mx775

I don't keep lots of things. I find I'm happiest when I'm surrounded by the necessary and useful items in my life, rather than the frivolous and superfluous. I even get upset with my wife when she keeps things that I don't see an immediate use for. "When are we possibly going to use this?" I say a few times every week.

But I do make one exception to my minimalist ways. In my garage there are hundreds of motocross magazines. There are copies of Motocross Action, Racer X, Transworld, Dirt Bike and the defunct titles MX Racer, Motocross, Cycle News, Wide Open, Final Lap, Motocross Illustrated, Motocross West, Motofly and a few others I can't even remember.

The oldest issues date back to the early '80s (when my older brother Bryan was the collector,) and the newest are still piling up today. Virtually every era in between has good coverage--bike tests of now-vintage machines, stories of races from tracks that no longer exist, columns by long-gone editors, advertisements for gear that fashion has forgotten (in some cases for the best.) It's all there on the fading, dog-eared pages.

I keep all these despite the fact that the they've turned one corner of my garage into an unruly mess. Worse yet, I can't even really claim that they're useful. While I sometimes recall that a certain magazine has some piece of information I need, the sheer number of them makes locating any particular issue an impossibility (barring a two-hour search.) And while I love to randomly flip through magazines as much as anyone, it is also unlikely that I'll ever dig into the majority of the issues again. There are just too many.  

Recently I decided to do something about my haphazard collection. I decided I would keep a few magazines from each era and recycle the rest. The idea of actually taking any of the magazines for recycling was painful, but the truth was that I had little choice: they were beginning to crowd the actual bikes in my garage, and I hadn't touched them in years (I have new magazines coming in the mail all the time, after all.)

So I began to sort. A few hours passed and I had two piles: 1. My keepers pile (issues of my favorite titles selected from each era,) and 2. The give-away pile. The give-away pile actually consisted of several piles, all of which dwarfed the single keepers pile.

Then an unsurprising thing happened: I quit the project. Faced with nothing more to do than to box up my recycling pile and take it away, I suddenly found lots of other things to do. Instead of hauling away the magazines, I adjusted spokes. Cleaned my goggles. Swept the floor (which was hard considering how many magazines were covering it.) In short, I lost my nerve.

At this point, I wish I could tell you how I cleverly and neatly resolved this problem. But the truth is that instead of having a big stack of magazines in a corner of my garage, I now have a big stack (several stacks, actually) in the center of my garage. And I lack the decisiveness to either put them back where they came from or take them away.  Either option seems like a defeat somehow.

So I suppose I'm writing this less to tell a story and more to ask for advice. I have no idea how to resolve this problem. Honestly, I don't suspect any of you will know how either, but so long as my fingers are on the keys, I feel like I am doing something...something that keeps me from having to go stare at the teetering stacks sitting precariously next to my bike.

Should I keep them? Recycle them? Turn them into a paper-mache sculpture of Ricky Carmichael? I don't really know, and until I do, there they will sit. And I will have no leverage whatsoever with my wife when I want her to clean out her closet.

P.S. If you have any ideas, feel free to email me at robert@mx775.com.

Update: About a week after this was published, I surrendered a large part of my collection to a Reno High School student who needed them to help him start a motocross club at school. I couldn't think of a better fate for them.

Posted by beaupre716 at 09:03 PM | Permalink

Go Team USA!

Posted by beaupre716 at 07:00 AM | Permalink

It's no secret that racing motocross is expensive, and the odds are good that if you're reading this, you are already hopelessly entangled in its costs. But there is a way to ease that burden slightly: getting sponsored. You don't need to be a national contender to get a little help from the industry, as most companies are happy to sponsor dedicated racers who will help get their products exposure at local racetracks.

And while you don't need to be a superstar, you do need to make a good case for yourself with your resume. So because we're in the heart of resume season--most companies accept sponsorship applications from September to November--I asked Layne Kolbet, a regional rep for Tucker Rocky, which distributes the brands Answer, MSR, Pro Taper and many others, to lay out some guidelines for riders looking for a little support. Here's what he wrote:

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The biggest thing to remember is that a sponsorship is a privilege, not a right, and everything costs something. Nobody owes you anything because you race! Nor do you necessarily deserve anything either. If you are giving a discount on a part, it’s that much less money a shop or company is making. When you get a free t-shirt or stickers, they all cost something to be made. Ain’t nothing free!

