Amherst Meadowlarks OPEN PRACTICE May 24

I/we (Meadowlarks) hope everybody had a good time yesterday! We are all volunteers there, nobody takes a penny home with them. We joined because my younger brother and dad were members, and now my kids have enjoyed their sport for 11 years, with Meadowlarks being their "second home" in the summer and Ramjams in the winter (2 awesome tracks!!) Grant was at the track Mon night for hours, I was there Tues morn from 8:15-12:45pm, and Mike, Jake, Jarod, Bernie etc all spent time out of their day to provide a place to ride on a Tuesday, a day when no other track is open.

My worst 2 critics are my 2 teenage sons, not Premix, or anybody else on here that spouts negativity or bashes a track unnecessarily. Without a doubt, we (any track) needs to put out a good, safe product. Without a doubt yesterday Meadowlarks put out a good, safe product. Personally, I focused on ripping the corners deep, watering them, turning them over, ripping them deeper, watering them again etc so that they form nice ruts. All of the faces of jumps were touched up, track was ripped deep, prepped very nicely, not perfectly, but she was ready for some good practice!!!

The dirt/sand/clay is rather challenging to prep because it changes every 100 feet. We have 20 or so mounds of dirt piled up behind the boxcar to add to the track, along with other additives to break up the hard spots. It is and will be a process, some places will need to be soaked with water more than others, because they dry out faster, some places ripped deeper, and then there is the sand.

There was discussion on which day to run practices, and I/we were able to commit to Tuesdays, with one reason being that we wouldn't step on anybodys toes locally (Wed/Smith....Thurs/Apple Cabin....other tracks make their money on the weekends). So, on Monday we will start to prep for Tuesdays practices, then I will take my boys riding Smith on Wed, Apple Cabin on Thurs, and drive further on the weekends and support the other tracks. Each and every track we have been to, have had good days and bad days. If a particular track continued to disappoint us, we would not go there until the issue was attended to. Each and every track has been overwatered, dusty, rain rutted, neede to split riders, quads with bikes etc...........

I committed to prep Amherst for Tuesdays, as did some other great guys. I see/saw the strengths and weaknesses and will stress to attend to anything that we can make better. Personally, I have 2 teenage boys that love to be challenged on a track, but as a parent, I'd rather see them stay on 2 wheels and not get hurt. As I said, my worst critics are my sons, I/we will listen to ideas/complaints, and we will attend to them, prioritizing, starting with safety. So, if anybody has any solid ideas, good/bad but legitimate/constructive?negative criticism, I/we are all ears.

I/we hear a lot of good, positive things non-stop, so a critique now and then is expected. Please present your positive/negative comments in a way that they will be heard (that would go for any track, anybody can spout off and make brash comments, Ive done it myself!). My assessment of yesterdays practice............corners were sweet, 90% ofthe track was awesome, jumps were safe and maintained, and we need to soak the back section heavier first thing in the morning or the night before. There isn't a perfect track, but the tracks that we will support are the tracks that continue to improve, and listen to the majority, not the minority.

Hope to see everybody at our next practice/race!!
 
Bill480 said:
this was taken when we pulled in around 5pm:

I78uRZwh.jpg
Click to expand...


We are one of the few tracks around here that allows quads to practice with bikes... We had while I was there 2 quads show up .. Which produced the dust shown.. We watered the track literally all day long from 9AM till 4PM when practice started, and we still continued to water after.. We can't get all dust down all the time, especially with the quads. It happens. Once it started getting out of hand we got everyone off the track and disked it and watered again. Not much more we can do. The dirt at Meadowlarks is unique and different than any other track I've been to in my 16 years of riding... It's not easy to keep dust down there. We did our best. We are working on having practices every Tuesday I believe.

We are open to comments, critique, and constructive criticism, as said above, we don't see a dime of money from the work we put in, it's alllll voluntary.


Sent from my iPhone using PitRacer mobile app
 
When we pulled in around 5 there was a nice layer of dust looming around so expectations were low. Following another rider in some sections would be borderline unsafe, vision was hindered pretty badly. Company that with the sun and you have a potential for disaster.

I almost ate it a few times after the finish line triple. I made the mistake of jumping to the left and landing in that thick slop that basically stops your bike in it's tracks. It was similar after the small table near the middle of the track and I saw a rider go down pretty hard there near the end of the day.

Jump faces were nice, the 2nd table along the tracks seemed to have had some more dirt thrown at it and was nicer than the last time I was there (two weekends ago). I don't know where the double after the bowl turn (after the sand section) went or why it was chopped down to two small humps but I wish it would show up again, that was a nice equalizer of the outside/inside line.

