Summer_Bummer

Some folks choose to go to Spain to Run with the Bulls, some ride across IOWA on Bicycles with Lance Armstrong..but not
TEAM P&G OFFROAD! We choose to go racing with the bares! Now most of you are thinking that I can’t spell, true I am no
spelling bee winner but I did spell that correct “B A R E S” as in naked people, or folks without clothes for you folks from IL!
The 40th running of the Summer Bummer in Roselawn IN proved to be “bare” filled, HOT, and quite fun.

For this event Gus and I brought along a new recruit in Curt “Smooth” Shomberg from Middleton Wi. Perhaps he was
looking to hang out with the real stars of offroading in Gus and I or maybe see if the talk about how fun this race is and the
BARES was true but more than likely it was just his interest in racing a good fun enduro that brought him out. Either way we
were glad to have him along and enjoyed his company and fresh blood to harass all weekend!

Saturday found us rolling down the highway like Willy Nelson on the way to a Farm Aid concert (minus the medicinal Mary
Jane). We pulled the rig into dock at around 11:30am and went right to work getting the pits set up and our machines ready
to race. The hill and gully riders claimed to have a fun course laid out for this one off “Endurocross” style event. Riders on
rows 20 and under would be A and AA only in an effort to prevent clogging of the trail, bummer for our group as Curt would
have to ride by himself. We pulled minute 14 and curt was in the low 20’s….The race was laid out to use varying speed
averages thruout the course of the event. Unlike closed course events that we had competed in in the past, the club wisely
decided to have the riders keep time and used resets throughout the laps to give it a true enduro feel. Complete with
checks and OB’s placed at various locations on the course! The A & AA riders were to do 4 laps and everyone else 3, this
would prove a challenge for all involved given the close to Hells gate temps and humidity levels close to the Amazon! Lap
after lap Gus and I traded paint and the lead with our good buddy Larry GQ Burquist. The early laps were just site laps with
easy time schedules to maintain, but that changed as we entered lap 3 and it was a full out race for lap four. Larry topped
the group dropping a 9, Gus dropping11, and Speedy just edging out Gusto by a point for the day! Great racing was had by
all, the extreme heat took its toll on me and it required me to lay in the Coyote Ugly mobile for two hours in the AC to
recover! Gus in his normal tough Guy persona was right as rain in about a ½ hour drinking a beer, he is one tough hombre!
I have attended this event for many years but have never seen this many BARES out in the woods! There was a large
contingent in the normal sand whoops spots but they were littered throughout the woods as well! I tried to describe this to
Curt on the way down but only by seeing it with your own eyes can you believe it! I crested a hill pinned in 3rd gear only to
be greeted by a fellow in nothing but flip flops out on a nature walk. He got this deer in the headlights look and did not know
which way to run! I made sure to keep strict eye contact with him (for obvious reasons)…he mumbled something at me…I
exclaimed “Excuse Me” and “Sorry” and quickly sped off before he was able to get ahold of me! I don’t know what folks
would have said if I would have hit him and would have had to give mouth to mouth resuscitation! Things like that you just
can’t live down, so lucky for me I avoided any physical contact! There was even a photo op with two scantly clad gals (as in
sunglasses and flip flopes only) along the course! Curt’s throttle cable messed up and ended up DNF’ing for the
day…maybe he was saving some race for Sunday!? We topped off the day with a super pot luck supper with good friends
Ryan, Alex and Greg Moss, Mr. & Mrs. Hoffman (and Chase their son) & finally Mr. Tony Robinson!

Seriously though…. I joke around about the nudist…...but they seem to be a great group of people and fully get into the
whole motorcycle racing deal. That is more than we can say for a lot of other folks out there, my hat is off to them and
nothing more (that is all some of them had on)…sorry just could not resist!

Sunday morning we were awoke to a quick rain shower that would prove to be just the ticket to keep the trail super nice and
loamy! This days race was to be in the traditional enduro format using all the normal trail and some new! We were in for 64
miles of fun on this day! Gus, Smooth (Curt) and I were all able to get on the same minute (Row 13) which would prove to be
a super selection for the day. Once again this day would find Gus and I battling it out. Most of the early stages of the day
would find Gus leading only to find him lay down in the trail and let me by. It was funny, but only because they were the
normal tip over’s and light get offs we are used to at our slow pace! Yeah..yeah..I repaid him by falling over for him several
times, much to his delight I am sure. That just never seems to get old, watching your friends fall over while racing that is. It
would seem that Gus and I would just miss the flips of the cards as happens in off-road racing all day! In the later stages I
was able to put a couple of minutes on Gus in each section and pull away, perhaps he felt bad for me…or he was doing
more trail inspection from the ground..either way he had his patented smile on each time we met after the sections! At the
52 mile mark the B&C’s and advanced in aged folks were done leaving only the A and AA riders to re-ride the tight trails
from the previous day. Checking in early Gus and I were reminded to use our heads and were subsequently burned by
about 5 seconds each costing us each 2 points for the miscalculation. I was pissed and decided I was going to hammer the
section a fast as I could. Gus and I each have different approaches when we burn a check. I get pissed and pin it, where as
he likes to rehash the whole mistake over and over…I am not sure which is the correct response but I was able to go11
minutes down in this section to his 13. At then end of the day there were some small problems with checks 5, 7 & 8 getting
thrown out due to mileage issues netting me a 35 on the day and Gus a 42. Good guy award to Larry GQ for noting an
mathematical error on his score card for the worse for him costing him dearly netting him I believe a 39 or so. GQ finishes
1st Open A, Gus second Open A and I managed to win 200A and Overall A. Smooth finishes the entire race and has a smile
to boot finishing somewhere between 6th and 8th in C, Bobby Kau 2nd C class and blows up a one day old 2008 250XC,
Duane “For Fun” Eller 3rd Super Senior, Dean Breci was around 6th or so in Senior A, Ryan Moss 3rd AA, Scott Hoffman
7th or so AA. Garret on the Bob Kau prepared 250EXC gets lost and DNF’s.
With each event Gus and I have more fun trading paint throughout the day…I cannot say enough about my good friend. He
is mastering the “possibles” calculations in his head and spits them out faster than I can even think about them.
Everyone had a blast and could not say enough about all the hard efforts put in pulling this event off. So for yet another
year the BARES are forced to pull there flip flops on tight and get ready to hibernate in anticipation of next years event!

TEAM P&G OFFROAD’s next event is this weekend, Holyoke MN 8/19/07.
For now, Heres Dirt in your eyes!
Speedy Pete