Why do you ride or follow MX?

motomike137
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6897
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4/22/2010
Location
Fenton, MI US
7/22/2014 7:14pm
Rdubs19 wrote:
My dad ran off when I was born and we were stretched pretty thin I guess. Lived outside town and nobody in my family rode motorcycles...
My dad ran off when I was born and we were stretched pretty thin I guess. Lived outside town and nobody in my family rode motorcycles at all. When I was 4 my grandparents brught home a Manco 50cc, and I've never really asked them why. I plowed it straight into a tree, hard. I could go on for hours about what dirt bikes and motocross meant to me back then and still do 19 years later, some of those memories and what it meant for my family to have something to bond over literally make me tear up, and I am not a crier whatsoever for anything. Couldn't see an inch of paint on my wall growing up from all the posters and mag pics I cut out. Never had the money to pursue racing seriously but I trained my ass off anyway on and off the bike from a young age. Had to completely give up motorcycles for college and I was indescribably miserable over it. Thank God that's over and I'm finally getting back to the real me.
Nice postCool
Katoomey
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1714
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1/18/2013
Location
WY US
7/22/2014 7:18pm Edited Date/Time 7/22/2014 7:20pm
Beats me. I just love it.
that is where I'm at. loved motorcycles from my earliest memories. it wasn't a family thing thats for sure and I certainly never looked up to pro's or anything like that. its a purely organic obsession for me. i can't really even articulate it, to be honest.
chope573
Posts
77
Joined
9/17/2012
Location
Kansas City, MO US
7/22/2014 7:32pm
I ride because I love it... Did it from a very young age and there is nothing I've found to replace the feeling. Now I ride for more of the relationships I have with others. There is no other sport on this earth that I can think of that bonds family's across a broad spectrum like we have in MX. I truly hope we keep it that way.
kevkx125
Posts
213
Joined
12/4/2013
Location
Douglassville, PA US
7/22/2014 7:36pm
Older brother and friends had bikes when I was young. Older sister got a mini bike for her ninth birthday been hooked ever since. Always dreamed of being the first American to win a world championship but some other americans beat me to it haha. Could not imagine living without a dirt bike.

The Shop

PADDY'S LAD
Posts
227
Joined
1/13/2013
Location
Newbury Park, CA US
7/22/2014 8:33pm Edited Date/Time 7/22/2014 9:23pm
My dad bought my first motorcycle when I was ten years old. It was a Bridgestone 100 racer(1968)
A lot of bike for a little guy! Dad had a Bultaco Pursang (250) Dad would raceTT/desert / motocross all on the
same bike! He would drag me with him so I was exposed to all kinds of racing from a young age and feel in love with it.
I met Malcolm Smith, Sammy Tanner, Steve McQueen, Gary Bailey, Dave Bickers, Jeff Smith all before I was 12 years old.
Motocross and the people in it are some of the best people I have come across in my 45 years of riding.
I ride two times a week ( moto) and nothing compares to how one feels when you spin that fluid lap or land that jump
really smooth.
Moto is and will always be in my life.
Remember this boys, you will never see Viagra commercials on a moto broadcast! Only on the golf channel!
So get out and ride.
Cheers, Pat



1
JRT812
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Location
Cottontown, TN US
7/22/2014 9:14pm
For me it was on a ride with my uncle on a ride around his farm. I was young but hooked. My parents never let me race. It was summer camps full of basketball and football plus the seasons. Always wanted to race but it was not on the agenda. Moved out and bought a 02 ktm 200 and it was the best time of my life. Still to this day i wish i wouldn't have sold that bike. Long story short been through a few yz's but my wife bought me a 11 ktm 200 for a wedding present. Not the same bike but I will never sell. For me it's the line i dance of complete disaster and coming out with a great story. I have done a few gncc's and midsouths but love exploring and riding with friends. The adventure is what gets me going. I have followed the sport since that first ride.
Sully22
Posts
2019
Joined
9/9/2009
Location
NV US
7/22/2014 10:30pm
Because I got on one of these when I was about 4-5 yrs old and fell in love....



