Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but paid users have great benefits. Paid member benefits:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2024 SX, MX, and SMX series (regularly $30).
The early bikes you mentioned sounds challenging with different shift patterns, etc! Also, I'm impressed that you still put in long miles.
I hope that you don't mind...I have more questions!
How long did it take for you to become faster than your dad the 'Professor' when you were growing up? How much input or influence did your dad have on your riding? Did you have any bad riding habits that you had to overcome? If so then what was it?
I'm curious to know since I did not see any faults when you came onto a pro scene and you made racing mx/sx look easy. Seemed no one had similar style as yours (and DeCoster's) until JMB came along.
Thanks for putting in the time here and most of all thanks for representing USA at MXDN's and USGP's!!
That RAW method was a nice and really ambitious guy who kept on me until I was like fine, give it to me I'll try it.. then leave me alone I'm trying to concentrate ;-) In retrospect I think it was helpful to just find a place to be alone for a bit to collect my thoughts and mentally prepare rather just walking around thinking a million things and all the sudden your heading to the starting line a little scattered. It was goofy, but it was effective at the time. I would try almost anything - even sheepskin arm warmers..
I think riders are to quick to just hand the keys to a trainer/coach. Those guys can be helpful, but the rider really has to think it through and have goals (short and long term) on paper before he starts getting told to shift his weight here of there or look further ahead or keep his leg up. What do you want out of the sport? When do you want to achieve those goals by? What riders inspire you currently - or from the past? If an 8th grader can immitate all the presidential candidates during his graduation speech and get invited to the tonight show, a rider ought to be able to experiment with things they see their favorite riders doing. So get specific, draw up some plans and get to work. THEN, if you feel you need some assistance, seek somebody who understands your goals and is sincere about helping you reach them. These days with GoPros and races on TV and Youtube, you can figure anything out if you want it bad enough.
Over training? Pfffffffff. lol.
Nutrition? I ate whatever. Even when I did the Ironman I ate whatever. If you're Michael Phelps, Chris Froome or Insane "fast" Bolt, you gotta watch what you eat. It's you and some swimming goggles and shoes and a lane! Tht's it. No getting stuck behind people, different lines etc. For Froome, climbing is where the rubber really meets the road and weight doesn't go uphill. In motocross you'll see riders who are sick do fine which partially proves that it takes so much skill to ride and chose when to pass, when to push it and when to use a better line that you can eat french toast and pop tarts and you'll be fine. Diet is important, don't get me wrong. Control what you can, but remember when you hit the road which is every week, you're eating what they have which is the southwest sandwich roll and lays chips or who knows? It's hard to eat healthy on the road. I placed my riding above my diet. If I was super lean and looked fit in the mirror but wasn't riding well, I wasn't competitive. MC, RC, even RV were all a little bit heavy and not that into their diet or training it seemed, but they rode great! Eat smart, take vitamins and utilize drinks/shakes that have most of what you're looking for in them. Hop on the internet and educate yourself and ask questions!
Recovery? Sleep as often as you can. Cat naps. Everytime you doze off, you're resting and restoring stuff. Of course protein repairs tissue, but give your body full rest as well as good food, probably the most important time for good food or as my friend told me, "building materials" is before bed. Also pay attention to your body. If you feel tired, take it easy. Either that or eat! MX bikes go nowhere without fuel and we're the same.
The Shop
(His thoughts are very few can ride a 450 to its potential (like You, Dogger, RJ, Stanton, Bradshaw, a few others), and that too many guys are hurt, and/or are so far back the racing sucks as they are more or less surviving and not racing.
And it's no secret these 450s throw you down hard and like to come back and pound you into the ground some more.
I would think we would need an entry class being maybe 125s.
Surely the top guys would be wringing out 250s/350s, and now skill, line choice, technique, and strategy would just make for a better more exciting show as the 250s are already and it would better for fans Instead of watching most the class hanging on for dear life.
Thoughts?
Dungey has been compared to me a few times or the other way around. I see that and it's a compliment. I also see a little Stanton in him. Just gets the job done.
Tomac is who I was rooting for since the 243 days and I was a fan of his dad, but it seemed to go off the rails. He should have a couple more titles by now as good as he is, or maybe I should say as "fast" as he is (imo). I hope he gets it on track. Southwick was awesome. Railing around Marvin at Washougal was so good. I rewound and watched that a few times! He can win at any time.
