How’s your winter been going?
It’s been going pretty good, just been hanging out at the house here in West Virginia, took some time off and did a couple of other things like going on some family trips skiing and stuff. Now it’s back to racing and just been working my butt off trying to get the bike good and everything, so it’s been a good winter!

Sounds like it to me! How much riding have you been doing lately?

I’ve actually been doing quite a bit the past couple of days. It’s actually been really nice here in West Virginia, so there’s really no reason to go down south yet when it’s good riding here. It’s pretty good here at the house, I’ve got some pretty good dirt and we disc it up every day. I’ve been riding here for just about two weeks now about every day, so it’s been going good. I’ve been getting in a lot of riding, which is awesome in January with the 60 degree weather, you can’t ask for no more.

Yeah, you can’t beat it! What’s the new Honda like?

It’s good! It took me a while to adapt to it coming off the Yamaha, it was a lot different and I struggled a little bit at first, but now the bike is awesome and I’m getting used to it. I’ve got some of my stuff on it and I’ve got the suspension worked out and it’s great, I can’t ask for anything better. The guys that put the team on are awesome, and they’re really all about me and what I want. The bike itself is really good and I’m loving it!

So the big question on a lot of people’s minds, how did the Honda ride come about?

(laughs) Actually, I was just kind of joking around and I posted on Facebook that I would have to get a real job for 2012, and not even 15 minutes later I had an email saying that a guy had some information about a ride for 2012 and it just kind of came about like that. Erik Nijkamp, he’s the guy that runs OffroadChampions.com, came together with John Ross at Shenandoah Honda in Virginia and they wanted to put together a team. It started out with just those guys, then a few other sponsors got involved and it’s turned into a pretty big team and it’s going great.

So are the guys at the Shenandoah Honda dealership big into the GNCC scene?

Yeah, John’s boy’s race the Youth classes, so he knows what’s going on with the GNCC’s and they’re really affiliated with it.

What has been the biggest adjustment going to the Honda from the Yamaha?

Probably just the way it handles and turns. It handles a lot better,  it’s little lighter, and probably just the way you have to ride it is a big difference. With the Yamaha, I was so used to riding it the way I knew how to ride it and the Honda you have to ride it a little bit different because of the power. The biggest thing was just the overall switch from one bike to another and being on a different bike after about 11 years. It was a big change at first but we’ve got things worked out now and I’m loving the bike.

What has been your favorite thing about the Honda so far?

So far, just the way it handles. It turns so well, it’s really light and just goes wherever I want to put it. I know it sounds dumb, but it’s really flickable (laughs). We got to joking around about how light it is and how flickable it is, but it’s true. I can put it where I want it to go, and it goes, so I really like the bike.

What kind of set up changes do you plan on doing to the bike going from the GNCC’s to the National Enduros?

Probably not a whole lot. Suspension will be the big thing because with the enduros there’s not really any of the big choppy bumps and braking bumps like you see at the GNCC’s. So the suspension will probably really be the only thing that we switch other than maybe some gearing here and there depending on what tracks we’re going to.

With a lot of guys already down south lately, do you have any plans to head south to ride?

Yeah, it’s definitely in the future. Right now we’re just trying to get the bike figured out and everything settled in with the team before I head off and get away from everything. So, just want to get everything figured out then I want to head south hopefully in the next few weeks and start getting busy.

What is going to be the first race on the Honda?

Probably the first National Enduro. We’re not really race ready just yet, and we’ve still got a few things in the works and we’re waiting on some parts at the moment, so we’re kind of waiting for the first enduro.

So you’ve got a little more work to get it race ready, what are the big things you’ve got left to get to that point?
Right now it’s just some suspension set-up and we’ve got some different triple clamps to test. It turns really well and I have to slow it down actually. We’ve got some different things in the work to help make it even better.

Sounds like you’ve adapted to it well! Given that, how do you feel heading about your chances heading into the 2012 season?

Oh, heading into the season I feel awesome! I’m looking forward to it. Being on a new bike is kind of like a fresh start and I’m hoping I can carry the way I’m riding now on through the season. I’m riding the bike really well and really smooth. I think the bike mellowed me out a lot, and I’m really looking forward to it.

Who would you like to thank?

I definitely have to give a huge thanks to the guys that put on the team, John Ross from Shenandoah Honda and Erik Nijkamp from OffroadChampions.com. Also River Church, Super B, Pro Circuit, Braking, Spectro Oils, Rekluse, Twin Air, Nine One Nine Designs, DP Brakes, P3 Pirie Performance, Pro Taper, Factory Connection, IMS, Scott, Domino and BRP.