Motocross legend Carey Hart visited the Zappos Officeslast week, and our Rideshop-Queen Cat S. had a few questions for the man!

Zappos will be sponsoring an After Party at Carey's rock club, Wasted Space, on Saturday, click here for details!

Travis Pastrana is to motocross, as the Harlem Globetrotters are to basketball. Travis Pastrana, with a 26th birthday on October 8, has youthful potential as a serious motocross and supercross racer in the mode of Ricky Carmichael or James "Bubba" Stewart. He even won the 2000 AMA (American Motorcyclists Association) 125cc "Lites" season championship at the age of 17. Indeed, he still competes from time to time in motocross and supercross races, but his niche is as a stuntman, in the Globetrotters' tradition of Goose Tatum and Marcus Haynes, Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal. That's why Travis is a star on MTV's Nitro Circus.

Pastrana's legacy remains his status as the first and only person to land a double back flip on a motorcycle, first achieved in front of stunned fans on August 4, 2006, as the 12th X Games in Los Angeles. Videos of the momentous occasion abound on places such as YouTube. More difficult to find, is an in-depth explanation from Travis Pastrana regarding exactly how he figured out how to perform such a stunt, and then how he mustered the courage to make the first attempt. Travis, like a magician, appreciates the value of mystery and he's not about to explain his tricks.

Courage? Craziness? Maybe a little bit of both. Travis Pastrana not only performs double back flips on motorcycles, but he once did a back flip in a monster truck, albeit "only" a single back flip in this case. Furthermore, Travis has jumped out of an airplane without a parachute, relying on a co-jumper with a parachute to catch him and ease him to the friendly surface of Planet Earth.

One witty analyst wrote that MTV and Travis Pastrana's various corporate sponsors recently honored him in Hollywood with a lifetime achievement party, "in order to honor the living legend, while he's still, you know, living." With his carefree outlook, Pastrana himself laughs at these types of jokes. The King of the Double Back Flip clearly loves his sport and appreciates his fans.

SOURCES:
/en/TRAVIS/Bio/
http://www.motorcycleshows.com/motorcycleshows/Home+Page+News/Travis-Pastrana-King-of-the-Double-Back-Flip-and-M/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/482990
http://laist.com/2009/08/16/travis_pastrana_gets_toasted.php

It takes a little extra something to stand out front he crowd these days. And in most cases, those who stand out do it fairly effortlessly. One look at Kyle Loza's riding style and the innovation and individuality he's brought to Moto X in the last few years and you instantly realize he's one of those people. Kyle epitomizes what etnies is and they are proud to welcome him to the etnies apparel team! Check out all the lates etnies gear from the Zappos Rideshop!

The American Motorcyclists Association (AMA) supercross season from January through May often seemed like a two-man show involving James "Bubba" Stewart and Chad Reed, but the summer motocross circuit on the rural dirt tracks is providing a stronger balance of competition. Chad Reed leads the motocross season points standings near the midway point. Still, new faces are emerging with seven first-time event winners. The latest is rookie Josh Grant of Riverside, California, who on Independence Day captured the Monster Energy Motocross National from RedBud in Buchanan, Michigan.

Every sport needs its superstars. Supercross and motocross are no different. Still, most fans don't want the same old same old. Josh Grant is among the up-and-coming young lions who are eager to share some podiums. "I really needed this win," says Grant, reflecting the impatience of a potential emerging star in his own right. "I finally got a decent start and just made all the passes I needed to get to the front. I knew we had the speed. I just needed to get a start and today everything worked out." Furthermore, Josh Grant's day in the sun came on a live national telecast on NBC.

Josh Grant moves to his own beat. He still lists Riverside as his hometown, but in October 2008 he moved to North Carolina, saying he sometimes wants to get away from the "circus" and train in more quiet surroundings with the Joe Gibbs Racing Team. Also, he wants to avoid a tendency to over train and wear himself out. "It took a couple weeks (in North Carolina) before we really got into a groove where I started riding a lot. Then a couple of weeks after that, we started testing. Then we just really hit it really hard from there on in," Josh explains.

Josh Grant paid his dues in the junior 250 Lites class before his gradual advance to joining the big boys on the 450s. He says the more powerful bike "suits my style" and demonstrates that he has "the power to do it." The summer of 2009 indeed is demonstrating that budding stars in supercross and motocross are ready to challenge the old guard.

SOURCES:
http://www.allisports.com/news/grant-adds-list-first-time-winners-redbud
http://www.allisports.com/news/practice-report-redbud
http://www.racerxonline.com/article/5-minutes-with-josh-grant-1-9.aspx

Ryan Villopoto's victory in a recent Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series event was good for three reasons. First, the 20-year-old demonstrated that his month on the sidelines stemmed from a viral infection, not something for serious or permanent. Second, Villopoto captured his first crown at the top level in his hometown of Seattle. Third, Ryan Villopoto demonstrated that a rider other than Bubba Stewart or Chad Reed can an AMA Supercross event.

