Life on Two Wheels | Editor’s Blog 3

Photo by DirtNation.com

Life on Two Wheels | Editor’s Blog 3

Well now, that was one hell of a week! Welcome to the third installment of Life on Two Wheels, my so-called attempt at keeping a blog that documents the behind-the-scenes of SwapmotoLive.com. As I sit down to write this it is Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. and I honestly feel as if I could fall asleep until tomorrow morning. I’m not complaining, though! I’m very blessed to live the life I do and I will never take any of it for granted.

Sunday

On Saturday, I got a mysterious package in the mail. It was quite heavy and inside the box was another box, made of wood. My buddy Justin Fierro has been working on something for a while now and he would never really tell me exactly what it was….only that he was super proud of it and that I would be stoked. Apparently, his project has finally come to fruition and Nezium is the product that he has been feverishly developing for a while now. Inside the wood box was a care package from Nezium, including two of their Game Changer Shorts, which are meant to be worn as base layers while either mountain biking or riding motocross. The Game Changer Short is made of four-way stretch material and provides a good amount of compression to fight off lactic acid. A high-quality chamois provides padding and isolation from a bike saddle, and the crotch area features a pair of strategically placed “walls” that create a pouch of sorts for your junk. Two of the most unique features of the Game Changer are a pocket that’s built into the right thigh that can be accessed from the bottom of your shorts, and a loop at the rear of the short’s waistband, which is silicone lined and designed to grip a water bottle. Years ago when I went riding with Mike Sleeter, I noticed that his mountain bike didn’t have a water bottle cage, so he simply jammed his water bottle into the waistband of his shorts. I remember thinking how uncomfortable that had to be, but I’ve since done it with a 16-ounce Arrowhead when I forgot my bike bottle. The Nezium Game Changer short is available in yellow or teal for $64.99 at neziumlife.com

Anxious to try out the Nezium Game Changer Short, I packed up early Sunday morning to meet my best friend Kyle Puerner for a quick ride in Altadena, up Brown Mountain Road and down a super-fun singletrack named El Prieto. Coincidentally, I grew up in the house across the street from the parking area, but I never really took advantage of the awesomeness right outside my front door when I was younger. The ride was as fun as I had expected as I always enjoy a ride with Kyle. On the way down El Prieto, though, we encountered a group of hikers and one of the ladies made a last-minute decision about which side of the trail she wanted to let me pass on, and I ended up eating shit and landing on my back in a poison oak bush! Knowing I only had a little while to wash myself off, I got up and pinned it back to the truck.

The Nezium shorts, by the way, are awesome. The chamois and anti-bat wing walls built into the pouch are exceptional. To be honest, I didn’t try out the pocket or the water bottle holder just yet, but they were truly the best padded shorts I have ridden in to date. I spoke on the phone with Fierro afterward and suggested he make a bib version for dudes like me who like to have their gut held in place by a bib. Haha!

Something tells me this isn’t in the Fox Racing bike catalog…

When I got back to the truck I scrubbed my entire body down with wet wipes and I was lucky enough to suffer no rashes from the poison oak. Back in the day, I used to just spray contact cleaner on my skin to get rid of the oils, but nowadays there is so much talk about how toxic contact cleaner is…

From Altadena, I hauled ass to the SML office in Lake Elsinore to meet up with Michael Antonovich and Chase Curtis, who had just got home from Washougal the night before. We gathered to knock out the 6D Helmets Kickstart Podcast, which is usually produced on Monday. I was headed for Washington early Monday morning, though, so we got the work done on Sunday. CLICK HERE to listen!

Nuts to butts across the street from Guadalajara’s Mexican Restaurant in Lake Elsinore. Yum.

After the podcast was a wrap, Anton, Chase and I drove down the street to Guadalajara’s. Place is magical.

Monday

Early Monday morning, I headed to the airport to fly to Seattle for the 2020 KTM 250 XC TPI media launch. A few weeks earlier, KTM’s David O’Connor called and asked if I would attend, and I quickly agreed when I heard that A. it was his event, and B. it was at Ryan Villopoto’s Grey’s Harbor ORV park. Somewhere along the way, I missed the part about the intro being a RACE TEST during round seven of the WORCS series! “Ready to Race” is KTM’s slogan and that, apparently, was what they were going for. The flight was easy and KTM picked all the media kooks up and drove us to the track to check out the bikes and go through sign up.

Casey Lytle and Nate Abelia hard at work.

When I found out that we would be racing a few days earlier, I actually thought about sending Anton instead because the last time I raced an off-road event, I ended up breaking my lower leg four days before I headed to Japan to see the works bikes! I didn’t want to let my buddy Irish Dave down, though, so I instead elected to enter the 50 C class, figuring that I could ride at a more leisurely pace. When I got to Gray’s Harbor and saw the impressive set-up of KTM off-road bikes and personnel, though, I started to feel guilty about dropping down a class. I asked if I could move up to the B class and they obliged, even though my pre-printed numberplate backgrounds were the wrong color. A big thanks to Casey Lytle and Nate Abelia, by the way, for installing said numbers. Just think…when I was just starting out in moto journalism, Lytle was winning 125 Supercrosses and contending for the title! 