The random discing of the track at 7:30pm was weird, seemed to force riders back into the lines that the disc wasn't able to rip up.
 
MxFreedom33 said:
We are one of the few tracks around here that allows quads to practice with bikes... We had while I was there 2 quads show up .. Which produced the dust shown.. We watered the track literally all day long from 9AM till 4PM when practice started, and we still continued to water after.. We can't get all dust down all the time, especially with the quads. It happens. Once it started getting out of hand we got everyone off the track and disked it and watered again. Not much more we can do. The dirt at Meadowlarks is unique and different than any other track I've been to in my 16 years of riding... It's not easy to keep dust down there. We did our best. We are working on having practices every Tuesday I believe.

We are open to comments, critique, and constructive criticism, as said above, we don't see a dime of money from the work we put in, it's alllll voluntary.


Sent from my iPhone using PitRacer mobile app
Click to expand...


As being one of the quad riders that did show up, all that dust wasn't from myself and the fellow quad rider. I get it, we produce more dust when the track is dry compared to a bike but to say it was all from us (2 riders) is absurd. When the track was "getting out of hand" with dust, neither myself or the other quad rider were even on the track. I get it, tracks don't necessarily like quads but don't point the finger to only us when there is dust.
 
DJ Simonovich said:
As being one of the quad riders that did show up, all that dust wasn't from myself and the fellow quad rider. I get it, we produce more dust when the track is dry compared to a bike but to say it was all from us (2 riders) is absurd. When the track was "getting out of hand" with dust, neither myself or the other quad rider were even on the track. I get it, tracks don't necessarily like quads but don't point the finger to only us when there is dust.
Click to expand...


Of course you wouldn't notice your own dust .. Come on now dude.


Sent from my iPhone using PitRacer mobile app
 
Bill480 said:
When we pulled in around 5 there was a nice layer of dust looming around so expectations were low. Following another rider in some sections would be borderline unsafe, vision was hindered pretty badly. Company that with the sun and you have a potential for disaster.

I almost ate it a few times after the finish line triple. I made the mistake of jumping to the left and landing in that thick slop that basically stops your bike in it's tracks. It was similar after the small table near the middle of the track and I saw a rider go down pretty hard there near the end of the day.

Jump faces were nice, the 2nd table along the tracks seemed to have had some more dirt thrown at it and was nicer than the last time I was there (two weekends ago). I don't know where the double after the bowl turn (after the sand section) went or why it was chopped down to two small humps but I wish it would show up again, that was a nice equalizer of the outside/inside line.

The random discing of the track at 7:30pm was weird, seemed to force riders back into the lines that the disc wasn't able to rip up.
Click to expand...


Complaining that it's to dry and complaining that it's to wet, we can't please everyone.. All we can do is try better next time.


Sent from my iPhone using PitRacer mobile app
 
When we pulled in around 5 there was a nice layer of dust looming around so expectations were low. Following another rider in some sections would be borderline unsafe, vision was hindered pretty badly. Company that with the sun and you have a potential for disaster.

I almost ate it a few times after the finish line triple. I made the mistake of jumping to the left and landing in that thick slop that basically stops your bike in it's tracks. It was similar after the small table near the middle of the track and I saw a rider go down pretty hard there near the end of the day.

Jump faces were nice, the 2nd table along the tracks seemed to have had some more dirt thrown at it and was nicer than the last time I was there (two weekends ago). I don't know where the double after the bowl turn (after the sand section) went or why it was chopped down to two small humps but I wish it would show up again, that was a nice equalizer of the outside/inside line.

The random discing of the track at 7:30pm was weird, seemed to force riders back into the lines that the disc wasn't able to rip up.

In response, I'm in agreement with most of your statement. I popped in around 415 and stayed until 445ish. I witnessed everybody staying to the right after the finish line. That dirt was all fresh when i arrived in the morning, I ripped n ripped it trying to level it out. It was deep, and must've held the water more than expected. That part after the finish line will not be an issue again. I watched my son jump it and stay to the right (he usually takes it down the middle), I assumed everybody would stay to the right, do a sight lap first and check the track out. Please always do a sight lap! Any track, every track. Appreciate the input, easy fix.

The wet spot after the tabletop did get too much water. The sprinkler set up there saturated it, and I didn't notice as I was focusing on the corners. Normally, the track dries out too quickly, so "overwatering" isn't a problem we have very often. Turning off the sprinkler earlier is not a problem, another easy fix, again appreciate the input, shouldn't happen again. I have to assume the track had dried out prior to the rider going down (sorry to hear). I had 2 teenagers (Yams 125/250f, no numbers) and my younger brother #24 KTM 250 on the track, and I would pull my kids off any track I felt was unsafe. I tell the to use their heads, ride within their means and always do a sight lap.

