The Woodsman Cup is a motorcycle race that takes place every December at secret location in Northern Florida. It’s invite-only, and the rules change slightly every year. This year there will be no knobbies—not even on the sport bikes. Things have gotten too competitive in recent years and it time for a return to roots.
The race was started a few years ago by a fellow named Fox Mausner when he “got tired of the regular bike nights where you ride to a bar and park out front and talk shit.”
Fox was running a motorcycle shop at the time and he offered to barbecue for a bunch of people that wanted to come out and ride around his property. So he had a dirt trail cut through the property that was about 2 feet wide in some places and about a 1/3-mile long. The first event was less of a race and more like a pot luck with motorcycles.
There are no published rules or classes that I know about. It’s invite only, so I have no clue how the official stuff works. You have to go once and learn. Then you get to invite someone else the next year.
I asked Fox about the first year. “Thirty-five people came out, and it was really just a day of taking turns riding sport bikes in groups of four or five on this little dirt trail as everyone else drank beer and ate food....”
The event keeps growing and there’s even a live band in one of the corners as you go ripping by on your bike.
Remember how I mentioned the “no knobbies” rule for this year? Well things got too competitive in recent years, when it’s really supposed to be about having fun with your friends in the woods with a bunch of motorcycles. Hence the ban on off-road tries.
Take this guy on his sport bike. No way he went home with those body panels intact. No way.
The track looks pretty legit and everyone camps out around it. The bikes seem to range from little Honda Groms to enduro bikes from the 1970s, but most have knobbies. This is year is going to be a mess without them!
Fox has been encouraging camping for the past few years which is only $5 for the weekend and the only option after the entry fee. Fox explained to me how import this is to him.
“I went to other racing events,” he said. “You pay $20 to get in, $7 for a beer, $10 for a shitty hot dog and $5 for a bottle of water, then you have to pay for stickers, and hats or whatever else is offered. So you end up spending $100 by the end of the day for just basics so since day one I wanted to provide the food, the music, the games, and entertainment for the one entry price.”
There’s even a chili cook off competition on Friday night with a cash payout. So if you can cook, bring your A game and ton of chili to share. Last year there was like 15 gallons of chili.
The Woodsman Cup just looks like a lot of fun. Fox told me I could publish this story if I came down and checked it out this year. So I guess I have my invite and I’m headed to the Woodsman Cup this December.
I’ll let you know how it turns out, and I already know who’s getting my invite for 2018.
Photos by Dogg Dodd Photography