Sometimes you just have to get back to your roots. After being on the road all year, Mike LeGrand and I loaded up the van to head east for one more cross-country adventure—this time to Pennsylvania for some family time, good riding, and good times.

Driving straight through the midnight storms, we finally arrived at Mike's at 7:00AM. And after spending months without his girls—and by girls, I mean bikes—Mike immediately woke up his Mom and started putting his bike together for an afternoon of riding with the boys at our local riding spot called Switchback. We had a ripping crew of riders and the track was a radical change from California—no hard-packed blue groove, just plenty of traction. There's nothing like a day of riding with your buds! It was my first time riding with my brothers Shane and B-rad in a couple years, so it felt like a family reunion on the track. Motorcycles are in the blood for our tight crew.

After riding, I headed over to my Grandma's for dinner. I was greeted with my littlest brother Isaiah, already in his riding gear, as he ran to the garage stoked to show me that he could now start his 50. I hooked him up with a new set of goggles, which he broke in properly by burning a track in Grammy's lawn before dark. Needless to say, she wasn’t too thrilled, but Isaiah had one hell of a time. Just as the sun went down, my Mom hollered us in for dinner, as it was time to share stories and eat some home cooked goodness with the fam.

As if that wasn't enough for the first day, right after dinner we heard about a big "field party" going on that night in my hometown. Without hesitation, we grabbed the cameras and piled in the van to check it out. We pulled up to over 300 people jamming to a cover band on a makeshift stage. The best part, a slip-n-slide going right down to the front of the stage. The beer was flowing like water, which to our delight, resulted in a ladies topless slide-off, proving to me, that American's go harder than any other country we've been to this year—including Amsterdam.

The next morning, I headed over to the PR2 Race Shop for some bike prep and to see my Pops. I was drenched in sweat from changing tires in the summer heat when he showed up and gave me a hug. He then promptly told me to get a job... Little does he know, my life is a traveling circus, and when I heard that the Hookstown Fair was throwing another race, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to put in a little work. To which he replied with a laugh, "Oh yeah, you raced there in ‘96 on a 50." I couldn't really remember the race, but twenty years later, I was stoked to be going back!

As we were pulling into the fairgrounds for the race, the memories started rolling back. And then... I saw the Arena. It was much smaller than I remembered, but when I saw the grandstands the memories of racing as a kid came flooding back! I even remembered “Mad Mike” Jones winning that night in baggy gear on a number 52 Kawi! As it turned out, the evening was just as fun as I remembered. I lined up for the flag start right after the ATV Pro Main and greased my way to a win. After the checkered flag waved and the champagne sprayed, I took my winnings straight over for a lemonade and a stuffed animal, but Dale the Carny ripped me off for five bucks. Frustrated and still in my gear, I hit a couple rides and left my mark on the annual Hookstown Fair.

I've only been home a few days, but it's already been a great trip. More rain, more riding, and more ridiculousness coming next week! Stay tuned! Mike is hard at work on a video, and we still have more good times ahead.

Rubber side down!

Words by Darryn Durham

Photos by Mike LeGrand and Tommy White