I created this blog only a couple of days ago. I have lots of thoughts and feelings around the sport of motocross. I like to share my opinions when I feel strongly about something. Motocross is something that I’ve always loved. I think I have a somewhat unique perspective on the sport. In my total of 36 years in and around motocross I have had 2 very separate periods of intense involvement and long periods of various levels of observation without direct participation. As an 11 year old, with a few years of Tecumseh mini-bike riding under my helmet I tried spinning some laps around a motocross track. Finally, not yet 13 years old, I raced in a real race. I was on a spanking new YZ-80 as was damned near every other kid on that northern Indiana natural terrain track. My first race was a snowy/rainy March day. I rode the mini “A” class. I was eligible for the “B” class but I don’t think my dad knew that or maybe he just wanted me to face a stiffer challenge. I’m pretty sure I fell in the exact same mud hole each and every lap of both motos. I’m also pretty sure I finished last, but I did finish. I raced about a dozen times that first year on tracks all over the Midwest from Byron Illinois to Red Bud Michigan. My dad and I were hooked. The next year I hit about double that number of events. I was improving. Like most burgeoning motocross racers, I spent every waking moment riding or wishing I was riding. I rode nearly every day. I mean that. Nearly every day even in the midst of the long Chicago Winters and rainy springs. Soon I was in the 100cc A class and starting to show some skills. I started winning races. Eventually I was racing further from home routinely. Florida, Georgia, Ohio, all over the Midwest. Over the years I won my share of races in the 100, 125 and 250 A classes, sometimes against some pretty stiff competition. I was never a prodigy nor did I ever feel like I had a career in motocross, but I was a fast local guy. At age 18 I blew a knee out pretty good and knew it was time to start thinking about growing up. At the time ACL surgeries were pretty sketchy. I opted not to have surgery. I rehabbed my knee and headed for the Air Force. I spent the next 12 years in the Air Force forging a career and building a family. Not a lot of time and money were available for motocross but I kept up with the sport the best I could. When I think back, I recall that I never even bought a motocross shirt or hat in all that time. Motocross is more of a participant sport and I would have felt a little funny pretending that I was one. Eventually I got out of the Air Force and settled back down in the Midwest. I waited another 12 years or so and bought another new motocross bike. Twenty-four years between motos. Once again it was full bore ahead for me. I got a nice enclosed trailer and spent every weekend possible riding at some of the best tracks the area has to offer. I live about 50 minutes from Red Bud, 20 minutes from a new gem called Motoland and within 2 hours or so of many other tracks. I raced or rode at least once every weekend. Sometimes even 3 races in a single weekend. I was riding the 40+ class on a YZ125 against mostly 450s. Over the next few years I regained my comfort with riding I got smoked some and I won some. Eventually I had a bad and stupid fall where I kicked the bike into a false neutral over a pretty good sized jump with a gnarly, sandy, whooped out landing. The crash left me with a damaged liver and ultimately missing a kidney. I was 45 and smart enough to know that it was time to quit again.
So, my unique perspective is that I got 2 separate and distinct snapshots of the sport from the perspective of a very active participant. I saw with great clarity the things that had changed and the things that had stay the same. Over the course of this motocross rebirth I had witnessed an interesting behavior in myself which is very subtle but says something of human behavior. When I raced as a kid I had long hair. I would have to pull my hair back a bit, fling my head back and slide the helmet on to keep the hair out of my eyes and face. In my second career I was running a buzz cut down to about 1/8 inch. The first time I went to put on my racing helmet as a fully grown man my instinct was to push back my hair and tilt my head back. It was unconscious and without reflection. I noticed it right away and chucked a bit. For the rest of my second career I remained amazed at the subtle behaviors that had stayed with me despite 25 years of dormancy. I always thought that was pretty cool and very interesting. What I mostly learned was that while there was a huge continuity break in my partcipation as a motocross racer, there was at the same time a feeling of absolute continuity that allowed me to experience the evolution of motocross as if over night.
My two distinct experiences with participating in motocross allowed me to see the changes and the similarities with an almost eerie clarity. It was like I never left but was transported to the future. All of a sudden I was on a modern bike, on modern tracks and constantly buying parts on the internet. This clarity allowed me, or even forced me, to evaluate the state of the sport today as compared with how it was a quarter century ago. Like a motocross Rip Van Winkle.
This blog will be where I voice those observations. I think my approach will be to alternate my postings to comment on changes that I feel are better for the sport, not better for the sport, or undecided. I’ll touch everything from tracks, rules, equipment, media coverage, demographics and maybe a few more. To start with you can see my first two postings were somewhat critical views on modernity. “Supercross only” contracts and riders were unthinkable in the early days, so that got my attention. Of course, it is becoming apparent to most of us today that we have nearly a crisis of injuries and death in our inherently dangerous sport. This is disturbing to me and I’m happy to see some professional riders fed up enough to consider making changes. We need voices of reason in our sport, especially on a topic with such obvious importance as safety. So, tune in, read on, get pissed, agree, disagree, whatever, but think about what you love about racing motocross.
So, my unique perspective is that I got 2 separate and distinct snapshots of the sport from the perspective of a very active participant. I saw with great clarity the things that had changed and the things that had stay the same. Over the course of this motocross rebirth I had witnessed an interesting behavior in myself which is very subtle but says something of human behavior. When I raced as a kid I had long hair. I would have to pull my hair back a bit, fling my head back and slide the helmet on to keep the hair out of my eyes and face. In my second career I was running a buzz cut down to about 1/8 inch. The first time I went to put on my racing helmet as a fully grown man my instinct was to push back my hair and tilt my head back. It was unconscious and without reflection. I noticed it right away and chucked a bit. For the rest of my second career I remained amazed at the subtle behaviors that had stayed with me despite 25 years of dormancy. I always thought that was pretty cool and very interesting. What I mostly learned was that while there was a huge continuity break in my partcipation as a motocross racer, there was at the same time a feeling of absolute continuity that allowed me to experience the evolution of motocross as if over night.
My two distinct experiences with participating in motocross allowed me to see the changes and the similarities with an almost eerie clarity. It was like I never left but was transported to the future. All of a sudden I was on a modern bike, on modern tracks and constantly buying parts on the internet. This clarity allowed me, or even forced me, to evaluate the state of the sport today as compared with how it was a quarter century ago. Like a motocross Rip Van Winkle.
This blog will be where I voice those observations. I think my approach will be to alternate my postings to comment on changes that I feel are better for the sport, not better for the sport, or undecided. I’ll touch everything from tracks, rules, equipment, media coverage, demographics and maybe a few more. To start with you can see my first two postings were somewhat critical views on modernity. “Supercross only” contracts and riders were unthinkable in the early days, so that got my attention. Of course, it is becoming apparent to most of us today that we have nearly a crisis of injuries and death in our inherently dangerous sport. This is disturbing to me and I’m happy to see some professional riders fed up enough to consider making changes. We need voices of reason in our sport, especially on a topic with such obvious importance as safety. So, tune in, read on, get pissed, agree, disagree, whatever, but think about what you love about racing motocross.
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