Going beyond just a hobby...

The Great Plains race in Hennepin OK served up awesome conditions despite being surrounded by rain most of the week. I got into the lead early into lap one but didn’t have the pace to stay there in the faster grassy areas, and slipped back to second. I stayed close for a couple laps but had a silly crash in the creek section when I hit neutral. From that point on, the gap between @meltdust and I, stayed close to the same and I finished 2nd again in A +40. The reality is, I have to be on my game to be able to have a shot at beating him. It’s easy to make mistakes when pushing the limits - this race was an example of that. It’s been fun trying to keep him honest. I’ll keep doing that.

#franktour25 #bridesmaidagain #keeptryin 

9 days - 4 races - 4 states - 4 series. Nah, I don’t race that much anymore I guess. Just on weekends.

The Great Plains race on Saturday had pretty sweet conditions but I could NOT get comfortable in the rocky stuff that made up the first 3 miles. It took me till 3/4 of the way thru the race to finally “get going” and although my last two laps were competitive, @meltdust was in another zip code by then. P2 in “A” +40 (again). 

Sundays Forward Motion race is currently tied with my favorite of this year. The track got burned in within a couple laps and got sticky and really fun. I rode the “A” class and started at the back. I took what I thought were 2 goods lines early on, and moved back 2 more spots. SMH. I chipped away, found some places to pass, pressured some guys into mistakes, and had a quick final lap, ultimately finishing 2nd and just a few feet from the win. 

Saturdays race time was 2:26 and Sunday was 2:15. Bonus points for each race being under 100 miles from the front door. I was home and had my bike washed each day, before dark.

#franktour25 #howoldareyou #weekends 

Lots of rain in my area of the country this past weekend, so it seemed like a good idea to leave. 

Hit the MidSouth XC GP in Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. 2 moto format - slick, rocky, off camber (my favorite) - won both “Masters A” motos after having to find my way back past several “B” riders who found a hot line on lap one.

Drove 3 1/2 hours to Indiana for a MWXC on Sunday. Still slick, still rocky, still off camber - then it rained and got more slicker. Yeah, more slicker. Didn’t ever “gel” with the track and received a proper ass whoopin’. 3rd in “A” +40. 

Overall it was mostly fun going to places I’ve never been before - and certainly better than watching it rain from the couch.

Free life advice - if you’re going to do something stupid, like cut the course, don’t put your name & number on your jersey.

#franktour25 #stayonthecourse #prettyghetto 

It’s obviously pretty dang wet all across the Midwest but somehow, Great Plains somehow found a little spot in the middle of Oklahoma that was just about as perfect as it could get for an off-road race. I got a decent start, made it six turns and stuck my face in the sand, but after that I had a clean race. The track was very physical and busy with no where to rest, which worked out good for me. 1st in “A” +40 feels good after (3) consecutive runner-up finishes behind @meltdust .

Thank you again to everyone that keeps me going.

#franktour25 #stretchedout #thatdirttho 

Proper single track dirt bike race with SIGPS in Lynnville IN over the weekend. Skinny ridges, slick roots & rocks, and sharp little climbs gave the course an old school feel. I had my share of mistakes the first couple laps, as I’m sure most everyone did. The last two laps were much cleaner - clean enough to win the “A” +40 class.

Back up to 1991 at this same venue - it was the final round of the National Hare Scrambles Championship. I was riding 250 A class that year and the championship came down to the final round - winner take all. I won that day - had my best ever OA finish up to that point (10th) - won my first amateur National Championship - and earned National number 18. One of the few times I saw my dad show emotion at the finish line. He did a great job of hiding it usually.

#franktour25 #34years #norevbombs

P2 in A+40 at the Great Plains XC Saturday.
The story: not a smooth day by any stretch. 2 miles’ish into lap one, a limb caught my throttle cable, yanked the cable out of the housing (even though I had it safety wired), and luckily yanked the wide-open bike out of my hands. I got the cable kinda unkinked then I had to find a rock to beat the footpeg down since it was jammed up into the frame. The bars were quite bent but I decided to worry about fixing it at a later time. Oh yeah - wayyyy last by this point. I did make a stop a few laps later to have a discussion with an official concerning the lack of integrity that some of the riders showed concerning track markings. That’s a discussion for another time I suppose. One word though - karma.

