Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
1/15/03

Greetings Riders,
 
Wow, what beautiful riding weather we are having now! The forecast is for mid 70's for the next week. So put on a long sleeve shirt, hop on the bike and go grab some free Vitamin D from our Arizona sun. With the events we have on the calendar plus all of the car shows going on around town this weekend, there are plenty of excuses to get out and take a ride.
 
Along with many of you I'm always looking for new and exciting things to do on the weekends. This past weekend I hit a home run along with 48,350 other fans at the 2003 AMA Supercross Series at Bank One Ballpark. Seems like in my busy world these days long term planning is measured in hours, not days or weeks. So after talking with some people about the Supercross last year and reading the article in Saturday's paper about Ricky Carmichael we made the decision to try and get some tickets to go that night. I was on hold with Ticketmaster when Stacia Prappas from Arizona Motorsports called on my cell phone and asked me if I would like 3 tickets to the Supercross that night. Wow! Now that's what I call "Ask and you shall receive". I graciously accepted and my long term plans were in place. In 5 hours Mrs. C. my daughter and I would be embarking on a new adventure...the high tech world of flying motorcycles.
 
Having never been to one of these I was eagerly anticipating what it would be like. As with anything I do for the first time I try and compare it with something similar I had done before. The closest thing I could come up with was the motorcycle exhibition 35 years ago at the local County Fair back in Kansas. You know what I'm talking about. The facility consisted of a 100 square foot cinder block concession stand built by the local 4-H club, a small dirt exhibition ring wrapped with white posts and chicken wire, three 200 watt flood lights mounted on telephone polls to illuminate the grounds, stadium seating for 300 (the whole town) and ole' Doc Johnson on a crackly microphone pumping up the crowd as little Jimmy Walker attempts to jump two horizontal 55 gallon drums with a 50 cc Yamaha trail bike.
Yep, those were the days. He cleared them by a good 2 feet and the crowd went wild.
 
But Those days are gone! The new improved Supercross days are here. I knew we were in for some excitement when we arrived an hour and a half early and the festivities had already begun. The streets were packed with people, music was playing and there was a definite buzz in the air similar to that of a playoff game. We made our way to our seats in the lower level and was amazed at what had been done to the inside of the ball park. Tons of dirt had been hauled in and transformed this home of the World Series Champion Diamondbacks into circus grounds for flying motorcycle daredevils. Click here for a panorama of the track.
 
At about 7:15 the music started, the lights went down, green lasers started fanning the crowd and the roof of Bank One Ballpark slowly began to open. About that time the spotlights hit the podium and the stars of the 250 class were announced much like the Suns are at a professional basketball game. The hype involved is similar to that of a WWF event. Moments before the race was to begin there was also a nice patriotic moment. 25 flags were carried in around the field and the National Anthem was sung as passenger jets roared over the open roof of Bank One Ballpark reminiscent of the B1B flying over during the World Series. After all of this the fans were sufficiently primed for some action and there was no disappointment. As the first wave of riders came roaring by and taking flight 30 feet in the air fans rose to their feet and cheered. The riders almost looked like dolphins in the water as they elevated and settled back to the track in time for a tight hairpin turn to do it all over again.
 
All in all this was some of the most exciting racing I have ever seen. It is fast paced, exciting and there are several heats for qualifying that build up to the main event race for both the "125" and "250" classes. The night ended with 17 year old phenom James Stewart winning the 125 class and Ezra Lusk winning the 250 class.
Note to NASCAR fans: "There is more to racing than  turn left 4 times and start over". How about left turn, right turn, fly 50 feet in the air into a hairpin turn and then get to the good stuff? If you are like me and haven't been to one of these I would highly recommend it. My only disappointment after going to this is that they don't have them more often. The AMA Supercross is a 16 race season that that tours the country and only comes to Arizona once per year in January. Catch it if you can.
 
