Stephen, vintage guy and speaker of the truth
After an exemplary day at a vintage MX event, I couldn't help but notice as we gathered for the dispensing of trophies at the end of the day. A large number of the fellows walking to the Ramada either had a limp or a mis-aligned shoulder or some sort of physical issue caused by riding MX bikes for years previous to this very day.
I was rather intrigued by this phenomenon. Over the next few events and visiting different folks here and there, an interesting tale revolving around the world of back in the day MX and what is now called Vintage MX.
One rider, Tom who suffers from Diabetes and requires Insulin shots, is a real classic. Tom doesn't just go out and ride around, he attacks the track for his two five lap motos and is completely spent at the end of the day. I went to one event here in the Southwest at Speedworld, a 70 mile trip from home. Upon arriving I discovered that the front gates were indeed still locked and a few fellow VMX enthusiasts patiently waited in their motorhomes and trucks in close proximity to the gate. I spotted Tom sitting in his old school, really bitchin' El Camino attempting to hide from the afternoon sun. I walked over and invited him to join me in the Palatial 1979 Itasca motorhome. Complete with A/C and cold beverages, he was quite appreciative, more so for the fact that I had a refrigerator and he needed to keep his meds cool. Tom rode through the afternoon heat, spent a little time cooling off in the Itasca and he had a great time. I always worry about him when he's out on the track that he doesn't go into some sort of coma in front of a wall of bikes.
Bill, who had a toasted knee and rides CZ's, rides until he needs help getting off the bikes when he returns to the pits. His love of the sport is second to none. He does it so he says, for the fun and camaraderie. he's like sixty and moves right along.
Steve, who like myself also rides drag bikes and is a relentless tinkerer, has a partial knee replacement. he rides a home built Husky that runs like the wind. He/I know our limitations and have a blast riding around together. We may not be the fastest, but no one is having more fun then we are.
The one that really makes you shake your head in particular is a fellow named Rick, He recently turned 70! and has come out of a five year layoff to yet again campaign his 1982 Maico 490! yes folks, a 1982 Maico 490. This fellow has a knee replacement, has had two bouts of prostate cancer, a stroke and a heart attack. The only thing you can chalk this up to is either insanity or, and this is my bet, his love/obsession of the sport. The idea of getting up at 5:00 A.M. loading the bike, gas cans and his gear puts a real twinkle in his eye. I could only hope to be this lucky if and when I get to 70!
The only conclusions I came to during all this non-scientific, BS sessions research is that old school MX riders, albeit back in the day or now, reliving their youth, still have the same drive, thirst for competition and love of the bikes that were the best you could ride. Back when the bikes had personality, uniqueness and different bikes worked better for some them for others. It's certainly isn't for the money or the $4.00 dollar wooden trophies they/I garner by completing five laps for two motos. It is overwhelmingly due to our love of these classic dirt bikes, the fond, irreplaceable memories they bring back to us and the fellow riders who feel the same about their own personal choice of the "perfect" VMX bike.
As the years march on, the same holds true either here in the Southwest or anywhere in the country, during the off season these enthusiasts spend the time "working" on their bikes, restoring, modifying, spending way to much $$$ on them, making them better and supposedly faster. It's really just therapy to get them through the down time, the injuries they suffered the previous season or to allow them time with their pride and joy. They may only be old dirt bikes, two stroke smokers from another era, but they still perform the required task admirably of taking their rider to the checkered flag and for that ever so brief instant, to that moment of Glory that has sustained them all these years. When we grow quite old, and the bikes, the trophies and the photos are gone, all we will have left those precious moments. Long live VMX!
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