Be sure to check out Timber Ridge Motocross Park on Facebook. While it is currently a private motocross track, they are hoping to open it up to the public soon. Several of us have ridden this track and it is awesome! Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed.

This is relevant to current forum members only. I'm reposting the information here for those not on Facebook.

Sorry about the server issues, guys and gals. Here's what happened:

For some of you this will sound like :blah: :blah: :blah: sit and wait….

Last night at 4:00, I put in a request to enable SSH on my account. GoDaddy said this would require that my sites and databases be migrated to new servers. No problem. It says it'll happen sometime in the next 24 hours, although one thing said 24-72 hours. Either way, whatever. No problem.

Last night, I got a series of emails outlining that I would need to update my database connection strings for my applications to point to the new servers and that if I didn't do it within 24 hours, I could lose data in my applications. No problem. I did that at midnight last night.

Since yesterday at 4:00, the sites have been behaving normally, even after the DB server change in code that I made, and my account's hosting control panel has showed that a change was pending.

Today at 4:30-ish, all of my sites went down for a few minutes, then they came back up (well, some of them – the NWDR forum was one of them). None of my other sites have changed in a day, so there are no issues, but the data for the forum was rolled back a day, to approximately when I put in the request. My account still shows changes pending.

So, I freaked out, locked the forum so people won't keep posting, and I called GoDaddy. Essentially, they said that I need to wait for the system to finish updating, which could take another day (or less). After that, if the database isn't showing the data from the last day, I can call them again and they can try to resurrect the data from the old DB.

So that's the story. The forum is locked until the migration process has completed and I can try to get the data issue resolve. Unfortunately, if the process completes tomorrow, I probably won't be able to get to it until the evening since I have a dental appointment in the morning and then a meeting from 11:00-5:00.

Sorry about this, guys and gals. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have given some warning…and backed up the DB every 20 minutes. :excuseme:

——-

And then Munkel suggested that we just forget about the lost data and go forward as is.

——

My concern is that we will lose all of this. If all the data we wrote today is still going to be switched over, we will lose this thread, and I don't care about that. But, if we open the forum and everyone keeps posting, we may lose all of that moving forward. At least now, worst case is we only lose yesterday until 4:30 today and then these comments about the issue.

UPDATE @ 10:40PM

The update/migration has completed and I just got off the phone with GD support. They are going to try to get an export of the old data (as SQL) which I will have to manually merge back into the forum. I'm not sure how difficult that will be. In theory, I can do it, but I don't know how complex the tables are for PHPbb. I'm tempted to just turn it back on and forget about the lost data. Any thoughts?

I should mention that the trade off for losing a day's worth of posts (Tuesday about 4:10PM to Wednesday about 4:30PM and beyond as no one can post currently) is that we may have to wait as long as 72 hours to get the data and then however long it takes for me to get it merged.

UPDATE 6/10 @ 10:10PM

Well, I did my best. Unfortunately, the full database file is 60+mb. GoDaddy has a 1mb limit on phpmyadmin upload, no access to MySQL from the command line, and a 6mb limit on loading files into PHP. I tried splitting the SQL script in half, but that wasn't nearly enough. There is one MASSIVE insert that is all the posts, which is probably 40 of the 60mb. Since I can't split that apart and it would be a nightmare to try to map up all the keys and just pull out the missing posts…I'm giving up. :'(

I'm really sorry that we lost Wednesday (and today, since I had everything locked down). If I had known this was going to be an issue, I would have locked everyone out until the migration was completed. :shrug:

Our friend Trackmaster at Trackmaster's Moto X Track Design & Prep is promoting a dual sport poker ride to benefit Dave Schelske, our rider and photographer friend that was injured.

The ride will be around Clark County on October 18th, 2009. Please read the following flyer for more details.

Location

Prairie Bar and Grill
14925 NE Caples Rd
Brush Prarie, WA 98606

360-892-6313

As many of you may know, one of our members was badly injured at PIR on Thursday, August 20th. Dave Schelske was an on-track photographer for the night when a rider (unknown at the time of writing this) lost control and hit Dave from behind, shattering his right hip and breaking his right shoulder.

You can imagine how astronomical the medical bills for this will be for Dave. Additionally, as a freelance photographer, his source of income will be significantly hampered. In addition to any other help that I am able to offer, I am pledging $100 to Dave and his family and I challenge every NWDR member and reader of this post to pledge any amount that they can.

