Celebration at Elevation 07/04/09

[dirt dame 586]

Just got back from the track and got everything cleaned up. What a day! Still trying to get the pictures edited and all that good stuff. I gotta go barbecue some chicken in a bit, but I must say, the club put on a wonderful event. The track was mostly old school gnarley natural style MXn'. It was a mix of dust and mud, as they have not finished installing all the sprinklers along the track. I'll post more later and get the pictures up. Thank you Roadrunners, the land owners and everybody who worked to get the place ready.

[Spaugh 1]

good seeing you guys there. Here's a few photos that briana got. Seeing the pros ride was awesome, getting to ride and hang out with everyone who showed up was a bonus. See you guys there again in the very near future. Happy 4th!

the pros

the not so pros. mctrails, pastapilot, ozzy and myself lined up for this one.

[Jaynen 0]

Very cool guys!

[ozzy 0]

Had a blast out there today it was a little hot, can't wait until winter, I't amazing how quick you realize just how out of shape you really are. Here's a couple pics. Thanks Pastapilot for taking the pics.

Alan

Brad

Oz

[robertaccio 431]

Good seeing all. That course gets a 9!! that place is great!!

Hey that first start line foto,,,on that line Hondas, TM, Husky, KTMs, Aprilia, Betas, Yamahas that is pretty amazing to see all those brands and FOUR Italian brand bikes???? Wow?? that is crazy a real paradigm shift!!!!

[dirt dame 586]

Okay, I have lot's of pix to share from the day. It was good to see Brad, Briana, Ozzy, Mctrails, Pasta Pilot and Robertaccio, also Tim Daley, and got to watch Larry Roeseler out on the track. great group of people out there. Some vintage bikes, one of which was out on the track. Morning started out with a riders meeting to tell about the history of the track , introduce the owners and organizers and a pastor led us in a prayer and a blessing of the track. Then the experts hit the first straight away and it was time to stage for riding. Thanks to Briana for taking some shots of me on short notice with the D40.

Pits were filled with happy riders ready for a day of mud sloppin' fun.

Our little SDAR group.

Cool T-shirt....but not in my size.

Flea n me.

Pasta Pilot and his Aprillia.

Good ol' toaster.

I try it on for size. Good fit actually.

1982 Works 500.

Caterpiggle seat CZ.

More to come.

[dirt dame 586]

An early morning shot of the track before it was ridden on and all torn up.

This tunnel was going to be open for the afternoon riding session.

Assembling for the riders meeting. There's LR.

The usual suspects.

Pastor (in white polo shirt and Thor shorts) leads us all in prayer and blessing of the new track.

The Man.

And they're off.

Groomed fast section of the track. Most of it was slower, more technical and natural type terrain.

[dirt dame 586]

The vintage CZ still tearing it up out there.

Roeseler makes a splash.

Here comes Pilot.

Slick stuff.

Long legs come in handy in sections like this.

Ozzy on his latest addition.

Speaking of needing long legs in the muddy section....

This guy could use a new line as well.

Maybe through those two trees....

Hopefully.

[dirt dame 586]

Ah, lined up.

and everybody gets through okay.

Spaugh prepares to avoid the gooey outside line.

but finds some inside line goo.

Later he finds that it's still as slick as deer guts on a door knob on the outside line.

One of the few shady sections of track.

I rode with all the little anklebiters on minis.

There were only a handful though, so it was uncrowded out there during my session.

Riding the fast part of the track.

I thought that I'd just sit back and take a few easy parade laps, but the course was pretty demanding for the most part. Even taking it easy on this track takes quite a bit of work. Especially for an old lazy person, like myself.

[tlking6 0]

Very nice DD,,, keep em coming!

[dirt dame 586]

This hill is steeper than it looks. There's a sharp off camber drop away to the left at the top.

I approach a little jump.

Wheeeeeee.

Houston, we doesn't have a problem.

Hey! Who's over there?

Am I going too fast for you?

It's all good.

Back at the pits.

Robertaccio (iwearing the hat) and his ride.

Rots o' ruts for Robert.

LR again.

McTrails coming out of a turn.

and heading for the mud pit.

Spaugh on Brianas bike.

That's about it, folks.

