Compton wins AGAIN, Horwitz taken out by a DUMB ASS!!!

This past weeekend offered a few highs and lows for my racing friends, mountain biker Katie Compton and track motorcycle racer Phil Horwitz.

In her usual fashion, Katie road away from the field in lap one of the Greenbrier Challenge, putting 2 minutes on Sue Haywood who rode in for second place. Cycling News has the play by play http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/?id=2007/apr07/greenbrier07.

In other news, the Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) held its first weekend of racing this season at the Pueblo Motor Sports Park in Pueblo Colorado. Athlete Phil "Holeshot" Horwitz has been prepping all winter for a breakout 2007 season. On lap one of practice, and yes, I said LAP ONE...some novice, newly licensed, shit-for-brains, ass-monkey tries to make a completely unsafe move, going for a pass on Holeshot on the high left side of the track. Can anyone think of a reason why a guy who's been newly licensed to race two weeks ago shouldn't be making an unsafe pass on lap one of practice, in race one of the season, on a machine that does close to 200mph??? Sweet Jesus what a dumbass!!! Rookie boy proceeds to clip Phil's bars, taking him down, while destroying his leathers and causing some serious cosmetic and mechanical damage to the bike. On a positive note, Phil managed to walk away from the crash with only a broken finger. Consequently, there was no more racing for him this weekend. And rookie boy you ask...the ass monkey rode off track into the grass, didn't crash, and made no acknowledgement of his complete lack of riding skills.

I've raced a lot of things for a lot of years, and as a great friend of mine likes to say, "rubbing's racing." If you've ever toed the start of a race of any type, you know full well there's going to be a little rubbing, elbows, shoulders, the occasional handlebar. It's to be expected. We're all in close quarters vying for the same prize. Still yet, it's a little irritating when a complete novice does something that obscenely stupid.

Rookie boy, get your ass off the race track, give your motorcycle to someone who can ride it, and consider bowling, pool, or maybe pie eating as a mode of recreation.

Alison Dunlap Adventure Camp

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of instructing at Alison's Level 1 mountain bike camp here in Colorado Springs. We had a great turn out and tons of fun and learning were had by all. The group started "shredding" at 9am and learned the finer arts of body position on the bike, braking, cornering, wheel lifts, navigating switchbacks, and climbing the wonderful "pea gravel" we have in Colorado Springs.

The group also learned to get your ass WAY BACK behind the saddle when dropping into a steep descent. One special obstacle that presented a challenge for my buddy, whose initials are Mary Barry, was the ditch transition. Like the true spitfire she is, she dropped in and shredded the ditch like a champ! I might add, she was rockin' her new Maverick M7 for the clinic. Every time I turned around, her and her speed demon friend Kay were rocketing down the hillside, scaring the living crap out of yours truly.

One thing that thrills me about working with Alison at her camps and clinics is watching the breakthroughs people make in such a short period of time. I just love seeing those "lightbulb moments" when people just get it, and things start to click. They're riding obstacles they never thought they'd ride, getting their bike to move in ways previously unimaginable. Just looking around at the group, I was treated yet again to a number of smiles and wide eyes as people just kept raising the bar on their skills.

I've coached and instructed at a lot of camps and clinics with various groups over the years and I gotta say, Alison's expertise, down to earth personality, patience, and teaching style are world's above anyone else in the business. For information on riding with the Champ, check out www.alisondunlap.com. A level 2 clinic is being offered in Colorado Springs on May 5 & 6.