Freedom33 is correct, its hard to guess the impact of the quads. As I said earlier, each and every track we have ever been to, and thats each and every track, makes me uneasy when the bikes n quads ride together. When we are at the track and a quad shows up, we either take a break or leave (just our way). We are supposed to water the track thru the week if its dusty, and personally, I dont feel like working 3 times harder watering because somebody else wants to make so much more dust. I have nothing against the quads, but would prefer to separate them from bikes, as A/B riders from C/minis (just my opinion).

2 small humps were mentioned, last I knew my son was doubling them. We are in the process of finding ways to safely separate the riders during races/practices without daring a rider to make a bad decision.

As for the discing, I wasnt there, I will assume it was an attempt to get the moist dirt on top and open up some lines. When my kids were young they didn't like the deep ripped tracks, my youger son would say its too "chunky monkey". As theyve grown, and Ive learned with them, I believe to rip it deep, water it thru and thru and let the track shape up as it always does everywhere we go.

I hope I have attended to your remarks, explained why/what causes/caused things, an will make every effort to correct what we are aware of. We will be adding more dirt, subtle track changes and improved riding conditions. Any good ideas are always welcome!! and any riders of any level are always welcome to join and implement ideas with us!!
 
dad24x2 said:
When we pulled in around 5 there was a nice layer of dust looming around so expectations were low. Following another rider in some sections would be borderline unsafe, vision was hindered pretty badly. Company that with the sun and you have a potential for disaster.

I almost ate it a few times after the finish line triple. I made the mistake of jumping to the left and landing in that thick slop that basically stops your bike in it's tracks. It was similar after the small table near the middle of the track and I saw a rider go down pretty hard there near the end of the day.

Jump faces were nice, the 2nd table along the tracks seemed to have had some more dirt thrown at it and was nicer than the last time I was there (two weekends ago). I don't know where the double after the bowl turn (after the sand section) went or why it was chopped down to two small humps but I wish it would show up again, that was a nice equalizer of the outside/inside line.

The random discing of the track at 7:30pm was weird, seemed to force riders back into the lines that the disc wasn't able to rip up.

In response, I'm in agreement with most of your statement. I popped in around 415 and stayed until 445ish. I witnessed everybody staying to the right after the finish line. That dirt was all fresh when i arrived in the morning, I ripped n ripped it trying to level it out. It was deep, and must've held the water more than expected. That part after the finish line will not be an issue again. I watched my son jump it and stay to the right (he usually takes it down the middle), I assumed everybody would stay to the right, do a sight lap first and check the track out. Please always do a sight lap! Any track, every track. Appreciate the input, easy fix.

The wet spot after the tabletop did get too much water. The sprinkler set up there saturated it, and I didn't notice as I was focusing on the corners. Normally, the track dries out too quickly, so "overwatering" isn't a problem we have very often. Turning off the sprinkler earlier is not a problem, another easy fix, again appreciate the input, shouldn't happen again. I have to assume the track had dried out prior to the rider going down (sorry to hear). I had 2 teenagers (Yams 125/250f, no numbers) and my younger brother #24 KTM 250 on the track, and I would pull my kids off any track I felt was unsafe. I tell the to use their heads, ride within their means and always do a sight lap.

Freedom33 is correct, its hard to guess the impact of the quads. As I said earlier, each and every track we have ever been to, and thats each and every track, makes me uneasy when the bikes n quads ride together. When we are at the track and a quad shows up, we either take a break or leave (just our way). We are supposed to water the track thru the week if its dusty, and personally, I dont feel like working 3 times harder watering because somebody else wants to make so much more dust. I have nothing against the quads, but would prefer to separate them from bikes, as A/B riders from C/minis (just my opinion).

2 small humps were mentioned, last I knew my son was doubling them. We are in the process of finding ways to safely separate the riders during races/practices without daring a rider to make a bad decision.

As for the discing, I wasnt there, I will assume it was an attempt to get the moist dirt on top and open up some lines. When my kids were young they didn't like the deep ripped tracks, my youger son would say its too "chunky monkey". As theyve grown, and Ive learned with them, I believe to rip it deep, water it thru and thru and let the track shape up as it always does everywhere we go.

I hope I have attended to your remarks, explained why/what causes/caused things, an will make every effort to correct what we are aware of. We will be adding more dirt, subtle track changes and improved riding conditions. Any good ideas are always welcome!! and any riders of any level are always welcome to join and implement ideas with us!!
Click to expand...




