By Kyle Carruthers
and Billy Rainford
Source: http://www.directmotocross.com/news/features/2013/02/frideh-update-8-presented-toronto-supercross
Trampas Parker Travis Pastrana Gautier Paulin David Philippaerts Mickael Pichon
FMX Update
Dew Tour San Francisco
Adam Jones won the Dew Tour's new FMX Triple Threat event at the San Francisco Toy
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/mx/blog/id/27557
Georges Jobe Gunnar Johansson Peter Johansson Rick Johnson Gary Jones
Some footage from my Go Pro Moto helmet cam. Riding a CRF450 on motocross track 1 at Queensland Moto Park. The track is rutted and has the normal braking and acceleration bumps as it doesn’t seem to be prepped that often. Like track two it has a handful of table tops but with a mix of tight and wide corners and short straights.
Overall the track is not bad considering what off road riding parks are available in Queensland.
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/go-pro-moto-qld-moto-park-mx1-motocross/
Odyssey’s Texas Toast Jam is the premier independent BMX contest in North America. This years event will include flatland, dirt jumping, and street. The FOX Gauntlet o
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/bmx/blog/id/27511
Trampas Parker Travis Pastrana Gautier Paulin David Philippaerts Mickael Pichon
I recently had a few days off from work and the days were sunny so I was determined to get at least a couple of good day-rides in. Steve had been wanting to get out to see the 2012 mural on the Freedom Rock, so Greenfield was our first destination along with Shirley, Garry, Dave R., Kristin and Teri Ann.
It was going to be another very hot day, so even though Greenfield and the Rock are only about 60 miles away, we planned a stop halfway. We took off along SW 9th Street in Des Moines, which quickly becomes County Road R63 heading south, and turned west at Highway 92. In the past we’ve stopped frequently at the Casey’s General Store that sits a hundred feet from the junction of 92 and 169 at Winterset, and such was my plan here again – but, upon making the left turn off 92 I quickly realized that the familiar building was gone and the site was under re-construction. Thank goodness this is Iowa, and there is always another Casey’s!
After a brief stop to “stretch and hydrate” (as my former boss used to say), we took off again to the west – traveled the 24 miles to Greenfield along 92, then north another 12 miles along Highway 25 to the Freedom Rock – so named because local artist Ray Sorensen paints a new military-themed mural on the rock every year. This year’s Rock recognizes the Tomb of the Unknowns, US Naval Petty Officer Taylor Morris, the POW experience, and Iowa’s Sullivan Brothers.
The Rock has become a destination for bikers, veterans, and other military supporters from around the country. There is a contingent of bikers that now stops here each year while en route from the west coast to the Viet Nam memorial in Washington, D.C. just before Memorial Day.
While at the Rock we encountered an older gentleman who was also visiting – turns out he is a Greenfield area resident and also a WWII veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor. He said he visits the rock frequently to chat with the people who come to see it.
We also met a fellow rider – a gal named Michele who had come down on a solo ride from her home in Story City. She gave us a terrific gift – a group photo that included ALL of us (rather than the usual “all minus the photographer”). It was neat to chat with her there at the Rock, and we invited her to head north with us to our next stop at Guthrie Center.
We left the Rock and headed north along Highway 25, which took us into Guthrie Center and yes, another Casey’s. This was the same location where we’d stopped in 2006 and met the woman whose dad helped trowel Albert the Bull over in Audubon.
Visited a little more with Michele here, and finalized our route home. She traveled a few miles east with us to Panora, where we waved a farewell and turned to the south on County Road P28. We picked up F59 a few miles outside of Panora, then F60 outside of Redfield, and stopped again for a final stretch-and-hydrate at Adel. We picked up Highway 6 going east out of Adel, and took that all the way into Des Moines. It’s funny that this used to be a very rural drive. Now, after decades of record growth westward from Des Moines, it’s a short 7 mile path from Adel to Waukee and then 100 percent developed from Waukee clear through to the far east side of the Des Moines area. So we’re now “back in town” even though we are riding through a town that used to be considered “out in the boondocks.”
