Rider Updates
May 20 2007
So, since yesterday was cancelled I was so looking forward to racing today. I went my cousin, Caleb Copeland, house to pick up some race fuel but he had left it at the track in the Keene Motorsports trailer. After helping him load his bike into his truck, we went to the track. There we helped him get the stuff out of the KMS trailer and got our EZ-Up set up and my bike out of the track. Then the "bad announcement" came. Dave Boisvert called everyone to the sign up area to decide if there was going to be any racing today. I obviously wanted to race but it ended up that the majority of people didn't. So.... no racing today. That's a huge bummer. It was clear it had been raining for a while and it would have been a real mud fest but I would have still had fun. I think this is the third time this race has been rained out. No rescheduled date yet. So, it looks like the next time I'm racing will be next Saturday, 5/26, at Southwick. This will be an NEMX race. I'm looking forward to going back to "the 'wick".
May 19 2007
I wasn't originally going to this race because my Boy Scout troop was going on a camping trip. Then the weather didn't look so good so the trip was cancelled but I was still excited since I thought I would be going racing. Unfortunately, the weather postponed the MX race as well. It was rescheduled to 6/16, the day after my birthday. I spent some of the morning IM'ing with Maddie Whittaker. I met her at Mototown and race in some of the same classes as her. It was great to be talking with a fellow MXer. Hopefully we will be pitting together tomorrow at Winchester. The weather is looking better so I'm hopeful that the race will be held as scheduled. I'll let you know how things went. Hopefully not with the same delay as last weekend.
May 13 2007
Followed up the Supercross race as WSP with a race the next day at Crow Hill MX. I had practiced there on Thursday but the track was a little different on Sunday. There was a chiquane at the end of the back strectch that wasn't there before. The weather was beautiful for a second day in a row. It was my first time racing at Crow Hill. The start was really sandy which made for people going all over the place at the starts. In the first Supermini moto, I missed a pile up at the start which helped my finish. I worked on finding my best lines and I passing each rider as I came to them. In the first 85C moto, I was focused on improving my speed. I had a few squirrelly moments but never went down. I was pleased with my finish and looked forward to the second half of the day. In the second Supermini moto, I was faster than the first and even though there were some really fast riders, I didn't even come close to getting lapped. I found a new line going into the bowl turn before the spectator area which I used to my advantage in the 85C race. On the top straight I was really flying and it felt great. I finished better so I was happy. In the 85C race, I got better in the sand section as well as the chiquane. My Dad had told me to stay up on the pegs and stay to the inside in it and that worked well. I was again battling in a group and in the end I was able to pass Whitney Barnett using the new line in the bowl turn on the last lap. She wasn't at 100%, having hurt her knee in an earlier race, but I was nice to be able to use that new line. Since it was Mother's Day, I gave my Mom her card and she was very happy. I think it was one of my best races yet and I'm excited looking forward to my next races.
May 12 2007
Back to Supercross, first time since Mototown. The track is less technical than Mototown but still challenging. The first motos were just for gate pick. In Supermini, I didn't get a very good start. That has been an issue for me and was all day. I worked on finding out what lines worked best for me. In the 85C class, I did a little better. I think I benefited from being out on the track in Supermini. I just past mid pack. I had trouble with the doubles and did all day. In the second Supermini moto, I did a little better. I did pretty well in the whoops section. Finished about the same but was in a group of riders so I know I can do better next time. In the 85C class, I battled with Whitney Barnett and Jacob Niquette. It was a lot of fun. I was pleased with my finish and hope to do better next time there.
