Shout Out to Shaun Palmer

TeamGreen
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TeamGreen
Edited Date/Time 2/23/2019 9:56am
Yesterday was a "Road to Mammoth" Qualifier at Glen Helen. The track was wet, rutted and AWESOME!

In the 0-50 1st Moto, I fell on the 1st lap while trying to pass another rider...Shaun ran into the back of me as I was falling and got tangled in my bike. (His front spokes tore into my rear fender and they were STUCK in it...)

We were stuck for 2 laps!

Usually, when this happens...you end up with one or two riders screaming, panicked and acting like fools as if it is the end of the world...

Shaun was not worried about a damn thing...other than having to restart his CR500 powered KTM Laughing

After the race, I went over to tell the dude I was kinda bummed about tangling him up like that and all he said was,"Dude, it was just one race and 'that's racing'!" That's kinda awesome.

We both had a MUCH BETTER 2nd Moto and shared some laughs at the end of the day (I won my 2nd and he actually won both of his motos because he was the ONLY 50A rider).

I'm pretty sure we both qualified for Mammoth and have some hilarious memories to rival our Day in the Dirt tales.

Old School Hi-5 to "Napalm"!
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150ripper
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150ripper 2/18/2019 9:23am
2/18/2019 9:23am
People on Vital ride??













Only kidding, sounds like a great day!
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4csHATER
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4csHATER 2/18/2019 9:27am
2/18/2019 9:27am
Glad people do ride on here and to hear this story is awesome! No one got disqualified?
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GuyB
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GuyB 2/18/2019 9:32am
2/18/2019 9:32am
Shaun's a really interesting character, and I got to shoot a lot of photos of him back in the days when I worked at Specialized Bicycles. At the time he was still competitive in boardercross events, and was bouncing back and forth between those, and trying to train for mountain bike downhill when he was riding for Specialized. All of that was a handful. Dude was a rockstar in that era, to be at the top of a couple wildly diverse disciplines.
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Jrewing
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Jrewing 2/18/2019 1:59pm
2/18/2019 1:59pm
All I read was Shaun Palmer... and I LIKED it!
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Camp332
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Camp332 2/18/2019 2:07pm
2/18/2019 2:07pm
I met him at a party we had in Tahoe back in 99, 00, and thats exactly the story Id expect to hear from you. Very cool, and congrats TeamGreenBro!
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Jan C
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Jan C 2/18/2019 2:19pm
2/18/2019 2:19pm
If Shaun is on 2 wheels and happy then I'm happy
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motosmith
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motosmith 2/18/2019 3:19pm
2/18/2019 3:19pm
I met him in the Portland airport back when he could qualify for a National on a CR 250. I walked up to him as a fan and he was very friendly and willing to answer all my stupid questions. Nice guy.

I'll never forget the conversation because he told me moto is all mental. He said, if you think you can, you can.
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TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 2/18/2019 3:27pm
2/18/2019 3:27pm
Camp332 wrote:
I met him at a party we had in Tahoe back in 99, 00, and thats exactly the story Id expect to hear from you. Very...
I met him at a party we had in Tahoe back in 99, 00, and thats exactly the story Id expect to hear from you. Very cool, and congrats TeamGreenBro!
Thanks!

The dude is cooler than Ice. Funny that his Knick-name is Napalm.

I’m digging the history I’m reading in here...I just know him as the guy that won a bet with Mitch...

And Mitch had to shave his head! (Guy, did I get that right?)
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Moto Mofo
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Moto Mofo 2/18/2019 4:01pm
2/18/2019 4:01pm Edited Date/Time 2/18/2019 4:02pm
If I remember correctly, they had a bet where Mitch was supposed to provide him with a full PC bike to race, if he ever qualified for a SX main... and then he made the muddy Los Angeles 125 Main in ‘98.
ob
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ob 2/19/2019 7:08am
2/19/2019 7:08am Edited Date/Time 2/19/2019 7:22am
One of the badest mofos ever. I remember him dressed as a clown (a real clown), drunk, and still wining 1/2 pipe contests on MtHood.
Flat is Boring 2/19/2019 7:15am
2/19/2019 7:15am Edited Date/Time 2/19/2019 7:16am
It was a Factory CR250 in 2001....... but crashed in practice and couldn't race.

No matter what he was doing, DH, Boardercross, MX the dude always looked badass.


