Input Wanted: Washington State MX Tracks

HusqFan3
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722
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4/30/2018
Location
Sammamish, WA US
5/14/2018 9:28pm
I’ve noticed quite a few posters on here seem to be from PNW area so hoping a few of you might be willing to help educate me on tracks in the area. I live in Seattle area(Sammamish) and just recently got back into riding. I picked up a new FC250 a month ago and so far have taken her to Evergreen(meh), Pacific(decent), and Oak Harbor MX(not great but inlaws live on Whidbey so awesome for breaking away from fam for couple hours).

Anyways, all these have been ok but definitely have left me wanting more. Most of not all other tracks are 2-3hrs away so i would love to get input from those of you in the area so i can make an informed decision on where i should plan to head next. I’m open to any/all opinions but mostly interested in tracks in western Washington given my location. Specific tracks I’m hoping to hear input on in no particular order are The Ridge, Ward Creek, Burnt Ridge(think it may have closed), Riverdale, Woodland, Washougal.

With that said, any chance i could talk all you MX loving Washingtonians out there to rank, in order, your top 5 tracks in Washington with pros/cons of each?

Thanks in advance for everyone’s input. Plan to use this information to chart out this summer’s riding schedule!!!

Cheers!
|
5/14/2018 10:08pm Edited Date/Time 5/14/2018 10:11pm
Ward creek has practice this sunday they are posting changes to the layout. It's a fun track but a bit of a drive there better than the tracks you've been to so far.

Check out the ridge and gray harbor orv washougal Riverdale motowest. Opmc is worthy whenever they run practices. Yes burnt ridge closed like 2 years ago it was a favorite track.
HusqFan3
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5/14/2018 10:43pm
Appreciate you weighing in. Out of curiosity, how would you stack rank the tracks you mentioned?
omalley
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Snohomish, WA US
5/14/2018 10:59pm Edited Date/Time 5/14/2018 11:01pm
I liked Ward Creek until I hit the deer at the top of the uphill triple...haven’t been back since. Should probably get over that mental block and go back...

Burnt ridge was awesome, heard that it closed as well (bummer).

Riverdale is great-multiple tracks, and Dan and Audrey are top shelf people. Love supporting them.

Horn Rapids is a lot of fun in the spring and fall. Being born and raised in the NW of the PNW I am a wuss when it comes to anything above 90 degrees, so I don’t go there much in the summer.

The Ridge and a bunch of the newer tracks in SW WA are new to me as I just got back into MX after 4 years off. Looking forward to checking them out.

Hitting Hannegan Thurs night, first time I’ve been there since about 02-03...
CarlinoJoeVideo
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5/14/2018 10:59pm
The only ones I’ve been to in a Washington are Riverdale, Washougal and Horn Rapids. Great tracks. Washougal has practice all 3 days over Memorial Day weekend.

The Shop

HusqFan3
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5/15/2018 7:30am
Appreciate the input guys. I’ll probably check out The Ridge next because it’s closest in proximity. For those of you who have ridden Washougal, what’s that experience like? Given the name recognition and so few Open practice days, I’d imagine it must be an absolute zoo when they do open it up to the public. Curious how much that takes away from the experience and if it’s still worth it.
Johnny Ringo
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Tombstone, AZ US
5/15/2018 8:15am
Shoug is the best hands down. Worth the drive.

I’d rather ride a dude than ride Horn Rapids. Ray has ruined that place.
HusqFan3
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Sammamish, WA US
5/15/2018 9:00am
Shoug is the best hands down. Worth the drive.

I’d rather ride a dude than ride Horn Rapids. Ray has ruined that place.
You’d rather ride a dude than horn rapids? I’m not one to judge anyone based on their sexual orientation but as for me personally, I’d have to go with the suboptimal track over a dude... haha.
motosmith
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2038
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Location
Washougal, WA US
5/15/2018 9:10am
Shoug is the best hands down. Worth the drive.