I went to check out the track and while I walked it, I sent my good buddy Ryan Villopoto a text.

Since he’s been retired, RV has typically been super talkative, and will usually call back instead of texting. No such luck today. Haha!

After a great dinner at the track, we checked into a nearby casino and turned in for the night. I’m not gonna lie: I was nervous!

Tuesday

Waking up super early and driving to the track was painful, but I have to admit that it was really cool walking past the RACE TEAM ONLY sign and strolling into the Red Bull KTM semi awning. The entire area is usually home to Taylor Robert, but while all us media types were in town, poor Taylor was wedged into a small corner of the pit.

Taylor was super cool and laughed at me when I told him how nervous I was. He told me that the track would be plenty tight, but that all of the gnarly tree roots would be painted bright orange. Secretly, I wondered if my bike would blend in with them when I crashed and was laying on the ground…

When I was packing for the trip at home, I remembered that I had a Mark Tilley number-one jersey. Tilley is one of my best friends in the industry, and when he still worked at Dubach Racing, he’s the one who got me to try my hand at Big 6 Grand Prix Racing. He won the Big 6 Championship a few times, and I pestered him for one of his number-one jerseys for a long time before he finally gave me one for my garage wall. These days, Tilley is an editor at Dirt Bike Magazine and he really busts his ass to make it the best off-road title around. Anyway, I decided that I would pack the jersey to try and channel some of Tilley’s off-road prowess. I put it on as I got dressed for practice, and we both shared a great laugh. I love that guy…

Practice was eye-opening. Literally. The singletrack woods sections were darker than I anticipated, and my old-ass eyes could barely make out the trail. It’s a good thing the promoter painted the tricky tree roots orange! Because it was cloudy and overcast in the morning, I figured that the trail would be better once the sun came out by my 12:30 race. I had a tough time cornering the bike, so I asked Dave to make some changes and as luck would have it, we went in the right direction and the bike worked great during the race. Read the 2020 KTM 250 XC TPI test HERE.

I was stoked to run into Andrew Short after practice, and he was super encouraging and helpful. “Basically, you never want to be on the pipe in the woods,” he said. “Shift your bike up and ride in the lower RPM range. You’ll be fine! It’s just like mountain biking!”

The race itself was super fun. I didn’t get an amazing jump off the line (it’s been a while since I started on a two-stroke!) but I was pumped to get into the lead before we left the motocross track and headed into the woods. In spite of what Shorty had told me, I rode like a complete idiot in the trees, double-clutching it and revving the 250 XC TPI out every chance I got. A few minutes into the race, I noticed that I didn’t hear anyone behind me, so I took a quick glance over my shoulder and saw no one! I was pumped! I took another longer look back to see how large my lead was and I still didn’t see anyone. Know what else I didn’t see? The tree that I rode straight into because I was looking back! Idiot. I remounted as quickly as I could but the damage was done. Second place was on my ass and I was flustered. He zapped me when I hestitated in an off-camber uphill corner, then proceeded to vanish into the forest like a Leprechaun who didn’t want to give up his gold. In the end, Steve Matlock beat me by nearly four full minutes and he would have caught me even if I didn’t screw up. The rest of the race was plenty eventful but in spite of falling three more times, I managed to cross the finish line in second. Remember how I looked forward to the sun coming out and lighting up the woods? Well, light only peeked through the tree cover in small spots, and that made the trail look like the dance floor at prom, speckled with reflections from the disco ball. I could see even less of the trail! Haha! The most entertaining crash came in the wood chip section after the grass track area. I went too high in a berm and pushed the front end, just as I gave the bike a big dose of throttle to try and correct. I slammed face-first into the ground and all I could smell was wet musty wood. A flagger came running over as I picked myself up and asked if I was okay. When I replied that I was, he laughed and said, “Man, you are SHIT!”

After the race, David O’Connor started calling me Off-Road Donn. I’m not so sure that name will stick as I am of the “one and done” mindset about WORCS racing. Instead, I’ll cheer for my good buddies Tallon LaFountaine and Mark Samuels from the sidelines. (I did a cool podcast with them after my race…CLICK HERE to listen!)

As I got undressed, I noticed a small bloodstain in my Ethikas. Apparently, all of the sitting down in the trees and accelerating up the tight singletrack sections while sitting on the super abrasive KTM seat cover took a toll! My tailbone actually rubbed a cut into my skin while grinding against the seat…at the top of my buttcrack! To be honest, this has happened before; during the A Day in the Dirt Grand Prix while I was running a seat with a bump in it. It didn’t hurt too bad after the race, but it started killing the next morning. Haha!