[TrophyHunter 15]

Thx Mimi! Great day.....nice mudpit, tree hazard....

What a great selection of bikes, even a CZ....nice!

Glad u all had fun.

[robertaccio 431]

Thanks!! Those ruts got deeper and deeper as the day went on.

[bikeslut 1]

Good pics! looks like more natural terrain than GA...Who's the person in the turquoise gear (I'm assuming Briana?)

Looks like good fun... wish I woulda went

[dirt dame 586]

Good pics! looks like more natural terrain than GA...Who's the person in the turquoise gear (I'm assuming Briana?)

Looks like good fun... wish I woulda went

Briana actually didn't ride the track. She made a decision to be a photographer. I don't know who the turquois gear rider was; just somebody that added a little drama to the mud hole.

[bikeslut 1]

Good pics! looks like more natural terrain than GA...Who's the person in the turquoise gear (I'm assuming Briana?)

Looks like good fun... wish I woulda went

Brianna actually didn't ride the track. She made a decision to be a photographer. I don't know who the turquois gear rider was; just somebody that added a little drama to the mud hole.

I was thinking Ozzy didn't roost her because she was with us... I know for sure, if that was me, he would've roosted me...

[mctrails 42]

Great pics! Thanks!! I had a great time. Was good to meet some of you folks that I've been reading. It was a great group of friendly folks and I look forward to doing more rides with you all. After most of you left Robert and I stayed and did a few more laps but that was about it for us. Man, hard to believe that you can so beat up on a MX course. I'm a little sore today for some reason.

It was a great track. A natural terrain track with little bit of everything. Berms, hills, drop-offs, jumps, mud, dust, bumps, ruts, boulders and trees to squeeze by.

I took a few pics but didn't get any action shots except for some quads?

LR talking to Tim Morton and someone on a KTM.

Here is the SDAR pit row.

This is one line of the main pits. Another longer line including the SDAR pits are behind this row.

Open ceremony before the start of the first practice.

[Spaugh 1]

After a great day of riding the new track at Live Oaks Resort and festive and lively evening of listening to live music and mingling with racers from D-38, I was awoken at 3:41am to screams from my daughter “Dad, they are stealing our bikes”!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heather woke up to the recognizable sound of her kick-stand banging against her swingarm. THIEVES had made multiple cuts the ½ inch cable that was securing our 3 race bikes that were on the front lawn right outside the front door to the cabin we were staying in.

Justin (my son-in-law) jumped out of bed and opened the door in the cabin loft and hurled a chair at the THIEVES on the lawn below while yelling “you %#$&%%@*, get back here”! Being on the ground level, I jumped out of bed and ran out the door ½ asleep in my underwear chasing 3 dark skinned, long haired THIEVES making off with our racing bikes – there was good light as it was nearly a full moon.

They were prepared! They had bolt cutters, stockers, get-away vehicles and a patient plan. Justin’s ONE OF A KIND 2009 Husaberg 450f race bike was the only bike we had on a stand – they took that one first – it was already loaded in their early 90’s black Dodge or Chevy 4x4 lifted w/ rack get-away truck when I ran out the door. Two of the THIEVES were rapidly pushing Heather’s Honda 250x and my 2009 Husaberg 570f toward the same truck. When the driver heard the commotion, he squealed the tires and sped out of the parking lot toward the road – realizing he left 2 of the THEVES he stopped to let them catch up and get in the truck. They dropped Heather’s bike and my bike in the parking lot – which we recovered. The getaway vehicle turned West on old Hwy 80 and burned rubber up the hill toward the Golden Acorn Casino. Justin grabbed my keys and his pit-bull (Diesel) and jumped in my Audi TT and tore out after the THIEVES.

Heather called 911 and began the arduous process of reporting a stolen vehicle and making liaison with the local sheriff for an on scene report. Oddly enough, the care-taker of the Resort was returning from a night at the Casino and was pulling into the Resort parking lot as the THIEVES were making their get-away. He came over to our cabin to ask if we were alright and he stayed with us while we exchanged stories about what we each witnessed. He said he got a good look at the vehicle and he thought he recognized the occupants as inhabitants on the Campo Indian Reservation.