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gsxrcr28
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7414
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Fort Lauderdale, FL US
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7/22/2014 10:43pm
Sully22 wrote:
Because I got on one of these when I was about 4-5 yrs old and fell in love.... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/07/22/60678/s1200_image.jpg[/img]
Because I got on one of these when I was about 4-5 yrs old and fell in love....



Same here, but I got mine when I was 7.

Same exact bike, been hooked ever since.
1
anniebertmojo
Posts
722
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10/12/2008
Location
California, CA US
7/22/2014 11:01pm Edited Date/Time 7/23/2014 11:14am
When I saw the movie "On Any Sunday" at age 5 and when I watched the scene of Mert Lawwill walking the streets of S.F I was mesmerized... When they said, "He's not a banker, or an account or a salesman… but he is a professional man like the rest. His profession...motorcycle racer" ~ I was hooked and determined I was going to race. My dad raced and told him I wanted to race too.

So my dad and Eddie Crowell of Crowell Cycle's in Inglewood, CA built me a minibike and I was racing at Saddleback three months later. I never looked back. Because of motorcycles and MX, I've met friends as a kid who are now life long friends...racing taught me things that I never would of learned in everyday life and it's allowed me to travel the world. I still race REM at Glen Helen every weekend and I love every minute of it. Wouldn't trade it in the world…

 photo photo-10-1.jpg
7/23/2014 12:19am Edited Date/Time 7/23/2014 7:44am
I got into the sport when I was about 11 or 12 after seeing someone drag a dirt bike on the back of their trailer - that was it, that was all it took. I just knew that I had to have one.

Some of my richest MX memories come from those first few years of getting into it in the mid 90s. Like Liotta narrates in Goodfellas... it was a glorious time! There was no instant access to the sport back then as there is now with things like Youtube and the internet in general etc (at least I didn't have access back then). So every snippet of the sport you dug up or accidentally bumped into on tv, felt rich and awesome. I remember being totally obsessed with it for 2 yrs, picking up MXA and DBR whenever I could, studying the bikes, learning who all the riders were and trying to imagine what it was like to actually ride an MX track. And then of course when I finally got my first wreck of a bike in 96 it was the best thing since sliced bread as far as I was concerned.
wow123
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1164
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Location
AX
7/23/2014 1:31am Edited Date/Time 7/23/2014 1:34am
I was very good at football (aussie rules played fullback on the tallest players).......way to small to get anywhere

I was great at basketball (captain u15)........way to short to make it

I was an excellent swimmer (my dad a coach, swimming in seniors when I was 12!).......way to boring

I was doing this by my 10th ride, at 15, say no more


Lots of long long stories guys and no paragraphs means very hard to read.
Tumblin
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Location
Jacksonville, OR US
7/23/2014 7:15am
Country living and cousin had a new Bultaco spec sheet and the woulda coulda's flowed. Another Christmas later I balled like a baby when I discovered that awesome 4HP Briggs under the tree. Several riding friends and I joined up with a small motorcycle club and we sponsored a showing of On Any Sunday...
There's little difference in our choice of passion and my daughter's love of horses and my son's for Basketball. Good times, good health and a supporting cast keeps them rolling.
Sully22
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2019
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Location
NV US
7/23/2014 7:55am
Sully22 wrote:
Because I got on one of these when I was about 4-5 yrs old and fell in love.... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/07/22/60678/s1200_image.jpg[/img]
Because I got on one of these when I was about 4-5 yrs old and fell in love....



gsxrcr28 wrote:
Same here, but I got mine when I was 7.

