Echo Valley Practice Day

Wow! What a day to get back out an enjoy the outdoors! Went down to The Rideout family's Echo Valley track in Poole, KY.

I'll tell you what, those people down that way have one heckuva mess on their hands with those ice storms from a few weeks back. It looks like a tornado had been through the area. Tree limbs are down everywhere! Some folks we saw on the way down were using the good weather to clean up their yards. I spoke with Jeannie Rideout briefly and she said they just got phone service back to them earlier that week!

Got see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while. They had well over a hundred riders and everyone, well most everyone was knocking the rust off after a long winter.

I'll start off with Jack Campbell. Jack recently switched over to a Pro Action KTM 450. I asked how he liked it and with a big smile said, "He loved it!" He said it runs like no other and turns just like a Suzuki. That kind of got my attention, because Kody has been on a Suzuki for a few years and always raves at how good the Zooks a turn. Jack offered up the big orange weapon for Kody to ride later on.

Jack looked extremely well on the KTM and said this was the most excited he'd been about racing in several years. So all you "A" guys be on the look out for the big orange #263.


Also sporting a Katoom this Spring is Broc Sims. Broc had been on Suzuki's for so long it took me a while to figure out who he was. I didn't get a chance to catch up with Sims, but from the sound of the rev limiter, he was putting the bike through it paces.



Some of you may remember Jerod Neal. Jerod was a SIMX team rider from a few years back and just recently got him a bike and was getting back into the flow down at Echo Saturday. Jerod's bikes always look unbelievable, and his new ride a KXF450 is the same way. Tricked out with aftermarket parts and sparkling fresh! Jerod is back in the 2009 Team SIMX fold and you can read more about him over at the soon to be updated SIMX Racing pages.



It was also so good to see my old buddy T.J. "Danger" Schafer back on a bike. Some of you may remember late last summer T.J. had a wreck leaving Posey Co. MX and was laid up for quite a while with some injuries. If I remember right, he had a good conversation with some wild turkey's waiting down an embankment for emergency service to get to him. Anyway, Danger was back in action and looking pretty good. I caught up with Danger down workin' on the back triple, and after a couple of short landings, he had it nailed down! All kidding aside, good to have ya back T.J.!

Here are a few more from Saturday!
Davis Uphoff, Jordan Penner


All of the Echo Valley pics can be seen and purchased at here.

One last thing. I also added a black and white gallery of some of my Echo valley shots. I've always been a huge fan of black & whites and hope to add even more galleries this season. I've got a few other photo "tricks" up my sleeve and hope to incorporate a few very soon. Here is a B&W image of Jason Stiles.

The Black & White Gallery is here.