I understand that not everyone will be able to contribute this much, but some will and some may be able to contribute more. Pledge whatever you can. $100 is what we are able to pledge.

Please contact me (Echo) at echo@nwdirtriders.com with the amount that you are willing to pledge to Dave. I will handle collecting all the money and getting it to Dave. If you'd like to mail me a check, please email me and I will give you my mailing address. I can take cash or check in person if you live in the Portland, OR area. I can also accept PayPal: kennycarlile _AT_ gmail _DOT_ com

Fund-raiser Raffle info here: http://www.nwdirtriders.com/helpdave

ThumperTalk thread: http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=816742

OMRA thread: http://www.omraoffroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=39009

This is one of the last pictures Dave took before being struck by the rider. While his camera was destroyed, the memory card survived and he was able to salvage some of the images. (Click for a larger version.)

I challenge you to pledge whatever you can to help Dave.

There were a few NWDR hardcore riders that braved the wet soil and weather to put up a good showing at last Thursday night's PIR Thursday Night Motocross. Way to throw down, everyone!

I received this email today from Stephanie Beall at TSF. The yellow gate blocking staging at Brown's Camp (the actual site) should be open now.

Hi Everyone,

Browns Camp OHV Campground and Staging Area is officially open for the season.  It looks like opening weekend is going to be a busy one with some good weather and as the Trailsmen are having a motorcycle / quad poker run on Sunday, May 3.  If you’d like to be up on the latest happenings to help plan your next trip to Browns, check out the events calendar at http://egov.oregon.gov/ODF/TSF/event.shtml

Have a great weekend!

Stephanie A. Beall

Recreation Coordinator
Tillamook State Forest
801 Gales Creek Road
Forest Grove, OR  97116
503.359.7464

http://egov.oregon.gov/ODF/TSF/Recreation.shtml

It's looking more and more likely that the ridiculous law that currently has banned the sales of motorcycles aimed at kids under 12 will finally be fixed. Judge Thomas H. Moore's petition:

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE THOMAS H. MOORE
ON THE PETITION FOR TEMPORARY FINAL RULE
TO EXCLUDE A CLASS OF MATERIALS UNDER SECTION 101(b) OF
THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2008 (CPSIA)

April 16, 2009

I am aware of the speculation that has surrounded my vote on this issue. My staff has spent the time since the ballot came to the Commission working on what I believe is a good solution for the riders

of youth motorized recreational vehicles, building and expanding upon the initial position taken by Acting Chairman Nord. The direction my colleague and I are giving to the staff today balances the Congressional desire to protect children from unnecessary contact with leaded components in these vehicles with the need to protect those same children from the potential for physical injury related to riding inappropriate adult-sized vehicles, or riding vehicles either in need of repair or less structurally sound than the ones currently on the market.

It is clear from the post-enactment statements of some Members of Congress who were Conferees on the CPSIA that they believe the Commission has the authority to make sensible allowances for these vehicles as long as child safety is not compromised. Given the extremely restrictive language of the law, the only avenue I can see is for the Commission to establish an enforcement plan that follows, to the greatest extent possible, the Act’s intention for future production, while providing relief to the industry and the riding community for vehicles already manufactured and those manufactured during the stay. There are compelling safety arguments that justify a stay of enforcement.

It is ironic that I am defending vehicles that I consider to be dangerous for children under 12 to ride and which contain accessible parts with excess levels of lead. However, the alternatives appear to be more dangerous. American parents seem to be willing to accept the risk for their children riding these vehicles, so it is the agency’s task, at this stage, to ensure that the vehicles are as safe as possible. One safety rule the agency has stressed is keeping children off of adult-sized ATVs.¹ To the extent that new children’s ATVs cannot currently meet the lead limits in the CPSIA, there is the likelihood that parents seeking new vehicles will buy adult-sized ATVs for their children to use. We have also been notified by one ATV manufacturer that they are simply relabeling their Y-6+ and Y-10+ youth ATVs as Y-12+, removing the speed limiting device and continuing to sell them. Thus the vehicles that are more accurately sized for younger children will be less safe because of their ability to attain higher speeds.