Same exact bike, been hooked ever since.
Wasn't that thing sweet? 3 gears, fast, fun....we trail rode as a family and I grew up riding on the gas tank of my dads xr185 or my moms xr75. Then my dad took me to a race when I was 6 and I said to him, I could do that. The local track had other ideas though, they wouldn't let me race it because they said if I wanted to race in the 50 class, I couldn't race a bike that had a shifter on it, they only allowed the pw50. So my dad bought me a 1984 air cooled kx60 a few weeks later, it was sitting in my bedroom when I got home from school, and I never looked back.
huck
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Mountain Home, AR US
7/23/2014 8:44am
Outsider wrote:
Because when I'm riding good, hitting my marks on a track, or flowing nice on a trail, or carving up a moist sandwash, nothing on this...
Because when I'm riding good, hitting my marks on a track, or flowing nice on a trail, or carving up a moist sandwash, nothing on this earth feels better... no drug, no chick, nothing.

And watching fast guys do on a bike things I can only dream about keeps me hooked as a fan.


To Huck's OP... tl;dr Wink
What does "to huck's OP...tl;dr" mean? lol
Matt Fisher
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Visalia, CA US
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1117th
7/23/2014 10:15am
Outsider wrote:
Because when I'm riding good, hitting my marks on a track, or flowing nice on a trail, or carving up a moist sandwash, nothing on this...
Because when I'm riding good, hitting my marks on a track, or flowing nice on a trail, or carving up a moist sandwash, nothing on this earth feels better... no drug, no chick, nothing.

And watching fast guys do on a bike things I can only dream about keeps me hooked as a fan.


To Huck's OP... tl;dr Wink
huck wrote:
What does "to huck's OP...tl;dr" mean? lol
It means "too long; didn't read"
It should mean "too lazy; don't read".
Camp332
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Location
Zoo Jersey US
7/23/2014 10:27am
peelout wrote:
my Old Man divorced my mom when i was 10 and bought himself a dirt bike and started doing desert races and going riding all the...
my Old Man divorced my mom when i was 10 and bought himself a dirt bike and started doing desert races and going riding all the time. he bought me a bike when i was 12 and it's been my life ever since.
Bro! Me too. Parents got divorced. My mom hated dirtbikes. Dad bought me a dirtbike...

Plus it's all for the chics Bro.
Cygnus
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Location
Hanover, CO US
7/23/2014 10:35am Edited Date/Time 7/23/2014 10:38am
peelout wrote:
my Old Man divorced my mom when i was 10 and bought himself a dirt bike and started doing desert races and going riding all the...
my Old Man divorced my mom when i was 10 and bought himself a dirt bike and started doing desert races and going riding all the time. he bought me a bike when i was 12 and it's been my life ever since.
Camp332 wrote:
Bro! Me too. Parents got divorced. My mom hated dirtbikes. Dad bought me a dirtbike...

Plus it's all for the chics Bro.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Dad had a Honda chopper when I was born. Mom still has pics of me at 1-4 years old sitting on it with helmet and goggles. My dad brought home and italjet for me at 5 as soon as learned to ride without training wheels. I was able to ride it once and mom said no way sell it!

So after the bigD, dad bought us a rupp mini bike for his house onmthe weekends. I loved that thing! Well he let his at te time GF ride it and she panic throttled into a semi trailer and it broke one side of the springer fork. We tried to have it welded a few times but the cheap metal wouldn't hold. Shortly after we( my brother and I) were treated to brand new kawi 100 enduro's I want to say KM100M's. We tore up the open fields all around the house. Loved bikes since I was a baby.
huck
Posts
17017
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Location
Mountain Home, AR US
7/23/2014 10:59am
Outsider wrote:
Because when I'm riding good, hitting my marks on a track, or flowing nice on a trail, or carving up a moist sandwash, nothing on this...
Because when I'm riding good, hitting my marks on a track, or flowing nice on a trail, or carving up a moist sandwash, nothing on this earth feels better... no drug, no chick, nothing.

And watching fast guys do on a bike things I can only dream about keeps me hooked as a fan.


