It's the Final Count Down...

The days are getting shorter, and the 2009 IJSBA World Finals are coming closer... New things are in store, some final testing is to be completed, along with some final training sessions. Next Stop Lake Havasu City, AZ with a Mountain Biking detour in Fruita / Grand Junction, CO. on the way.

Regular Season: Done... Onto the post season with a new look.

The regular season in watercross racing has finished. The results were mixed. Overall the season was a success, now it is time to move onto the post season. I have some tricks up my sleave in both the training department and in the equiptment department. My hand will not be shown though until the arrival into Lake Havasu of the 2009 IJSBA World Finals.

Here is a recap of the season:
Great Lakes Watercross Tour Overall Results:
Expert Ski Limited 1st Overall (Note: this is my 5th overall on title in this class on the Great Lakes Watercross Tour, the Great Lakes Watercross tour has existed for 5 seasons now. You do the Math)
Vet Ski Open 2nd Overall (Note; I had the most wins in this class for the season, but missed one round which proved fatal for the overall Title.)

Other 2009 Acomplishments:
IJSBA National Champion in Vet Ski Limted
IJSBA Expert Ski Limited Nationals: 2nd Place
Undefeated for both Expert Ski Limited and Vet Ski Open in the Triple Crown of Surf Events Held in Lake Michigan on the Great Lakes Watercross Tour (Note: Not one other competitor can claim this in 2009.)

Now I am looking forward to the next 45 days or so leading up to the IJSBA World Finals in Lake Havasu. There will be hundreds of miles pedaled. Also while in route to Lake Havasu City there will be 3 days spent in the Fruita / Grand Junction, Colorado area for some great mountain biking.

I need to thank the following companies that have both stepped up this season and been on board for several seasons. Without their help I would not be able to get the results that I have gotten.
Blowsion: for the best Destroyer Sidesponsons on the market. Hands Down nothing is better!
Skat-Trak: For the unbelieveable hookup their pumps and impellers offer in the roughest of water conditions!
Riva: For having what ever I need in parts, look up Pete B. He is the best.
No Fear: for offering the best in boardshorts and other racing apparel.
Steiger Power Sports: For being the best local parts and equitment hook up in the Greater La Crosse, WI area. No one else compares!
Z Force: For offering the best tuning advice and machine work for my equiptment!
Rock County Jet Ski: For getting me out of binds countless times and being there on race day with any help that can be offered John Zigler, you know who you are! Thanks!
Kommander Ind: for offering the best engine components for the Kawasaki SX-R 800.
IJSBA: For allowing me to serve on the board of directors along with coming back into the U.S. Racing sanctioning game.
Great Lakes Watercross: For keeping racing alive in Wisconsin and in the Mid West.

-RIDE HARD- (whatever it is!)

Final Round of the Great Lake Watercross Tour

This Saturday will be the final round of racing until the IJSBA World Finals in Lake Havasu. It's going to be fast as chit yo! Hopefully some cats will want to throwdown for a Dash-4-$ and we can pound out some Hard Laps for the Washingtons, cause we all know there ain't no more Benjamins left in Watercross!

The 585 Ski is Back on Top

The event was the UWP/IJSBA U.S. National Championships in Charleston, WV. This was hands down one of the best events I have ever attended. Charleston and the UWP Crew did everything in their power to make sure that all the racers, spectators, and EVP Pro Volleyball players had a great experience. Onto the racing action. As the story goes, the goal at hand here was to Win Vet Ski Open and place in the top 3 for Expert Ski Limited... Well Mission Acomplished. I was able to take the Top Spot in Vet Ski Open in a very convincing fashion, along with Placing 2nd in Expert Ski Limited. Now I have the Final 2 Rounds of the Greatlakes Watercross Tour then it is onward to Havasu for the IJSBA World Finals.

IJSBA U.S. Watercross Nationals Charleston, WV

The IJSBA National Championships are this weekend in Charleston, WV. I'm headed there in the AM. I'll report back on this when I return home. Lets hope that I can get the 585 Machine back on top!

This is Crazy, Shaun Palmer back on the Mountain Bike

I never thought that I would see the day that Palmer came back to 2 wheels, 2 pedals, and Dirt. I am a little behind on this one, but whatever. Here are some links to articles covering his comeback. Word on the street is that he is also using this for crosstraining. The 2010 Olyimpics are on the horizon and he has his eye on the Prize!
Mountain Bike Action
Dirt Rag Blog about the comeback
Pink Bike
Bike Mag

More shaun-palmer Mountain Biking >>

DeathRow Velo‏

I just got word today that I'll be teaming up with DeathRow Velo‏ for some sweet Cycling Gear. Those that know me, know that I take my cycling as serious as any other part of my sporting life. I have always been outside of the box when it comes to cycling gear since I am not a fan of the traditional stuff for several reasons. Anyhow, check out DeathRow Velo as they have some of the finest (IMO) cycling gear out there.

WORS Hardware / Training / New Goods

It was a racing and training filled weekend. Saturday was the Subaru Cup WORS Race (Mountain Bike Racing). I figured I need to get more training miles in and this confirmed my thoughts. I pushed hard at the start eventually moving into 1st for my wave but I was not able to hold that pace, at any rate I have never been able to push up into 1st from the start before. In the end I finished 4th and left every ounce of energy that I had out on the course. Many road miles are on tap over the next couple weeks. The next WORS event is July 5th in Eau Claire, WI.

The new goods on the boat are the Blowsion Destroyer Side Sponsons. These are by far the best designed and easiest to install product on the market in this catagory. These suckers showed up on thursday and were installed with in an hour. Hats off to Blowsion for building the highest quality sponsons on the market (there other products are top notch also!).

Sunday training sessions. The usual suspects were on hand which included the Wi X2 Nationals competitors. This was also the first day out on the Limited since the instalation of the Destroyer Sponsons. In all it was a good day of training and X2 racing. Next stop on the water tour is La Crosse for the Great Lakes Watercross Tour. It is all day this sunday (6/28/09) at Black River Beach, Be there!

In other news. The Great Lakes Watercross Tour in conjunction with Steiger Powersports placed a Billboard in Downtown La Crosse to advertise for the upcoming race this weekend. Check it out!

X2 Nationals, and Real Racing Updates.

Yeah, you read the title right... It is somewhat of a joke that the crew I train with here is involved with. But the reality is that we are now racing X2's at the end of the Sunday Training sessions. So if you have an X2 with a 650 in it you are elgible for the "Unoffical" X2 Nationals.

In real racing news, round 3 of the Great Lakes Watercross Tour is coming to La Crosse on June 28th. The race site is the Black River Beach. My limited might even be back in action for that round of racing.

On the Mountain Bike side of things, I'll be headed to the WORS Subaru Cup for the XC race this Saturday. The race is held at Nordic MTN in Wild Rose, WI.

585 Gear

Thanks to 2-Stroke there could be some 585 Racing Gear on the horizion... Stay tuned and watch the video below!