Justin returned from his pursuit and insisted that we go find his Race bike. Our mutual friend Matt, Justin and I left in my F-350 and began driving around all the dirt roads within 5 miles of the Resort looking for the get-away vehicle and any signs of activity. We flagged down 2 very helpful U.S. Border Patrol agents patrolling near the Interstate and gave them our account of the incident. They said there was no way the bike could get off the mountain with-out going through a Border Patrol check point. They took our information and sped off with emergency lights flashing – toward the West Border Patrol Check Station and alerted all other agents in the area to be on the lookout for a vehicle matching the description we gave them of the race bike and the get-away vehicle. They told us they saw a truck matching the description about 10 minutes earlier and told us it was headed for toward the Campo Reservation.

Nearing sunrise, Matt, Justin and I returned empty handed to the Resort were we met with Heather and the Sheriff to fill out the stolen vehicle report. Prior to returning to our cabin we drove over to the new track and notified several D-38 members who were camped at the track that there were determined THIEVES in the immediate area and to be on the lookout. We observed most of the bikes in the camping area were left unlocked and would have been an easy target.

After breakfast and meeting with Lazar (Resort owner) we began our search again – looking for fresh tracks off the highway on any of the multiple dirt roads going into the 3 reservations in the area. We drove over to another track in the area and asked the operator to be on the look-out for a very easily identifiable race bike – they immediately knew what we were talking about when they said,"Oh, that was Dirt Bike Magazine’s bike of the year!"

We found many places where Justin’s race bike could have been off-loaded and stashed for a later retrieval but we finally got uncomfortable off-roading on land that we were not familiar with – or not sure what we would run into as we were unarmed and surely out numbered.

You could have cut the air with a butter knife on the way home as we all contemplated what had transpired in the last 12 hours. Justin’s bike was truly a one of a kind and he felt more at home on that machine than any he could recall from all the years leading up to him earning his pro license. He wants that bike back! There are not any left in the USA until this November when the 2010s arrive!

Lazar and I are offering a $1000 reward to the person who returns the bike or to the person who leads us or the Sheriff to information involving the return of his bike. You can contact Justin at 760 672 3156. Anyone who wants to join in the search for a 2009 Husaberg 450f race bike or just keeping an eye out for Justin’s bike would be most appreciated.

Jeff Smith

62s

[mctrails 42]

Man that sucks! I hope to read an update soon that they get it back.

[dirt dame 586]

Certainly an awful blackeye to an otherwise stellar weekend. I've had stuff boosted before and I know how helpless you feel when that happens. I hope they get the bike back real soon.

[Jaynen 0]

Man that just bites. And its so obvious that it was well planned and premeditated.

When I had a scooter in Norway I always used a disc lock brake as well as cabling it to something are those just as easy to get off as cutting a cable/chain?

[dirt dame 586]

After riding the track out at Live Oaks Springs, I can tell that it is not the same one that I rode in 1975. I think that they used to race on this one between 1971 and 1973 according to what was mentioned in the history speech at the ground breaking ceremony. But either way, it brought back some fond memories of racing when bikes weren't tall, tracks were mostly natural in their layout and setup and both boots and racing pants were all leather.

Riding out there brought back memories of MXing at Alpine at Noni Wilsons grandmothers property, Four Corners at Ramona, a hillside in Poway now long covered over with developement where the Lyons MX club used to put on races, the old A.C.A. track at Carlsbad Raceway, Village Park on the Mesa at Encinitas and my personal favorite; Dehesa raceway.

I was happy to go out and ride and maybe I will go back and ride some more. If I could be 19 again, I think that I would be very excited about it. But I'm not 19 and I am just glad that there is a place like Live Oak Springs where racers can experience the kind of old school natural track that I used to get to race on all the time. :clapping:

[robertaccio 431]

Support Carlos at C & C race photos,,,,,,,, IMHO PastaPilot (Jon) has one of the best shots (of known riders) see DSC8394, sideways in the mud, with roost coming off the rear, niiiice!! looks like everyone has at least 1 (and most many more pics)

http://candcracephotos.com/

[Crawdaddy 97]

What a day!

Wow, that looks like a LOT of fun!!!. Thanks for the write-up/pics......

[Jaynen 0]

bummer im getting broken link on the photos for the live oaks day