I’d rather ride a dude than ride Horn Rapids. Ray has ruined that place.
HusqFan3 wrote:
You’d rather ride a dude than horn rapids? I’m not one to judge anyone based on their sexual orientation but as for me personally, I’d have...
You’d rather ride a dude than horn rapids? I’m not one to judge anyone based on their sexual orientation but as for me personally, I’d have to go with the suboptimal track over a dude... haha.
I'm going with Horn Rapids.
Coach529
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296
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ID US
5/15/2018 9:27am
We live in Post Falls. We hit Airway since it is local......and have been to Horn Rapids a couple times.

The first time we went to Horn it was awesome. Fun layout.....pretty safe, etc. This last time it sucked. All the jumps were peaked out and watched a guy get hauled off in the ambulance.
TJ 755
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1894
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Location
North Bend, WA US
5/15/2018 9:42am
HusqFan3 wrote:
Appreciate the input guys. I’ll probably check out The Ridge next because it’s closest in proximity. For those of you who have ridden Washougal, what’s that...
Appreciate the input guys. I’ll probably check out The Ridge next because it’s closest in proximity. For those of you who have ridden Washougal, what’s that experience like? Given the name recognition and so few Open practice days, I’d imagine it must be an absolute zoo when they do open it up to the public. Curious how much that takes away from the experience and if it’s still worth it.
Washougal is the best track in the state hands down. Yes there is usually quite the turn out on practice days but the track is big enough that its not bad on track days as long as you are in the correct skill group. The later motos really thin out too and you can get in some really good laps. Its always really muddy and greasy in the mornings anyway.

Horn is my second fav but only in late fall and early spring like Oct and March.

Being in Sammamish you are only 2 hours to I-90 in George. Its a cool track with VERY casual atmosphere lol. lots of jumps though. Pretty fast doubles and rythyms.

I really like motowest, good flow and close. dirt is meh but they prep it well.

Riverdale is OK but for me it is either to wet or to dry and I get bored easily there. again close drive.

Ridge is still finding its flow but its big. kinda rocky but everything in W. Wash is rocky.
Except Ward creek. that is a really fun track because of its natural terrain and dirt.
GHORV is meh. Close and easy but the operator is a douche.
Woodland is still one of the best tracks soil and lay out wise.
1
Kruse317
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Fox Island, WA US
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5/15/2018 9:50am
HusqFan3 wrote:
Appreciate the input guys. I’ll probably check out The Ridge next because it’s closest in proximity. For those of you who have ridden Washougal, what’s that...
Appreciate the input guys. I’ll probably check out The Ridge next because it’s closest in proximity. For those of you who have ridden Washougal, what’s that experience like? Given the name recognition and so few Open practice days, I’d imagine it must be an absolute zoo when they do open it up to the public. Curious how much that takes away from the experience and if it’s still worth it.
I've lived in Washington on and off the last 10 years so some of the tracks I haven't ridden in awhile but to me Washougal was always a lot better than anywhere else! They used to have a lot more open practices back when i was going there a lot 09-11...but yes it is usually split up into quite a few groups and your best bet is to try to ride 2 separate groups. Burnt Ridge was one of my favorites as well but it closed in 2015. Ward Creek is fun, I went there a few times. PIR is pretty fun but mainly just has the Thursday night races and the couple times I went I just remember being blinded by the sun in the first motos! Motowest is ok..not the best dirt but I haven't been there since 2015. I never was a fan of Riverdale, but a lot of people seem to like it. Straddleline is pretty fun and the dirt has improved a lot, sometimes can get very crowded though. OPMC is ok..back in the day was a member so got to ride there during the weeks with my friends usually by ourselves. I think they run it backwards to what the track was last time I was there.

The biggest issue with tracks here is you really have to drive pretty far to go to most of the decent tracks. I lived in NW Indiana for years and you get spoiled by tracks everywhere and the amazing dirt. IMO try to make it to Washougal though...very fun track compared to most in the area! Mountain view is one i really would like to make it down to but its a far drive.
5/15/2018 9:51am
Horn rapids is a lot better then it used to be when the county ran it. It hardly ever got groomed only if a race was there. At least now it gets maintenance and watered and changed up now n then. The biggest problem with horn is the wind gusts.