Marvin (not just because he's from France) reminds me of DV. Same incredible skill, but patchy when it comes to being real gritty like Hannah or RJ or RC. I was the same way so I can see it. It's hard to push the edge when it's not your strength. His skill level though is off the charts. He's also a really nice guy.
Roczen I struggled with. I liked his style and personality right away and wanted to see him win. Then he seemed to cave in, when as a fan I thought he should just pin it! But he's totally earned my respect, not just recently. His ability is on par with what 'ole 259 used to do. Crazy good, lightning fast and stylish.
Stewart has done plenty in the sport. One of the best and most exciting riders ever. Maybe he still could win, but he's been there done that so it'll be hard to go to that well again against younger hungier riders I think. It's probably hard to step down now so he might scare himself into some more wins. That would be cool. C'mon James!
They have all brought something that has elevated the pace and made it worth watching after all these years.
Thanks. Art was great! If it hadn't been for him I'd have been all over the place. He was a good host and a good friend. One person I wish I could've worked with is Larry Maiers. He helped us in the 80's with good questions, kept us relaxed and got the whole Motoworld thing legitimized. Art and I came along at just the right time after the ball was rollin' and it was a blast!
I have a question that I would understand if you have no desire to touch is totally fine, but if you could go back to the start of your career and walk away with never winning a single pro race and without your injury would you do it and just work a normal job or would you still travel the road that you have with all of the experiences and accomplishments, but with the injury in 87'?
I have two boys who are 7 and nearly 5 who ride and race and I wrestle all the time with letting them race, but I also remember what it was like when I grew up racing and traveling with my family and how much fun we had.
This thread will have to go down in history as one of the most all time greats. Thanks David.
A thousand thanks for this!
Thank you!!!
Grab a coffee for the best moto education you will get from a great champion!
That first one with Gina is right after I won the Anaheim SX in '86. We're both pretty stoked. Such a relief after a funky '85 racing season.
The cover - I was stoked to be on one, but thinking, wear a face mask next time! I think I'm on a 480 in that photo
The bar dragger shot - Gina took that one at Binghampton! I chased Broc in the first moto and snuck by right there at the bottom of the downhill. This is during the second moto and as the laps winded down Broc picked it up and we were flying down that hill. A spectator said to Gina who had a camera around her neck, "if you want to get a good picture, Bailey is gunna get him right here this time." She pointed the camera at the corner and I went for it again, but as soon as I went by Broc gassed it some more, then I gassed it a tad more and we were both coming in way to hot! As I was scrubbing it off into that little rut I figured I'd just lay it down and maybe still have time to pick it up and stay pretty close since Broc was headed out so wide, but I somehow saved it and made the pass. One of those days.
The Bultaco picture - Tht's Rolling Hills in NC. My first year pro. Must have been a good sized local race or something. I rode there a lot as amatuer with guys like Barry Palmer, Chuck Sneed, Tim Sexton, Ricky Shearer and Rusty Reynolds.
That Bultaco one in the sand is of Gary at Daytona in '73 - I think.
First Fox photo shoot. Dork!
The white gear picture is from the 1982 Switzerland 500cc Des Nations. I'm searching for some cushion. About a 3rd of the track was gnarly rocky and JT had that V-2000. I knew it was against my Fox deal, but I went over there last minute without any gear. I had to have something, so I put a Fox sticker on the front and ran it. In the second moto I went across the finish line in 2nd and about 50 yards behind Magoo who wheelied across. People closed in on the track as he did it and in doing so sweeping all 4 motos! I had great view of all of that. Gibson flatted and Johnny who already had a shot in his hand for terrible blisters (infected maybe) broke his foot that moto. Good thing Danny won I was second. Danny carried O'Show to the podium and was in rare form. Fun times!
That holshot at Gaildorf was the biggest of my career! 63 riders on the gate in the new one race Des Nations format. You can see the starting gate way back there by those white tents. I thought I was in control, but Thorpe went by pretty quick
The picture of Thorpe, me right behind him and Ward right behind us is the same corner a few laps later. Besides Thorpe showing his skill, I was doubly feeling out matched by Ward "catching" us both on his 250!
The picture of Johnny, me and Thorpe is at Maggriora and Johnny's infamous ride on the 125. You can tell from Thorpes body language that it didn't go like the year before.
