Posted by Clint Dixon on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 at 6:50PM :
In Reply to: Safety posted by Jonas on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 at 5:55PM :
I used to race Motocross in my younger days. Aside from a short stint on an old 1975 Honda MT 125 dual purpose bike, which I learned to ride on, I have never ridden a street bike. I have never had any desire to ride a street bike. I took some pretty hard spills on the track and a few rides to the emergency room in an ambulance. At least on the track, everyone was traveling in the same general direction, and even the dirt, rocks, track marker fence posts, and occasional tree, were much softer than what I could have met up with on the street, even if we were racing at up to 60MPH at times. Most people (of all ages) thought that I was completely "nuts" to do this. Some still shy away from me even to this day because of my earlier "dirt bike" riding, (Power Wagons also tend of reinforce the "he's nuts" attitude of some people).
I had not been on a motorcycle in over 18 years, until I climbed on a Motocross bike brought to this year's VPW Rally. And this was my first time ever on a 4-stroke machine. It was like I was still 18 again. I could still do the "wheelie thing" and the jumps and berm shots, and still I had no desire to try the street.
I guess my point is, I could have died any one of those times that I threw a leg over the seat and cracked the throttle. We all take risks every day and we have to choose which risks are right for us. I chose organized racing in the dirt. I am glad I did it and wouldn't change it for the world. As terrible as it can be, worse things can happen than to leave this world doing something that you enjoy.
Clint