If it's really windy and gusting good then jumping gets scary. Same kind of thing happens at airway i wouldn't place airway above horn they are about the same. I've ridden both plenty airway has gotten pretty crappy lots of complaints about them not maintaining the track well last few years.
Forty
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Saint Paul, MN US
5/15/2018 9:52am
I've only ridden 2. Washougal and Spokane. Not sure what the name of the track in Spokane is but it was ok.

Washougal is a gas to ride and the setting is incredible. Always a good day there.
mark_swart
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Chapin, SC US
5/15/2018 2:12pm
What a fun topic, and welcome back! I moved here in 2015 and have tried to hit as many tracks as I can. I've never lived in California, but I have lived all over and I can tell you that Washington is the best moto state I have ever lived in. I do modern and vintage, and we have plenty of races here for both year round!

First off... for your location, you should be in a pretty good position for the winters. You have Monroe AX (NW AX Series) nearby, and you should be able to get over to the other side of the state for good riding when everything in the west is underwater. The bad news.... your drive back home in the Summer from pretty much Olympia north on a Sunday afternoon is going to blow. Ride on Saturdays if you can and it won't be as bad.

I don't want to step on any toes or offend any friends, but I'll try to stick to the facts. Some tracks are better at certain times of the year, so there is definitely room to fit all of them in. I don't believe in "track monogamy" lol! I don't think I can really put these in order, because they all seem to have their redeeming qualities. I think it will become pretty clear what my opinions are without me rank ordering them lol. I'm a solid +30B, +40B rider, and generally 95-100 % of the bigger jumps at most tracks.

The Ridge: This is my go-to, because it's close to my house and something about the flow of this track just agrees with me. It has fast sections, slow sections, inside/outside options with some wicked big berms, and Chris (the manager) is a racer who puts a LOT of thought into shaping that track. Some fun bowl turns too. FLOW is the word that comes to mind when I think of Ridge. The best part of Ridge is coming over the top of the big hill. You just float over the top and drop back down to the landing. My laps are a little under two minutes, so it's a good length. The only bad part is that as a new facility, the rocks just keep coming up out of the dirt in a few sections. Ridge is summer-only, and is the only AMA series in the state.

OPMC: I've only been there twice, and both times I loved it. It has three main sections - an upper level on a hilltop, a lower level in a field, and a section on the side of a hill. I call the hillside section the "roller coaster," it has tables, step-ups and doubles. These aren't hard jumps, but they are so fun because it's up, down, up, down through the whole section. The other sections are more traditional, but give it a very nice length and long laptimes with good flow and a variety of fast and slow sections. They run their own series as well as practice days. Totally worth the trip, even if you don't go often. Awesome dark brown dirt and they seem to have a longer season than the other Western tracks.

Washougal: The 'Shoug! I've only raced there once, but it's definitely a bucket list even with a long drive. At my skill level I thought it was a lot of fun, but the dirt is harder and slicker than you may expect from seeing it on TV. The shadows are rough. And Horsepower Hill is twice as steep and big, but that just makes it even more awesome! I've heard that practice days are so busy you don't get much seat time though. For me, the distance and crowds relegate this from being a mainstay in my riding- I've heard that they easily have 5-7 groups on practice days, so do the math on how much seat time that works out to. I'll go back to race, but I'd rather stay closer to home and get in more motos. Summer Only.

Ward Creek: Not much race activity, but man this is a fun track to ride if you make the trip for a practice day. It has incredible terrain changes, I sort of think of it as "Baby Washougal" without the whoops or big jumps. Some of the sections are a little tight, but it's a safe and fun track with long laptimes. Hard clay, summer only. There is a WOTMX vet race there in July, it's a two-day event and they are supposed to be really chill/fun.

Riverdale: Riverdale has grown like crazy in the past two years, with the "main" outdoor track joined by a smaller arena track, beginners areas, a vintage track that should be close to done and another advanced-level track that was build over the winter, but is apparently being tamed down a bit. Riverdale hosted a winter series and is ride-able in the wet. It is at its best in the spring and fall when there is plenty of moisture in the ground. What I love about Riverdale is that you can get as much seat time as you want between all of those different tracks. Dirt is volcanic ash and soaks up water well. Year round.

