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Am I the only one who doesn't give a **** about LCQ / KOH?

Everything is not for everybody. :****: Some people live within their means and some people don't in this sport. That is for sure. I remember when rock crawling comps first started on the east...dudes were maxing out 3 credit cards, or taking out a mortgage on their house to get the cash all to put in a buggy. Some dudes feel like they have to be the best in whatever fishbowl they choose to be in. Whether it's racing dirt track cars, racing boats, crawling, or rock racing. A lot of people are "nuts" about something if you think about it. Like, I don't fully understand why guys ride bikes across country to Sturgis to chill next to their bike with hundreds of thousands of people. That's not me though.

Yeah...there is not a lot of money in this sport of crawling or racing unless you are freaking awesome and get all the contingency pay out and sponsorship payout. But, with each big race, or truck show, or crawl, or tv show, or video it grows a little and a little. To me it's something to be part of. It's like why go to SEMA show? Well...it's one of the largest car/truck trade shows...and it's in Vegas. It's just cool...it's a vacation. Why go to Easter Jeep Safari? It's cool, it's historical, a lot of the who's who in our sport is there and you get to meet them and ride with them. Like, last year we went and literally just crashed a ride that we found...LOL. It was cool to ride with people you always see in magazines, or just hear about, or just true pioneers of our sport. How many times am I going to get to say we were on a trail ride with Walker Evans ever again. Probably never. It's just cool, it's a vacation.

Same with the whole KOH thing. Every major vendor in our sport is going to be there. You get to meet everyone if you come forward and say hi. They'll remember you to and maybe, just maybe take that extra step to help you next time you order from them. You get to find out, hey, these dudes are really just here to help the sport...I may order from them next time. Or, you at least find out who you never want to order from...LOL.

You get to see the cool rigs. You get to see the $$$$$ rigs that we all wish we had one day. For me, I love the sport, and love most people in it. It's cool to meet a dude you've yelled at on Pirate who lives in Bumfuzzle, California who has the same chassis as you, and you get to compare and talk shop with someone you never met before.

Good friends will be made, good times will be had, and a pretty good damn race will be seen. As soon as I heard about rock crawling years ago I was hooked. I read all the mags about Tracy Jordan, Campbell, etc. I thought...man...I'd like to meet these guys one day and actually see them drive. Well...now we get to take a vacation so to speak and be right there with them in a crazy, out-of-the-box race where everyone has a chance as long as your junk holds together.

We're not desert racers by any means...which is $$$, but it gives us regular folk a look at it and do something completely awesome. Plus, we get to wheel in Johnson Valley...a place where a lot of us wheelers have dreamed of going since we first saw pictures of it in a magazine. What better time to take some time off work and go wheel it? If you are in the LCQ or the real race, you can say..."I have raced in California at the KOH." Even if you don't tell anyone...just for yourself...it's the coolness factor. Damn...I went all the way to California and raced in the desert at a place I only thought I would ever see in my life was in a magazine.

Some people may be in over the head...but some, I won't say all, but some of those guys get more free than what you realize. So...if you see a brand new, $100,000 rig to 99% of us...it's more like $20,000 to them. Look at the questions in the build-up threads. People want to know, "Hey...why didn't (Insert any name here) go with brand X axles? They are the best, aren't they." Answer normally is, "well...brand Z stepped up to the plate on this one." Or, if you notice that someone has more than one rig. If they have more than one rig...look at the axles, look at the tire, wheels, shocks, t-case, seats, etc, etc. Probably the same. Probably get sponsor help.

Or take a lot of guys who have been dying to buiid themselves a nice rig forever. This just pushed them to get it done. Maybe that guy wants to race a season in XRRA with it. So, now it's a multi-use rig...KOH, XRRA, and trailriding. Pretty good idea, you know. If you have some extra cash to race and have the rig that will hold up to the abuse we give out...then why not?

Some people aren't spending much at all, except just seeing it as one cool ass vacation, race, trail ride, chance to hang out at one of the biggest 4 wheeling events, etc.. Take us for example. We're spending the cost of a GPS on our rig. I sold a spare part that we don't use anymore to pay for it and have a couple extra hundred dollars left over from the sale. Other than maintenance that needs to be done anyway, a grab handle, and a $30 light...that is all that is changing on our rig. We're travelling with 3 rigs on a gooseneck and splitting up fuel. It will be pretty reasonable. Mine and Kim's last non wheeling vacation, we spent more on it than we did going to Moab last year. LOL. So, to me...it's really not crazy money.

