FTR HS 9 - Gatorback - Senior C - 02/2009

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This is the start of the race and the pile up at the first hill.

HS#9 – Gatorback Cycle Park – Gainesville, FL – 3rd Place

Got off to a good start right on the rear fender of Jerry Mena in 4th… came around to the first hill and 1/2 way up I got taken out by another rider and spent 2-3 min underneath everyone's bikes. Then spent the next 10 miles trying to catch Jeff Moan and Jerry. This was a monster of a race 4 laps and 40 miles later I ended up in 3rd… My son Cody who ran Open-C on his 450 finished 3 laps and ended up 16th in his class… (his class is a hell of a lot harder than mine) Awesome job Cody!!!

My son Cody on the track section of Gatorback

Cody taking a break on the first lap… Ouch!!!

Way to dig deep Son!

HS#8 FTR - Myakka, FL - Senior C Helmet Cam

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HS#8 – Myakka, FL – 1st Place

What a grueling race! I got a bad start again… coming off the line in about 12th place. I knew this was a nasty course with deep mud, deep sand, and tight woods with bad roots to try to overcome. The course was about 13 miles long and I knew that it was going to be a long tough 3 lap race. After the first lap I had moved my way up to 8th place and on the second lap I had climbed to 5th. Jerry Mena once again gave me a run for my money and kept us both at a blistering pace. We spent the last two laps going back and forth with each other fighting for the lead. This time I managed to get the edge and at the very end when Jerry got hung up on someone stuck in the mud and I made my move and got the pass and the 1st place win. Yea Baby… 1st place!!! Sounds so good!!! Congrats on 2nd Jerry… See you at Gatorback.

My buddy Jeff never made it out of the Mud Hole!!

New Sponsor Graphics

Here is the first look of the new graphics for my sponsors… MatthewCurrie.com and Decal Works… Pretty Sweet!

FTR HS #7 - Brighton, FL

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Florida Trail Riders Hare Scramble #7 01/25/2009 - Seminole Showdown V - John Wishon #139 Senior C

HS#7 – Brighton – 3rd Place

I got a terrible start on this race and ended up at around 8th into the first corner. That is Jerry Mena below with the hole shot 100ft in front of me. I spent the first 13 mile lap in bad traffic fighting my way through the pack as well as other classes. All I kept thinking was how the leader must be just pulling away farther and farther. After 41mins of grinding my way up through I was surprised to find out that I worked my way into 2nd place. 200 yards later I was passed by Jeff Moan and that's when the fun began. I knew that we were fighting for 2nd and we went back and forth for the next 8 miles. I was ahead of Jeff trying to get some distance when as I come through a berm I see Jerry just picking up his bike and realize I just moved into first. For the next 5 miles the 3 of us had an all out battle going back and forth between the top 3 positions. Jerry got ahead of me near the end and I washed out in a corner trying to catch him back and ended up in 3rd. Jerry got 1st, Jeff got 2nd, and I had a blast… It was anybody’s race and this time Jerry got it… I will try to get him next time! What an awesome race!!!!

Jerry just in front of me as I am trying to reel him in.

Replacing the Case on Cody’s YZ450

During practice last week my son Cody broke the chain on his 07 YZ450. The chain got bound up against the motor and broke the left side of the case. So I had to order a new case which meant a massive teardown and rebuild. So this is where we are so far with the motor gutted and swapping over bearings. I HOPE we remember where everything goes (gulp)… If not we will know soon enough.

First Practice Since my Injury

Well today I went to our practice track and tested out my back for the first time in 3 1/2 weeks since my injury. I was a little leery about being able to ride without pain. That being said I haven’t felt this good in 20 years. I was able to ride hard for 5 hours straight and felt 100%. Now I will have to wait and see how I feel over the next couple of days… because the next race is next Sunday and this is basically whether or not I can finish the season.

HS #6 - Brooksville

I had to sit this race out and get a work credit due to the back injury, but I hope to be recovered enough to race the next one in a couple of weeks. The race looked great and I would have loved to be out there battling it out with the rest of the guys in my class. Jerry Mena (214), the current class leader, had the holeshot off the start and raced a good race to finish 4th… moving me just a little closer to him in the points since my race credit will give me 2nd place points… So I think now we are only separated by 5 points… Hey, every little bit helps :)  As long a no one gets promoted before the season ends it looks like we are going to have one hell of a battle for the season as there is only about 30 points separating the top 5 before this race. Awesome!

My buddy Jeff (166) got his best start yet and was in the front pack at 6th just ahead of the winner (16)