15 Oct '07 -23:27
Sorry, I have been very late in up dating this column. The last race was a few weeks ago and was held in New Mexico. I’m no fan of this track and it seems to get worse each year. It would have been much worse this year, if not for the intervention of Al. It is a sad situation when the regional coordinator has to take verbal abuse and almost physical abuse to do his job. Unfortunately do to this situation, I do not think sidecars will be going back; it might also be the end of vintage MX there.
I went to the event without a passenger and with a loaner sidecar. Dan our buddy from Tucson said he or his brother would hang on to the chair. When I got there Dan really wanted his brother to give it a try. After all he had been riding sidecars for years and had never been on a motocross rig, hell how hard could it be? He was game but in two laps of practice he was done. We limped back to the pits and he started thinking this might not be so easy or a good idea.
Enter the scene his 21 year old son, why yes he would love to try it. Cool, I grabbed him and headed for the far end of the parking lot for a quick lesson. He seemed to pick it up right away. Moto 1 was a touchy feely thing, I increased the speed each lap after starting last, and he seemed ok so I passed up to 4th without getting too carried away. He did good and wanted to go faster so I pegged it off the line in moto 2. We were in 2nd into the first turn and lost one position by the 4th turn, this was good and he was working the chair very well. About half way around the first lap the 2nd place team crashed and blocked the line I was on, by the time we got going we were dead last again. I started passing people as quick as I could and we worked up to 2nd, in the last lap one team passed giving us a 3rd. Not bad for his first race, he enjoyed himself and I was very impressed, he is a natural.
Later that afternoon all the mx sidecars got a call to bring our rigs to the road race course. We did a few parade laps with the road race sidecars and waved at the crowd. Then all the dirt guys got on as passengers on the road racers for a few quick laps around the oval.
The kid looked at me as if to say, should I? Hell yes, so off he ran for another first time deal. You know high speed with your shoulder about 3 inch’s off the pavement and that concrete wall on the outside of the turn made me think. That is, I’ll stick to the dirt, road race sidecars takes a unique mind set.
My efforts to construct a vintage mx sidecar continue. Spent a weekend at Al’s fabrication shop (thanks Al) and now the motor is firmly mounted. I have a long way to go but my goal is firm in my mind. Once the vintage sidecar is up and running the modern sidecars will go away. I have no interest in modern solo or sidecars the current crop on new bikes are killing a sport. I see the results every weekend out here in the desert. Groups of geeks with quads and modern 4 strokes running amok, they no regard for anyone. If you ask them if they work on their bikes they look at you like your kidding.
The cost of these technical wonders are another issue, turning what was any man’s sport into the sport of the rich, might I add the dumb.
The days of a race bike and your tent in an old pick up truck are now reserved for the vintage racers, thank god!