Well said.


Sent from my iPhone using PitRacer mobile app
 
dad24x2 said:
When we pulled in around 5 there was a nice layer of dust looming around so expectations were low. Following another rider in some sections would be borderline unsafe, vision was hindered pretty badly. Company that with the sun and you have a potential for disaster.

I almost ate it a few times after the finish line triple. I made the mistake of jumping to the left and landing in that thick slop that basically stops your bike in it's tracks. It was similar after the small table near the middle of the track and I saw a rider go down pretty hard there near the end of the day.

Jump faces were nice, the 2nd table along the tracks seemed to have had some more dirt thrown at it and was nicer than the last time I was there (two weekends ago). I don't know where the double after the bowl turn (after the sand section) went or why it was chopped down to two small humps but I wish it would show up again, that was a nice equalizer of the outside/inside line.

The random discing of the track at 7:30pm was weird, seemed to force riders back into the lines that the disc wasn't able to rip up.

In response, I'm in agreement with most of your statement. I popped in around 415 and stayed until 445ish. I witnessed everybody staying to the right after the finish line. That dirt was all fresh when i arrived in the morning, I ripped n ripped it trying to level it out. It was deep, and must've held the water more than expected. That part after the finish line will not be an issue again. I watched my son jump it and stay to the right (he usually takes it down the middle), I assumed everybody would stay to the right, do a sight lap first and check the track out. Please always do a sight lap! Any track, every track. Appreciate the input, easy fix.

The wet spot after the tabletop did get too much water. The sprinkler set up there saturated it, and I didn't notice as I was focusing on the corners. Normally, the track dries out too quickly, so "overwatering" isn't a problem we have very often. Turning off the sprinkler earlier is not a problem, another easy fix, again appreciate the input, shouldn't happen again. I have to assume the track had dried out prior to the rider going down (sorry to hear). I had 2 teenagers (Yams 125/250f, no numbers) and my younger brother #24 KTM 250 on the track, and I would pull my kids off any track I felt was unsafe. I tell the to use their heads, ride within their means and always do a sight lap.

Freedom33 is correct, its hard to guess the impact of the quads. As I said earlier, each and every track we have ever been to, and thats each and every track, makes me uneasy when the bikes n quads ride together. When we are at the track and a quad shows up, we either take a break or leave (just our way). We are supposed to water the track thru the week if its dusty, and personally, I dont feel like working 3 times harder watering because somebody else wants to make so much more dust. I have nothing against the quads, but would prefer to separate them from bikes, as A/B riders from C/minis (just my opinion).

2 small humps were mentioned, last I knew my son was doubling them. We are in the process of finding ways to safely separate the riders during races/practices without daring a rider to make a bad decision.

As for the discing, I wasnt there, I will assume it was an attempt to get the moist dirt on top and open up some lines. When my kids were young they didn't like the deep ripped tracks, my youger son would say its too "chunky monkey". As theyve grown, and Ive learned with them, I believe to rip it deep, water it thru and thru and let the track shape up as it always does everywhere we go.

I hope I have attended to your remarks, explained why/what causes/caused things, an will make every effort to correct what we are aware of. We will be adding more dirt, subtle track changes and improved riding conditions. Any good ideas are always welcome!! and any riders of any level are always welcome to join and implement ideas with us!!
Click to expand...

It wasn't people being uneasy that myself and another quad rider were there riding with everyone, its the fact that a picture was taken of the dust and them saying that it was because of 2 quad riders. I don't think anyone was uneasy about us riding with the bikes. I do however think people/person are putting blame on 2 riders for the dust. If I am wrong then I must have read this thread incorrectly.
 
DJ Simonovich said:
It wasn't people being uneasy that myself and another quad rider were there riding with everyone, its the fact that a picture was taken of the dust and them saying that it was because of 2 quad riders. I don't think anyone was uneasy about us riding with the bikes. I do however think people/person are putting blame on 2 riders for the dust. If I am wrong then I must have read this thread incorrectly.
Click to expand...



Quads will always create 2-3 times more dust then bikes.. That's just common sense. It is what it is, we have to prep differently since we know we will have them.. End of story.


Sent from my iPhone using PitRacer mobile app
 
dad24x2 said:
In response, I'm in agreement with most of your statement. I popped in around 415 and stayed until 445ish. I witnessed everybody staying to the right after the finish line. That dirt was all fresh when i arrived in the morning, I ripped n ripped it trying to level it out. It was deep, and must've held the water more than expected. That part after the finish line will not be an issue again. I watched my son jump it and stay to the right (he usually takes it down the middle), I assumed everybody would stay to the right, do a sight lap first and check the track out. Please always do a sight lap! Any track, every track. Appreciate the input, easy fix.
Click to expand...