In all we traveled 150 miles and were pretty well roasted by the time we got home (I was going to say we were “baked,” but I think that might mean something else!), but it was certainly a great way to spend a vacation day!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikerChickNews/~3/VABm68vrWiY/
Grant Langston Danny LaPorte Mike LaRocco Jason Lawrence Ron Lechien
My hobby and downfall
My mother wasn’t really supportive of my hobby. She has seen these insane videos where people break their necks and lose their lives by doing insane stunts. I told her that I wasn’t even doing any of those, but she still insists that it will happen to me one day. That didn’t stop her from watching me race every now and then. I’ve always dreamt of doing those X-Games motorbike stunts, but I suck at gymnastic routines like tucks, tumbles and jumps. If I can’t do those on the ground, how am I supposed to pull that off with a motorcycle?
Trampoline dry runs
A friend of mine who’s a gymnastics coach told me of an innovative tool that could improve my jumps and tumbles: trampoline. I actually thought that he was pulling my leg but I gave it a shot in their gym and I couldn’t believe it. The airtime that you get from trampolines is similar to what you get from the airtime you get from Motocross humps and jumps; you only had a few seconds to pull off a trick before you land on your feet. Within those short seconds, you need to complete to motion, otherwise you’d be bouncing face first on the trampoline or worst, the ground.
The drills
I wasn’t exactly comfortable doing the drills without proper guidance so I bummed at my friend’s gymnasium and made use of their big trampolines, surrounded by rubber pads. My coach taught me like he would teach his students, so he was making me run flexibility exercises and drills before I could do the routine on the trampoline.
A couple of weeks later, I started out with the basic trampoline workout program that involved tucks, knee-bends, and sprints. All of which can bolster one’s balance and agility in between airtimes. The routines were difficult and the timings were even more difficult. It took me close to a month before I could get used to the flow.
After the program, I was already confident with my trampoline and bouncing skills. I even got enough airtime that almost reached as high as a motocross jump. Before I started to do the tumbles and jumps, my friend told me about the basic concepts of the tumbles, from the front-flips to the back-flips. The concepts included the starting position and your landing position. He had his students demonstrate for me and it looked difficult. When I did it, my face kept meeting the ground a lot.
He detected my hesitation every time I did a flip, which was the reason why my flips failed. He told me that you’ve gone past the starting position, there’s no turning back and you have to commit. I took his words to heart and day by day, my jumps and tumbles improved.
I did a test run on my motorcycle a month after I got the hang of the entire motion. I did front flips like they were nothing and the motorcycle felt like a part of me every time I jumped. I’ve gotten over one roadblock in my motocross passion.
Source: http://www.emotocrossblog.com/how-trampolines-improved-my-motocross-jumps-and-tumbles/
Ashley Fiolek Ernesto Fonseca Lauris Freibergs Paul Friedrichs Steven Frossard
Source: http://www.directmotocross.com/news/features/2013/02/catching-cole-thompson
Richard Eierstedt Jimmy Ellis Jeff Emig Harry Everts Stefan Everts
Everyone can go fast by hold the throttle pinned on the straights, but it’s when it comes time to slow down that separates the pros from the amateurs. Next time you are at your local track, watch the fast guys around the track; they are either on the gas or braking. Slower riders tend to have a bad habit of letting off before the corner and then braking. However, teaching yourself to hold it on longer isn’t enough. Learning how and when to use both brakes effectively will help take your corner speed to the next level.
Telling yourself to hold the gas on a split second longer is easier said than done, but it can be a life saver on the start. Unlike road racing, there are no markers to tell us how close the corner is. However, we can use simple objects like rocks, fencing or foliage. Finding a marker can help you visualize your spot on the track and help you hold the throttle down longer.
