Treadmill Trials

A few weeks ago I broke our treadmill while doing my daily cardio training, preparing for the start of the Can-Am GNCC series. After running on the treadmill at my sister's house before the wedding, and the at the gyms in St. Lucia, I noticed our treadmill had a lot more friction. We had some silicon belt lube that we got for free in a treadmill kit, so I tried it out. It worked fine that day, but the next morning when I was running, Victoria said she smelled something burning.

We just thought that it was the belt lube, and I kept running on the treadmill for a couple of days, but I thought it would eventually all burn off. Bad idea. It made the entire apartment smell like burnt electric motor, which it turns out it was. Two days into the burning smell, the treadmill stopped running mid workout. We thought about buying a new treadmill (this one has had issues before and was free), but to replace it will an equal model would be around $1000. TreadmillDoctor.com helped us figure out the problem and order a new motor. We only had to pay for the motor and it cost around $190. Savings: $810



So it arrived this week and here I am installing it. It works now, and I'm back to training for Florida at home instead of the gym.

Taking out the bad motor.

 Closeup of the bad motor.

New motor that works!

Have something you want to hear about? Ask me in a comment, on Facebook, or at HurricaneHoyland@gmail.com. Also, if you like this blog, become a follower and subscribe!



Riding Video: Practice January 22

For Christmas my parents got me a GoPro Hero, and the past few weekends I've been trying it out. Last weekend was the first quality video I got, so my wife and I decided to try out video editing to make a video for my blog.

The track I was riding was at Santo's. It was muddy, so I'm glad I rode for an hour so we could pull out around 4 minutes of clear footage for the video.
This is the first time I've ever tried to edit a video before, so I'm using Windows MovieMaker. If you guys know of better editting software, let me know in a comment, on Facebook, or in an email to HurricaneHoyland@gmail.com because I plan on making videos for most of the local races and some of the nationals.

Product Review: HMF Exhaust

It's pretty obvious that HMF is a leading ATV exhaust brand at the GNCC races. Just look at the start each race, and you'll see an HMF exhaust on lots of bikes. I've been running HMF exhausts since 2006, or basically my entire GNCC career. From B class to Pro-Am, HMF has been my go-to exhaust company, and here's why.

We have been running the Competition Series for a '06-'10 Honda TRX 450R. It is a lightweight exhaust that has smooth power from bottom to top. They have 3 stage inserts that offer different power/decibel levels. Which makes the pipe versitile to meet decibel requirements at some riding parks/races, but allows you to maximize power when needed. It is a good-looking exhuast and they offer a variety of colors for it. Some of you may have seen the pink exhausts HMF was putting on bikes at the Ironman for breast cancer awareness month.

HMF is very easy to get ahold of and work with. I've never had any trouble dealing with them when we need something in the 6 years I've been running their products. They had many different levels of sponsorship when I was starting out riding, and I was able to get some help even as a new B class rider. I don't know what the sponsorship situation is now, due to the economic issues everyone is dealing with, but I've always felt like they really care about the riders that use their products and want to help out if and when they can.

Georgia 2011

I don't know what their schedule will be for the 2012 series, but in previous years, they have often been at the nationals to deliver and pick up exhausts. Unlike most other exhaust companies, their office is in Ohio, close to most GNCC racers, so you can get what you need fast.

If you'd like to hear about any other products I use, let me know in a comment or at HurricaneHoyland@gmail.com. If you like this blog, become a follower!

2012 Program

2012 GNCC season is closing in, and our program is being worked out. As a Derisi racing rider, I only know what Santo tells me about our program, so there may be some companies/parts that I have left out. But so far, I'm really pumped about our program for next year. Derisi racing is putting together a new look for the team, and we have a lot of really good companies sponsoring our racing.

For the bike, we are running all Derisi Racing components: A-arms and linkage. As usual, we deal with RG Honda for our bikes and OEM parts. Our tire setup will include GBC tires, Hiper wheels, and Tireballs. We will be running Rath Racing nerf bars, bumpers, and grab bars. DC Cycle will work on our motors, and we will run Rekluse, Wiseco pistons, and HMF exhaust. The bike will be equipped with TwinAir filters, Fox shocks, Flexx bars, a GPR stabilizer, DP Brakes, Spider grips, Quadtech hood and seat, IMS tank, and Dirtworks battery box. The whole bike is wrapped in custom G4 graphics.

Big Buck 2011



I will be wearing Moose gear, Alpinestar boots, Bell helmets, and Scott goggles. And of course, we always fuel up before the races and during training with PowerBar products.

This isn't a complete list. There are still a few parts/companies that we are working out, but it is mostly what we will be running. If you want to know anything about these products, most of them I have run in past years, so I can answer any questions you have about them. Email me at HurricaneHoyland@gmail.com or leave a comment. If you like what you've been reading, follow this blog!