P4 in A at the Forward Motion on Sunday.
The story: as if I need to feel older, 33 years ago - almost to the day, I got my first ever Overall win at this property (Collins MO). There’s been a hell of a lot of water under the bridge since then. It rained Sunday morning which made conditions pretty sweet, but my desire to twist it thru those slick jagged rocks on narrow single track, seems to have lessened during the last three decades. I kept it on two wheels and didn’t run out of gas, so all is well.
#franktour25 #whatsthetracktapefor #whyfollowthearrows

Yeah - I still race. Just doing something new and different so far this year. A new series has surfaced in Oklahoma - Great Plains Cross Country - and despite the weather not totally cooperating so far, the first two rounds have been fun, fresh, and exciting.  

I’ve been riding +40 “A” and at round 1, I had a bang up awesome battle with Dusty Melton from nearly flag to flag. Ultimately, he beat me by a second and a half. Round 2 was a more challenging day - rain before and during the race made most stuff really slippery and other areas very rutted. We resumed our battle for a little while, but I made too many mistakes in the slick fields to make it a real fight and I finished P2 again. 

Happy to be back at the races and glad that there’s another option for racing fairly close to home. 

#franktour25 #useallthegoggles #slipnslide 

The 24 GNCC tour finished up Sunday in Indiana. Pretty dusty, pretty silty, pretty crowded, pretty cool to see that many people at an off-road dirt bike race (although I am glad that it’s only like that once a year). 731 riders in my race - SMH. I got my hands on a 2025 Sherco SEF300 and decided pretty much at the last minute, to race it. Most everything about the bike is different than the previous generation, so I figured the best way to get used to it, was to race it. In a nutshell - mediocre start - fell early in lap one and got passed by 127 bikes - 4th after lap one - 2nd after lap two - lost some time lap three - last lap I had some struggles and was going to be content to finish 2nd - the leader had bigger struggles and I somehow was able to grab the victory by just under a minute. As my dad always told me “just give yourself a chance”.

A few side notes: really proud of @cjpratt49 for his ride at not only this race (he won Open B), but the entire season. It’s a big commitment and every race is a massive learning curve when you’ve never seen the tracks. Top 5 for the season is solid. @hunter.smith.9.5 stepped up his program, put in the work, occasionally listened to my advice, and won Open A for the year. Two high fives kid.

I prepped not only my own Sherco for every race, but also CJs Sherco for every race, and Prestins’ Sherco for 8 rounds. 100% finishing rate - no mechanical DNFs in 31 starts - yeah, I’m proud of that too. 

As always, the people and companies that support what I do, are very much appreciated. It’s a pleasure to be associated with all of them. 

#franktour24 #leadbyexample #nodnfs 

I suppose it’s my post so I’m free to say what I think. My dad always tried to find the good in every race. In his words “they’re all different”. This weekends GNCC in WV was a challenge for me to find “the good”. Simply put, The Mountaineer was a combination of my least favorite trail conditions - dust and rocks.

CJ and I didn’t get on the road until late Saturday afternoon and before we had made it two hours, I had two phone calls that recommended we “go back to where you came from”. We ignored that advice and got to the track just before 3am. By being late, I avoided looking at the course and listening to all the negativity about the conditions. See - there’s a positive right there.

I got a bad jump, swept outside, fortunately got into 2nd going into the woods. From there on, I rode cautious and timid and within my means. I had to push up a hill on lap three and had more than one moment where I was in the right place at the right time. 3 miles from the end I cleanly got up a silt hill and took over the lead (for the 3rd time). From there, I just tried to avoid any mistakes and get to the finish. Thankful to win +50 “A” for the 7th time this season and clinch the class championship as well.

