So this story starts about 5-6 years ago on another Duner site. One of the site sponsors, Wildcard Racing out of Utah, is setting up a site dune trip to Glamis. They say everyone is more than welcome to come. So, my buddy Moe and I pack up all our camping gear, load the utility trailer, then set out to make the 10hr drive after an 8hr work day. Yeah it's going to be a long drive straight through the night.
Well, we pull through Glamis at about 3:00 in the morning and there are people out riding in the Dunes. You just see little trails of light off in the darkness. We pull off the road near The Glamis Beach Store and try to sleep in the truck. So it turns out, it is hard to sleep when 4 strokes, 2 strokes, little VW rails, and big twin turbo V8 Sandrails fire up in the morning. We are awake now and need to head down the Washes to find this group we are camping with.
We find the group out in Wash 6, get out of the truck and start meeting everyone. Setup our camp site and start to get the bikes ready for some riding. 11am comes around and here comes another truck pulling into camp with a trailer full of bikes. Whats that I spy back there, huh, a couple of R's. Yeah I like these guys already. This is when I meet AJ for the first time.
The first day of riding was epic. I had riddin Glamis before, but not with a group like this. Paul led us on some great 2hr dune rides. Flowing from one bowl to the next like we were on a giant roller coaster. We made our way all over that first day, China Wall, Olds, Osbourne, and the drags later in the day. Then the worst happens. Moe burns up his clutch on the first day. No man left behind, we all work to get him back to camp.
The epic Glamis Sunset comes upon us, and we all start making dinners within our own little camps. Then people just start saying, come try this, have some of this, oh I made drinks. Oh did I say drinks, I meant to say Dranks, because at some point late that night, after many Dranks, Aj says he is so Drank. And he just earned a nickname. Everyone is having a good time, and Aj believes it is just as good of time as any to change Moes clutch. Within in minutes the bike is tipped over, clutch cover pulled off, clutches, steels, and basket pulled and I don't think Drank even set down the Captain n Coke. Well maybe. It was a great weekend.
Fast forward several trips, which were all great. Aj's whole family comes. and I mean alot. Uncles, Aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews. We would go on rides with what seemed like 25 people. I brought my own food for the trip, and I don't think I cooked half of my stuff. Aj's family would make all kinds of food then just say come and get it. They are so welcoming.
Then again several trips down the road, I pull onto the beach at Pismo. I stop to air down the tires and lock the hubs into 4WD. I hop back in the truck and roll into the throttle, yet don't go anywhere. Shoot it wont go into 4WD. I am just digging holes. Well I get a ride down the beach in some college kids truck half full of drunk chicks. Get to Aj's camp and his Dad says he will unhook his trailer and come pull me in. Awesome.
Fast forward a couple more trips, and Paul, our great ride leader in Glamis, blows his power stearing pump on his Duramax. Before anyone even starts discussing whats going to happen, Aj and his dad have the hood propped up and is tearing into the job. They all hop into Aj dads truck and head into town to find a pump.
About 2hrs later Pauls truck is up and running.
I'm not going to include all the times where it was windy as a hurricane that the Tapia family let me hide out in there toy hauler before I bought my own. Or all the times when someone would break down in the dunes, and they didn't bat an eye to go get them back to camp. Or even when Paul took Aj's dad for a ride in the Rhino and broke the front hub off, and we got them back.
We all went to Pismo in August of 2013 and Aj's mom wasn't feeling well and mostly stayed in the Toy hauler during the trip. Come to find out she is diagnosed with Cancer, and it doesn't look good. A month goes by and I ask Aj to go camping, and he says he can't make it because now his Dad got hurt on the job and is not working. He nearly lost his eye when a high PSI hose on a Vac Truck blew off. Now Aj is the one to drive his little brother and sister to and from school, has to go do the shopping, and take his parents to and from appointments. He truly stepped up.
Once again fast forward a couple of months. I see an ad on here where Ported R, Aj, is selling his 350 big bore ESR cylinder. I get in touch with him to find out why. Well he messed up his 310 bolt on setup, and needed money to go back to stock or anything to get him back running. Since I first met him in Glamis on that first trip we are constantly racing, or chair racing in camp around the fire. So I am thinking what am I going to do with another big guy like me, running around on a stock cylinder setup. I would get bored waiting on him every where we went. I run a 363cc setup. I tell Aj to close the thread, everything he was trying to sale is considered sold.
I get ahold of my engine builder, Nate McCoy, and let him know that a bottom end, a 350cc cylinder, and 5mm crank is headed his way. I tell him do it up as an aggressive duner and let me know what he needs. Nate is a very busy guy, not just with engine builds, and it is getting close to the Bakersfield race. Two days before the race Nate drives 1.5hrs to my work and gives me the motor. I get off work and drive 2hrs to the middle of no where(central Cali) and meet Aj and his little brother Michael. Wham bam, 2 days later I pull into Bakersfield for the drags and Aj has his bike up and running. It ran great for the races, too bad the rider couldn't have done better and went some rounds with it.
All the while I have been going back and forth with Spirit concerning this pipe contest. I submitted a story of what has been going on with Aj. I don't hear anything from Spiritaces for awhile. One day I log on and I have a PM that says Aj one the contest. Well it turns out that ESR is out of the pipes that I think Aj would want. So I say he will be happy with anything man.
And low and behold this awesome site comes through and hooks Aj up with some great billet pieces.
I would like to thank the Tapia family, Sharon(mom) Andy(dad) michael(brother) Morgan(sister), Drank( Ported R ,AJ),
Spiritaces, and Esr for sponsoring this site. This truly is a great site, guys and gals, keep it up.
Russell