To Huck's OP... tl;dr Wink
huck wrote:
What does "to huck's OP...tl;dr" mean? lol
It means "too long; didn't read"
It should mean "too lazy; don't read".
Dang kids and their lingo.... Smile
DEMONDAVE
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598
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Location
Apple Valley, CA US
7/23/2014 12:03pm
i started at 5 yrs old when my dad brought home a very used mini taco mini bike then on to a semi auto honda mini trail 50 then a yamaha mx60 and on and on , today a crf450 resides in my garage and hopefully an rmz450 next year
hvaughn88
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8363
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Location
Conway, AR US
7/23/2014 12:25pm
Much like everyone else, my story started with my dad riding and getting me involved when I was little. Started out riding on the tank of a 1986 Honda Z50 chrome Christmas edition (wish I still had that piece of art), then moved onto the PW50 (it wasn't pink! let's call it fuschia, haha). Rode that thing every single day just spinning lap after lap around our house. Then got a PW80 and then onto my first "real" race bike, a KX60. I was lucky enough to live on a good amount of land and my dad built me a micro "supercross" track to ride on. Man, those were the days. My fondest memories are driving from Dardanelle (small town I grew up in) to Ascot near the Arkansas-Oklahoma border with my dad every weekend. Just a father and son loading up in the back of pickup having some awesome conversations and listening to the beach boys CD, haha. Every weekend, I would show up and get absolutely waxed by a kid on an old mid-80's year model CR60. I think I heard he was the track owner's grandson but I don't know for sure. All I know is he was way faster than me. I also had two older cousins that were really fast and always a bike size above me. They were my best friends and I idolized them. I moved up to a KX80 pretty early but we also moved into town and I didn't really have anywhere to ride. I was also very, very involved in Baseball and Football, as well. So I kind of just slowly phased out of moto. Always followed it but didn't ride much. My cousin passed away when I was 18 as the result of some poor decisions with drugs, but I've always held the memories we had riding together in high regard. After graduating college I got married and my wife had a 3 year old boy that became my pride and joy. So now I'm 26, married, two kids and a business owner. Needless to say, not a lot of time on my hands. My dad gave our 6 year old a PW 50 last year, so I figured I better get a bike to ride, too. I bought a pretty clean 2003 RM125 with a 144 kit in hopes of getting back into it. But, as with most things, my son isn't really into it and I don't have any friends that are into moto at all. So my bike does more sitting than anything. My son likes to watch it and loves gear, but doesn't really have that fire to just ride all that time. My one year old, though, is into everything and has taken a real liking to the strider, so who knows what will happen. For right now, I'm just a dad watching my boy play baseball, basketball, golf and ride his bmx bike. Anyways, that's probably way more than you all want to know, but that's my story.
Glory
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SE
7/23/2014 12:29pm
Dad bought me a PW50 when I was 3. Didn't have much choise Laughing
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Paw Paw 271
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Benton, LA US
7/23/2014 1:21pm
When I was growing up I wanted to ride, but my parents would never let me. After I was married and my son reached his 7th birthday I got him a new MR50. Inside of 2 months I had to send the engine off to have it powered up with a new ported cylinder, better head, new exhaust and bigger carb. I watched him ride another 3 months and saw how much fun he was having and so I purchased a tode of a first dirt bike new. It was a 1974 Carrabella 125 so I could ride with him. The problem was that he was so much faster I had to upgrade to a new Cr125 in 1975. After that we started racing. We were not winning , but we sure were having fun. Then in 1977 I picked up a wrecked RM125, fixed it and started winning races.
My son went on to be a pro for a while after we had made all the big none pro events over the country and did well. He then had two son's years latter and stopped riding. When the boy's were 7 & 6 I put new PW 80's in front of them and they were hooked. Both of them are now in there early 20's. All have stopped riding except me and I still enjoy the exercise I get from it. Now I am old and slow, but I still have too much fun to quit. I also have riding buddies my age and older that I ride with when possible. We do some long trips to ride and we have a ball.
If I was to stop riding now, it would be the end of me.