SIDENOTE: Congrats to David O’Connor, who stayed in Washington through the weekend and competed in round eight on Friday in the mud. Second place in his very first off-road race! What a badass…

All in all, getting to test the 2020 KTM XC TPI in race conditions at WORCS was a hell of a good time and one that I will never forget. The bike was great, and the course was technical and challenging, yet safe. I enjoyed watching Tallon LaFountaine race, and all the while I wondered how he could see in the woods, as his eyesight is worse than mine!

Tallon in action. iPhone photo by me.

Wednesday

We woke up super early to catch the 4:45 a.m. shuttle to SEATAC and I was barely awake as I trudged through the airport towards my gate. Just past security, I heard a familiar voice behind me say, “Hey you’re that Asian guy who is supposed to be really fast.” I turned around and was greeted by Ryan Villopoto, who had been so helpful with the racing advice. Haha! We chatted about how the course was, and he told me that he was headed to Loretta Lynn’s. I didn’t envy him!

Ryan Villopoto’s words of wisdom about racing WORCS at Grey’s Harbor OPV? “Come on.”

As badly as I wanted to go to sleep when I got home mid-morning, I sat down to type my Thursday Garage Finds feature for Backyard Design. I was well aware that Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely would announce his retirement on Thursday, so I selected one of Cole’s helmets that he had given me several years ago. CLICK HERE to check the story out!

That afternoon my buddy Jason McCune from Insideline Connect came over to deliver and install a FMF Racing exhaust system on our 2020 Husqvarna FC 350. We always have a motorcycle on the Swapmoto Live Show set, and I was scrambling to get it daddied up before going into the studio on Thursday. After Jason put the pipe on the bike, we headed to Chino Hills State Park to knock out a quick 18 miles on our mountain bikes. It was super hot, but it was a great ride.

This is Jason McCune in Chino Hills State Park. This wasn’t taken this week when we rode, but it’s too good not to use. Haha!

Thursday

The Swapmoto Live show is taped in a multi-million studio inside the Callaway Golf headquarters in Carlsbad, and we had the studio reserved for a few hours to tape three shows. Cole Seely, my brother Ross Maeda, and Jeff “Chicken” Matiasevich all came down to film episodes with me, and all three went very well. Cole’s retirement press release came out just as we sat down to film, so the conversation was super fresh and relevant. I’m hoping that no one corners him for an interview before the show airs at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, but I’m doubtful. Regardless, I think that the friendship Cole and I share will make the episode extra special. 

Chillin’ on set with Corr Seery.

Friday

On Friday, Chase came over bright and early as we had to swing by the photo studio to snap some shots of some products that we planned to test that day at Milestone MX. The guys at Bill’s Pipes made a system for our 2020 Kawasaki KX250 and we were both excited to see if it brought back some of the Kawi’s low-end power to complement the new ripping mid-range and top-end.

Chase was really impressed with the Bill’s Pipes system, saying that it really added low-end throttle response and smoothed out the big hit it previously had in the middle of the powerband. He’s gonna ride it at a few different tracks before writing up the Track Tested feature on it, but for now, he gives it a big thumbs up.

Both of us were also excited to try out the new 2020 gear from Fasthouse. The Speed and Style 2.0 pant has been completely redesigned and has a much more technical fit with lots of stretch built-in. As I was getting dressed, Chase commented that the fit of the new pant was among the best he’s worn, but I noticed that mine felt a little NARROW as I pulled them on. It was a struggle to zip them up, and I was only able to get one click out of the rachet waistband fastener. Lo and behold, I had accidentally ordered a size 30 for myself when typing up the order. You know when you squeeze a water balloon and all of the water bulges the balloon elsewhere? That’s how I felt in the tiny pants and it’s a wonder I was able to get them on at all. Needless to say, I only rode a few laps before I decided to quit while I was ahead: it was hard to spread my legs wide enough to slide forward in the corners. Worst of all, the cut in my butt crack opened back up and you could have heard me yell, “AAAIIIIEEEEE!” all the way in Orange County when it did. (If only I had worn those Nezium shorts at the WORCS race!)

Anton is supposed to be the only guy on staff in skinny pants.

Saturday

I woke up super early this morning to take a bike ride to breakfast with my daughters Samy and Meg. Keno’s Family Restaurant is located about 20 miles away in Anaheim Hills and I was introduced to it by Broc Tickle and my buddy Mike Nittel who owns Roy’s Cyclery. We ate there last summer after a road bike ride to the beach and back, and man, the pancakes are the best I’ve ever had! Since I took my family there, it’s been a destination on our bicycles a few times, and I will never turn down a breakfast ride with my girls.

The pancakes were amazing, and spending the morning with my family was the perfect way to end the week. (Mom slept in and drove to meet us.) The rest of my Saturday was filled with garage work, honey-dos, and a quick trip to Roy’s Cyclery to get a new bottom bracket put into my Stumpjumper. A bunch of us are headed to Skypark at Santa’s Village tomorrow morning, and I want to be ready!

Thanks for reading! Until next week, be safe out there!

 – swap