The Full throttle Banquet Info Coming Soon - Keep

t
The Full hrottle
SECCA
March 2014
Upcoming Events
7Mile Ministry Service at
Cornerstone Ranch
April 13 - 10:00
Feel free to stay for the day and enjoy the
ranch on your bike, picnicking, or just hanging out with friends.
Deer Run Buddy Race
April 19
The Ridge Buddy Race
April 26
Continue to remember all of our downed riders and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
When you have opportunity, give our sponsors a chance at providing a service or need
for you. They are all so greatly appreciated.
RAFFLE TICKETS - $10 each
KTM to be given away at Banquet
Banquet Info
Coming Soon Keep checking the
SECCA website for
updates on all information.
The
Red Zone
Monster Mountain canceled! That's the
last thing that any of us wanted to hear,
especially me. I was counting on that
last race to gain some valuable overall
points. Many others were looking to
score some last minute overall points as
well. If I could go back in time I would
have focused more on the other events
knowing that it would be a rain out and
that I wouldn't get that last opportunity at the Monster. The last race came a
little earlier than we expected.
One day we will all meet Jesus face to
face, whether you go to Him or He
comes to you, it's going to happen.
Question is, when is the last race? Nobody knows. Maybe you're just wandering through this life aimlessly and
without a relationship with God. Maybe you're planning on it one day but
you're just waiting until you get a little
closer to what you think the last race
will be. Fact is we don't know when it
will be. Maybe 20 more years, maybe 5
more years, or maybe tonight. Why
would you take that chance when God
has made an eternal life with Him so
easy and available to you through a relationship with Jesus Christ? Don't delay, call now and He will answer. He always does!!!! Do it!!!!
CHASING JASE
MERIDIAN MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION
MARCH 8, 2014
JUST ANOTHER DAY ON THE BEACH
Despite the fact that we had a large number of regulars out of the competition because of weddings, illnesses, or broken bikes, there was still a great turnout for
the next to last race of the 2014 season. Lots of first timers from other series
(LACC) and some familiar faces that we haven’t seen in a while decided to tackle
the sand and dirt pit on this beautiful spring like day. Jase Lewis came thru the
desert on lap one with Micah Williams within ear shot behind him and they had
pretty much separated themselves from the rest of the field. Lap two of moto one
had Lewis all by himself with Williams still running in a challenging second.
Moto 2 wouldn’t see things very different and that is how they finished the day
with Brian Mccall out of the XC2 class having an outstanding day to finish in the
final spot on the podium Mccall is the first contender to place on the podium this
season outside of the XC1 class. We had quite a few injuries here in the sand that
required some hospitalization and some surgeries. Colby Craig was hospitalized
overnight and released on Sunday morning from an incident where he crashed to
avoid hitting another rider. Brandon
McElroy had surgery on a broken collarbone on Monday after the event. Clint
King took a nice - not so nice-shot to the
body that left him unable to race the next
day. Kenneth Graham suffered severe
bruising to the leg. Red Alexander hit the
ground hard on lap one of moto 2 to take
him out of contention. Alexander suffered
some fractured bones and lots of pain.
There may have been more - I hope not but these are the ones known about by this
observer. On a brighter note - Justin
Crane muscled out another top spot on the
podium with a very impressive ride.
Crane and Jackson Conn were the only
two in 250C to complete all three laps in
each moto.
The Chase is On
Fun snapshots from Meridian
Jackson Conn chased down Chad Messina—
making the pass here.
Justin Crane & Chris Rains duking it out in the desert.
Crane finished atop the podium - Rains went 4/DNF.
Jaron
Craddock
chasing
Carter
Bouwens
in the very
large and
growing
Youth
Class.
Johnny
Crane and
the rest of
C250 chasing
Caleb Lantrip chasing Preston Bates - Justin Crane
Lantrip and Bates finished 4th and 5th in at the start
Preteen.
of moto 2.
What is wrong
with this photo?
Stick chasing
Micah Seale?
Meridian Youth, Ladies, and Striders, Too
The Excitement Continues
Fun in the Dirt Pit
Dawson Horn grabbed the holeshot in the hot and heavy Youth Class as
they made their way thru the dirt pit. The laps were between 14 and 17
minutes long on an average and the leaders completed 3 laps. By the end
of lap one the top 5 had settled in to their finishing positions with Riley Kilpatrick, Trey Grimes and Ethan Gregg all crossing the checkered flag in the
42 minute mark. Horn and Juddson Raia rounded out the top 5. Kallie
Donovan and Halli Melton once again scrapped it out until the end with
Melton edging out Donovan by 13 seconds and taking the lead in points
heading into the season finale. Brandi Peters and Charity Hamilton finished third and fourth.
