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Last Men Standing

Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
31
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0
Location
mesquite,texas
First Name
Tommy
Last Name
Medlin
Last Man Standing Pics

A Few Lms Pictures
 

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I witnessed the most grueling feats of endurance, perseverance, steel nerves, and skill on ground I have ever seen. You can watch them ride it out, fall, get up and try again and again. But when you look close enough to see their faces is when you ride a mile on their wheels.




This young man, Eric, was the last through the day course. I'm glad I watched him through the Texas Stadium, a section of ledge shelfs, and the Triple Threat. His humor and perseverance impressed me and everyone else that stayed to cheer him on. From Montrose, CO, I suspect he'll be back, and better. To me, he was a winner.


After watching only a fraction of what they went through, I can't imagine riding it again in the darkness. Three of them did, but only two completed the course.


You could sure recognize those riders with trials background. What a difference!

This was my first attempt at action shots (sports) and I discovered the power of burst. Uh oh. That's dangerous. I'm going to need more memory cards.......

I mentioned to Bill about combining vids from the event onto one DVD for all of us, or those who would like to see or have one. I have a few and Bill has an outstanding one. If anyone else took videos and is interested in combining them onto a DVD, let me know.

If only I was even a quarter as good as these guys, (and 15 years younger), I would ride dirt all day and never go anywhere else.
If only...........
 
I'm working on uploading photos as we speak... but I'm no good at cropping so it's just raw photo's for y'all! Elzi, what do you use to crop and resize and is it pretty idiot proof to the point to where I could use it? Or do you have any suggestions for easy crop and resize programs?
 
Photos a plenty!!! I've got some great video clips, but you will have to wait for those. I have mashed potatoes to cook here in a while! Yes, I'll put the recipe in the TWT section!!!:lol2:

Anyway, on with the photos!!

The Start!!!
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Off to Joshua Tree:
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Then to Waterfall:
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Time for Texas Stadium, (it was a team effort):
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A picture is worth a thousand words:
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Then to Triple Threat:
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Enjoy!! I've got some more, but I have to get cooking.:eat:
 
I'm working on uploading photos as we speak... but I'm no good at cropping so it's just raw photo's for y'all! Elzi, what do you use to crop and resize and is it pretty idiot proof to the point to where I could use it? Or do you have any suggestions for easy crop and resize programs?
I'm a mac head, so I use iPhoto which for me is enough. It's powerful but it's not photoshop (I dig in my heels about using Photoshop. My philosophy about photography as an art is rather old-school). But it is very easy to use and, if you would like, we can do a weekend afternoon of photo processing with coffee, cobbler and ice cream. I'll bring the macbook.

What do you think about combining photos and vids on a DVD? The advantage of combining is we were in different vantage points during the day race, so offer different perspectives.
 
Hey TexasShadow,

That first Photo of #12 I believe to be Ryan Dudek, the off-road editor for Cycle World. You might be able to email that to him (perhaps he'd trade for some swag).

Bill,

Those are some great shots. In your 4th shot at the waterfall, I'm in frame behind the tree with the video cam. Unfortunately, my battery died with only video of the start, Joshua Tree and the Waterfall - no more stills or video.

Anybody have recommendations for decent video editing software for XP? (these are the times for Mac envy)
 
Wow!!:eek2: Thankyou for those excellent photos.

One word and one word only comes to mind...Passion in perhaps one of it's puriest forms;-)
 
Hey TexasShadow,
That first Photo of #12 I believe to be Ryan Dudek, the off-road editor for Cycle World. You might be able to email that to him (perhaps he'd trade for some swag).
I have a few more of him that are excellent. Burst rocks ;)

I'm still weeding through the 297 photos and four videos......
Anybody have recommendations for decent video editing software for XP? (these are the times for Mac envy)
The mac is outstanding for video editing. I'm still learning iMovie.
I don't know what is available for Windows that doesn't cost and arm and a leg.
 
That was quite an amazing race! I am energized to get back on the trails and mimic the 'big guys". Well, kind of. :roll:

It was a COLD ride on the DR up there and home. I wanted to find a local weatherman and choke them. A high of 80 degrees my .......