Apr 29 2007
I followed up my race on Saturday at Southwick by going to Winchester Speedpark for the second race of the Spring series. I missed the first race of the Series because I went to my sister's Junior Olympic volleyball tournament. She came to this race and got some videos of my practice and motos. I like being able to see what I look like on the track. It helps me figure out what I need to work on to improve my riding. It was the first time I've been on the MX track since last fall. I looked forward to going back to my "home" track that I have ridden on the most. I was hoping that my time at Mototown this winter as well as going to different tracks like Southwick would improve my riding and since Winchester uses transponders, I would be able to tell from my lap times. When I went out for practice, I could tell I had improved and the track was very fast today. I raced both the 85C 12-15 and Supermini classes. In the Supermini, I did well but I had some trouble getting by Steve Curreri who is a fellow rider from Wilmington. I eventually got by and finished well. In the first 85C moto, I worked my way past some riders to finish 19th. In the second Supermini moto, I got an OK start and was pushing to get past Steve a little quicker. Once I got by Steve, I kept pushing and passed two other riders. Late in the race, coming out of a corner, I was riding through a rut when my front wheel got bounced out of it and I ended up falling. I got up as quick as I could and finished strong. My overall place in the class was 27th. In my last moto, the second 85C moto, it was raining and the track got pretty muddy. There was a pile up at the start involving a handful of riders that I was able to miss. I was feeling good and moved my way consistently through the pack, passing riders every lap to finish 12th in the moto, 16th in the class. It was one of my best races yet. I was very happy about my riding and my performance. I am excited to go to my next races and continue to do well.
Apr 28 2007
I was excited as this was the first time I was going to race on the same track that the Pros do. I have seen races there but never raced on the track. During practice, I learned the layout and started looking for what lines would work best for me. The first moto I worked on improving my speed. It was challenging because the track is really sandy and I haven't been on sand very much. I needed to ride differently, figuring out where to give it gas without getting too squirrelly. In the second moto, I felt a little more comfortable, getting a better start, and working on getting around the track faster. Unfortunately, on the first lap after a good start, I stalled the bike going up a hill coming out of a corner. It took me a little bit to get the bike restarted and then I had to feather the clutch and paddle with my feet to get up the hill. It was steep and very sandy so starting from a dead stop made it very difficult to get up quickly. While that hurt overall finish, I was still very happy for doing a pretty good job for my first time at the track. I look forward to going back later in the season.
Apr 7 2007
So, this was the last race of the indoor series and I entered comfortably 5th in the series points. My practice went well. The track at Mototown had changed from the last time I was there as it now included running the smaller track together with the large track. It increased track size by about a third. We ran on the smaller track in the opposite direction from what I had run in the past. The change was fun to have a different layout and run on the small track. I enjoyed checking out how it felt on the new track. In my first moto, I did well and had fun. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about my second moto. While my Dad was warming up the bike, there was a loud noise, almost like a backfire, and the bike stopped running. My Dad tried to get it started again but couldn't. I tried but it wouldn't start. We tried bump starting it but while it would seem like it was running, whenever I tried to give it gas it would bog. One of the 85A or B rideres tried to help us as well. I thought that was really nice of him. But in the end, we couldn't get it going so I was a DNS for the second moto. I think I'm still going to finish 5th in points based on the results of the other riders. After getting the bike home and tearing it down, my uncle and my Dad have determined the problem was that one of the reeds broke. We were planning on doing some maintenance on the bike anyway so hopefully it will be back together soon. Looking forward to some racing outdoors. Currently, I'm planning on racing outdoors for the first time this year on April 21st at the WInchester Speedpark MX track so check back after that and see how I did.
Mar 31 2007
I wasn't feeling 100% as I had a cold but I took my medicine and kept drinking fluids so the day wasn't too bad. It was good to get back to racing since we hadn't gone in four weeks. I did ride my Honda CRF100F a little in the back yard on Friday just to get on a bike again. As far as the racing at Mototown, the entries were a little lighter than normal so there was more than one class running when I went out. In the first moto going through a bowl turn, I banged bars with another rider and my foot got caught in his rear wheel. I barely stayed up and the other rider ended up going down. I finished the race but my left hand was hurting from being hit. In the second moto, some riders went down after the start but I was able to avoid them. After that it was a pretty bland race. I ended up finishing 8th which moved me up to 5th in points. It also clinched a top 10 finish in series points for me.
I also want to say congratulations to Quinn Giannini on the Moto win. He was really flying and it was great that he finally got a win.