Many people have their own theory on how to brake properly. Some prefer just the front while others like the back. I believe that there is no definite answer. Each brake has different purposes. The front brake is great for diving into inside ruts and coming to a stop quickly, while the rear keeps the rear wheel planted to the ground and keeps your momentum up. Another interesting thing that seems to help me is to “push” the bike in the ground. Trying to weight front or rear down will put more force on the ground to get that extra friction for added stopping power.
One thing that aids in your momentum and drive is to avoid locking the brakes. When you lock up the rear brake, there is no control over the traction and where the wheel goes. All of your RPMs drop and it just creates braking bumps even faster. Your best bet is to “chatter” the rear. This is a method where the rear wheel is spinning, but at a much slower rate. This is great for maintaining drive in deep soil and it squats the rear end down to avoid swapping out.
Each situation is different, but remembering how your brakes control deceleration, you can utilize each one to its maximum potential. If you have an outside line in a corner that looks good, use more rear brake than front. For insides, you would be better off grabbing the front and getting that front end down. Becoming comfortable with both brakes can allow you to have faster entry speed in any corner.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/effective-braking-for-faster-cornering/
Christian Beggi Mike Bell John van den Berk Marnicq Bervoets Fritz Betzlbacher
Kahuku Motocross Park with Ricky Carmichael, Jeff Emig, Ken Roczen and Fox Wake & Surf Team Athletes
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/mx/blog/id/27633
Ricky Carmichael Danny Chandler Eric Cheney Alessio Chiodi Jaromir Cizek
Here are some recent photos of Luke Marks tearing up hurricane Leslie. Luke was complimented throughout the photo feature with quotes like: " Luke obviously listens v Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/surf/blog/id/27464 Guennady Moisseev Bobby Moore Blair Morgan Gaylon Mosier Marvin Musquin
FMX Update
Dew Tour San Francisco
Adam Jones won the Dew Tour's new FMX Triple Threat event at the San Francisco Toy
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/mx/blog/id/27557
Ken De Dycker Yves Demaria Gilbert De Roover Clement Desalle John DeSoto
Source: http://www.fim-live.com/en/media/news/news-detail/article/1361881403-final-3-riding-number-draw/
Ake Jonsson Julien Bill Pierre Karsmakers Vladimir Kavinov Mike Kiedrowski
The 3rd annual Transworld MX Magazine Industry Cup took place on Friday 10/12/12 at the Lake Elsinore MX Park. A thunderstorm rolled through the area the day before and left track workers scrambl
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/mx/blog/id/27534
Anthony Boissiere Frederic Bolley Xavier Boog Damon Bradshaw Goat Breker
When I first started riding big bikes, I was so stoked to finally have all of the power I wanted. However, with great power, comes great responsibility…courtesy of Uncle Ben from Spiderman. Sometimes, we can get ahead of ourselves on a rougher track and the braking bumps fight back. Most of the time, the chop and speed result in head shake. This uncontrollable shaking can be thwarted with a few adjustments.
One of the most common reasons for head shake is fatigue. When you are fatigued, your form goes out the window and it gets worse as the moto progresses. Your elbows drop and you cannot get enough leverage to keep the bars straight. As you get more and more head shake, you begin to grip harder with your hands and the forearms pump up to bricks. Sound about right? When your upper body feels like rubber, the need to grip with your legs becomes even greater. Again, the quadriceps and hamstrings are a much larger muscle group that can support greater loads of stress for longer periods of times. Start the moto out with a conscience effort of using your legs more than your arms and you will be better off.
Another problem is RPM range. The relationship between the motor and suspension is pretty crazy when you really think about it. When you hear pros run through whoops and moguls, they are running a higher gear. The RPMs are lower and take some of the load off of the forks and shock. They travel smoother and won’t bind, which gives you that bouncing effect through the rough stuff. If you shift down AFTER the braking bumps, you allow your suspension to ride with you, instead of against you. The forks will travel through the entire stroke and do their job; soak up the terrain.
Weight distribution is also important. Maintaining your attack position through the rough chop will help keep your elbows up and in good form. This attack position will place your weight evenly over the bike, allowing you to make changes if need be. As I have said before, riding on the balls of your feet will give you some extra “suspension” and forces you to grip the bike with your legs.