Here are my resume tips:

 1.   Keep it short and sweet. Don’t ramble on. The maximum is 3 pages, not including a cover sheet. Remember these companies get thousands of resumes every year.

2.     These companies are interested in how many local events you do. They are looking for grassroots racers. The company I work for spends hundreds of thousands of dollars sponsoring the fastest man on the planet on a moto machine. They aren’t interested in some kid running 20^th at some amateur national who isn’t racing locally. They want your sponsorship to impact the local area. List some series results and some from the bigger races. You don’t need to always be a front runner at the local events either. Companies want to see you racing, out there giving it your all.

3.     Include pictures, but don’t get carried away with the riding photos. Taking a pic next to your bike is always nice, but make sure the bike is clean as well as your grill. Show yourself hanging in the pit at a race. Don’t be afraid to include a pit shot with the family unit too.

4.     If you use the product, talk about how great it is and what you like about it in your cover letter.

5.     DON’T BS! Many will do a follow-up check. Also, don’t double-dip sponsors. In other words, don’t have two sponsors that do the same thing that are competing companies.

6.     Mention school. Talk about your grades and other activities you do. Baseball, fishing, being in a band, etc.

7.     Have a goal, but don’t say the same ol' garbage…I want to be the next supercross champ…I wanna be on a factory team. List something realistic that you can achieve this following year, like “I want to be the Junior SMRA Nevada State Champion,” or “My focus will be the next...series.”

8.     Tell what you are going to do for your sponsor. Think about it: are you just walking around with your hand out?

9.      If you are offered a sponsorship and decide not to take the deal, take the time to write a letter saying thanks but no thanks. Being professional, even on the local level, can help you!

10.   Be loyal! Loyalty goes a long way with sponsors. Don’t jump around looking for the bigger, better thing. If you get something a lot better, tell your current sponsor and give them a chance to match the offer (if it gets to that level.)

11.   Start local and hit up your local shop. Give them a resume and tell them what you would do in return for a discount.

12.  Lastly, always carry a resume with you. Have it up-to-date, because you never know who you’ll run into that may be interested in you.

If you have any questions, I’d be glad to help answer them.

Peace-n-wheelies,

Layne Kolbet

Aka Mr. Moto

****

So there you have Layne's tips. Happy sponsor hunting, and be sure to remember me if you get a good tire sponsor. I could use some good take-offs.

Posted by beaupre716 at 08:34 AM | Permalink

Aron Harvey led the northern Nevada charge at last weekend's Pala National, qualifying for the 450cc main with a 2:21.928 lap time, which earned him the 29th spot on the gate. Aron then backed that up with 28-29 moto scores in the final for 28th overall. Well done, Aron.

Adam Conway had another oh-so-close performance, earning the 42nd fastest 450cc qualifying time with a 2:24.383. That left Adam a mere two spots and just over .7 of a second from making the final motos. Next time, Adam.

Check out the full results here on the MX Sports web site.

Posted by beaupre716 at 11:58 AM | Permalink

Here's the entry list for the 450 class for this weekend's AMA National finale at Southern California's Pala Raceway.

Our local riders on the entry list are Carson City's Aron Harvey and Adam Conway and Gardnerville's Zeb Armstrong. Best of luck, guys.

Keep an eye on www.mxsportsproracing.com this weekend to see the live timing from qualifying and then check out the live broadcast on Saturday on Speed Channel to see the motos unfold.

Posted by beaupre716 at 02:16 PM | Permalink

Sure, you know Rich Thorwaldson as the full-time businessman who runs Moto Source. But you may not know that he can also shred a Fernley berm with the best of them, as this Jim Hubener photo proves. Nice work, Rich and Jim.

Posted by beaupre716 at 03:29 PM | Permalink