Stewart and Reed not only have been hogging the AMA Supercross winner's circle for a long time, but it's also usually a one-two show with the other finishing second. Furthermore, the third place finisher and his followers often are quite distant. Many fans are really enjoying the Stewart-Reed rivalry, but is it good for AMA to have two individuals so superior? In golf, for example, even Tiger Woods wins "only" one out of every three tournaments he enters. Supercross and motocross could benefit from a wider range of true contenders.

Ryan Villopoto is a small (5-foot-5, 135 pounds) but fiery rider who is seen among the heir apparent, with 31 Lites victories on the supercross and motocross junior circuits. His father, Dan Villopoto, and his grandfather both are dirt bike enthusiasts. Ryan was 5-years-old when he took his first ride and soon he was competing. Dan Villopoto says that at first it was "just a hobby" to help father and son bond together and that, "I never knew it would become as big as it is today."

Does Villopoto's Seattle win portend that Bubba Stewart and Chad Reed will face more challenges? It's difficult to judge. The Seattle track was so poorly prepared that Chad Reed skidded out at the start, and had to struggle mightily to recover for seventh place. Meanwhile, Bubba Stewart apparently decided to play it safe in the Seattle "sand" and settle for second, seizing the season points lead from Reed.

But now that Villopoto is healthy and with some experience, maybe he can start to transform the sport's Big Two into the Big Three.

SOURCES
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2009078582_supercross18.html?syndication=rss
http://www.racerxonline.com/article/450-words-seattle-supercross.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Villopoto
http://www.racerxonline.com/rider/ryan-villopoto.aspx

Mike Alessi is living, but out-of-action, proof that injuries are a big part of motocross and supercross racing success.

After turning 21 years old on May 19, Mike Alessi placed second in the season-opening motocross meet on May 23 at San Bernardino, California. He followed with his first-ever victories on May 30 in Sacramento and June 6 in Worthen, Texas.

Then, two days later, Alessi broke his kneecap in practice, of all things. He says it was a freak accident in which he suddenly found himself on grassy terrain and took a nasty spill.

Mike Alessi still has a bright future, but his route to the AMA 2009 motocross season championship has been short-circuited. He simply hopes to return before the 12-meet season closes on Sept. 5 at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa. Steady veteran Chad Reed slipped into the season points lead after Alessi's mishap.

Mike Alessi, half Italian and half German in heritage, is a tightly-packed 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. He is especially known for his daring fast starts, leading to "Holeshot" as one of his nicknames.

Alessi started riding motorcyles when he was 3 years old and was a popular Loretta Lynn's youth amateur champion. In fact, Mike Alessi won 11 junior races to tie a record established by none other than James "Bubba" Stewart. Alessi then turned professional at 16.

This isn't the first time that a practice injury has sidelined Mike Alessi. He broke a collarbone early in 2008 while he was warming up for a supercross event.

After the collarbone healed, Alessi suffered his only major in-race injury. In a July 2008 crash, he broke both shoulder blades and a rib, bruised a lung and suffered a severe concussion.

The summer motocross circuit now has lost three of its biggest names. Ryan Villapoto, Alessi's up-and-coming peer and former youth amateur rival, has a torn knee ligament and Bubba Stewart is sitting out the season.

Mike Alessi still has star potential, but he has to learn to stay upright on his bike.

SOURCES

http://www.alessiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=64

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/events/raceschedule/2/mc/2005_ama_chevy_truck_us_motocross_schedule_and_results.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_alessi

http://www.myspace.com/mxmike800

A motocross journalist recent wrote that Chad Reed "by the numbers ... is one of the greatest supercross riders ever." Why the qualifier of "by the numbers?" Nobody ever speaks of Jeremy McGrath or Ricky Carmichael or James "Bubba" Stewart as "by the numbers." They simply are regarded as motocross greats.

Possibly the difference is that Chad Reed is so quiet and reserved. He doesn't say much about himself, not even on his own website. We can learn that he's 27 years old and from Australia, and that he came to the United States in order to match his skills with the world's best riders. He's just not big with the media.

Chad Reed won the the AMA (American Motorcyclists Association) supercrossseason championship in 2004 and 2008. As of late March, after 12 of the season's 17 events, Reed was leading Stewart, 271 points to 260. Unless Chad Reed takes a bad spill and/or suffers a major injury, he is in command for a third title. The supercross season concludes May 2 in Las Vegas.

Reed's reserved manner was reflected after his March 22 victory in St. Louis, in front of 56,000 fans. He stated mundanely: "Like I say every week, you've got to be in it to win it, and that's what we're doing. ... I just kept my head down and rode my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 as hard as I could and it was good for the win this week." At least Chad Reed speaks up enough to give his sponsor a good plug.

A few years ago, an interviewer managed to pull something original out of Chad Reed. Chad noted that back in Australia, he actually used to chase kangaroos on his motorcycle. "Well, not on a daily basis," he explained. "Those animals are really fast, and it's amazing keeping up with them on a motorcycle."

