Diabetes Team Completes 277 Miles at Dirt Rider 24 Hour - Dirt Rider Magazine

The 2007 Dirt Rider 24 Hour Torture Test was nothing but fun for the Josh Summey-lead team riding to raise money and awareness for diabetes, a condition the top-level motocross and supercross racer suffers from. Suffer, though, isn't the right word for Josh Summey's way of dealing with the condition. Based on his speed, his attitude, and his strength and endurance, you'd never think he had anything that slowed him down - and he doesn't.The idea behind the team was to get donors to pledge money for the American Diabetes Association for every mile the team completed on the bike. You can see a list of many of the donors on the message board at www.dirtrider.com. It is not too late to donate if you would like to help out. Above and beyond doing something good for a very worthy cause, Josh Summey would appreciate it. He agreed to participate in the Dirt Rider 24 Hour to raise money and awareness, so you would be putting a smile on one of our sport's top racers if you would like to pledge. The team covered 277 miles - a little shy of what was anticipated due to a slower course lay-out and the team's already exhausting training and racing schedule. Here's how you can send in your donation -BY PHONE -888-342-2383 ext. 7511 or ext. 7455 or ext. 7503
(Please be sure to mention the money is being given in the name of "Dirt Rider 24 Hour")BY MAIL -American Diabetes Association
Attn: Dirt Rider 24 Hour Torture Test
6300 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #100
Los Angeles, CA, 90048
(be sure to write "Dirt Rider 24 Hour" on the check's memo line)
The team was backed by Moto XXX, Honda, Josh's supercross and motocross sponsor, as well as Race Tech suspension and Akrapovic exhausts - both suppliers to the MotoXXX race team. Allan Brown, the race team manager, took the role of managing the Diabetes Team as well as being one of its riders. The other riders were Josh's race mechanic, Scott Roegner, Race Tech's Pro Support and R&D; guy, Ronnie Williams, and the rider who came all the way from North Carolina to ride, Barry Summey. Barry's not related to Josh, but a good friend from back home.MotoXXX, Honda prepped a 2007 Honda CRF450X and showed up bright and early to tackle Jimmy Lewis' 22 mile off-road course. Everyone was eager and enthusiastic, as heavy rains a few days prior put the trails in near-perfect condition. At least the course started out in great shape, but more on that later...The first order of business was to pass the sound check. Jimmy Lewis believes in keeping bikes quiet, and enforced a 96db sound limit on all bikes in the closed-course Dirt Rider event. With a few Akrapovic techs looking on, the bike passed sound with flying colors - recording well under the limit. But the Akrapovic guys didn't come out just to watch the sound check - they were soon into riding gear and hitting the trail themselves.The Torture Test itself got started at 10:00 am. Josh was in the first group of riders, all sent out at one minute intervals. The team spent the day and the night keeping the CRF-X gassed up. The only maintenance they did the whole time was change the rear tire at about 10:30 at night. The perfect trail conditions turned nasty when a rain came in around 10:00 and made the trails slick and challenging. When it was all said and done, the team had spun 277.3 on the Honda's odometer. All the riders were tired and muddy but still had big smiles on their faces.

Josh Summey

Josh was really happy with the course. "I was happy to come up to a place in California and do trail riding and not have to eat dust the whole time. It's kind of unusual for out here. And I thought the course was great. It had a lot of good single track, it had some pretty wide open sand straightaways that got rough, and it really had a little bit of everything." As for the night portion, Josh had a great time thanks to a Baja Designs light the team mounted to the bike as the sun set. I asked Josh if he'd ever ridden at night before. He answered, "Just a little bit back at the house, but I've never ridden with the bigger headlight, just a smaller, stock headlight. That was nice to really be able to light up the trail and be able to really see well."Scott Roegner was the second rider in the rotation. He was in great spirits in the morning after the test. Maybe because he got to ride, not just wrench. "It was a blast! I haven't had this much fun riding in years! The track was really good and riding at night was an experience." Since Scott was the team's mechanic, I also had to ask if there were any problems with the bike. "Mechanically, no, it ran excellent. We checked the oil and it was fine. The only major adjustment we made was changing the rear tire."Allan Brown was the third rider onto the bike. He also had nothing but good things to say about the event and the course, "It was good. It was a lot of fun. The weather was great, track conditions were good, with the rain the traction was awesome. I rode a couple of laps during the night, it got a little foggy- but that just made it a little more challenging. It got a little slick, and I saw a little bit of drizzle and snow."Maybe one of the reasons everyone had such a great time was because the bike was set up right. Ronnie Williams of Race Tech was to thank for that. "I liked the course a lot. It was pretty technical in its technical spots and the easy sections were easy. It was good." When asked if he had any close calls, he answered, "Always close. But no crashes. . No, I laid it over a few times. Kinda slid, but it was good. I had a good time out there."And the guy who flew three thousand miles to ride? Was it worth it for Barry Summey? I wish I could've bottled his excitement, "The most fun I've ever had. By far." One of the reasons he had a great time was because he'd been riding with a former pro racer back home - Tony Summey, Josh's dad. Barry said the skills Tony has been teaching him made it possible for him to complete the course's hard sections. But one thing he wasn't prepared for - "The sand was tough. I've never seen sand like that except at the beach at home." Barry flew home that day to get back to work at Summey Tire & Auto in Stanley, NC. I heard from him again a few days later via e-mail, and he said something that sums up the Diabetes Team experience perfectly, "Thanks for the invite for the event, it was over and above anything that I was even looking for it to be. You and the Dirt Rider staff did an awesome job on the whole deal. Did you ever get a total on the money that was raised? Even if it was only $1.00 it will benefit more kids through the exposure that are trying to overcome this obstacle in pursuit of their dreams; whether it be related to motorcycles or not they can see proof that it can be done and also help them learn how to take care of themselves through Josh's experiences."No, Barry, I don't have the total yet. Hopefully the money will keep trickling in for a while now. Josh Summey and his team did their part. If you'd like to do a part, any donation is greatly appreciated.Check back next week for an interview with Josh Summey on racing with diabetes.