Gray's Harbor (formerly Straddleline): I have a love hate relationship with this track. I love the dirt (it was resurfaced in late 2016), and I actually like the ruts when they disc it deep and water. But, for me the feel is... weird? Up the hill, down the hill, up the hill, down the hill. Big sweeping turns (quad riders delight) or super tight ones that they just added in last year to try and slow it down. It feels like an odd mix. I'm going to sound like an old man here, but the jumps are what annoy me. They are either tiny, or just big enough to be a pain in the ass to get over cleanly for me. A lot of the landings are also short/steep with little room for error. Maybe I suck, but something about it just never makes me feel like I am really digging it. The promoter told me last season that they intended to bring in a professional crew this year to completely re-do the main track. I don't know if that's happened, but it would be nice to have some changes and maybe make it longer, somehow. Props here -- it's a really nice facility with real bathrooms, plenty of shade and a gravel parking lot. I'm looking forward to going back to see what's changed this year.

Motowest: This track is in Bremerton, you might be able to get there by ferry from Seattle with a minimal amount of pain. I'm going there Saturday and have been told there are a lot of renovations to the layout for this season (I was told they are making it longer, which is a good thing). It's a good track, fairly short, that has always seemed to be friendly to the lower skill levels. I believe they run Thursday practices in the season as well. Summer Only.

Woodland: Winter only! I've done modern and vintage there. It's a small track on a relatively flat piece of land. It soaks up water extremely well. It can literally rain all night, stop for two hours, and then the track is rideable. It is sandy and on those rare dry-ish days, it can be epic.

Pacific Raceways: It's close to Seattle, they do Wednesday practice and Friday races. The Friday race program goes extremely quickly and is definitely a sprint mentality. Basically a flat field though, but each time I've been they have changed up the layout to try and keep it interesting. I'd probably go there more but it doesn't really fit with my work/commute schedule. Summer Only.

Pomeroy Vintage Memorial Track (Tieton, WA) - This is vintage only, but they have play days that are open to modern. It's basically a beginner track, and run by a really nice volunteer crew over - they love the sport.

Eastern -- Horn Rapids, I 90, etc - I've never been to either, but I hear great things about them both, especially in the winter.

Evergreen - Never been.

And BTW, I have video of all of these on my Youtube if you want to get a better feel for them: https://www.youtube.com/user/markswart

Also make sure to follow these tracks and PNW MX on Facebook to stay up to date. See you out there!
5/15/2018 3:02pm
You need to do the old timers race at washougal it's the weekend after 4th of july. At least 3 15min motos on Saturday with 2 sunday and a few laps of practice the expert pro classes get 18 min motos.

This year the Washington old timers race is at ward creek the weekend after washougal (the oregon round).

Washougal practices i can get 4 15 min practices in when signing up for one class. I just wish they'd stop the 50cc class on the main track it's usually only 8 kids total with half of them barely able to ride and it slows everything down.
HusqFan3
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722
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Location
Sammamish, WA US
5/15/2018 3:35pm
mark_swart wrote:
What a fun topic, and welcome back! I moved here in 2015 and have tried to hit as many tracks as I can. I've never lived...
What a fun topic, and welcome back! I moved here in 2015 and have tried to hit as many tracks as I can. I've never lived in California, but I have lived all over and I can tell you that Washington is the best moto state I have ever lived in. I do modern and vintage, and we have plenty of races here for both year round!

First off... for your location, you should be in a pretty good position for the winters. You have Monroe AX (NW AX Series) nearby, and you should be able to get over to the other side of the state for good riding when everything in the west is underwater. The bad news.... your drive back home in the Summer from pretty much Olympia north on a Sunday afternoon is going to blow. Ride on Saturdays if you can and it won't be as bad.

