Troy Dog
I vibe with Ben LaMay so much that even though he partied it up with PulpMX all summer that I made him an honorary member of the T-Dog Squad. Although, he won’t be wearing my pineapple dog stickers or merch anytime soon. He’s in hibernation!
Before the races started this past summer I chronicled one of nature’s most amazing phenomenons. Now, I’m back to tell you how he gets ready for hibernation and wrap up another great season.
As you can imagine LaMay is off of the grid up in Alaska right now bulking up on carbs to make sure he gets the correct amount of rest this winter. Remember, he eats so much salmon that Roger DeCoster is jealous. If you know us here at Vurb you’ll know that DeCoster is a salmon connoisseur. Also, to be real with y’all, LaMay has a honey-do list the size of Chili Dog’s new mansion. He’s got to get it done before 8 p.m. tonight when the big hibernation starts. He’s so busy that he can’t even text ol T-Dog back which is bad for him and lucky for you.
You see, earlier this summer I came across some exclusive photos of the bear that LaMay trained with (or wrestled) to get food. As you can see by the photo below (if Slaw posted this correctly) that it’s a BIG Chungus. It’s no wonder that he had himself a great time during the Nationals. Suffering deep into the dog days of summer with your body burning is a walk in the park compared to taking on this bear like it’s Wrestlemania.
If and when you see Lamay in person, his training and lifestyle makes sense. The dude is huge. I don’t understand. He wasn’t always this big dude, right? He’s like Payton Manning’s forehead, he just keeps getting manlier and stronger with every season. By the time he wakes up for next season he will be 6’8 and 240lbs. I’m going off on a tangent here, I know.
I also find it pretty cool that LaMay has only raced one 250 race in his pro career. According to the Vault, he raced Salt Lake City in 2009 and finished 17th. This dude raced the 50 class back in the day on 450.
Out of LaMay’s 14 seasons racing 450 MX he’s finished inside of the top 20 in points seven times. He earned 69 points this year, which he probably planned on doing. He’s a savage. His best result this summer was at Ironman, which I think he told me he enjoys very much, where he went 12-11 for 11th overall. This was his best finish since August 23, 2014 where he also got 11th at the Utah National. I’m telling you…Lamay is really onto something with this hibernation and bear wrestling program.
As we part this week, I’d like to say a very special goodnight to Ben. You owe me that exclusive interview when you wake up at the end of April. I wrote this column with no insight from you and you promised you’d help. I don’t have a lot of feelings, but you hurt every one of them. Enjoy your hibernation, your feast of salmon, pine cones, and Yak meat. We will see you next summer.
