Boise, Idaho Endurocross 2011

Well, the Boise Endurocross was an awesome weekend for me. Here is how it all went down. After a 16 hour drive with the one and only, Marshall Gerston, we arrive in Boise and get to our hotel for some sleep. We hopped out of bed early the next morning, expecting a long day of racing. We filled up on the continental breakfast, and headed off to the venue. The track was cool, it had a gnarly firepit section, complete with whole logs and pieces of trees, and it also had a long, slippery, jagged, sketchy, harry, gnarly rock section. This was one of the gnarliest rock sections of the year.
Practice went well, I was able to get a good flow. My bike was working great, and with some minor adjustments, the bike was perfect. I had set the second fastest time in my amateur group, right behind Eric Rhoten, which gave him first gate pick for the qualifier. In our qualifier I was able to get the jump, and hold the lead till the end. I was stoked. After that we had a quick practice race in the pro class, then it was time to chill. This is when they change the course, as they wet everything down, and make everything a little gnarlier. For the 3:00 practice I felt good, confident in my bike and my timing. After practice, it was time to relax until the night show. I had first gate pick for the amateur main, and I was ready to go. Right after the girl got done singing the star spangled banner, we fired up our bikes, and the amateur main was the first race of the night. I got a sweet start, getting a jump on Ian Blythe, and Eric Rhoten by just a hair. I got out in front, and looked forward. Eric was right on my ass, but I was able to stay in the lead for the whole three laps. I finally won an amateur main event!
Right after the main, I had my pro heat race. I was still tired from the amateur main, and I wasn't able to qualify in the top two. Next up, pro semi, only the winner of this race advances to the main event. I got a pretty good start, and worked my way up to second, right behind Gary Sutherlin. On the first lap, Gary bobbled in the rocks, and I snuck by him. I got out front, and held the lead for all 5 laps of the pro semi!! I was in the main event!
The next race I had was the Dash For Cash. This had all the fastest riders from the support classes. I was able to do an exact repeat of my amateur main, and pull the holeshot and run away with it. I ended up winning $500 from that race. Right after the Dash For Cash (and I mean right after) was the pro main event. I lined up right next to all the "Big Boys", it was awesome. Still worn out from the Dash For Cash and all my other races, I was pretty useless in the main, but I was still able to dice it out with the Big Boys. I came out with a tenth in the pro main event.
Thanks to my sponsors, Stillwell Performance, Rekluse Clutches, Klim gear, Eks Brand goggles, Topar protectin, and Hammer Nutrition for all of the support, I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks for reading,

"The Sheriff" Max Gerston

RMEC Kimball, Nebraska 2011

Well, there goes another RMEC race in the books! Thanks to MotoCity KTM they were able to get my bike ready to race before the event, their late hours at the shop are much appreciate. This adventure started off with a quick 16 hour drive. It took us two long days to get there, just to be greeted with snow, rain, mist, fog, clouds, and other weird stuff. I was glad to be equipped with my all weather Klim gear, to keep me warm and dry throughout the day. The race was quickly delayed an hour, due to the horrible weather conditions which disabled the ability to see anything. Shortly after, they had to delay the race another hour, because they had to change the course all around, do to the level of moisture in the ground. Finally, the race began at 10, and the race included three, sixteen mile loops. The course was bitchin, it included narrow canyons, waterfalls, and flowy grass track. This was my kind of course. The whole first loop went terrible, as my goggles fogged up horribly, and I couldn't see anything, and I mean anything. I got back to the truck, changed to anti-fog lenses, and I some other stuff to fight the moisture in the air. The second loop went pretty well, except for I got stuck behind a girl who was crashed in a one lane canyon section of the course, and I had to help her get her bike off her, and then I was able to keep going. I was riding like a man possessed, but put in a poor time due to the little incident. Coming into the third loop I was feeling confident, as I scoped out some fast lines I could take which included some sweet natural doubles, and some insanely sketchy cliff jumps which I rolled in the previous laps. The third loop was mine, I nailed it with very minimal mistakes. They also added in a whole other section with some serious exposure and other stuff. My time ended up being the same as my second loop, and that was with the extra section. I knew nobody beat my time on the last loop. I ended up with the win. This gives me three RMEC wins, and tightens up the points chase between me and Cody Schafer. It will be a close one. Thanks for reading!

"The Sheriff" Max Gerston

Denver Endurocross 2011

Denver Endurocross, 2010, Amatuer main event. The gate drops, I get a good jump on the competition, and I squeeze out all my competitors to my left, but the riders to the right of me bobbled, and eventually pushed me right into the barrel that marks the turn. Badly broken ankle, surgery, 4 months off the bike. About a year after the crash, I am back on the same starting line for the amateur main looking at the same barrel that smashed my ankle the year before.
My Dad and I rolled into Denver at about ten on Friday night, and woke up early to go sign up at the venue. We hauled our buddy Josh Anthony's bike up there, so we met up with them as well. Practice went great, I felt great, and was nailing all the hard obstacles. I was feeling confident. I set the fastest lap time for my group, and I ended up winning my qualifier with time to spare. I also won a little practice race in my expert group, so I was definitely flowin'. After that, we had a big break until our next practice for the night show. I rolled up to the starting gate like usual, but my bike was having a hard time starting and running. I did about half a lap, and had to push 'er back to the van. We changed spark plugs, a fuel injector, and many other things, but we couldn't figure out what the problem was. We eventually had to begin switching parts from my 290, to the back- up 350. I quickly had to ride the 350 in my expert hot lap. It was the first time that bike had been on an EX course, but I was able to put in a pretty good lap time. Thanks to Stillwell Performance, I was able to get a bigger sprocket on the 350, and switch parts over in time for the main. We rallied, put on my skid plate, unbreakable levers, a special tire, sprockets, and some other stuff, but I was without a Rekluse Clutch on the 350. As the National Anthem was being sung, we rolled our bikes into place on the starting line for the Amateur main. I was able to pull a great start, and was in the lead my the first corner. I stalled my bike, and faded back to third, but quickly got back up to second. I was able to hang onto second throughout the whole race, and finished a solid second place which qualified me for the Dash For Cash! I rolled my bike directly onto the starting line for the expert qualifier. I had Taddy, and Mike brown in my qualifier, not to mention many other big named riders. I got about 3 laps in, and my bike began making a knocking noise. I figured I better quit while I was ahead, and I pulled off. I was unable to ride my bike in the Dash For Cash, so I headed for the stands. We had many ups and downs at this EX, but for the most part, the Denver EX has gotten the best of us for the last two years. Also I saw the EMT who helped me off the track last year, and told her I hope I never see her again. HaHa! I flew home the next day with Josh and Brian Anthony, and it's back to the grind. Thanks for reading,

"The Sheriff" Max Gerston