If you would like to know more about Supercross Racing here are some links.
The Official Supercross Website
http://www.supercross.com
U.S. Motocross Racing
Phoenix Supercross Press Release and Results
 
Once again I would like to thank Stacia Prappas and the Arizona Motorsports Group, owners of Town & County Motorsports in Chandler, Metro Motorsports in Glendale, Desert Motorsports in Scottsdale, USA Motorsports in Avondale, YSA Motorsports in Phoenix as well as Arrowhead Chandler and Tucson Harley-Davidsons, for giving us the opportunity to attend this great event.
 

The Wild Hare Wednesday Bike Night. All of you that used to go to Chuy's, this is your new place on the East side of town. This is a new bike night for the East side of town at a really nice location. Stop by and take a look, you will be impressed. It is called The Wild Hare located at 4910 W. Ray Rd. That is the NE Corner of Ray Rd. and Rural Rd. This is a really nice place with a very large outdoor patio. The inside has just been remodeled to double the seating along with adding a DJ, pool tables and games. The Wild Hare has a broad menu including 20 different appetizers, salads, wings, 17 different sandwiches, chicken, filet mignon, burgers and desserts including strawberry cheese cake. There will be food and drink specials that will run during bike night from 6 PM till close. This will all start on Wednesday, August 14th. I will have an information page on the event calendar that will give you all the details. Stop by and take a look, I'm sure you will like what you see. Info: 480-897-6200. 

Thursday

Jetz Americana Thursday Bike Night. This bike night is growing fast. Great bike parking right outside the patio that is now lighted. Stop by this week and see for yourself. Jetz is a Very Nice Restaurant located in North Scottsdale 1 block South of Shea on Scottsdale Rd. behind the California Pizza Kitchen. They have a beautiful interior with flat screen TV's to watch your favorite teams or a large bar to lounge at with your friends. Jetz also has a large patio with an outdoor bar right next to where you will be parking your bikes. Happy hour is 4-7pm with 1/2 price drinks and $4.95 appetizer menu. From 7:00PM till close there will be BURGER & BEER $7.95 (½ lb of Certified Angus Beef and a domestic pint or bottle), DOMESTIC BOTTLES $3, JACK DANIELS $4. Bike night is all night till close. This is one nice place to go for dinner or hang out on the patio and watch the bikes roll by. Stop by and take a look. You will be impressed. Bikes are always welcome. Take a look at Jetz Saturday food and drink specials and the Sunday Brunch and the Bloody Mary bar with over 75 items. Click here to see the pictures of where you will be going and all of the information.

Casey Jones Grill Bike Night in Phoenix on Thursday nights. The evening riding weather is perfect, Casey Jones will be packed as it always is from here on. You can always count on lots of bikes here. Ride in for what I call the Best Cheesesteak Sandwich in town. This thing melts in your mouth. They have 3 new pool tables, darts and foosball. Located in the Mervyns Shopping Center on the SE corner of 43rd Ave. and Thunderbird Rd. Casey Jones is a great place for a bike night featuring a large outdoor seating and over 150 people inside. And for those of you that want to watch a sporting event they have 50 TV's scattered throughout the restaurant connected to satellite to get any game you can think of. They have a full menu for lunch, dinner and a Happy Hour from 11:00AM - 7:00PM and a reverse happy hour from 10:00PM - 12:00 Midnight. $1.75 domestic drafts. There are always a lot of bikes showing up for bike night at Casey Jones Thursday night. Join them for open mic night on Wednesdays. Sunday.
 
The Bike Night At The Billet Bar. There is no better place to watch all the Bikes ride down Scottsdale road than from The Billet Bar Patio. The Billet is ALWAYS packed with bikes on Bike Night. The new bars front and rear provide spacious seating, fresh air atmosphere, perfect temperature and courteous staff. The food is amazing and always the latest in cold libations await. You can sit at the back bar and watch your favorite TV on any of the seven big inch televisions. Keep an eye on your prized possession (your motorcycle) on the monitors. Play pool, listen to the latest music and socialize. The front patio seats over 75 people and is perfect for people watching on Scottsdale Rd. The Billet Bar is located right next to Easyriders on 3752 N. Scottsdale Rd. Check it out this Thursday night and all weekend long. Info: at 480-941-1876.

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