Six Ways to Sunday: Worn Out

[Hagerty]

I don't want to sound ungrateful. The Six Ways to Sunday project has been truly awesome. That said, the whole thing has put me in a mental state that's taken weeks to figure out. The plan for 2021 was to take my humble 1989 Honda XR250R racing-six different kinds of racing, different prep for each, the same bike.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorcycles/six-ways-to-sunday-worn-out/

[audiocage]

At least Avogadro would be proud. Probably.

[JohninNC]

Sometimes when I can't sleep I think about borrowing my neighbors small late 1970's (100cc?) enduro as a kid and riding miles of trails, powerlines, and pipelines as a kid. Also done on my pals Honda 200 3 wheeler, my other friends mini-bike, a XR-80... and of course on my BMX bicycle, and exploring those same trails on foot as well. Memories. You're making a lot of them with these endeavors!

[JohninNC]

I wrote "as a kid" twice, my bad. Also riding those trails hanging on for dear life on the back my motocross racing neighbors YZ-125.

[Kyle]

It certainly hasn't been boring! It's been even more fun to have friends along for various parts. From riding shotgun and being pit man to just helping empty the garage fridge on Friday night while doing some parts swapping, the real surprise is that this really how you could make the argument that "it takes a village" even when it's not a professional race team or effort.

[Marcodog16]

Riding on ice is a total blast. Kyle you are going to have fun. A few years ago a buddy of mine had 2 KTMs set up with ice tires. A guy up in Quebec built the wheels. There is quite an art to installing the carbide studs and they can be tuned to the type of race you might be riding. Our wheels were set up for left turn oval so there were more studs on the left and center of the tires. Right side, not so much. There is virtually no wheel spin and the traction and lean angles you can achieve is nuts. When you first go out on the ice it is hard to get your head around that your not going to instantly crash. But you won't, coming out of the corners you can whack the throttle and lift the front wheel. Be sure to wear ALL your body armor and face protection even under a full face helmet. Ice chip roost stings. One last caution; motocross boots on ice are super slippery on ice, so be careful dismounting your bike. It is so easy to slip and drop your bike. Have fun!! It's like no other motorcycle experience.

[Kyle]

Thanks for the tips @Marcodog16! I'm really looking forward to getting out there. A couple weeks ago I went and spectated a race at the venue I'll be going to just to get a feel for the whole thing. One of the nice parts (in my mind at least) is that it's a flooded dirt track, not a lake. So pits and everything non-racing is not on ice. Jeff Fredette mailed me a set of tires and included a small bag of screws that he said are for my boots should I need them. Might tack a couple in just to be safe.

[Tinkerah]

Maybe consider the whole experience like a sampler. After you've completed Six Ways, take some time to reflect and pick the one or two types that you enjoyed the most and deeply dedicate yourself to that (or those) for the future. You'll be able to honestly say "yes I've tried that but this is what I was drawn back to".