Another journalist visited Chad Reed's training and practice site on one day, and Bubba Stewart's digs on the next. He described Chad Reed as taking more of a loose and fun approach, while the Bubba Stewart team was all business. But this certainly doesn't mean that Chad Reed isn't dead serious. During one season, he continued racing in pain after separating his shoulder. The next time you watch a supercross or motocross race, try to imagine that!

SOURCES
http://www.racerxonline.com/rider/chad-reed.aspx
http://www.coolgrrrls.com/2/chadreed.html
http://www.racerxonline.com/article/monday-wake-up-call-3-23.aspx
http://www.racerxonline.com/blog/blogandt/2009/03/6/blogandt-noun-of-the-week-9/
http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/ama-supercross-motocross/races/?lo_id=136
www.mxnationals.com
http://www.chadreedracing.com/-/bio
http://www.supercross.com/rider-profiles/795-chad-reed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Reed

Ashley Fiolek is an 18-year-old who just can't stop sending text messages to her friends. She's slender and pretty, with long blonde hair well past her shoulders, and she's not really into makeup.
A typical teen? Yes. But Ashley Fiolek enters 2009 as the defending champion of the World Motocross Association, and she accomplished this without being able to hear.

"There's no one in motocross quite like me," Ashley Fiolek says. "I was born deaf, so when the engines are revving, I can't hear them. I learned to ride by feeling the bike's vibrations - they tell you loud and clear when to shift gears."

Ashley Fiolek's father is a motocross racer in the area of St. Augustine, Florida. He took her as a tyke on what she called "big girl" rides. When she was 3 years old, she received a PW50 bike. Soon the training wheels were off, and Ashley was on the go. She still writes and blogs about "Dad" over and over, describing him as her "coach, mentor and communicator." He has her racing number, 67, dyed into his hair.

In 2004, Ashley Fiolek won the Loretta Lynn's national championship for girls ages 13-and-under, and ever since then she has been viewed as a star in the making. Still, Ashley never envisioned that she would become last year's WMA champion, defeating a field that included five-time winner Jessica Patterson. She says she simply wanted to be consistent, but that early in the season, she could tell that she had the speed to keep up with top riders.

What's the difference in riding with no hearing? "I think as far as advantages, I don't have as many distractions," Ashley says. "The disadvantages are that I have to hold my line a little more than the other riders

Ashley Fiolek is popular with her peers, and a number of them have learned some sign language so that they can communicate. Still, this willowy young lady does not extend friendship to the racing surface."My vibe is pink hair and the nickname 'Rude Pea,' because I never ride like a sweet pea," Ashley Fiolek says. "Being deaf has never slowed me down for a second. I may not hear, but I make a lot of noise."

SOURCES
http://rudepea-racing.com/files/about_me.html
http://oakley.com/women/uniquely/ashley
http://oakley.com/sports/mx/athletes/188
http://www.amasupercross.com/ViewPost.aspx?postId=75

You watch a motocross or supercross event, and you say, "Great riders." Indeed. But "great athletes" applies as well in motocross and supercross. So does "best-conditioned athletes."

Motocross enthusiasts still point to a 1980 study by the National Sports Health Institute in Englewood, California. Athletes in various athletic endeavors were tested for levels of physical conditioning. Motocross riders scored higher than athletes in sports ranging from American football to basketball to track and tennis. Overall, motocross riders placed second only to soccer players.

More recent follow-up studies have yielded similar results, from sources that include the medical schools at the University of Florida and the University of Pittsburgh. On a typical day of motocrossracing, riders must participate in qualifying heats in order to qualify for the real races, also known as "motos." A typical moto lasts about 40 minutes, and there isn't just one, there are two. The rider must keep complete control of a bike that weighs more than 200 pounds, while maintaining top speed and fighting for top position among competing riders. Fans see thrills and spills, but riders feel the muscle strains and the injury pains.

The University of Florida researchers, in cooperation with the Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute, reported, "Supercross and motocross are physically demanding sports. The cardiovascular demands are higher than have been reported for professional road cyclist during similar duration events and for professional mountain bikers during events on similar terrain." That's saying a lot!

A physical fitness web site, hyperstrike.com, asserts, "At first sight, motocross racing is a spectacular and entertaining game, but the physical demands of this sport are beyond what a mere spectator could imagine." As a result, motocross racing requires a unique blend of strength, power, flexibility and endurance.

Former motocross star Brad Lackey was part of the historic study by the National Sports Health Institute. Lackey recalls that the motocross riders who were in the best shape had body fat ratios of less than 10 percent. Even though the riders are not muscularly "sculpted" like athletes such as gymnasts, they are noted for having extremely strong arms and legs, with cardiovascular systems similar to marathon runners. "The muscles are endurance muscles, and they're really strong, but you can't really see that," Brad Lackey observed. "When you're doing 45-minute motos, you're not big and bulky. The body just doesn't show how good physically you are."

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motocross#Physical_demands
http://www.racerxvt.com/virtual_trainer/Dr_A_heart_rate.html
http://www.articlecube.com/article.php?id=268521&act=print
http://www.motocrosscanada.ca/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1800&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0