By throwing good form and the right gear together, head shake will be a thing of the past. Of course, making sure your sag is set on the shock and your clickers are dialed is important, but the rider can make a big difference. As always, remember the basics and keep it fun.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/headshake-solutions/
Roger De Coster Ken De Dycker Yves Demaria Gilbert De Roover Clement Desalle
Fox Surf hit the East Coast mid-September to premiere their new surf movie #NOFILTER The Movie with music support by Guttermouth and The New Threat. Stops included Virginia Beach, Kill Devil Hill
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/surf/blog/id/27501
Billy Grossi Davide Guarneri Thomas Hahn Torsten Hallman Bob Hannah
Source: http://www.fim-live.com/en/media/news/news-detail/article/1361881403-final-3-riding-number-draw/
Ashley Fiolek Ernesto Fonseca Lauris Freibergs Paul Friedrichs Steven Frossard
Scotty Cranmer rode amazing at the first ever STREET STYLE event, at DEW TOUR SF. He also rocked a full face helmet, making a big statement on rider safety. Scotty is the man.
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/bmx/blog/id/27566
Frederic Bolley Xavier Boog Damon Bradshaw Goat Breker Sven Breugelmans
There are two obstacles you will always have to face on the track: ruts and corners. Combine the two and traversing themcan be frustrating. The power and torque that modern four strokes produce is pretty incredible and lines get dug out quickly. Corners are the backbone of speed which makes it essential to be extremely proficient in riding at any situation.
One thing that has always helped me is to concentrate on one corner that is giving me problems. Try to get to the track later in the day when it is rougher and not as many people are there. Find your corner and enter the track safely in the section before, then hit the corner and go back to the previous section to repeat. If there aren’t many people, this will allow you plenty of time to find what you need to work on.
The first aspect you need to look at is your entrance technique. You want to be in the attack position all the way through the chop. Braking should be gradual; do not lock the back tire up or the rear end can sway side to side. For inside ruts, putting more emphasis on the front brake will get your front forks to squat lower so you can carve harder. As for outside lines, it is better to use the back to keep more momentum up.
When it comes time to sit, the process from standing to sitting should be one, fluid motion. You sit, put the inside leg up, and apply the throttle smoothly. Some have a tendency to blip the throttle and it bounces them around. The suspension throws the rider from the flow of the turn as leaning and steering become out of sync. A simple way to help with this is to just look ahead! When you approach the corner, look at the apex. As you get closer to the apex, begin looking further and further ahead to the next obstacle. You go wherever you look.
One overlooked method is to stay relaxed. Ride with the turn and don’t try to blast through it. Don’t tighten up so much and worry about messing up. You know how to ride a bike so have confidence in your abilities. Take some time to get this down and you will be making up time on every one.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/rutted-corners/
Dusty Klatt Arne Kring Brad Lackey Arthur Lampkin Steve Lamson
The 2012 supercross series has been won by Ryan Villipoto with 3 rounds remaining in the series. The 2012 AMA Supercross Schedule is listed below.
| January 7 | Angel Stadium – Anaheim |
| January 14 | Chase Field – Phoenix |
| January 21 | Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles |
| January 28 | Overstock.com Stadium – Oakland |
| February 4 | Angel Stadium – Anaheim |
| February 11 | Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego |
| February 18 | Cowboys Stadium – Dallas |
| February 25 | Georgia Dome – Atlanta |
| March 3 | Edward Jones Dome – St. Louis |
| March 10 | Daytona Int’l Speedway – Daytona |
| March 17 | Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis |
| March 24 | Rogers Centre – Toronto |
| March 31 | Reliant Stadium – Houston |
| April 14 | Mercedes Benz Super Dome – New Orleans |
| April 21 | CenturyLink Field – Seattle |
| April 28 | Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake City |
| May 5 | Sam Boyd Stadium – Las Vegas |
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/2012-ama-supercross-schedule/
Darrell Schultz Tommy Searle Gary Semics Andrew Short Shaun Simpson
Check out this epic photo of Keanu Asing at the Canary Islands
Out with the old and in with the new!
