JASON THOMAS - 'THE HARD WAY' - PART 3.
29th May 2013
Hey everyone, as I write this I’m sitting in my van outside a McDonald’s in Florida typing, and watching people, but we will get back to that later.
Alright, well in the last edition I told you all about them Baylor boys and what an awesome family they are, and the place they live in. After a week of ripping with them we set off for the Sumter hare scramble. I have ridden at Sumter before at the National Enduro and it was miserable, but anyway I decided to go as this was a hare scramble, so it wouldn’t be tight………. right? Wrong! It was nothing but half bar wide trees, face whackers and tit slappers, and vines that hooked you around the neck. I don’t really want to go on about how bad it was for me – the track was the same for everyone and that type of trail is just not for me. I’m sure them enduro snakes hate the fast GNCC stuff or grass tracks, but I can think of much better places to literally get your ass whipped, and it’s not by trees or anywhere near the woods, if you know what I mean?
After Sumter I had all kinds of things to take care of, mainly the whip marks up my back and ass which I somehow had to explain to the wife….. Luckily for me she witnessed my body last year after Sumter. So that week it was back to business and testing things for my GNCC bike. First off was suspension testing – our new suspension sponsor, EnduroSpec.com, had worked some magic on my stuff so I set off to the local sand track to rip it and dial it in. The Factory KTM Team were there testing also and the stuff them factory boys have to work with is crazy, with tons of support, mechanics, video footage, etc. Sometimes it really makes me wonder how I compete against them. Lucky for me my Enduro Spec settings were dead nuts and I’m very confident I can run with the factory boys again this year. After testing I started putting a few laps in and was joined by Layne Michael, a fast kid who now wants to mix it in XC2. I let Layne lead and he was ripping it up. Until about five laps in when the sand sucked him up and then spat him back out like gum, about 40 feet from his bike. I have to give the young buck some credit, it’s one of the worst crashes I have seen for a while! A little banged up, Layne walked to his bike which wasn’t as lucky – bent and twisted, it was the end of the day for the scoot, and after seeing it all happen it was time for me to go home as well. I’m sure Layne now realizes you can’t win anything at the test track – save it for the race, kid.
Suspension out of the way, it was time for me to figure out my living arrangements. Since KR4 pulled the pin, the house I was renting down the street from them has been sitting. Unable to continue paying for it I had to head north back to Pennsylvania and move all our stuff into storage. My mate Jimmy Jarrett was able to help so it only took a day, so everything is now in a unit and I’ll have to deal with that problem after round two.
It’s crazy to think life has changed so much over the past months and my wife and I have had to move in and out of houses, not knowing what was next or who we could trust, but somehow we keep pushing through. When KR4 told me a week before Christmas they couldn’t afford to pay me, I was really worried about all of our futures, but I’m on an awesome team now supported by great people who understand me and it seems KR4 have found their check book again, so it’s all good.
On the way back to NC Josh Strang text me and we arranged to ride the next day. We meet up at 9am for a mountain bike ride, and Strang was all decked out in flash gear and a trick bike…… I rolled out a borrowed old bike my mate Jimmy loaned me, and I jumped on in my sweat pants and a hoodie. Strang gave me a funny old look, and asked me where my stuff was. “I’m wearing it mate” I said, and off we went. The pushy track was mega, a ton of fun, and a great work out. I’m sure it was even better for Josh with that sweet bike and gear. I was planning on getting a new pushy (bicycle) with my 2012 GNCC Championship bonus, but by the time I drove to the shop and paid to park, the $300 I got for winning the title was pretty much spent before I even got in the door! Oh well, I’ll just keep riding Jimmy’s old clunker, ha!
So that brings us up to this week. Back in ’05 when I came to the US I was fortunate enough to meet some great guys who lived on the road and raced. They taught me a few trick on how to survive on the road on a budget. Pretty lucky that was really, because again I find myself back on the road in a van on a major budget. I set off toward Florida on Saturday with one bike, a sleeping bag, some gear, and a goal.
The goal is to get myself into the best shape I can, and feeling at one with the bike. I arrived back in Sumter of all places on Saturday night, but there’s an awesome riding area there about 3 miles from the whipper slapper where the hare scramble was a few weeks earlier. Being alone in the van out in the woods was a little scary, and lonley, and reminded me of the old days on the road, until my phone buzzed with a Facebook update and I soon had something to do with my other hand. The next day I was once again joined by Josh Strang for a day ripping the one way marked loops they have there. Josh rode the same place a week before and told me to prepare for a rough day. I led into the trail and pretty soon realized the whole thing had been groomed with a bobcat…… Still, it was fun and good for speed training.
After shredding all day it was time to use the “survival” tricks I was shown all those years ago, so I headed for a hotel with a pool. Now you may be thinking what happened to life on the road….? Well, the reason for finding a hotel with a pool is so I could park outside and walk in like I’m staying there but instead head straight to the pool and soap up. No one bats an eye lid, and if they do I simply say I thought I could use the pool because we can in England! This time I didn’t get caught so I decided to park outside, get on the free wifi to watch a movie, and then the next morning walk back in for the free breakfast. Thanks for the support Holiday Inn!!!
Sunday I headed to my current location – Croom, FL. I’ve heard a ton about the place but never been so I decided this year I’ll do all my seat time here. It’s an awesome place with tons of trails to go at, the sore ass has started to get to me, so I have just been to Walmart to get some Vaseline to lube up, all ready for tomorrow. There’s a McDonalds here for the wifi, not too many hotels though, but a load of campgrounds – a little fence hop might be in order to take a shower, and this will be home for a few weeks!
Until next time, watch the news, ha, ha! Just kidding, I can run pretty fast…….
Believe in yourself and trust that everything happens for a reason.
Boom, boom, POW
UK
Jason Thomas is supported by DirtWise Riding schools and Instructional DVDs, KTM-Parts.com and www.AOMC.mx, Maxxis tires, KLiM Technical Riding gear, Stuk Graphics, Smith goggles, Enduro Spec suspension tuning, DirtTricks sprockets and brake rotors, Flexx Handlebars, G2 handguards and throttle tubes, Rescue Pegs, Motorex Lubricants, IMS fuel tanks and footpegs, FMF exhausts, TCX boots, DP brake pads and clutch plates, TM Designworks chain guides, and KTMTalk.com