That last picture from Paris 1986 and I don't know what I'm doing there, but I look a little cocky. I had some downtime in the pits so I drew that Taichi logo on to my bib with a felt marker. What I remember about nights 2 and 3 was seeing Micky Dymond in the lobby and going to a little italian place before we headed to the stadium. When the check came I was like, I got it! I won that night and I think he got 2nd. The next day Micky said, do you wanna go to that place again? Yes! When the check came Micky reached for it and said, I got it! He won that night and I think I got 2nd. He was blitzing some steam rolled whoops there like nobody else and riding great. Gina was with me and as I was signing some autographs afterwards, I get this one thing to sign and I see a Gina Bailey signature.. I paused and looked up to see Gina out in the crowd looking at me shrugging her shoulders and pointing to a guy like, he wanted me to sign it.. Funny.
Pit Row
Thanks again for doing this, its been awesome.
This is my favorite thread of all time!
Though a life-long fan of motocross, my closest personal connection to you came through corporate America. I was working as a sales rep for EMC when you came and spoke at one of our annual global sales meetings. Probably in Boston, but I'm not sure as it moved around from year to year. I think it was relatively soon after your epic ironman victory making it early 2000s. At any rate, your story brought the house down! Thank you so much for being such an inspiration!
For those who don't know the ironman story, here's a very well-written version of it:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2009/10/features/david-bailey-collision…
As others have said, I REALLY wish you'd find your way back to the booth. Your commentary and perspective were the best ever.
Right now I'm thinking pretty hard about Jesse Nelson.. Lets keep him and his family in prayer!
My thoughts: Here's to hoping this nonsense with so many ruts ends and they leave things more natural and hard packed so they quit forming. They're dangerous, not fun and not motocross! That corner for example used to just be loamy and near impossible to crash like that. Even when it was wet and had a deep mushy berm/rut it was more forgiving. I sincerely apologize if this is viewed as too soon or in poor taste, I don't mean harm by it, but rather that an important lesson is learned here. I've seen this coming! Those who know me well have heard me warn about it. There are many opinions and I respect that, but I wanted to offer mine. That last race I attended was Denver last year when Tomac went down hard in ridiculous ruts. From what I could tell Dungey lost his balance in those ruts this year. STOP with the ruts! Do everything you can to prevent them from forming to this degree. I realize people will crash weird no matter what, but the odds are higher in conditions like this. I raced Unadilla 6-times in all kinds of conditions, rain, hot etc. and never saw ruts like those. It's been overly rutted for a while now - since Burne blew out his leg in one while leading. It's not just Unadilla either. This isn't an attack on anyone or blame, just to pease think about it, whoever reads this or shares it. The question should be asked, how do we get away from having such deep, tacky, long ruts from forming? Less water? Less extra dirt? Flatten them out a little more often in places "In case" they begin forming? It seems they haul in dirt to make it nice and soft, covering rocks or something, then water it and prep it and it invites ruts. Just my observation. If this entire thread ends up helping prevent more life altering crashes, then I'm glad to be able to say something. It isn't about me, it's about the current and next generations being able to compete at motocross without being forced into negotiating such a high degree of getting caught off balance in unecessary ruts and suffering a blow like this.
- David
I have worked with David on ideas/events and it goes without saying how incredible he is. I felt honored to have his opinions on my projects and his insight was a huge value.
Thanks DB
- Hammer
I forgot about the Super Motocross thing. Your memory is better than mine. I doubt Tony and I were happy with our equipment right about then.. I couldn't believe I was even racing with him! I watched him from the #17 CZ days all the way through his Hall of Fame career including plenty of times there at Sugar Tree. I rode there at different times with riders I really looked up to and it was sureal. Once with Rich Eirsteadt in '77, that time with Tony D in '79, one time in 1980 with Bob Hannah who was just coming back from his year off. He did a race at Anderson SC and then came to our place to ride before heading to Mid Ohio for the first round of the Trans USA that fall, which marked his first official race back, and then in 1983 Marty Tripes came back to a 4-day school with Mike Goodwin who was trying to get Marty fit so he could promote a comeback. It was really interesting and such a privilage to ride with those guys and it dawned on me each time, I wasn't to bad myself. At any of those times if somebody had said, "I'll bet you end up buying this place someday and hold a national and win it" - I'd have thought they were dreaming
Post a reply to: Vital MX Forum QNA: David Bailey