will have more details on tickets and schedules as they develop.

The next great announcement is that East Tennessee is going to get an AMA OUTDOOR NATIONAL!!  The NEXT WEEKEND! June 1st will be a new round of the AMA Series, called the "Bristol National", held at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville. My prediction is that this race will have an incredible turnout. For years me and riding buddies have wondered why their weren't any AMA outdoor races in the South, or at least within reasonable driving distance. Now we have one! Finally! An opportunity to see the fast guys go real fast on a big track.  No information yet on tickets or camping, but my guess is this will be an event where you either get there very early in the morning, or camp the night before. 

 **Yeah, I know these are Supercross photos. It's because I've never been to an outdoor National!

I guess the only way 2013 could be looking better is if we can get another Flat Track National back to Bulls Gap. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Garage Tip - Shotgun Brushes

Recently I was helping a friend do some loooong overdue maintenance on a dirt bike that had evidently lived its whole life without getting near a tube of grease or a can of WD-40. The front axle was stuck in the wheel, which meant we had to take the fork tubes loose to get the wheel off, but after a good soaking with Liquid Wrench, and some gentle persuasion with a hammer, we got the axle out.The next issue was how to clean out the light rust from inside the wheel. It turns out that a 12 Gauge Shotgun barrel cleaning brush works great!. Fits right in, tough enough to get the grime out, and cheap.