The Fox girls area now has a new look with new product images. Shop our http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/girls/blog/id/27646
Andrew McFarlane Brett Metcalfe Heikki Mikkola Auguste Mingels Marty Moates
Crankworx Announces Global Partnership with Fox Head
Deal Includes Merchandise at Crankworx Les 2 Alpes and Whistler and Title Sponsoship for Crankwor
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/mtb/blog/id/27692
David Strijbos Kevin Strijbos Bengt Åberg Greg Albertyn Jeff Alessi
Gold coast city council has made the decision to prevent seniors from riding at Stanmore motocross track indefinitely. The decision handed down by Senior Recreation Officer Bruce Flick bflick@goldcoast.qld.gov.au means the end of the road for a club which has operated for over 30 years catering for senior and junior motocross.
The decision also stipulates that the club could be reopened for Junior riders supporting up to 250cc bikes. One might ask why not seniors up to 250cc as a compromise if noise is the only issue. However further constraints on any future operation of the club facilities are biased towards gold coast residents over both committee and general club members who live in other outer Brisbane and Sunshine Coast districts.
The Gold Coast council is also supportive of the Gold Coast motorcycle club at Reedy Creek facility looking into town planning approval for the future use catering of the location for all bike classes.
Bruce Flick
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/no-more-seniors-at-stanmore-motocross-track/
Mickael Maschio Connor McGechan Jeremy McGrath Andrew McFarlane Brett Metcalfe
Just ahead of next weekend’s Irish Championship in Cork, the JAR Honda team can announce they have joined forces with IFS Global Logistics as a title sponsor for the 2013 season. The team will now be known as JAR Honda by IFS.
After starting JAR Honda in 2009, team owner Jonathan Rea has nurtured young talented motocross riders, and this season the team will compete in the British Motocross Championship and Red Bull Pro Nationals with their riders, Lewis Tombs and Wayne Garrett.
IFS Global Logistics is a group of companies specialising in chain supply services both internationally as well as to and from the UK and Ireland. IFS are no stranger to motorcycle racing having been a long-term sponsor to many Superbike teams and riders over the past 10 years. 2013 sees IFS take its first steps into Motocross with JAR Honda in what it hopes to be a successful and exciting partnership.
“I’m excited to have IFS join our team this season and having known Graeme since I started my road racing career, I know that he values young up-and-coming riders and exciting racing. We share the same mentality when it comes to running a team as he has still an active role in road racing management. ”
The IFS brand is a successful global brand and I know that our team and riders are proud to be associated with IFS Global Logistics.
‘’Supporting the JAR Honda team is an excellent opportunity to get our brand to a fresh fast and dynamic sport. IFS develops new ways of providing fast and dynamic transport solutions for customers of all sizes. We hope that aligning our brand with such a well-known team will help develop new customers locally, nationally and globally. We hope that supporting JAR Honda will help demonstrate our commitment to our customers in developing our business on the global stage. From all the staff at IFS we wish Jonathan and the team a successful 2013 campaign.’’
Source: http://moto.mpora.com/race-reports/jar-honda-announces-ifs-as-title-sponsor.html
Andrew McFarlane Brett Metcalfe Heikki Mikkola Auguste Mingels Marty Moates
Factory Kawasaki racer, Gautier Paulin, is not only talented on a motocross bike. GP21 is a former BMX world champ and loves to throw his leg over anything that has two wheels, especially when it takes some pedaling power.
Gautier’s long time bicycle partner, TREK, along with the TBT TopCycle team invited him to feature in their official Team Video launch.
Gautier was up for the challenge and together with team members Aurelien Giordanengo and Faustin Figaret the TREK trio hit the hills with an awesome video as the result.