So...I don't think the trip is wasted money. It's just how we choose to spend our free time instead of laying on the beach for a week. Do I miss laying out on the beach, or maybe going to Hawaii because of what we spent on this or trips like it. Yeah, kind of...but not really. We have a hell of a time when we go to things like this, meet new friends, and have a book full of stories when we get back. To me that means more than getting a sunburn and drinking Corona on a beach.

Is it going to hurt us financially? If we blow up a motor and a tranny yeah. But that can happen in Harlan or Grayrock or wherever. I just see it as the cost of one cool vacation and we choose to spend our time off with all these nuts.
 
Well said Droopy. I am looking fwd to meeting the builders or my chassis and seeing 5+ other S&N rigs. I can get ideas and just check out what they do differently now. I mean when else am I going to get to hang out with these guys, considering they might as well live in Canada! It is a wheeling vacation for sure, it is cool that you wife likes it so you can spend time together. Mine could care less, but she is supportive and puts up with all the time I spend on this ****. The drive there and back will suck, but we will get to wheel a bunch and maybe hit AZ on the way back
 
VERY WELL SAID Droopy thumb.gif

Matt, don't look at it as the drive will suck. I have wheeled in the southwest for many.many years. If you have not made it out there before you will get to some very cool country and have fun with friends on the way. Myself I love to drive. We had never been to the south before 2007 and after running the XRRA season with Buddy in 2007 and part of 2008 we have come to love it down there. The southwest will always be my place to wheel but we have put good old Alabama at the top of our list of places to go back to for sure.

That is the most I have every heard Droopy say at one time :****: :****: See you all out there.
 
Droopy X2

Matt, my wife was mad because it wasnt on spring break. so she couldnt go.
But yea the stars lined up for me to be able to take this trip & I cant wait..

See yall on the lake bed
 
Amber read over this last night and summed it up in one sentence ( as she usually does laughing1 )

Dood, its a Man dream vacation ! :woot:
 
All I can say is if ya can afford it than go for it ! I think its aw-some that people like Matt O, P Daddy and AC are gona go across this great nation and lay some smack down . These guys are taking a big step out to do something they will always remember . Back in the day I use to travel all around racing Quads . I never was famous but I always can look back and say " wow I did that " .
We don't know whats gona happen in this world . Not knowing is not a good or bad thing . But it will test all of us as Americans and Friends ! :dblthumb:
 
**** man - I just wish I had the funds to just go spectate.

It's almost a southern redneck invasion of Cali - I hope every damn on of you do well.

Oh and I hope there are lots of pics.....
 
Well said Droop. I look at it like this, I want to do things while I can and can afford to. I will not always have the chance to do things like this. You have certain windows of time in your life and you have to sometimes just go out on a limb and do it. I do not want to be sitting around one of these days like a lot of older people I know saying "I wish I had done that when I was younger". I want to be the guy saying "You know, I was part of something really cool when I was younger".

I still stand by my statement all of this is good for the sport. It opens the door for bringing new fans into it, potential new sponsors and it does not hurt all of the money that has been spent. There are so many new ideas that have evolved out of this. Every wheeler weekend wheeler will in some way benefit from this whether they realize it or not.
 
6uldv8 said:
Dayum! Droopy is the new Wyatt! Great rant dude! booyang
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booyang booyang booyang booyang


I keep a lot to myself. :****: Just thought I'd share my point of view on this one. I think I'd be banned on every board if I shared my opinion on a lot of things. laughing1
 
I guess that makes a lot of sense Droopy. It pointed out a big difference between me and maybe a lot of other folks in that, for the most part, I am anti-social. I enjoy getting together with my group of close-knits and chewing the fat with them, but for the most part thats it. I don't mind meeting new folks, especially ones that I chat with on the net. But you probably won't find me seeking them out on the trail just to talk to them and meet them unless we've specifically agreed to meet before hand. I've never been a hard partyer. I'd much rather go to bed and sleep well and feel refreshed in the morning than stay up until 4am getting drunk and hollarin and screamin. I also have different motivations for why I rock crawl. I do it for the fun and adrenalin which can be done with one other guy there or 150 other guys and which will happen no matter how many of the 150 I know. I build buggies and wheel them to see how I can improve on my own designs and how I can improve my own skills. For the most part my measure of progress is how well I do compared to how well I used to do and not how well I do compared to others. I've always known this about myself and have always been perfectly comfortable with it. But it explains a lot about why I just "don't get it" when it comes ot KOH. In fact, the more I think about the crowds, the chaos, and the late nights involved with KOH the more I think it would be my personal definition of hell. I'd much rather be out there with 2 - 10 other capable rigs alone who I know well hitting those trails than dodging a bunch of flying hp jockies on a mission.