Paw Paw
2
Tarz483
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Mankato, MN US
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3/10/2019 8:15am
Glory wrote:
Dad bought me a PW50 when I was 3. Didn't have much choise Laughing
Good Thread i think a lot of people Started on PW's
I wasnt that lucky, i didn't get a bike until i was 12 or 13 ,
1987 Kawasaki KD80 , i had ridden BMX every day up until that point so once i got use to the clutch i was comfortable.
And then started watching all the pro races from 1988 on to Now, some awsome stuff , from wardy and Johnson to Bradshaw and Chicken, Stanton, Bayle.
To McGrath, RC, Bubba, The Ryans!
STLSharky
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Location
Edwardsville, IL US
3/10/2019 10:26am
huck wrote:
Here's my story.... When I was a wee lad I always wanted to be the next Rick Johnson.... I liked his flair. I had trail bikes...
Here's my story....

When I was a wee lad I always wanted to be the next Rick Johnson.... I liked his flair. I had trail bikes when I was young, but no way were my parents going to let me race. When I turned 16 I got a brand new KX125 (1989). It was a rocket!!! They still wouldn't let me race...only ride trails and hit an occasional practice track. I had a blast on that thing....but rode less and less as I hit 17 and 18. I sold it after a couple years as it just sat in the garage....


Fast forward a few years and life happens....I got married and one of my friends got into riding trails when I was 24. I thought it would be fun to get a 125 and hit some with him.... I picked up a sweet 1995 RM125...but quickly found out that I needed a 250. So off to the Kawasaki shop I went...leaving with a badass 1996 KX250. Total power machine!!!!! I started just riding some trails with some friends, then found a local practice track (I think the biggest jump was a 25' double). I bet I put 10000 laps in at that place. So after about 6 months of riding, I was ready for my first race!! I loaded up with some friends and we went to "Sprout Patch Raceway" for a round of the Missouri State Series. I think they were getting around 500-600 riders per event in those days. I was nervous as hell, as the 250 beginner class had a full gate of 25-30 riders. It had been the first time I had ever lined up at a gate...... when it dropped I just sat there....lol watching everybody go.

I finished 2nd to last my first race...and 5th to last the 2nd moto....but I was hooked!!!! I started riding more and more...every weekend we were going to races...I was still running the beginner class, but getting better with each start. After a couple months, I was lapping a lot of the guys I was racing...and decided to take the 'big step' (lol) to the novice class.

In 1999 my son was born and the riding slowed down a little. But it wasn't long and I was back at it hot and heavy...riding every chance I had. At this time I was on 1998 KX250 and ready to move up again to the intermediate class. First race in the B class I was feeling great. We lined up and there were 3 A riders and 4 B riders. About half way into the first moto I was 4th over all (2 A riders and 1 B rider in front of me). I passed the B rider on a long ski jump and slowed for the corner...well, this guy didn't like me passing him and totally wiped me out in the new 180 corner. I was all the way to the inside and he just rammed the shit out of me....making me crash. I felt my leg hurt like hell, as the bike was tangled up with me. He got up and kept going, as I was stuck under the bike..... I finally got out and my leg was hurting...BAD! The ambulance pulls down there and they figure that my leg is broken and want to transport me to the hospital. The closest hospital was in West Plains, MO...about 1.5 hours from my house...so I tell them that I want to go home, and go to my hospital. My friends load up my truck and I head out on the drive home...calling my wife and telling her that to get a baby sitter, as we are heading to the ER when I get there. I get home and take a shower and change... My ankle was what hurt the most. The ER doc said that it looks like it got VERY twisted, because it broke my leg in 3 spots right where the top of my boot was...

I was "finished" with MX...I had broken my wrist a year before and decided that I was too old (28) for that shit! Well, after a couple months of rehab, I was ready again and had the bug!!!!! Smile

A couple years pass and I decided that 250C was the best class for me...then with 30 on the horizon, I was excited about a new class....and with the new found 4 strokes. I hit 30 and had a 2004 YZF450. It was the best thing I had ever ridden, and I was going faster than ever before....So I decide I was going to try for Ponca....at a qualifier in Tennessee, (for +30B maybe?) I got a very good start, I think there were 25-30 bikes lined up...I was in the top 5. I passed a couple in the first half of the first lap...then on a little 20 foot double I must have chopped the throttle....over the bars I went and I thought I was dying....I couldn't breath. It was the most scared I have ever been. When I finally got settled down, I felt a pain in my shoulder that I had never felt. Again the EMT's wanted me to go to the local hospital...nope.