I don't want to step on any toes or offend any friends, but I'll try to stick to the facts. Some tracks are better at certain times of the year, so there is definitely room to fit all of them in. I don't believe in "track monogamy" lol! I don't think I can really put these in order, because they all seem to have their redeeming qualities. I think it will become pretty clear what my opinions are without me rank ordering them lol. I'm a solid +30B, +40B rider, and generally 95-100 % of the bigger jumps at most tracks.

The Ridge: This is my go-to, because it's close to my house and something about the flow of this track just agrees with me. It has fast sections, slow sections, inside/outside options with some wicked big berms, and Chris (the manager) is a racer who puts a LOT of thought into shaping that track. Some fun bowl turns too. FLOW is the word that comes to mind when I think of Ridge. The best part of Ridge is coming over the top of the big hill. You just float over the top and drop back down to the landing. My laps are a little under two minutes, so it's a good length. The only bad part is that as a new facility, the rocks just keep coming up out of the dirt in a few sections. Ridge is summer-only, and is the only AMA series in the state.

OPMC: I've only been there twice, and both times I loved it. It has three main sections - an upper level on a hilltop, a lower level in a field, and a section on the side of a hill. I call the hillside section the "roller coaster," it has tables, step-ups and doubles. These aren't hard jumps, but they are so fun because it's up, down, up, down through the whole section. The other sections are more traditional, but give it a very nice length and long laptimes with good flow and a variety of fast and slow sections. They run their own series as well as practice days. Totally worth the trip, even if you don't go often. Awesome dark brown dirt and they seem to have a longer season than the other Western tracks.

Washougal: The 'Shoug! I've only raced there once, but it's definitely a bucket list even with a long drive. At my skill level I thought it was a lot of fun, but the dirt is harder and slicker than you may expect from seeing it on TV. The shadows are rough. And Horsepower Hill is twice as steep and big, but that just makes it even more awesome! I've heard that practice days are so busy you don't get much seat time though. For me, the distance and crowds relegate this from being a mainstay in my riding- I've heard that they easily have 5-7 groups on practice days, so do the math on how much seat time that works out to. I'll go back to race, but I'd rather stay closer to home and get in more motos. Summer Only.

Ward Creek: Not much race activity, but man this is a fun track to ride if you make the trip for a practice day. It has incredible terrain changes, I sort of think of it as "Baby Washougal" without the whoops or big jumps. Some of the sections are a little tight, but it's a safe and fun track with long laptimes. Hard clay, summer only. There is a WOTMX vet race there in July, it's a two-day event and they are supposed to be really chill/fun.

Riverdale: Riverdale has grown like crazy in the past two years, with the "main" outdoor track joined by a smaller arena track, beginners areas, a vintage track that should be close to done and another advanced-level track that was build over the winter, but is apparently being tamed down a bit. Riverdale hosted a winter series and is ride-able in the wet. It is at its best in the spring and fall when there is plenty of moisture in the ground. What I love about Riverdale is that you can get as much seat time as you want between all of those different tracks. Dirt is volcanic ash and soaks up water well. Year round.

Gray's Harbor (formerly Straddleline): I have a love hate relationship with this track. I love the dirt (it was resurfaced in late 2016), and I actually like the ruts when they disc it deep and water. But, for me the feel is... weird? Up the hill, down the hill, up the hill, down the hill. Big sweeping turns (quad riders delight) or super tight ones that they just added in last year to try and slow it down. It feels like an odd mix. I'm going to sound like an old man here, but the jumps are what annoy me. They are either tiny, or just big enough to be a pain in the ass to get over cleanly for me. A lot of the landings are also short/steep with little room for error. Maybe I suck, but something about it just never makes me feel like I am really digging it. The promoter told me last season that they intended to bring in a professional crew this year to completely re-do the main track. I don't know if that's happened, but it would be nice to have some changes and maybe make it longer, somehow. Props here -- it's a really nice facility with real bathrooms, plenty of shade and a gravel parking lot. I'm looking forward to going back to see what's changed this year.

