Ginger Dog
The journey to Ironman started long before Friday night. T and I both had to work our boring jobs first, so we didn’t get out until about 6 p.m. the day before the race. I was honestly stressed about the time all week. Nothing we ever do goes according to plan. Historically, his charm and my brain power mixes into something semi useful. For the record, every race we attend is because I pull all the fancy strings to get there. I think I’ll do that forever. Dirt bike tracks are my safe space y’all.
We were about two blocks down the street from our house when T realized we forgot the air pump for the mattress (at this point we were still aiming to camp out). Forgetting that, combined with the fact it had been over 100 degrees in Cincinnati for most of the week, was enough for me to cave and get a hotel for the night.
Race day morning we picked up media passes from Danielle Jackson. If you don’t know who that is, Danielle married her man Drew at the 2022 Lincoln Trail Vurb Shred Tour. They actually own Lincoln Trail Motorsports which makes this story even cooler. Danielle had amazing things to say about Vurb. We even talked about the giant rocking chair. IYKYK. She had a great energy about her and her positive vibe set the mood for the morning. She even complimented my nails. She’s a girl’s girl and that goes a long way with me.
Our first stop was the media tent to gain brief internet access and then we were off. We had to check in on the squad before we really got rolling. Rock River Yami houses a ton of amazing people every race weekend. We met up with Ashton Bloxom, Sophie Keehan (Ms. AshDog), and the entire Bloxom family. Special shout-out to Chandler who let me use his phone to pick my fantasy team. He somehow had service. I totally sucked this round though and got last place in the T Dog Squad league. We talked to my favorite ginger of all time, Grant Harlan, AND we hooked Shane McElrath up with some Vurb pineapple stickers for race day. He was initiated into the squad for Ironman. We also got to see Braden Baumer, the squad’s creative genius, and the one and only Foggy Lama of Foggy Lama Films.
We made our rounds through the pits and talked with so many amazing riders and their families. I’ll save the details for the vlog but I’ll name drop a bit: Derek Kelley, Caden Braswell, Freddie Noren and his wife and girls, Levi Kitchen and his parents, and a few others. We also had the opportunity to talk to Dustin Pipes from HEP and spent some of the day with Darkside. He went all the way to his car to look for sunscreen for me. He’s such a good dude and I look forward to seeing him when I can finally make it to an outdoor national or a SX event. Race day was already a win and the motos hadn’t even started.
When 250s began I knew I wanted to post up by Godzilla (a massive uphill jump accompanied by…you guessed it…a giant inflatable Godzilla). It was my favorite spot of the day. Being that far back in the corner you couldn’t hear any announcing. You definitely weren’t getting any cell service either. I’m pretty sure I was standing next to a corn field. Anticipation rose as the roar of bikes got louder and louder. Who would break the surface first?! That’s why I love being at the track. You watch. You wait. You count the spots in your head. You listen. You take in the fumes (try your best to block out the smell of everyone’s daily dump from the millions of Porta Potties mixed with nachos, hot dogs, and deep fried air. Dear GOD I gagged typing that). It’s a totally different experience and doesn’t even compare to watching it on TV. I could physically feel the pound of the bikes as they rounded that corner. Nostalgia at its peak. The jumps, ruts, speed, and stamina is amplified 100s times more. It’s remarkable what these guys are capable of.
I’ll save race talk for power ranks. Mine will be the best. To close it out, Ironman served.
Ginger out
Main image: Kawasaki