Mar 17 2007
Not too much to write about this round, it got cancelled. We got a lot of snow on Friday and into Saturday morning, probably well over 12". The roads were just a mess on Friday night and didn't get much better by the morning. In addition to the snow, we had sleet, freezing rain, and then some plain rain. My Dad and I probably would have tried to get there but it would have taken a long, long time. I don't know if we would have made it. So, instead of riding I spent Saturday shoveling the driveway. The other bummer about all this snow is that we didn't have any on the ground and I was looking forward to riding outside soon but looks like that will be put off for a while. Seems in New England, even with an indoor track you can't be guarenteed that there will be a race
Mar 3 2007
The sun is rising earlier so at least I didn't have to leave in the dark this morning. :-) Things were pretty much the same as past races. Practice went without any problems. In the first moto I focused on my form when cornering and getting better at hitting and landing the jumps. In the second I stalled again at the start so I was coming from way back. I got better at the whoops section and there is a step up that I can now hit all the time. In the end, I finished 10th which I was OK with. It was probably the best I could have done. I passed some riders in points and others passed me so I think I will still be in 7th. Looking forward to heading back in two weeks!
Feb 17 2007
Yesterday was the half way point of the NESX Saturday Supercross series. It wasn't the best of days but I tried to make the best out of it. At the start of the first moto, I had the bike in neutral instead of 2nd so I got left at the start. It did give me a chance to work on my passing skills a bit. Since it was only for gate pick for the second moto, I took the opportunity to try some different lines, to make some different passing attempts to see what would stick and what wouldn't. You know, make lemonade out of lemons. The second moto didn't end the way I would have liked either. I again had a poor start (guess what I will be working on ;-), and found myself at the back of the pack again. About halfway through the moto, I completed my first pass and was looking to get moving through the pack when I crashed on a 180 degree turn between two table tops. It's a high bowl turn and I just cut it too tight and spun around in a circle and went down. So, I didn't end with the finish I had hoped for but I'm 7th in points so it wasn't the worst of days. With school vacation coming up, I hope to get down to Mototown to practice at least once. With the changes they have made to the track, getting some additional time on it will be really good for me. I have some sections that I need to work on to help get my lap times down.
Feb 10 2007
My Dad and I went to the Winchester Speedpark Banquet on Saturday, 2/10. It was in Gardner, MA and it was a blast. The awards they gave out were really nice. They gave out awards for both the Spring and Fall series. It was good to see folks I haven't seen in a while and catch up with everyone. We sat at the table with the Andrews/O'Dells. I hadn't seen them since one of the early races at Mototown. While I didn't get an award, I enjoyed seeing others get theirs and I hope to be in their shoes soon. They had a raffle for all riders that were there. I won a helmet from Answer. I don't know what it is with helmest but I will soon have three!!! I spoke with Mike Knuerr who is doing the painting on the helmet I earned from the Read-2-Race program last year. He now has the helmet so I look forward to having something by the start of the spring season. I'm going to try to keep it in really good shape as I look at is a being something like a trophy. The Boisvert's do a great job with their tracks/series and they did a super, super job with the banquet. Thanks for everything.
Feb 3 2007
My Dad and I headed out in the morning darkness for the third round of the NESX series at MototownUSA. During practice I came up short on a double out of a corner and ended up looping my bike up the face of the table top that came after it. I ended up on the top of the table top with my bike and me facing the wrong way. Also broke my rear fender in half. What was left was junk so there was no "Frankenstein"ing it back on. So that was about it for practice so I went to the first moto with little time on the track that had changes from when I was last there. There two table tops added back to back with a sunken bowl turn between them. It added more change of direction than was there before but I spent most of the day trying to figure out the right lines into, through, and out of that section and on the the finish line turn and jump. In the second moto, I was more comfortable and my riding got better. I ended up with an 11th place finish which left me 8th in the series points down from 7th. I've got some things that I know I want to work on to try to improve my lap times which hopefully will result in an improved finish. Look for my next blog entry after the race on 2/17.
Jan 20 2007
Had my second race of the NESX Saturday Supercross series at MototownUSA yesterday. The temperatures were a LOT colder this Saturday. It was in the 20s with wind chill near or below 0 this Saturday, in the 70s two weeks ago. But this is much more normal for New England in January. It really makes you appreciate a facility like Mototown that lets you race indoors. Without it there would be no racing for me. There was a rhythm section that was replaced with a large tabletop. People were crashing a lot in the old area. I liked the changes and there is still the middle whoops section that is like the section they replaced. My lap times were steady and improved. I was happy with my riding even though I finished 11th. I've got some areas in mind to work on next time and I hope to get back into the top 10. The good part of my result was that I moved up in the points. Hopefully that trend will continue in two weeks when I go back again.