Source: http://moto.mpora.com/videos/gautier-paulin-and-his-rad-downhill-skills.html
Craig Dack Roger De Coster Ken De Dycker Yves Demaria Gilbert De Roover
ZACK WARDEN PEOPLES CHOICE
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/bmx/blog/id/27492
Eric Cheney Alessio Chiodi Jaromir Cizek Guy Cooper Paul Cooper
Nothing reminds me of motocross more than a rutted up, fast, flowing track. This is the pinnacle obstacle that separates the men from the boys. If you watched Southwick this past weekend, then you saw the insane ruts in the moist New England sand. Most beginners find themselves nervous approaching long ruts and often end up on the ground. It doesn’t matter if a rut is in a corner, on a straight or on the face of a jump, you will encounter one sooner or later. Some look at this as a burden, but you can actually use these to your advantage.
A lot of people can go fast on a straightaway. It’s pretty simple; open the throttle as far as possible. That’s generally how ruts get formed on straights. People actually use the power of their bikes and it trenches out the soil. Obviously, the main line will get dug the deepest. In the beginning of the day, this won’t be a bad choice to use. It just depends on how it sets you up for the next section. However, a majority of the time, the main line usually gets too deep and ends up slowing you down.
When the whole straight gets rutted out, things start to get a little tricky. The middle of the track is going to have deeper ruts than the edges of the track. So, by taking the edges of the track, you can avoid the choppy mess made by the slower riders and you can save your energy for more important times in the moto.
As with any rut, approaching it with both wheels in line is very important. You want to keep both wheels in the rut, preventing you from getting cross rutted. You also maintain your momentum and forward drive, as well. Once, you have both wheels lined up, keeping your head up and vision ahead is very important. Staring at the ground right in front of you will only send you one place, the dirt. That is not where you want to be. A good guide is to keep your vision a few bike lengths ahead of you. The faster you go, the further you want to look.
Depending on how deep the ruts are, a good idea is to ride on the balls of your feet (and point your toes in, gripping the cases). This prevents your feet from getting caught in the rut and ripping your leg off the peg. As always, you want to be gripping the bike with your knees and applying steady, consistent throttle. As you get to the end of the straight, there are more than likely going to be braking bumps. This is where you want to start shifting your weight back slightly to keep you from going over the bars.
Like I said, if you can conquer ruts, you can conquer anything. It is mind over matter and just keeping good form and looking ahead. Stay loose and relax; you’ll get through them sooner than you think.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/long-ruts-on-straights/
Neil Hudson Ryan Hughes Georges Jobe Gunnar Johansson Peter Johansson
Check out some racing action photos from this weekends 28th annual MTA World Vet Championship which went down at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Ca.
Source: http://www.foxhead.com/us/#/mx/blog/id/27578
John DeSoto Tony DiStefano Jamie Dobb Gert van Doorn John Dowd
Had an absolutely fabulous Sunday this past week riding with the Chrome Divas of Des Moines on our first annual Anniversary Ride. I had helped found a local chapter of this national organization last Fall, and we’ve been working to slowly build membership since that time. What has really hit home for us is how difficult it is to get all of us together for a ride, with varying work schedules and family commitments. So, suffice to say I was ecstatic to have 100 percent participation for this ride!
Our destination was the Mahanay Bell Tower in Jefferson, Iowa (population: about 4,500), located about 70 miles northwest of Des Moines. I thought it might be fun to try something different than the usual meet-in-the-middle starting point, so instead we did kind of a progressive gathering – those of us to the south met at one location in Des Moines, then rode to a stop in West Des Moines where we picked up more members of the group, then rode to the third stop to complete the group. It was here – in the parking lot of American Furniture & Electronics in Johnston – that we were finally able to get our first full-group picture!