Motowest: This track is in Bremerton, you might be able to get there by ferry from Seattle with a minimal amount of pain. I'm going there Saturday and have been told there are a lot of renovations to the layout for this season (I was told they are making it longer, which is a good thing). It's a good track, fairly short, that has always seemed to be friendly to the lower skill levels. I believe they run Thursday practices in the season as well. Summer Only.

Woodland: Winter only! I've done modern and vintage there. It's a small track on a relatively flat piece of land. It soaks up water extremely well. It can literally rain all night, stop for two hours, and then the track is rideable. It is sandy and on those rare dry-ish days, it can be epic.

Pacific Raceways: It's close to Seattle, they do Wednesday practice and Friday races. The Friday race program goes extremely quickly and is definitely a sprint mentality. Basically a flat field though, but each time I've been they have changed up the layout to try and keep it interesting. I'd probably go there more but it doesn't really fit with my work/commute schedule. Summer Only.

Pomeroy Vintage Memorial Track (Tieton, WA) - This is vintage only, but they have play days that are open to modern. It's basically a beginner track, and run by a really nice volunteer crew over - they love the sport.

Eastern -- Horn Rapids, I 90, etc - I've never been to either, but I hear great things about them both, especially in the winter.

Evergreen - Never been.

And BTW, I have video of all of these on my Youtube if you want to get a better feel for them: https://www.youtube.com/user/markswart

Also make sure to follow these tracks and PNW MX on Facebook to stay up to date. See you out there!
All i can say to that is WOW!! I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to weigh in but this reply takes the cake. I can’t thank you enough for the encyclopedic rundown of all the tracks and absolute goldmine of useful info & insight. I may very well just print this out and hang it up in my garage so i can reference before heading out to ride. Seriously, great stuff and very much appreciated!!
mark_swart
Posts
2398
Joined
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Location
Chapin, SC US
5/15/2018 3:42pm
HusqFan3 wrote:
All i can say to that is WOW!! I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to weigh in but this reply takes the cake...
All i can say to that is WOW!! I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to weigh in but this reply takes the cake. I can’t thank you enough for the encyclopedic rundown of all the tracks and absolute goldmine of useful info & insight. I may very well just print this out and hang it up in my garage so i can reference before heading out to ride. Seriously, great stuff and very much appreciated!!
Haha, just pay it forward. Vital's CWToyota was a huge help in getting me set up on the great places to ride when I first moved here, it's the least I can do!

And besides, it was either write about moto or do work at work lol! Hope to bump into you at the track some day! I'm practicing Motowest Sunday, then plan to race vintage there next Saturday and modern at Ridge on Sunday. Busy weekend!
HusqFan3
Posts
722
Joined
4/30/2018
Location
Sammamish, WA US
5/16/2018 8:56am
HusqFan3 wrote:
All i can say to that is WOW!! I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to weigh in but this reply takes the cake...
All i can say to that is WOW!! I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to weigh in but this reply takes the cake. I can’t thank you enough for the encyclopedic rundown of all the tracks and absolute goldmine of useful info & insight. I may very well just print this out and hang it up in my garage so i can reference before heading out to ride. Seriously, great stuff and very much appreciated!!
mark_swart wrote:
Haha, just pay it forward. Vital's CWToyota was a huge help in getting me set up on the great places to ride when I first moved...
Haha, just pay it forward. Vital's CWToyota was a huge help in getting me set up on the great places to ride when I first moved here, it's the least I can do!

And besides, it was either write about moto or do work at work lol! Hope to bump into you at the track some day! I'm practicing Motowest Sunday, then plan to race vintage there next Saturday and modern at Ridge on Sunday. Busy weekend!
Absolutely! Just look for a guy in his mid-30’s on an 18’ Husky FC250 riding at a D level thanks to a recent 25yr break: ). I’ll prob take this weekend off but plan to check out Washougal over Memorial Day weekend. I have a father-in-law in Portland and let’s just say my wife was surprised when for first time ever i asked if we could go visit him for the weekend! Haha.
5/16/2018 10:43am
Im gonna be at washougal memorial weekend sat/sun for practice. I ride vet group bumping up to 40+ this year.

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