Jan 6 2007
I got my first track time of 2007 at MototownUSA on January 6th when I went for the first round of the Saturday Winter Series being run by NESX. It was great to get back on the bike. Between the Preseason race in December and this race, my Dad had taken the bike all apart and put it back together. The suspension was sent to Factory Connection and they installed some heavier springs since I'm still growing. I really like the new stickers they have for the front forks. The weather was unbelievably warm for January, up to 70 degrees. The racing was good as well. As my first official race in the 12-15 age group, I finished 10th in the first moto which determined gate pick and 9th in the second race for points. I was really pleased with my riding. I was faster than I was in December, finishing well ahead of one rider I battled with at the December race. I'm looking forward to Round 2 on January 20th. Mototown has a great facility for New England riders to ride in during the winter, so I send my thanks to them. My Dad is going to make a few small adjustments to my bike and I hope to be racing with a new group of riders. I'll let you know how it went.
Dec 10 2006
This past Sunday, 12/10, I headed down to MototownUSA for one of the NESX preseason races. I will be running the Saturday Winter Series so I wanted to get back on the track. It had been over a month since I had been on the track. I'm running against new racers this year since I moved up from the 85C 7-11 class to the 85C 12-15 class. After practice, in the first moto things went pretty well. I got a chance to mix it up with someone new, Bradley Austin. We battled back and forth. It was a lot of fun. I ended up finishing behind him because I slid out on a big, flat, left hander. It was only for gate pick for the second moto. In the second moto, we battled all race long. This time I ended up ahead of him in 5th place. With that finish, I got my first MX/SX trophy. I was smiling all day (and night) long. I can't wait for the winter series to start in January.
Oct 29 2006
The Read-2-Race program was founded by Ralph Masiello, aka IckyBugMan, to promote reading by young motocross riders. Mr. Masiello is an illustrator and is well known for his illustrations on a series of alphabet books. Mr. Masiello is also an avid supporter of dirt bike racing. Six times during the year, members of the program handed in write-ups of two books and one magazine. That means that for the whole summer, some riders read a total of 12 books and 6 magazines. Prizes are donated from many wonderful sponsors as well as the families of the members. At each of the six "Read-2-Race Days", those riders who handed in their reports got to pick from the prizes donated. The year ended with an outing at the Winchester Speedpark SX track. Everyone that attended got even more prizes as well as some wonderful track time. There were relay races, pitbike races, and a Mommy Madness race. Awards were given out for Reader of the Fall Series, Most Improved Reader, and Reader of the Year. Austin Willis won the Reader of the Fall Season, Jake Collings won the Most Improved Reader, and I, Evan Copeland, won the Reader of the Year. With that I won a hand painted helmet. But the best thing that I won was the chance to have Mr. Masiello come to my school for an assembly and talk about illustrating, research, how to draw and a lot more.
Oct 28 2006
Mototown USA is an indoor supercross facility in Windsor, CT that has one large supercross track, one smaller track for smaller bikes, and a third smaller sand track. They were offering a chance for NEMX members to come visit the facility so I did. It really showed how helpful this facility can be for New England riders. Although it was rainy, cold, and windy outside, I was able to get in over four hours of riding at the indoor facility. I was able to run on both the small bike track and the larger supercross track. I rode as much as my body would let me! The visit cemented the decision that I will be racing in the NESX series this winter at MototownUSA. I think it will really help my development to be able to ride this winter, even when it is freezing and snowy outside!
Oct 17 2006
Boy Scout Troop 56 has four Court of Honors during the year. The first on of this year (Boy Scout years run the same as school years) was this October 17. The troop has grown to over 50 members and there were over 50 merit badges handed out. Many were earned during summer camp this July. That is were I earned my Lifesaving and Art merit badges. The ceremony also included rank advancement for those scouts that had advanced since last June. I was one of those scouts, having made the rank of Star Scout. Next up is Life Scout. I hope to make that by next June and then it will be on to working on becoming an Eagle scout.