King of the Hammers; a Land Use Perspective in ORA

KOH, Land Use and Off-Road Adventures

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"King of the Hammers, A Land Use Perspective" hit this current issue of Off-Road Adventures Magazine, p. 78, with a great shot of the Land Use Panel, and the cleanup effort that took place.
The KOH folks kicked it during this entire event, with their attention and enthusiasm for landuse, cleanup, safety and keeping our sport alive.  Their recycling program with CA4WDC was hugely successful as well.

The land use panel (John Stewart, Bebe Theisen and Todd Ockert and I) got great coverage, as well as plenty of kudos and credit to Motorsports Fabrication Services (MFS) and Travis Carpenter, the land use buggy hero.
Oh, yea, Kurtuleas (Kurt Schnieder) is mentioned too. (SMILE). Kurt, you be da man for coming up with the AWESOME ideas.

You can read the mag online here: http://www.offroadadventures.com/

Awesome. Thank you ,ORA (and 4 Wheel Parts),

Del

King of the Hammers; a Land Use Perspective

BlueRibbon Coalition sent me to Griffin King of the Hammers to be the Land Use Emporium guy and seminar host/moderator.  I was BLOWN away by this awesome event.  I could blog hours on how this is a shining example of our sport taken to the next level, while still embracing simple things like recycling and pack it out.

To keep my blog short, let me hit the highlights:

The organization and staff of KOH was incredible and efficient.

One local reporter said 28,000 folks were in attendance; Jeff Knoll and I were thinking around 22,000. No matter. It's HUGE.  It's the biggest thing I've ever been too, and well done to boot.

The lakebed and trails were left cleaner than when the crew got there.
I lead the cleanup of Sledge and I can attest to the fact that our off-road folks are getting the message and not leaving behind big messes.

Cal4 ran the recycling program (KOH idea) and kept the money for land use issues.

Over 100 volunteers help put on the race.

Over 100 vendors provided and shared their wares and goodies with booths, vans, trucks and displays.

The land use seminar was more about FREEDOM -- and will be posted (recored version) on Pirate4x4.  John Stewart (Cal4), Todd Ockert (Access Army), and Jacquelyne Bebe Theisen (FOTR) were on the panel with me.

100 drivers started and about half finished.  There was only 28 seconds between first and second.
Loren Healy from Farmington, NM was crowned King of the Hammers.

Loren on stage with his team, getting crowned KING.  From Farmington, NM, Loren drives a Jimmy's 4x4 rig with a 365ci motor.

BlueRibbon Coalition off-road Champion, Brad Lovell, Lovell Racing, took a shining Second Place, only 28 seconds behind the winner.

Greg Mulkey from Raceline Wheels (Allied) presented KOH organizers Jeff Knoll and David Cole with Racer's Choice awards.  Sweet.

Friends of Johnson Valley were there and benefited from a nice Saturday morning breakfast prepared by 4x4Him.org.

Poison Spyder was there with their great products and awesome support of our new Access Army.

Jason Scherer (L) and Shannon Campbell (R) stood with Loren Healy with co-driver Rodney Woody, all the Kings in Court.

Here's the King's buggy, # 667, in Sledge, gettin' it and looking good.

Loren was another of the BFGoodrich Tire drivers, like the top 12 winners were using.  BFG's kicked it in 2010.  Wow.

The best place to get more of a report and see videos is on Pirate4x4 here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/king-of-the-hammers-2010/index.php

Eco-Challenge at King of Hammers 2010

2010 KOH ECO Challenge

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From Jeff Knoll, King of the Hammers

2010 Griffin King of the Hammers, eco challenge.

In 2006 I challenged the Pirate board and the 4 wheeling community to clean up after the party at Potato salad hill in Moab during the Easter Jeep Safari. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...lean+challenge

This year Hammerking Productions is throwing down a new challenge. The KOH ECO Challenge.

Last year KOH generated an amazing amount of trash; we looked inside the massive dumpster and saw about 30 percent recyclable products. This year we are partnering with Land Use folks to attempt to shatter the mis-perception of Off-roaders and recycle as much of the trash as possible. Cal 4 wheel will provide containers for the recyclable items, and will manage the return. The money generated will benefit the fight to keep our lands open. All that we ask is that you separate your trash while attending the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers. Put your recyclables in the appropriate containers, and remember to pack out the rest.

The wind plays havoc on the Johnson Valley OHV area, so please keep your trash covered and out of the wind. I hope to see a clean lake bed every morning when I step out the door at Hammertown. We will all live together for the week at Hammertown, so let’s do the best we can and keep it clean. With the amount of fun planned for the week of KOH, I imagine that land use folks can raise some much needed money recycling your bottles and cans. The goal is to raise as much money possible and see how much weight Hammertown can generate……… 2 weeks in the desert might be quite a bit from what I have seen.

