2. Endearing Slang: Used only in a loving way. A dirtbike on first look regarded as being pig like, heavy, and red, yet when greased well and whipped will make it to the feeding trough no matter what obstacles are in the way.

Quite frequently I get emails from people asking who I am and why some call me "The Demigod of the BRP". The answer is easy for the latter, I got tired of having to scrounge around for info on my beloved BRP and decided to consolidate all I could find in one place. What started as a simple page done up for rewinding the 650R stator rapidly grew, and thus, The Pig Pen was born!

As for me? Well, I'm a 30 something, 144lb skinny guy who considers himself a "professional play rider". Above is one of the RARE photos I dare show. I haven't raced in years, and have a ton more fun finding a competitive partner to bounce off trees here in the upper northeastern US. In case you can't tell from these pages, I also have a degree in Redneck Technology, with a hankering to tinker on anything mechanical. In my free time between rides, I do my best to keep the angel whom I'm married to happy, and am a professional driver/ trainer for a local trucking company.

Why "The Haymaker" moniker and "hay" related wisecracks scattered among my pages? Well, take the animated logo above to the left, add 10lbs of titanium, and use your imagination!

Enjoy The Pig Pen!

Here it is October of 2006 and I realize summer has gone and I haven't flogged my pig since September of last year. LAST YEAR! The Haymaking Saga didn't remove me from the bike for this long. Contruction of my new home and work has kept me away. Alas, burnout and the sudden death of a close friend has made me realize it was time to quit chasing shadows and abort from the rat race, hell, who needs insulation at home and a job anyway?

So, In come Glen and Opie, my newfound riding buddies. I call Glen midway through friday, and say "Hey, you ready for that ride I mentioned 3 years ago?". I'll be damned, he not only shows up at 9 the next morning, but he even managed to find another rider! Oh, I must throw in fashionably late, of course. That's not bad for having to travel 150 miles to get here.

I also managed to scrounge up my buddy Jeff, the other lost soul involved the Haymaking Saga. He also brought his son, Kyle. My wife, after 4 years of saying "You can't ride with him" (she has reason, but that's another story) said, "why don't you call Jeff?". I asked for a repeat, but she only commented that I heard what she said. So, we bundle up against the 33f temps and off we go.

We had a blast, the usually wet and technical trails were definitely wet, and the summers shed of leaves coupled with a year of tardiness added a nice edge to the technical portion. I dragged these guys through the most aggressive sections I could find, and all had fun. I was in heaven, backing up my recent theory that what was missing in my life was not so much lack of time away, but lack of riding. It is truly my sanity! Overall, we logged 80 miles in about 7 hours. There were minor mishaps to be transformed into major riding catastrophies while telling tales to those who din't go, but everyone survived. I type this while nursing a Pepsi to wash down the Ibuprofin and Tylenol I'm using to cover the aches from trying to pole dance on a 3" hemlock in 2nd gear. Sure was fun though.

After proving that Pigs still don't float, nor start easily after trying, we headed in to race the sunset home. An errant tree on my part and Glen's passion for MX left both of us with no lightage if we dawdled to long. I di make it a point to take the scenic ride home, showing some ridgelines with fantastic panoramic views of the setting sun and fall colors.

A final note on the picture above. First, click it to enlarge to full size, and be sure to note the "Country Sports Racing" on Opies' DRZ's fender. He says to the owner, "Hey John, you sure missed a great ride, you dunno what you're missing up here in Maine!"