ShanBlog #3, Stardate April 21, 2010

My schedule has me in Tennessee this week. I covered the national enduro in West Point, TN, this past weekend and this coming weekend there’s a GNCC at Loretta Lynn’s. Yep, I plan on saying hi to the Queen of Country Music. Anyway, today I’m camped in the David Crockett National Forest to save a little money. Just me and my tent and a few DVDs. If you saw the movie 2012 and you remember the Woody Harrelson character then you know how I look right about now. I plan on just sitting in a lawn chair and letting the hair grow between my toes for the next two days. Anyway, back to the national enduro. Charlie Mullins is really haulin’ the mail right now and it has all the other guys wondering what they need to do to pick up the pace. Russell Bobbitt and Michael Lafferty both told me that they plan on spending time on a motocross track before the Missouri round to work on their speed.

In Tennessee, Mullins was wearing gear that was not predominately blue. Like Chad Reed, the Yamaha rider is contractually obligated to wear predominately blue riding gear, however, his contract also states that when he finishes on the podium he has the option to wear any color of his choosing at the next race. And since he won the national enduro in Texas last month, Mullins showed up in Tennessee in black and white (with blue trim). It was a nice look for him.

At that same enduro this past weekend, Glenn Kearney went down hard in one of the tests, and it looked like he might have injured his shoulder or neck. However, a call to the Husqvarna rider on Tuesday revealed that Glenn had visited his doctor and all was fine. “I’m sore and stiff, but I’m okay, so I’m just going to stay off the bike the rest of the week and hopefully I will be ready for the GNCC on Sunday,” Kearney told me. According to Kearney, his doctor told him that he had just pulled some ligaments in his shoulder and he should be fine with a little rest.

Just two weeks until the national trials opener in Oklahoma and defending series champ Patrick Smage is in Europe right now contesting the world rounds. At the opener in Spain, Patrick finished sixth in the Youth division, which is for riders over the age of 18, who are not riding the “World” division. Patrick spent Monday and Tuesday riding with Sherco factory rider Albert Cabestany and today (Wednesday) they are heading to Portugal for the round this weekend. Look for Pat to be on his game in Oklahoma, however, don’t overlook Gas Gas riders Cody Webb and Keith Wineland, who locked horns at this year’s El Trial de Espana. Wineland ended up winning that one in a ride-off (look for a full report in the May issue of T&E News).

That’s all for now from the Davey Crockett National Forest… See ya in Oklahoma.

About Shan

Owner and Editor of Trials and Enduro News MotoJournalist of the Year Honors from the AMA NATC Trials Hall of Fame inductee