We loaded the mini-van and trailer up, and the wife and kids and I headed home (4 hours) with a broken shoulder in tow...lol
Again, I was 'done'...no more of that shit!
The rehab on this one took about 6 months....and you guessed it, i was ready to ride again!! Smile

Then I started (with my partner DirtBikeMike) the Mountain Home Faircross. It had been my dream to promote a race in the local fairgrounds rodeo arena. The first year we did this, we had 50 racers and maybe 500 people in the stands. Our goal was to not lose money...and we didn't...but we didn't make any either. The local support was INSANE! I had people coming up to me at the grocery store asking when the next one was...and saying that they can't wait! We built an AX track pretty close to a national AX track (not quite a peaked). The years clicked by and we had 9 events in 10 years. The height of it was 150 racers and over 2500 fans at one event. We had some of the areas best racers attend as we paid a $3,000 pro purse..plus dash for cash...Chad Cook, Aaron and Adam Gulley, Corey Green, Sean Hackley, Blake Keaton, Lee Taylor, Brett Cue...are a few of the pros that have helped support our event. I would race every year as well...having fun with it. Well, the last couple years the weather has been crappy and I haven't even taken my bike off the stand... With the amount of complaining that I've received, and the lack of desire, I decided that last year was the last one that I will promote. It was a great run and was lots of fun...but I'm burnt out...with the work and the complainers. (my partner is going to continue to have one in Hot Springs in the fall)

The last 10 years I have ridden less and less with a few races mixed in here and there...


I have debated on selling my bike and gear...but it's a 2007 CRF450 that is super reliable...and doesn't eat a thing. So for now, I will keep it and just ride 3 or 4 times a year. Because the day after I sold it, I'd get the bug and want to go out and buy a brand new one!!!!! lol


(end blog) Wink
When I was little my dad hated dangerous motorcycles. I went out to the fields of the neighborhood and there was usually 2 or more kids on Mr50 Elsinores or Mx 80s riding.

In those days even no one would let you ride their bikes.

I’d watch all day if they stayed out there.

1981 dad broke and got me a new YZ80H
$739.40.

Crashed it off a backroad bridge 2 months later
Cracked my skull, kneecap and broken arm.

Dad said never again, but I broke him in 1983 for a New KX80.

I think he caused my love for this stuff by denying soo long.
2
Kelz87
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1159
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Phoenix, AZ US
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1468th
3/10/2019 11:38am
I actually loved dirt kart racing as a lil kid first. It was easier to ride a dirtbike in a field tho.

My dad took me to an AX race and on the way he said, “they’re gonna be jumping as high as those light poles” My mind was blown Laughing

I still remember the light reflecting off those chrome visors Cool
Sierra Ranger
Posts
841
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Location
Sacramento, CA US
3/10/2019 12:05pm
I was hooked at a young age, got into around the Hannah era- loved the magazines. Hannah was so badass- I eventually became a Howerton/Suzuki fan- still have an RM250.
I've been following the sport and riding off and on for 40 years. It promotes an active lifestyle (got bored with stick and ball sports years ago, not a shred of interest now. Can't even sit through the Superbowl).
I watch moto because it's the most exciting sport around, you never know what can happen.
3/10/2019 1:44pm Edited Date/Time 3/10/2019 2:45pm
When I was about 6 or 7, my dad said, “Come on, we’re going somewhere” which I didn’t hesitate because I loved hanging out with my dad. He took me to a motocross race which I had never seen before. When I saw those bikes flying through the air, I was amazed and fell instantly in love. Begged my parents for a bike and they eventually gave in. I still remember the first motocross magazine I got. It was in 1983 and had Bob Hannah on the cover. It was MXA. Been in love with moto every since; best sport ever.
1

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