Valley MX (Stanton)

A 1.9-mile course of natural terrain with man-made obstacles, among them the famous Valley 110 - hardly any motocross track in Michigan runs that long. Valley sits on South Vickeryville Road near Stanton in Montcalm County, belongs to District 14 and has a dedicated mini track alongside the big one; the main track is timed by transponder. Practice runs 15:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and 11:00 to 17:00 at weekends, with the gate opening half an hour before. Practice admission is 5 dollars and children under ten are free; the rider fee is 30 dollars on the big track and 20 on the mini track. Camping is free, but spots may not be saved. One thing to know: the track is not open every day - call before you hitch up the trailer. Nearly two miles sounds like it comes with rest sections, but the opposite is true: over that distance you lose concentration before you lose strength. Split the lap into three sections in your head and ride each one with its own goal. The classic problem in tight technical sections: the engine stalls. Top of our cause list is a dragging clutch or a flywheel that is too light - a flywheel weight or a clean clutch setup takes the low-rpm stalling away.