EAST COAST LOVE
Author: Wes Williams	Features | Monday, 26 October 2009 08:45

Last week we complained that the weather in the Southeast had made an official and immediate change from summer straight into the dead cold of winter at the Muddy Creek Top Gun Showdown. Well, fortunately, that was a lie and we found delightful fall weather at our 1^st Annual Vurbmoto.com East Coast Ride Day at Birch Creek presented by Triangle Cycles. Over 200 riders and 400 spectators, from 10 different states, came to the southern region of Danville, Virginia to participate in what we can only describe as an amazing day at a beautiful location.

Birch Creek is operated by Triangle Cycles, who supports riders from Taylor Futrell to Cooper Webb and Kyle Peters, so it was no surprise that the track was going to be immaculate. After rolling through the gates at 7am Sunday morning, our jaws literally dropped at the sight of this perfectly groomed facility. After a few spots of rain Saturday, the conditions were absolutely perfect on the stadium style supercross track and 1.7 mile outdoor motocross track.

In the 85 divisions of practice, big amateur national players Cooper Webb, Alexander Frye, and Matt Burkeen could be seen battling it out for the crown of Vurb Ride Day’s practice champion, with dozens upon dozens of other local talents shredding the loamy Virginia soil as well.

Frye and Webb swapped practice wins all day

Matt Burkeen, one of the East Coast's best kept secrets

Taylor Futrell, Zach Osborne, Ryan Zimmer, Ryan Smith, and Cody Robbins were just a few very fast names to watch during the A/B practices. With nearly 100 bikes in this division, local talent was trying everything in their power to show the aforementioned guys they aren’t the only fast dudes on the East Coast. In all honesty, this practice looked like an AMA practice day for a regional qualifier; it was absolutely packed with talent.

Zach Osborne made the trek all the way from Europe, just for our Ride Day

As the sun descended over the autumn struck trees, headlight guy emerged from the shadows to take the win in practice #4. As you can see, front number plate guy #236 proved to be no match, as he had a hard time navigating the rough terrain during the waining hours of daylight.

A slew of 50, 60, and C/D riders showed up as well, all of whom you will be able to find in our photo galleries coming throughout the week. The practices alternated between the motocross track and supercross track, so these guys would literally ride nonstop, with the only exception being fuel stops. It was certainly a fun time had by all.

"Did you get a photo of me out there?!" Yes, yes we did, buddy.

When the day just couldn’t get any better, Triangle Cycles owner Rusty Reynolds then announced free lunch over the loud speaker. Every single person in the pits came to enjoy hotdogs, hamburgers, cookies, and cupcakes – the line was enormous and took over an hour to feed the Ride Day attendees. Gary Bailey also talked over lunch about some of his amazing experiences, which was a great addition to the feast.

Lunch was followed by over three more hours of practice, ending the day at approximately 4:45pm. As the sun started to lower over the Autumn struck trees, Brent and I discussed how pleased we were, and how much we wanted to come back next year on 2 strokes to absolutely dominate all. With that said, we’ll be back in 2010 ready to show our might at the 2^nd Annual Vurbmoto.com Ride Day.

Special thanks goes out to all of you who attended; we appreciate all the special comments, and can’t explain our gratitude for supporting our dream.

Huge thanks goes out to Ryan Villopoto.  Coming all the way from Califronia, RV2 participated in only a few practices, but he gave the crowd exactly what they came for; sick scrubs, huge whips, and an hour long autograph session.  Thanks a ton, Big Red.