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ob
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ob 2/19/2019 7:19am
2/19/2019 7:19am
Moto Mofo wrote:
If I remember correctly, they had a bet where Mitch was supposed to provide him with a full PC bike to race, if he ever qualified...
If I remember correctly, they had a bet where Mitch was supposed to provide him with a full PC bike to race, if he ever qualified for a SX main... and then he made the muddy Los Angeles 125 Main in ‘98.
I think Palmer got to shave Mitches head for that.
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 2/19/2019 7:23am
2/19/2019 7:23am
It's funny, his style is still all there. On the bike he still looks like the same fast bad-ass.
Donovan759
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Donovan759 2/19/2019 8:45am
2/19/2019 8:45am
That's an awesome story TeamGreen! Thanks for sharing. Shaun is such a bad dude. Cool that y'all got to share some laughs with each other.
RideMoonshine 2/19/2019 1:29pm
2/19/2019 1:29pm
Shaun Palmer was one of the reasons I got really into Winter X-Games back in the day. I loved watching that dude, his gear and style was like watching an over-the-top McGrath. I wish downhill MTB was more accessible/had some TV coverage then (and now...).
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crowe176
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crowe176 2/19/2019 1:44pm
2/19/2019 1:44pm
Growing up, pre X-games always considering myself a snowboarder above all else, I always loved his style/attitude as a icon in snowboarding, and owned a most of his first Sims clown/caddy boards as a kid, and Palmer brand as a grown(ish) up. It wasn't until his stint with Honda on the triple nickel that I found out he SHREDS as an MXer, then he went to legend status.. The dude, through good and bad has lived the life. The ultimate rockstar to the core.

Get him on a podcast! His stories would be so great.
crowe176
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crowe176 2/19/2019 1:49pm
2/19/2019 1:49pm
RideMoonshine wrote:
Shaun Palmer was one of the reasons I got really into Winter X-Games back in the day. I loved watching that dude, his gear and style...
Shaun Palmer was one of the reasons I got really into Winter X-Games back in the day. I loved watching that dude, his gear and style was like watching an over-the-top McGrath. I wish downhill MTB was more accessible/had some TV coverage then (and now...).
YES! Before Palm and MC, I wanted nothing to do with No Fear. The clown shaved head with the crazy gold/silver suits.. The best the X-games ever were. He even made skier cross look cool haha
Squirrelings 2/19/2019 1:56pm
2/19/2019 1:56pm
Matthes needs to do a podcast with Palmer. I’ve thought about suggesting it to him for years because I’d love to hear his story.
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MUDD
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MUDD 2/19/2019 4:19pm
2/19/2019 4:19pm
And he's the vice president of our Quad Club ! Seriously, best dude and neighbor you could ask for, as well as an awesome friend/uncle to my 8yr old boy. You rock Palm !
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jackson storm 2/19/2019 6:10pm
2/19/2019 6:10pm
Super cool story. This thread made me wanna watch chain smoke again. I don’t care how old it is, it’s still a well put together vid.
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CG118
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CG118 2/19/2019 6:49pm
2/19/2019 6:49pm
Watched him race Echeconnee here in Georgia. He was incredibly smooth and took lines like a top level pro. It was maybe early 2000s. He wasn’t the fastest guy there, but the lines were just beautiful.
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 2/19/2019 7:33pm
2/19/2019 7:33pm
CG118 wrote:
Watched him race Echeconnee here in Georgia. He was incredibly smooth and took lines like a top level pro. It was maybe early 2000s. He wasn’t...
Watched him race Echeconnee here in Georgia. He was incredibly smooth and took lines like a top level pro. It was maybe early 2000s. He wasn’t the fastest guy there, but the lines were just beautiful.
Yup

The Palmer Smoothie-Smoothness.

He's still got it, too.
BikeGuy321
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BikeGuy321 2/19/2019 8:39pm
2/19/2019 8:39pm
RideMoonshine wrote:
Shaun Palmer was one of the reasons I got really into Winter X-Games back in the day. I loved watching that dude, his gear and style...
Shaun Palmer was one of the reasons I got really into Winter X-Games back in the day. I loved watching that dude, his gear and style was like watching an over-the-top McGrath. I wish downhill MTB was more accessible/had some TV coverage then (and now...).
Redbull TV and Youtube have tons of Downhill MTB content.
BS12
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BS12 2/19/2019 10:34pm
2/19/2019 10:34pm
Randomly met him at the Hard Rock after Monster Cup 2013... He was buying us drinks on Troy Lee's bill, which automatically makes him a cool dude to me.
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EZZA 95B
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EZZA 95B 2/19/2019 10:44pm
2/19/2019 10:44pm
Got a '99 Specialized FSR enduro because of seeing Palmer ride Specialized.
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BIGRIGGIN
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BIGRIGGIN 2/21/2019 8:00am
2/21/2019 8:00am
Check out the kickass Documentary on Palmer called The Miserable Champion, playing on Amazon Prime. Brad Holmes Directed. Too bad we don't have any savage characters like Shaun representing our sport anymore. GRIT
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