I stopped by Starbucks for a warm-up on the way home, and a rider on a big cruiser was pulling in at the same time. We chatted a bit, and he asked me "isn't it uncomfortable to ride on the street with all them little bumps on those tires?" I had to smile inside - I had just left watching world class off- road racers on some of the most challenging terrain in the world, and now I am discussing the "little bumps" on my tires with a fellow rider who is just as much a part of our sport as the racers.
I love motorcycling!!!:mrgreen:
 
Tough day on Joshua Tree

Tough day on Joshua Tree LMS
 

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Who spectated and who volunteered and how was the viewing in both cases? I know some ppl that volunteered but I wonder how limited the viewing is spectating as opposed to working the event?
You'll be able to see the difference in some of the photos Bill and I post. Note that all workers wore vests: blue and red (staff), yellow (media), and multi-color (emergency: medic and fire). Watch for those wearing the vests and the spectators in the photos.
(still working through the photos trying to pick the best)

Example:
This was the bottom of the hill climb at Joshua Tree. Bill was down there but no way was I going to get a vantage point for viewing or photos (he's a giant, I'm a shorty). Nor did I have the luxury of the long lens in the foreground.
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I found a tenuous spot on the side of the hill, but the view of most of the hill was obscured by trees, except for the very top. I like this shot because it depicts how busy it was up at the top. And it got very busy......
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However, I was able to get some good close shots, despite the fog and dust, of the top from the side....
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and at the bottom of the hillside from where they rode in to reach the bottom start of the climb.
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As you can see, workers had the best vantage points for watching.

Texas Stadium was worse; none of the spectators could see down in the ravine. I stationed myself at the top of the rocky ledge where they climbed out. And got some good closeups.
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Texas Stadium was the mid-way point of the 40 mile course. Many of the riders were exhausted when they reached the top of the bowl of the ravine; and it showed. After Knight went through as the first rider, it was some time before the next rider. And the time between subsequent riders increased. A few packs of them came through, but most were well spaced out between Joshua Tree and Tex Stadium points.

Theresa and I noted the exhaustion and fatigue in them on top of the rim. They often stopped to rest several times in that series of obstacles alone. One stopped at topside to rest and drink water someone handed to him. At the cost of making it in time behind the first rider to qualify for the night course. I suspect many considered themselves lucky if they finished the day course.

We talked to several spectators who had family, friends or team mates in the race; from Washington state, Canada, Colorado, South Dakota and Texas. While they rooted for their own, they rooted for every rider out there. It was amazing.

What I wanted to capture most was some of the individuality in the race, and cooperation. Many times I zoomed in on riders and just pressed the shutter release in burst mode. But I would have loved to have been there in the thick of it to get some better shots that expressed more of what it entailed. It's really a different perspective watching it all in action versus seeing it in their body movement and faces. You get a sense of empathy with the riders.

This is one of my favorites. I don't know who #12 is, but I sure do have some really good shots of him: the colors, anticipation, suggestion of movement and facial expression range.

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Re: Tough day on Joshua Tree

Yes LMS was saturday and saturday night. I hear that it's not coming back to Texas.
 
I'm surprised to see so many riders WITHOUT goggles!

They were going soooo slow and with the cold temps and high humidity, they were just fogging up way too fast. So most ditched them. Knight threw his off by the time he got to the Waterfall.
 
Here's one fer ya. Saturday night, after all three guy cleared my section, I rode the four wheeler over to the finish line to see if Taddy was going to win. I'm standing there with my buddy Mike on my right side, and some tall guy standing on my left. Mike says "hey Jack, have you met David, and I said David who, and he says David Knight, and I said no I haven't, and he leans forward and says, David,this is Jack Jeter,Jack this is David Knight! I liked to have fell over! I can't believe I didn't even know who was standing next to me! I got to have a three minute conversation with Knight. He told me that he wasn't feeling well, and that he was glad that his mate Taddy was finishing first. What a classy guy. I was there from Thursday noon, until midnight Saturdays night, and I must say, my *** is draggin. Oh, and one of the best parts of the whole weekend..............I got to meet Chris Hardy. What a cool guy,I'd kill for his hair!
 
David is a big guy. He almost dwarfs his bike.
During the night course on the waterfall, I nearly got Taddy's front wheel in my face :eek2: I couldn't believe how he turned that bike around on the back wheel and was off like a Tasmanian devil. I was awestruck. That guy is really danged good!

We 'heard' that Knight dropped out of the night race because he was sick. Was that confirmed?

I thought about looking for you at 'the' white tent. Do you know how many big white tents were there?????
:rofl:
 
Bill, that shot you have of #37..... I have a series of shots of him finishing the Triple Threat that are awesome. He was hurting at the top.
It would be neat to put those together in a slide show.
Can't wait to see your videos. You sure got some good ones!
 
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