Photo Album 10/6 & 10/7/2007

This weekend was unseasonably warm, and definitely a challenge for Walruses like me. But, the warm weather is also an excuse to extend the outdoor BMX season just a little longer ... so, we jumped at the opportunity to race Milwaukee and Fond du Lac this weekend. Here are some of the moments we shared.

Nate Booth chases Chris Wipijewski down the first straight over the step up / step down. Wipijewski has been killing it all season long on a Dyno freestyle bike that's nearly as old as he is and we hear he's about to score himself a long overdue new racing machine. Chris has a bunch of wins and we expect he'll make the move to intermediate soon. After Chris moves on, Booth will get his wins in a hurry and we wouldn't be at all suprised if by mid June of next season we ourselves a nice 15 intermediate class at Milwaukee BMX. Good stuff, guys!

Nepotism at it's finest! When I was Dane O'Donnell's (my son) age (7), I had a cinder block, a couple foot length of 1 x 6" plank, and television images of Evil Kneivel and later Ponch and John from CHiPS pushing me on. Dane's gotBen Kohls and Jacob Hinzpeter as his modern day local track heros. Heck, those two are my heros too, come to think of it ... scroll down to learn why. Nice air, Dane!

Lucas Rupp is tearing through the 5 and under novice class like the Green Bay Packers offensive line at an all you can eat buffet. Another race weekend, and another win for the young fella from Muskego. Dinnertime!

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this shot is that the bulldozer in the background is such an obvious visual metaphor. Three big guys with plenty of straight ahead power (me, Karl Ausdembruch and Mark Kluth) and almost no chance of "catching air" ... yup, that's a bulldozer allright. In fact, I even did a "bulldozer" immitation first round when I blew up and moved some dirt down the last straight. Maybe John Lennon said it best when he sang "I am the Walrus - Koo Koo Ka Choo ..."

I spy with my little eye -- one of the best rivalries in a while in Wisconsin BMX. Ben Kohls leads out Dallas Weimer down the first straight at Fond du Lac BMX. Both of these guys are super quick and have a ton of skills in their pocket. I have no doubt that there's a couple more NAG numbers that will get locked down between these two guys in the next few seasons ... and, along with Kommanche Jordan, this group is perhaps the best prospect of a nice little Wisconsin pro-class since Tim and Greg Eiring and Kris Weborg in the mid and late 90's.

Colin Kohls out front and in command of the 14i class at Fond du Lac. Colin had himself a fantastic weekend, having taken the win over Kommanche Jordan, a super fast 13 expert, at Milwaukee as well.

Quiet guy, Dana Mittelstadt, making a fantastic sweep into the last turn at Fondy to nail down the three spot in the main. The progress he has made since we started running the outdoor at Milwaukee is absolutely incredible. Dana has transformed from quick but tepid novice right at the end of the indoor season, to an absolute go-for-it intermediate who rides with quickness and confidence today. Chris Bratz who took the win over Dana and the rest of the class at Milwaukee the day before, and is third in this image, took a nasty hard fall in the first round of motos at Fondy Sunday.

It's tough to get a bad photo of Jacob Hinzpeter, who is just about as dialed in as 12 year olds can be. So, this week, in the photo album, ol' Jacob gets two pictures ... same obstacle at Fondy (table into the first turn) different perspectives.

What's more, while announcing the races Saturday, I introduced Jacob as the "Little Deuce Coupe" before the main. Good kid, great new nickname.

For months, I struggled to get a decent shot of Ben Kohls jumping. All that time he was pulling some really cool stuff ... and I'd either have my bike and was still riding, announcing, or whatever. Saturday, we decided to work for the shot, and this one makes up for a lot of frustration for sure. After getting a couple of good looks at this "look back" jump from the front, Ben thought it would be cool to get the image as he was moving away. Good call Ben ... this is a great shot ... and I'm sure it won't be the last.