Thanks for your support of the this fun program that will benefit land use.
_________________
Check out these films and events from Hammerking productions: http://www.kingofthehammers.com/

Note from Del:  this is incredibly far-sighted and eco-friendly on the part of this amazing event. KOH folks are setting the example for all of us when it comes to taking care of our environment while having fun in our rigs.

Land Use Pledge for King of Hammers Race 2010

The 4405 MFS Race-a-Thon

by Kurt Schnieder (playing Jerry Lewis) & Del Albright

PLEDGE NOW to Benefit Land Use with the World's Largest Off-Road Race in the US

For the King of the Hammers 2010, we are taking pledges to land-use organizations depending on how far the 4405 land-use buggy makes it in the race! Just like a pledge drive high school kids do at school for sports fundraisers!!  This is an awesome, hard-core desert and rock race, where only a few are left standing. 15,000 to 20,000 people could be on-hand to witness this event next month.  I plan to be there.


YOU pick the amount pledged per mile and YOU pick the organization to donate too!

Travis Carpenter (Rock Zombie) is our driver.  With title sponsor, Motorsports Fabrication Services (MFS), he's also a BFGoodrich Tires guy; with Yukon gears; a Powertank; Solid Axle dude, PRP seats, Vision X-Lights, Coast High Performance Racing Engines,  but mostly, he's a land use HERO.  He's taking the MFS buggy to KOH to help kick some land use ACCESS.

KOH is 135 miles long this year, so if you pledge a dollar per mile, that's $135 to the organization you picked as long as Travis and the 4405 make it thru the entire race!

Directions:

1. Pledge anything you would like per mile made in the 4405 during KOH, and pick the organization you will pledge too, starting with the BlueRibbon Coalition.

2. Add an addtional amount pledged if Travis wins KOH. (By the way, If the 4405 wins, our team is donating $5,000 of the winnings to BlueRibbon Coalition (http://www.sharetrails.org/).

3. You also have the option for a "gutter pledge" that is if we don't start or do not complete at least 20 miles.

4. In your sig-line, please put: "4405 KOH Pledge" with your post number after it! (ex. 4405 KOH pledge #2) if you are a Pirate4x4 subscriber. (for non-Pirate4x4 folks, please see #6 below).

5. PLEASE forward a link to this thread to everyone on your e-mail, your local bulletin boards etc. If you can't afford to pledge anything (Which I totally understand) At the very least, help us to get the word out about this fundraiser!

6. If you are not a Pirate4x4 subscriber, you may e-mail your pledge to: kurt@friendsofeldorado.com (and let him know if you want your pledge posted, or prefer to remain anonymous).  We hope everyone will pledge and post up proudly so we can build an incredible list of donors.

7. After the race, please send you donation directly to the organizations you picked by March 1st. We are not collecting money.

You may cut and paste my post below and change the amounts and the organizations as you wish.

We will take pledges up until Febuary 11th, and I will also be taking pledges on the lakebed... Please pay you pledge amount by March 1st.

Suggested organizations to pledge too: (You may pick any land-use organization you wish, you do not need to pick from this list)

Blue Ribbon Coalition; then
Other National Organizations fighting for land use
State Associations
Regional Associations
other non-profit land use or appropriate associations, organizations, or Friends groups.

Note from Kurt:  Maybe this is just a pipe dream on my part, but think about this: if 20,000 people show up to KOH this year, and we get just 1/4 of them to pledge...at an average of $100 a person... THIS WILL BE THE BIGGEST LAND-USE DONATION EVER ON PIRATE4X4.COM EVER!!!

Help keep public lands open to the public!
Help support the sport!!

THANK YOU!

Note from Del:  it's my thinking we need to build the big dog, BlueRibbon Coalition, into the baddest biggest national grassroots organization ever formed.  This pledge fund-raiser could sure put a dent in that objective.

See the thread on Pirate4x4 here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=10813389&posted=1#post10813389

Visit title sponsor MFS here: http://www.mfs-ca.com/
Thanks to all,
Del (and Kurt)

Land Use Update and Thanksgiving Wish

Here are some land use updates for you to use/share.


First off, happy Thanksgiving to all. As 2009 sneaks to a close, I think we can all look forward to a better and stronger 2010. I am seeing a large resurgence of interest and support for land use and access efforts. Let’s continue to lead the charge to a brighter future.