That being said, please don't think if you see me on the trail that you're not welcome to come up and say hi. I love meeting new folks one-on-one and getting to know them. Its the crowded party mentality where you meet people but don't get to know people that I hate.

But thanks for all the typing, Droopy. It explains everything to me except for possibly the overextension that some people are likely going through. I guess it even explains that, just not justifies it to me.

J. J.
 
Just think,once everyone starts traveling to the Hammers there won't be a recession..................... :****:
 
Well I would go but I need to build a buggy first. The jeep is good for some local thrashing and rock bouncing but like some others I would like to have a clean cut basic buggy. I think of this sport like any other. And if you can afford it do it. I hope there isn't that many people financing rigs that isn't insured to some point. It is kinda like Gambling some people choose to gamble in their means as some people will loose there house and family over it. Who am I to say KOH will cause many people extra debt or financial trouble. That is like saying guns kill people. But we all know people kill people. So if you can do it , enjoy every minute of it and get some video to share with us fawkers that can't make it. I am spending my money on Mexico in May, and still be able to wheel the rest of the year.

Good luck to all KOH Riders. We really need to show them what East Coast can bring!!!!! :****:
 
POPS58 said:
Just think,once everyone starts traveling to the Hammers there won't be a recession..................... :****:
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RECESSION: ( economy slowing down, hording of money, lack of spending, Loss of jobs because of all the before.)
Thanks For helping the Economy. thumb.gif

This is a trip I would like to be in on, a possible once in a life time trip, but things didn't happen that way. For those going good luck with the race and have a great time but most of all bring back Pict's and video for the rest of us. we're not all in the same boat but we are on the same lake.
GOOD LUCK to All and have a safe trip. booyang
 
Not steeping up your game for this race is like putting your second string in for the super bowl. This is it, like it or not this the the super bowl so to speak of rock sports. It has been hyped this way and so far it has lived up to all teh hype. Some people might be streaching the budget but in the end they can say I went a played with the big dogs. This is the race of the year. If you got the money build a purpose built KOH rig and let it sit if not build a rig that will Rock race and still do good in KOH. What ever you got if you are invited to this race drag it out there and have a ball. Where else are you going to have the most respected names in the rock sports industry all in one place? Wont happed other then SEMA but there is no race at SEMA.

Toddy
 
P said:
Amber read over this last night and summed it up in one sentence ( as she usually does laughing1 )

Dood, its a Man dream vacation ! :woot:
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Like it was mentioned some people wheel and deal. And I am very proud of P, because that is how he is able to do this sport. Money he "makes" in this sport doesn't come from our family income. We take care of business and he definately takes care of us two first. He is very selfish but he has certainly earned his "man Vacation" to California.

To all of you guys going... Be safe, have lots of fun and meet lots of new people. ;)
 
patooyee said:
...It pointed out a big difference between me and maybe a lot of other folks in that, for the most part, I am anti-social. I enjoy getting together with my group of close-knits and chewing the fat with them, but for the most part thats it. I don't mind meeting new folks, especially ones that I chat with on the net. But you probably won't find me seeking them out on the trail just to talk to them and meet them unless we've specifically agreed to meet before hand. I've never been a hard partyer. I'd much rather go to bed and sleep well and feel refreshed in the morning than stay up until 4am getting drunk and hollarin and screamin....
...That being said, please don't think if you see me on the trail that you're not welcome to come up and say hi. I love meeting new folks one-on-one and getting to know them. Its the crowded party mentality where you meet people but don't get to know people that I hate.

....I guess it even explains that, just not justifies it to me.

J. J.
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I am not a party person either nor am I very social... But with that said I have done a lot of growing with this group of people over the last 10 years that P has done it and the whole don't speak until spoken to needs to be thrown out the window.
I am sure that, speaking for most, you would really love most of us and we would love to seek you out. Just don't be closed minded to different opions and people on here. For the most part everyone seems to be able to view all the perspectives of each individual whether we agree or we don't agree ;).
 

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