I did as well, but apparently when I went to triple it I stayed left due to me being dumb. I remembered the third time :p

The wet spot after the tabletop did get too much water. The sprinkler set up there saturated it, and I didn't notice as I was focusing on the corners. Normally, the track dries out too quickly, so "overwatering" isn't a problem we have very often. Turning off the sprinkler earlier is not a problem, another easy fix, again appreciate the input, shouldn't happen again. I have to assume the track had dried out prior to the rider going down (sorry to hear). I had 2 teenagers (Yams 125/250f, no numbers) and my younger brother #24 KTM 250 on the track, and I would pull my kids off any track I felt was unsafe. I tell the to use their heads, ride within their means and always do a sight lap.
Click to expand...

This was later, probably after 8pm. He landed right into it (looked like it anyways) and flipped over the bars. Got up eventually and kept riding so that's good

2 small humps were mentioned, last I knew my son was doubling them. We are in the process of finding ways to safely separate the riders during races/practices without daring a rider to make a bad decision.
Click to expand...

If I seat bounce the crap out of it I can usually get my front tire over the "landing" but idk, the double that used to be there was fun and easy.

As for the discing, I wasnt there, I will assume it was an attempt to get the moist dirt on top and open up some lines. When my kids were young they didn't like the deep ripped tracks, my youger son would say its too "chunky monkey". As theyve grown, and Ive learned with them, I believe to rip it deep, water it thru and thru and let the track shape up as it always does everywhere we go.
Click to expand...

One pass with a disc late in the day = huge chunks, and nobody left to ride them in = people just going back to the same old lines.. or at least it seemed to be that way last night.

I hope I have attended to your remarks, explained why/what causes/caused things, an will make every effort to correct what we are aware of. We will be adding more dirt, subtle track changes and improved riding conditions. Any good ideas are always welcome!! and any riders of any level are always welcome to join and implement ideas with us!!
Click to expand...

I like Tuesday practice and its a nice change up from Smith & Cabin for a mid week option.
 
To the quad rider, glad you guys came out! no finger pointing, u guys did nothing wrong, just another dynamic, but quads definitely change track conditions. We need to soak the back section earlier and more, let it soak deep. Now that school is out, my boys will be able to help prep also, so we should have a full crew! also, I think the "best" hoses are up front and its easier to water with them. Human nature to grab the easiest hose, lol, we will make a point to saturate the back more.

In my opinion, if we can master that back section, with the sand, I don't believe there is another track in Ohio that offers that type of riding. If anybody ventured off the track way in the back and saw that sand section, its prime!! it changes every lap, gets rough yet stays soft, it's fantastic practice!!! Extremely challenging (for those who want to be challenged in bike handling, not just how far you feel you can jump).

With new members, current members stepping up big time! and school out (we've been accused of living at the track), everybody can expect better, more challenges and more consistency!! Positive comments, legitimate constructive criticism is a great motivator!!

There is a reason Meadowlarks has been around for 50+ years being run by volunteers!! We aren't there to profit, just enjoy the track with some good people.
 
dad24x2 said:
To the quad rider, glad you guys came out! no finger pointing, u guys did nothing wrong, just another dynamic, but quads definitely change track conditions. We need to soak the back section earlier and more, let it soak deep. Now that school is out, my boys will be able to help prep also, so we should have a full crew! also, I think the "best" hoses are up front and its easier to water with them. Human nature to grab the easiest hose, lol, we will make a point to saturate the back more.

In my opinion, if we can master that back section, with the sand, I don't believe there is another track in Ohio that offers that type of riding. If anybody ventured off the track way in the back and saw that sand section, its prime!! it changes every lap, gets rough yet stays soft, it's fantastic practice!!! Extremely challenging (for those who want to be challenged in bike handling, not just how far you feel you can jump).

With new members, current members stepping up big time! and school out (we've been accused of living at the track), everybody can expect better, more challenges and more consistency!! Positive comments, legitimate constructive criticism is a great motivator!!

There is a reason Meadowlarks has been around for 50+ years being run by volunteers!! We aren't there to profit, just enjoy the track with some good people.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the no finger pointing. Keep improving and staying positive to bikes and quads and I will keep coming back. Also, thanks to Grant who towed me off the track when my motor went. Must have been nice to see a quad go down :cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top