Weather was looking like it could go either way, sunny or rainy, even as we gathered at American. It had been cloudy while enroute, but once there the sun came out. Then once we took off to the west, the clouds returned and I was leading us west along Highway 44 all the while thinking it was surely going to rain. (I have a habit of trying to carefully check out cars coming at us from the opposite direction – if they aren’t covered with raindrops, I figure we’re good at least til the next car comes along. LOL)
Anyway, we traveled west along 44 and stopped at the lake town of Panora. The convenience store there is a busy place because of Lake Panorama, but since we found actual sit-down tables and chairs inside, we stopped for a 20-minute late-morning snack and chat.
From Panora, we headed north along Highway 4 and straight into Jefferson. Along the ride we could definitely tell that Fall is on its way, and like all the seasons so far this year it’s a little early – a lot of the corn is dried out and crispy already, but it was the soybean fields that really caught my attention. The tops of the plants are golden yellow, but often the lower portions are still lush dark green. So it gives the effect of a huge field of flowers. Throw in a rustic barn and a softly rolling landscape, and it’s really beautiful. It’s hard to get a photo that adequately captures the colors – this one, which I took a few days later from a moving car, is close.
We arrived in Jefferson and easily found the bell tower and another attraction we had come to see: a statue of Jefferson High School graduate Doreen Wilber, who in 1972 became the first woman to earn an Olympic Gold medal in archery.
A friend of Janet’s is related to Doreen, so we took some time to read the marker and enjoyed the clever design of the statue itself: Ms. Wilber is in “firing position” (I’m sure there’s a real phrase for this in archery), aiming to the northeast. And across the intersection is the other half of the statue: a bronze target, ready to take the arrow.
Next we walked over to the bell tower for our turn at the top. The tower was a gift to the citizens of Jefferson (and really, all of Iowa!) by residents William and Nora Mahanay, who provided funding for its construction. It stands just over 168 feet high and houses 14 cast bells imported from the Netherlands. On a beautiful day like we had for our visit, you can see across 30 miles and five counties from the observation deck at 128 feet.
Our tour guides were Sandy and Dennis, an older volunteer couple who shared lots of color commentary about the tower, the town of Jefferson, and the surrounding area.
We spent about 20 minutes or so checking out the view from all angles in the tower, and even managed to pick out our lunch spot while looking down at the surrounding Jefferson business district. Eventually we took the elevator back down, snapped a few pictures with Sandy and Dennis, and walked back to the bikes. Scooted over to the Uptown Cafe for a very good local lunch, and again took the opportunity to “snag a stranger” to snap some group pictures.
Finally we also walked around the square and took pictures of the courthouse and surrounding businesses – some neat old architecture in this quiet little town!
The Mahanay Bell Tower is open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, and weekends through September. I highly recommend (oh, get it? highly recommend… because it’s 128 feet up in the air… highly… yeah.) a visit! Here’s more information.
At mid-afternoon we were ready to head home via Highway 30 and County Road E57, which eventually would take us down to Madrid. So – thinking that the road marked with the original “Lincoln Highway” markers was Highway 30, I led us west out of town on what turned out NOT to be Highway 30. (Hey, as long as we’re on pavement and going approximately the right direction, I figure it’s all good…) After a bit if easterly and southerly meandering we did finally connect up with E57 at Rippey, Iowa, rode east past Berkeley and Highway 169, then south on R26 down to 210 and east into Madrid. Took another gab-stop at Madrid, and finally back into the Des Moines area via the Mile Bridge over Saylorville Lake. Our final stop was at a Casey’s in Johnston where we bid our farewells and all headed home in individual directions.
In all we rode about 150 miles – seven great gals, beautiful landscape, lots of laughs (I think we all agreed that the commemorative Bell Tower lapel pins had an interesting shape – THANK YOU, girls, for the one I received as a gift! Don’t you think it looks like the space shuttle? Haha, yes, I did too, but some of the girls had other ideas.), and yet another enjoyable Iowa destination. It’s why I love to ride, even if the road I’m on is not always the one I think I’m on! (Click here for the full photo album!)
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikerChickNews/~3/GUDVKWB4UmE/
Broc Glover Rui Goncalves Josh Grant Billy Grossi Davide Guarneri
