Atlas Neck Brace Impression

ATLAS NECK BRACE

It seems the more I use the ATLAS neck brace the less I find myself thinking about it until someone asks me how I like it. I guess the stand by expression, “so far, so good” is a good way to put it. Having gone through a couple of other name brand braces I was fortunate enough to have ATLAS want a “seasoned” rider give it a go.

The ATLAS has a couple of adjustments that work very well for me making  the brace fit well enough on my 5’ 11” / 195 lb frame to forget I was wearing it after the first 10 minutes. That never happened with the other braces I tried. There was always a point of pressure somewhere on my body that never let me forget I was wearing a brace. This was never the case with the ATLAS, no pressure points and almost no restriction in my head movement while riding. The other thing that was an outstanding feature was the hinged almost floating supports that rest on the chest and back. These pivoting parts allow enough flexibility to put the ATLAS on with my chest protector and have enough give to fit more than just my size and shape.  Meaning if you are thick, thin, muscular or anything in between it will pivot to support itself correctly with your physique.

The other significant improvement was less restriction when I began to ride more aggressively. As I lower my body into an aggressive stance on the bike the ATLAS has almost no restriction to the rear that always occurred with the other braces I tried. I can lower my body and still raise my head enough to look ahead to ride quicker than a trail pace. That restriction is what would allow me to practice or trail ride with the other braces but would keep me from racing with them. This is not the case with the ATLAS, it allows the more aggressive stance used when you transition into race mode.

Now it is up to ATLAS to figure out how to make this thing so perfect that I can wear my tool belt, chest protector and back pack (24lbs) that contains everything but the kitchen sink and still be able to ride fast!  That would be perfect.  Do you think I am asking for too much?  They are very close!

Have a safe ride, try an ATLAS

#33

500x Baja Celebration Party!

500x Baja Champion Marc Princ and his wife Debra threw a celebration party for all the riders that helped them earn the Class 50 #1 plate for 2012.  The Class 50 winner is issued the coveted 500x for the next racing year in the Baja 250, 500 and 1000.

The day was fun from start to finish as Marc had us all meet at the picturesque motocross track known as Zaca Station. It is located near the coast in the rolling hills near Santa Barbara. Having never been there I was looking forward to riding Zaca Station since I had read about it and had seen pictures in many ads and magazines. It was just as good as the photos showed. The rolling hills provided elevation change, the jumps were any level ability friendly without being dumbed down to make it boring and the track was prepared nicely.  Anyone could ride this track and have a good time no matter the rider ability. It was well thought out and nicely prepped. The next thing I noticed throughout the day was it was never crowded even without the novice/expert or little bike big bike practice splitting. Riders cycled themselves on and off the track by tiring themselves out just having a good time. Everyone rode together without any problems which maximized ride time. Good job Zaca!

When we were sufficiently tired we loaded up and headed to Marc and Debra’s house to start the party! This was a treat for me since they live in Malibu. I had only seen Malibu on TV whenever the news shows something about one of the movie stars that live there. Debra went all out and provided some great food, drinks and a big screen TV to watch the Anaheim Supercross! We visited, told some whoppers, ate and watched the racing on TV. During all this Debra brought out the plaques for each rider that helped Marc win the 500x plate. She also made a special award for the 3 race series participants that was very nice. It was a commemorative bottle of Tequila with the race series, year and participants name emblazed on the bottle in a very nice display container. The container had two shot glasses just in case it was ever used for more than a trophy. I think I will just keep mine as a trophy.

After the races and the presentation it was time to go back to the ghetto so we said good bye to Malibu and started the long drive home since I pretty much figured I was going riding somewhere the next day! What a surprise, huh?

#33 aka 500x

A Ride with the Starz!

I just returned from a few days of riding with some of the crew from Dirt Bike magazine. The infamous editor Ron Lawson and the newbie assistant editor Mark Tilley. They we kind enough to bring an extra test bike for me to thrash…..I mean ride. It was a ton of fun and quite an eye opener. When these guys test bikes they have no intention of going easy on them and are not worried about giving a bike back with a few bent and broken parts. It is truly a let’s see how this thing holds up and what needs fixing kind of test.

They did some photos and videos that I am looking forward to seeing because they talked me into jumping the Beta test bike through a tree!  I laughed and asked what if I crash the bike and break something?  They said it is not your bike, don’t worry about it we will get it fixed! I thought about it for a minute and said to myself I may never get another chance like this. I figured I could always jump off if it got too scary.  I would never try this on my bike because I still have to pay for all the parts. Mark told me the video would show up on Dirt Bike’s face book page or their video section on their website. I can hardly wait, I get to be a star for a minute!

We also did some trail riding to take some pictures and ended up finding some rocky canyons that were not motorcycle friendly before we rode down them. I like riding with these guys because they love to explore never ridden areas. Since I also love to explore, I fit right in with these two. Sure hope I get to go back to do more “testing”.

Wannabe test rider  #33