The Road to Florida

The Florida race is very different from all of the other GNCC races. It is in the sand, so whoops are a huge factor. It is very hot, coming from the winter up north, where many of us are from. Florida is known as the 'who's in best shape' or 'who has the best endurance' race. Technique and machinery are important, but fitness rules the podium at this race.

The other thing to consider when preparing for Florida is a good shock setup. I know why a lot of people blow off the Florida race (besides it's so far away from all of the other races). Your shock setup for Florida is completely different than the setup you need for all of the other races because you have to battle whoops for 2 hours instead of normal dirt/clay track. If it's a spring shock, I usually have to run 25-50 lbs heavier springs. For an air shock, I have to add more air pressure for Florida. I'll talk about shock setup for Florida more in a later post.

Florida 2011



Many pros go down to Florida right after the holidays are over to begin training. Some go down before the holidays. They train for months in the heat and the sand to prepare. I did this one year. I was lucky enough to be living with my parents still and they helped me go to Florida for 2 months to train.

This year I'm only planning on going down to Florida for one week. Like most people who race GNCC, I have a job. I need to make money to be able to race, so leaving for months and losing all that money (not counting the cost of living in Florida for that time) is too much.

From my experience, training in Florida for months is the best way to get in shape for GNCC, if you can afford it. But for those of us who can't, we are not at a big disadvantage. We can do loads of cardio training up north, and head down to a sandy area for a week, like me, or for a weekend to test out shocks. For example, we've gone to Sumter/Manchester SC to test shocks for Florida. It is a lot closer than Florida, and provides similar sandy terrain to test out the whoops.

Moral of the story, Florida is expensive enough without going down for several months to prepare. Do what you can where you live, and if you can afford to, go down for a week or so. As long as you're constantly training, on or off the quad, to better yourself as a rider, you will do well in your class and improve throughout the year.

I will have a few more blog posts talking about Florida preparation, since that is what everyone is doing right now. If there is something specific you would like to know about, let me know in a comment, or at HurricaneHoyland@gmail.com

Product Review: Derisi Racing's Honda TRX450R Long Travel Linkage

For some of my blog posts, I'd like to give information about the products I use and why I like them. The after-market accessories I use definitely allow me to do well by making my machine perform the best that it can.

I'll start with Derisi Racing's Honda TRX450R Long Travel Linkage. I used this linkage on my Honda all year and really like it's performance. The great thing about this linkage is that it can be used with a stock swing arm. There are a lot of advantages with this. Stock swing arms are lighter than after-market swing arms and I've never heard of someone breaking a stock swing arm. I personally have used after market linkage/swing arm combos and had a lot of trouble with breaking the after-market swing arms, which are not cheap. This linkage can save $500-700 by not requiring the after-market swing arm, and that's not counting replacement swing arms.

Snowshoe GNCC 2011

I ran this linkage in many really rocky races where the linkage took a real beating, but it never showed signs of stress. It also has a replaceable stainless steel skidplate, but I've not had to replace that all year. Neither have any of the riders testing out this product.

From experience, I can say that this linkage provides a better result than the after market linkage/swing arm combos. Suspension-wise, it is comparable, but the added benefit of a lighter, more durable swing arm make it a better setup all around.

If you liked this post, comment and let me know. If there is something else you'd like me to talk about on this blog, leave me a comment or email me at HurricaneHoyland@gmail.com.

Back on the Grind

I just got back from our 7 day honeymoon at Sandals in St. Lucia. If you don't know (and I didn't until my wife told me) St. Lucia is an island in the Caribbean close to South America. Needless to say, it was warm and awesome. The all-included meals and drinks made sticking to a diet plan difficult, but the fitness centers helped. So did the ridiculous hike we went on. 

You might have seen this on my Facebook page. We hiked up the mountain in the background. It was a 2000 foot vertical climb in an hour and a half. Really intense. 

But we were rewarded for our efforts with some amazing views like this one.

We stayed in a room on the second floor of the second building from the cliff edge. It was really cool.

All considered, it was much needed relaxation, and I was able to maintain my level of fitness, which was my goal. But now it's back to the grind and I'm headed down to Santo Derisi's for some much needed riding. I haven't been able to ride for about 3 weeks, and I'm really pumped to go riding Sunday.

The Mideast Harescramble Series banquet is on Saturday, so I will be heading to that too. I placed 3rd in pro class, so maybe I'll make out with some swag. 

So I'm back in gear with the blog. I should be able to post 3-4 times a week, with anything you guys are interested in. I've gotten some requests for nutrition/fitness program information and how I train. I'll also post some product reviews for you. But let me know what you're interested in hearing about, and I'll post it. Email me at HurricaneHoyland@gmail.com.