These things aren’t easy and they’re not all fun. It’s a challenge to find the “want to” sometimes, especially on days like these. But that’s when you find out what you’re capable of. As the saying goes “if it was easy, anyone could do it”.

Many thanks to everyone that agrees to keep making what I do possible.

#franktour24 #sufferfest #dayslikethis 

I’ve thought it before and I think it again, the Buckwheat GNCC is the best West Virginia race I’ve ever ridden. This years version threatened to be dusty - then a Saturday afternoon thunderstorm threatened a mudder - then the quads blew off the slime and other than a few slippery spots, the track was sweet. Arguably it was a bit tough to pass since the conditions created one really good line and everyone wanted to ride there. But some patience, some persistence, some good fortune, passing was quite possible. I battled with @jf_703 for much of the race, most of the time with him leading the way. Seemed like each time I made a pass, he quickly returned the favor. I led going into the last lap, he passed me when I hesitated choosing a line through a mud-hole, then I took a better line at the four mile mark and tried to sprint away. I got some traffic in between us and rode good the last several miles to grab my sixth win of the series in “A” +50. Big thanks again to those that keep my program together. 

#franktour24 #whitegearmatters #italwaysrains 

Double dipped over the weekend. Extreme XC on Saturday in Indiana - I wouldn’t say my first lap was disastrous but I’d say it was fairly horrendous. Of the 3 “Pro Hills”, I didn’t see the first one on lap one, I failed to make it up the second one (and I caused a huge traffic jam), and I still have no idea where the third one was. I lost two minutes on lap one, but rode good the rest of the day while battling on the track with @cjpratt49 and @jf_703 . Overall a mostly fun day - P1 +40 “A” - P8 OA (20 seconds from 6th).

Sunday was a SOIL Sprint Enduro in Illinois. Never really found my groove in the longer test. I missed a handful of corners each time thru and CJ and I didn’t do ourselves any favors by riding together the first time. It was plenty dusty and we basically took turns holding each other up. We were both 45 seconds quicker on our own (lesson learned). I was barely a top 20 guy in that section. The shorter test I was a top 10 guy. The conditions were no better in there, but I didn’t feel like the trail was as broken up - not as many 90 degree or greater corners going from old trail to new. My best time in each section, I crashed. That’s a problem. P2 in +30 “A”.

#franktour24 #wheresthetracktape #isthisthe90s 

The Mission Impossible IXCR in Attica IN could possibly be the most diverse cross country course I’ve ridden - for sure this year. Yeah - it’s summer time so there was some dust in the fields. But - the rest of the track was super cool. Fast stuff, slow stuff, big ups, big downs, sand, mud, hard pack, and a rock section that would make a Hard Enduro rider proud. I had a clean ride and won the “A” +40 class. I’ll go ahead and mention how impressive the Pro class is at these things. It’s as solid as any local series I’ve seen in a long time. Somebody is doing something right in Indiana!

#franktour24 #summertime #thekidsarefast 

GNCC honored my dad at their 2022 Awards Banquet with a teardrop award and a very nice speech about him. It was very unexpected - mostly because Dad and I hadn’t been to that many GNCC events in recent years (until 2021). But they “get it” and I’ll always be thankful to them for thinking about him. 

The Border Battle series named “Franks Boys” (Colton Pratt, Dalton Young, and myself) as "Team of the Year" at their 2022 Awards Banquet. Two hi-fives to them for understanding what #franktour is all about.

The Leivan Family was inducted into the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in January 2023. This is an incredible honor and we greatly appreciate them recognizing all of us for our efforts in sharing the love of motorcycle racing with others...which is all because of Dad's passion for dirt bikesl

The Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship series created a new traveling trophy that is carried around by their reigning champion. It is now properly named the “Frank Leivan Traveling Trophy” and they handed down the old one to my family. Thankful to the group for realizing what Dad did for off-road racing in Missouri.