Strider Riders Charlie and Ella
Horn
Donovan
Ella and Bentley
Meridian Motorcycle Association
Presents
“A Day in the Desert”
March 8, 2014
Bonita Lakes Dirt Pit
The Dirt Pit was full of hot competition to get things started with the kids
classes on Saturday morning, bright and early. 21 lads and lasses lined up
for the first race consisting of the Preteens, Tadpoles and Ponytails classes
that had lap times of leaders between 3 and 4 minutes. The Alexander
brothers, Kyle and Walker, competed once again in the Preteen class in an
effort to get them ready for next season. They haven’t had any trouble
adapting as they have stepped right in and made the podium here in Meridian. Kyle placed first with Walker coming in second. Gaines Henderson, Caleb Lantrip and Preston Bates rounded out the top 5 in Preteens
and the overall positions as well. Benton Gregg hit the top of the podium
in the Open 50cc class, drawing himself that much closer in points for the
class this season. He rode a very solid race and was followed by Dawson
Bryant and Tyler Nation. The Ponytail class has had some great turnouts
the last few races and this time around young Miss Halie Baldwin duked it
out with Shelby Henderson the first half of the race until Baldwin found
another gear and pulled away for the class win. Hannah Baldwin (injured
earlier this season) had a good ride to finish third. Ensign Payne chased
Pearce Yeargan thru the dirt pit off of the start but by the end of lap one
had taken the lead and stretched it on out to finish first in the Tadpoles
Class. Yeargan took a pretty hard fall and pulled off for a bit, allowing
Trace Payne to overtake second place on the day. Yeargan finished third
and had to leave immediately because he was in his cousin’s wedding back
in Alabama early that evening. Great job by all of the contenders here in
Kyle Alexander
Halie Baldwin
What I Do When I’m Not Racing
There’s More to See in this World
Than Dirt and Pine Trees….
Jamie Marsh Shares a Few Tales
A few weeks ago, I was asked to elaborate on some of my traveling experiences via my job at Honda. Needless to say, my job isn’t the most interesting. However, I am afforded the opportunity to travel and
experience some very cool things throughout the year. Most of my travels require me to cross the big blue
sea and become apart of a culture that is totally foreign to me. So, as one would expect, this simple Alabama
guy usually ends up in some strange situations.
One of my most recent trips was to a city in Japan called Saitama. It’s a small industrial city that is
basically built and thrives around Honda production. Upon my first full day there, I experienced the entire
hotel room swaying back and forth like a wind chime. As I ran out into the hall, the room service lady was
still vacuuming and said to me in broken English “Earthquake, small, no issue”. The very next night at dinner, I was confronted by the Japanese Yakuza (Mafia) but was released due to my fellow Japanese coworkers telling them I was broke and had no money to give. I also learned the Japanese have a new language called Janglish. It is a mixture of English and Japanese that only comes out when Japanese people
drink at vey high levels and attempt to have a conversation with a non-drinking American.
Even with all the crazy things that seem to happen or follow me while I travel, I’m still taken back
by the different cultures that I have seen. One example would be the Japanese women are simply awestruck
when an American man holds the door for them or says “thank you”. This is not the norm in their society.
It’s strange that most of my conversations with the Japanese women were about how American men treat
their wives. They were amazed that I had pictures of my wife on my phone or I always talked about my
wife like she was a part of me. Another major difference in cultures would be how Japanese gentlemen
spend the evening after a workday. Generally the men leave work and go to small bar to drink Saki and
smoke with their fellow gentlemen co-workers and friends. Most of the time, the women are not allowed
because it is “men only time”. I was told this was Japanese tradition for the businessmen. In America, this
would mean, Divorce! Even with such different diversities in cultures, I have always been treated with great
respect for my religion and my cultural beliefs.
Most of my memorable travel experiences have been sightseeing. Even though I may disagree on
their point of views on religion, I still found it fascinating to tour the temples of Japan. They are very proud
of their temples, and we usually spend one whole day touring them. It is truly breathtaking to see some of
the beauty and craftsmanship that is put into these temples. The stories alone of how the temples have survived great battles or disasters and the passion that the Japanese have while telling the stories only gives one
greater respect. Other amazing memories I have are from the more modern things like the Tokyo Tower
and downtown Tokyo itself. Leaving Saitama, a small city, and taking the 200+ mph bullet train into Tokyo, a mega city, is a major eye opener. Even though Tokyo is the New York of Japan, you can still see lots
of old Japanese customs mingled with the modern technology.
Thanks everyone for giving me this chance to elaborate on my travels. I hope that you now have a
glimpse of what the Japanese culture is like. Have a Blessed Day!