(Note: all links are at the bottom of this note)

2010 Land Use War Machine: I’m having some fun with this, but I’m also excited to announce the “new look” of my battle tank, a 1997 TJ Wrangler, with a long list of business sponsors and supporters who are helping me do my part to keep our trails open and our sports alive. Without these great folks, my wheels would be parked. I call it a war machine, because 2010 is the year to rage land use fights like never before. Check out my wheels and how these businesses are in the game big time to help.

Southwest Crawlfest New Event: FYI, this is a fairly new event near St. George, Utah looking for raffle items and attendees. It’s FREE. Yup, free – they pay for their expenses and still have money to donate to land use organizations through their raffle ticket sales alone. January 29, 30, 2010. We are supporting their effort to raise awareness of this awesome event because the Rockaholics Anonymous are donating to the right causes.

King of the Hammers Driver’s Seat Free Ride: Want to drive in the famous offroad race, King of the Hammers? Write an essay why you should be selected to drive in the Griffin Radiators KOH Race in a fully sponsored rig – yup, you drive; their rig. Your entry must be in to Pirate4x4 by Dec. 25th. KOH is in February at Johnson Valley, CA.

$4.00 to Join BlueRibbon Coalition: BRC is running their special deal with 4Wheel Parts where you can join, renew or EXTEND your current membership and get a $25 Gift Card from 4WP at the same time -- $29 bucks for an individual, with $25 back to you in a Gift Card, meaning you just helped save more trails for $4.00 for a year.  This is a no-brainer.

Christmas Auction for BlueRibbon Coalition: Several of my personal 4x4 sponsors and many other businesses are kicking in a huge effort to help BRC raise some funds with an eBay type auction starting Dec. 1st. We’re talking well over $10,000 in goodies (so far with a rapidly growing list), of parts and neat accessories. This is a great way for you to save some bucks while helping land use. It’s also another indicator that our business partners are more than willing to do their part to help keep our lands and waterways open for access.

State Offroad Associations: most of our OHV related state associations are lining up their events and new-year kick off activities. Please be supportive and sign up to attend all those you can fit into your schedule and budget. Our strength in the fight to keep our access starts at the local and state level. We need all the organizations we can muster in order to win this battle. I lay out some strategies I think we need to employ to win the war on access in my article (link below). Be sure to check it out and stay involved with your state clubs/associations.

Poison Spyder Supports Land Use: Poison Spyder just released new Rocker Knockers with "Access Army" laser cut into them.  WOW.  They have chosen to also contribute 10% of the proceeds from the sale of these goodies to the national group, BlueRibbon Coalition.  Awesome.  Thank you Poison Spyder.

LINKS:
War Machine Introduction: http://www.delalbright.com/Access/sponsors_2009.html
Southwest Crawlfest Event: http://southwestcrawlfest.com/
KOH Driver’s Seat Competition: http://www.delalbright.com/Misc/king_hammers.html
BlueRibbon 4Wheel Parts Deal: https://www.sharetrails.org/tv/4wp/
Article: Strategies to Win the War on Access: http://www.delalbright.com/Articles/strategies_war.html
Christmas Online Auction for BRC: http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/media/?story=666
Poison Spyder Donates to Land Use:  http://www.poisonspyder.com/

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Thanks for all you do, and my best for a safe and happy Thanksgiving,
Del

http://www.delalbright.com

King of the Hammers Race Driver WANTED! Apply now.

Simple question: "Do you want to drive in the Griffin Radiators King of the Hammers race in a fully sponsored race vehicle?"

No, I'm not joking! If you haven't been paying attention, Pirate4x4.com is giving away the driver's seat to a fully prepped 500 horsepower race buggy for the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers race!

The Pirate4x4.com - MFS race buggy is currently being prepped at Motorsport Fabrication Services for this unbelievable opportunity. You can check it out here - http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828024



So what's the catch? No real catch, you just have to reply to this thread (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=827246) on Pirate4x4.com and tell us why in 500 words or less, why you think you should be chosen to drive the Pirate4x4.com - MFS buggy in King of the Hammers. Oh yeah, and you have to be a red or yellow star member. But you've already got that part covered!

The winning person will get the following:

• A free entry into the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers

• A fully prepped race vehicle to drive in KOH

• Pre run time to learn the vehicle and the terrain

• A full pit crew

• All the logistics handled - just show up and race!

Nothing like this has ever been done before. It truly is a dream giveaway!

All entries must be submitted by December 25th, 2009 Pirate4x4.com users will begin voting for their favorite of the top 5 January 1st, 2010. Voting will close February 1st, 2010 and WE WILL HAVE A DRIVER!

Winner must be in Johnson Valley by February 8th, 2010.