However, the enforcement program will also apply to children’s off-road motorcycles and snowmobiles. The other part of the safety equation that helps balance an enforcement plan against the increased lead exposure it allows, is based on the assertions that certain vehicle components cannot be made with lead below a certain level without compromising the structural integrity (or another safety element) of the component. The enforcement plan of the Commission must require concrete data from the manufacturers on this point to justify their continued use of lead in excess of the applicable lead limit.

The industry has pointed to the European Union’s RoHS and ELV Directives as a guide for what lead reductions or substitutions may be technologically infeasible for their youth vehicles. While we might not need to allow the high lead limits allowed in those Directives for all components, there is guidance to be taken in how the European system is administered. They set an expiration date for their exemptions. Prior to that expiration date it is up to industry to come in and make their case that it is still technologically infeasible to reduce lead to a level at which an exemption is no longer required. The evidence considered is strictly limited to technological feasibility, not on the higher cost of a viable substitute. The guiding principle for this agency’s determinations has to be the safety of the children riding these vehicles.

I believe a stay of enforcement issued by the Commission should:

–relieve all makers, sellers, and distributors of youth motorized recreational vehicles made to date and through the expiration date of the stay from enforcement actions for failure to meet the lead limits of the CPSIA;

–allow those vehicles to be repaired, sold, traded, and otherwise used as they have been;

–allow the sale, distribution and installation of replacement parts that are comparable in lead levels to the old part being replaced until such time as those parts can be brought into compliance;

–expect industry to bring their vehicle components into compliance on a reasonable schedule, to the extent that is technologically feasible, and to provide us with the detailed information we need to make informed decisions about those components in the future.

The Commission simply cannot ignore the safety tradeoffs that could arise by not providing this relief but it must also work with industry to bring the non-complying components of these youth vehicles as close to the lead limits established by law as is currently technologically feasible, to the extent those parts cannot be made inaccessible. The Commission also needs to let the riding community know that they can continue to use the vehicles they own as they always have.

I believe the approach taken today by myself and Acting Chairman Nord of directing the staff to draft a Federal Register notice containing concrete elements of a stay is the reasonable approach that the Congress is looking for us to take. I anticipate that the Commission will vote to approve it in the near future.

¹ Most of my discussion is focused on the ATV industry as they present the greatest (lead and non-lead) safety challenges.

Source: http://www.cpsc.gov/pr/moore041609.pdf

Thanks to ORrooster for passing this along.

We had a much lighter showing for NWDR at last Thursday night's PIR Thursday Night Motocross. Many people were on their way to Moab to ride or they were taking a week off to rest. Kraft finally pointed-out of whooping up on the noobs. I had a terrible night full of logistics mistakes.

I'm quite sad to pass along that Crazy Acres is closed for good and up for sale. I sincerely hope, and I know I speak for a lot of other riders, that something changes and Crazy Acres can be saved. Thanks to Josh and Crazy Acres (and Trackmaster) for giving us a great track.

Here's the email from Josh.

Dear Riders,

First of all I want to thank all of you for being so patient while the status of the track has been up in the air, and many of you have been itching to ride.

I have been working very close with a few insurance companies to determine how much insurance coverage I would need in order to cover myself in the event there was an accident or injury. Unfortunately, the cost for the insurance exceeds the previous revenue that the track has generated in the past. Not to say that the track could NOT generate enough revenue to recover the cost of the insurance, but considering the amount of additional things that the insurance companies would require, exceeded my willingness to quit my job and work the track full time. 

Moreover, with the decline in the economy, and the fact that my income is proportionate to the residential and commercial construction, I have been forced to put my property on the market for sale. We have talked with Jason Merritt of Remax/Equity Group (503-495-3570) and we will be listing it on the market within the next week or so. If you would like any additional information regarding the property or the listing, please contact Jason Merritt. F/more if you or anyone you know is looking for a piece of property that has a nice track on it, please forward this e-mail to them.    

So…. basically what it boils down to, is that the track will not be open at all, to the general public for the 2009 summer.

Regretfully,

Josh Merritt

Last Thursday night, we had even more NWDR riders enter the PIR Thursday Night Motocross races and even more members showed up to help support the riders. It was a beautiful night and the rain held off like we were hoping. Nobody got hurt and everyone had fun. Great effort, everybody.