S
E
C
C
A
What We Do When We Aren’t Racing
A Few Autobiographic Tales
My name is Mason James, but some call me
"punkin". I am a freshman at Springville
High School. In between races my friends
normally come over and hang out while my
Dad and I are working on the bikes. While
we're hanging out, we have the TV on either
UFC fights or LMN, ha-ha. I also like to go
outside and drive my RC Car during the
day. At night, I will play MX vs. ATV on
Play Station 3 with my friends and they always beat me. Every Saturday night my
family and my best friend Nick Hutchins
watch Supercross. My Mom always makes
Buffalo Chicken Dip and we make our predictions on who will win. On Sundays we go
to church.
SECCA
SPOTLIGHT
Well, when I'm not racing I'm working on motorcycles. I own Riderz Connection in Hueytown
since 2002. I was 22 when I opened the store. We
are an independent shop that sell and service motorcycles and atvs. I attend Church of the Highlands
and my wife and I are volunteers at the Harbor
Center at Children's Hospital. We play games,
feed and just do all kinds of fun stuff with terminally ill and chronically ill kids and their parents. It is
probably one of the most amazing things I get to do.
I also have a 2 year old son named Copper - he is a
supercharged bandit! He actually knocked me out
cold with a baseball sized rock! I enjoy spending
time with him and my wife. I also love being in the
woods, camping and hiking. I also have two ponds
that I have been growing crawfish in and also love
having people over for a good old crawfish boil!
Other than that just a regular old 35 year old broke
up dirt scooter rider.
M
IKE HOLLAND (#225)
THE NUMBER ONE THING I DO WHEN IM NOT RACING IS WORK. I AM EMPLOYED AT
BLUE BELL CREAMIERS IN SYLACAUGA, AL. I LEAVE FROM THERE AND DELIVER AS
FAR UP AS INDIANA AND AS FAR DOWN AS THE TIP OF FLORIDA. I LOVE THE BEAUTY I SEE ON THE ROAD DURING MY TRAVELS,BUT I CAN’T DECIDE IF I LIKE THE SUN
OR THE SNOW BETTER. I FIND THAT ALABAMA HAS A NICE BALANCE OF BOTH OF
THEM. WHEN I’M NOT RACING I SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH MY FAMILY ON BIKES.
MY SON, ROBBIE KELLEY #84, MY DAUGHTER, CHARITY KELLEY #24, AND I SPEND A
LOT OF TIMES IN THE WOODS PRACTICING OUR RIDING. IN THE SECCA OFF SEASON
MY WIFE AND I SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON OUR STREET BIKES. WE ARE MEMBERS OF
(CMA) CHRISTIAN MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION ANDWE DO MANY FUND RAISER RIDES
FOR PEOPLE WITH ALL SORTS OF NEEDS WHETHER IT BE A HOUSE LOSS, MEDICAL
BILLS FROM ACCIDENTS, PATIENTS WITH TERMINAL ILLNESS, OR RIDING TO GET
CLOTHES FOR OUR VETS. REGARDLESS OF WHY WE RIDE WE LOVE IT. NO MATTER IF
WE ARE RIDING ON THE DIRT OR ON THE STREET RIDING IS OUR PASSION. WE ALSO SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE SUMMER AT THE LAKE CAMPING AND FISHING.
MYSELF AND ROBBIE SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME IN THE WOODS HUNTING DURING THE WINTER. I TRY TO DO A LITTLE WORK AROUND THE HOUSE ON THE
WEEKEND. THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT THING MY SON AND I DO IS KEEP OUR
BIKES WELL MAINTAINED WHETHER IT’S NORMAL MAINTANENCE OR WE HAD A
BREAKDOWN DURING THE RACE. LET ME JUST SAY THAT WHETHER WE ARE RIDING
WITH OUR SECCA PEOPLE OR OUR CMA PEOPLE BOTH ARE A GREAT GROUP OF
CHRISTIAN PEOPLE TO BE WITH.
ALL THE THINGS I HAVE DONE WITH MY SON HAVE MADE US CLOSE BUT RIDING
THESE DIRT BIKES HAVE MADE US VERY CLOSE, IT MAY SEEM AS IF WE HAVE FUN
ALL THE TIME.
I ASSURE YOU THAT
WE ARE VERY BUSY
AND MYSELF ONLY
BEING HOME 2 OR 3
DAYS A WEEK AND
ON THE WEEKENDS
KEEPS ME JUMPING.
WE ARE PROUD TO
BE PART OF SECCA
AND LOOK FORWARD
TO EVERY RACE.AND
IT MAKES ALL THE
HARD WORK WE DO
WHEN WE ARE NOT
RACING WORTH IT
ALL. Mike Holland