Bird Dog
Georgia is home to Vurb. Our founders are from Georgia and the nearby Carolinas, not a place you’d assume the world’s most recognized media moguls would rest their heads, but life is crazy like that sometimes. Choosing Aonia Pass MX in Washington, GA wasn’t by mistake, either. New ownership has transformed this facility to an absolute eye candy and our history as up and coming C Class Heroes is deep there.
Attention to detail is what separates facilities, and owners Mark and Sherri have the eye. From waving grass throughout the pits to a perfectly groomed moto track, GNCC level woods loop, flat track and more. It’s like the six flags of the motorsports world and a place we plan on visiting again.
We met with old friends we haven’t seen in ages, ate too many damn hot dogs AGAIN, and actually took the opportunity ride more than we worked. Chilidog Wes even broke his collarbone, or at least he claims. (Chilidog Note: I think I hairline fractured my collarbone. Don’t think it’s split in two)
It was everything we envisioned the Shred Tour being when we decided to commit to doing 11 of them across the country in our first year back. A tall order for a skeleton crew of dreamers, but one that we commit to gladly. It’s where we came from, and while luxury suites and nice hotels during big budget film shoots are nice, nothing beats bunking up with too many dudes in a C class motorhome and kicking it trackside with all the moto families.
We don’t write many sappy articles, but this stop really hit home. From swapping out plastic on our 2005 YZ 125 on Friday night while drinking beer and huffing brake cleaner (note: we don’t actually huff break cleaner), to ripping with friends from decades past on Saturday, all of whom have gotten a little heavier and a lot slower, to putting on pitbike races for the kids and watching some insanely badass dudes rip flat track at night, it was a complete weekend of doing what we love, which is hanging out at dirtbike tracks.
A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who came out and supported what we’re trying to accomplish with these. Connecting with grassroots enthusiasts, supporting local tracks, helping our partners raise awareness and contributing to our staff of diehard content creators, this mission is meant to support the entire lifecycle of people and communities within moto and we’re stoked to do it again next month in Texas, as we are heading back to Oak Hill June 26-27, a track that has done so much for amateur moto throughout the years.
Me and several others were looking forward all month to this and left disappointed… everytime we went for these “free hot dogs” there was none. When was the raffle? no information was given. and if you wanted to just ride a 6 mile woods loop or just flat track, it was $30 EACH DAY to ride, plus $20 entry to park/spectate, PLUS $15 for a pit bike to get around the massive place…. (not mentioning any names but the lady that was running the place did a very poor job and was very unprofessional) Talked to a few of the vurb moto crew and all of them were cool and friendly. Hope they can improve this event and/or go to a different facility… Not bashing anyone or trying to step on any toes. This event could become something really cool.
Had a great time at Aonia Pass. Track was great Sunday and had many lines. This was a one off event and they took every precaution to make things safe for everyone. This included having a full race crew of flaggers, track workers and Ambulance each day. The pits and camp grounds were well groomed and free of trash, the place was beautiful. This takes money to put on an event of this nature and get everyone paid, plus the event proceeds are split between Aonia and Vurb (How do you think Vurb will make it to the next Shred Tour race?) No where have I ever rode did you pay one fee for practice and get to practice two days. Bottom line, any motorsport is expensive if you travel to a professional track and not your buddies back yard un-prepped, nun-watered hey field. Great job to everyone involved! SEMX
@JC, thanks for putting some feedback together in a respectful way. We’re always trying to improve and internally we had a big meeting to discuss thing we need to make better moving forward. This is only our 4th one and we’re still working some of the kinks out. This was one where announcements were difficult dur to the PA system and we recognized that. Bare with us and know that everything from these events gets cycled back into the moto community to help it prosper. If you have any additional feedback, please email us at [email protected]. We’re always down to chat with a supporter. We know we can’t please everyone all the time, but we’re going to keep trying.
JC, as Brent said, appreciate the feedback in a positive manner. Few things. We posted raffle times and Hot Dogs times. You can find them here: https://www.vurbmoto.com/a-whole-bunch-of-reasons-to-come-to-the-dirtbikes-are-dope-shred-tour-at-aonia-pass-this-weekend/
They times were also posted quite a few times on Facebook and Aonia’s instagram as well. Our apologies the announcements at the track were poor. The PA and whole setup for that was tough, including our location in relation to how spread out everyone was.
In my opinion, the track was fantastic, the facility was unreal, and I couldn’t be happier with the way the facility ran the event. The pricing is based on making sure the track doesn’t lose money, and fas with anywhere you go it costs to ride both days. Not sure why you would expect something different here. FYI, they spent 2,000$ alone just to mow the grass. Imagine how much time and effort went into the trails, motocross, and pitbike course? Again, I’m stoked on how they put it all together.
One great thing. We’re currently uploading thousands of images from the weekend… which are also FREE, just like the 600+ hotdogs you missed out on. Check back tomorrow for multiple galleries from both days and be sure to find some awesome images to show your friends how hard you shredded.
Thanks Sherri and Mark at Aonia. I’m excited to come back next year!
Hey JC, there is a saying “a bad day on a motorcycle is better than a good day at work”
You could have payed $120 to pedal a bicycle on public trails…
I paid sixty bucks and all I got was a stupid Mud Dolphin t-shirt!
@Tommy – if those t-shirts existed they would be 60$ alone!
Great time, great event. I rode trails, MX track, and both were awesome. Enjoyed listening to the band from our campsite, skipped the dogs and grilled steaks instead but I am sure the dogs were awesome. Wes rode around the pits and made sure to personally invite people to come eat a dog! Thanks to the crew at Aonia and to the Vurb crew for a fun weekend!