My motorcycling career probably started as a spectator.  I grew up in Southern California, where my dad raced desert races in AMA District 37.  My earliest memories were of a thousand Hodakas lined up just north of Barstow, CA, pointed in the direction of Las Vegas.  The famous Barstow-to-Vegas desert race.  My family served as my dad's pit crew, chasing the riders' dust as it meandered towards Vegas, paralleling Interstate 15.  It was truly an unbelievably exciting thing to anticipate the overall leaders' arrival into each gas pit.  The leaders' dust could be seen for miles as he approached.  It was an absolute treat to have been able to see legends like J.N. Roberts, Malcolm Smith, Mitch Mayes, Jack Morgan, A.C. Bakken, and Larry Roeseler in their heyday.

My riding career started at the age of 5 when I received a Taco minibike: a frame with no suspension, one-foot tall by six-inch wide tires, and a pull-start lawnmower engine.  I think I nearly rode the wheels off it by the time my younger brother was ready for it.  My only racing experience I can remember on the Taco occurred at DeAnza Cycle Park in So. Calif.  During one moto, I was passed by one of the faster kids, who was probably riding the hot setup of the day.  As he passed me, he waved and yelled "bye-bye", which infuriated me.  I pulled into the pits crying in total frustration, tossed the minibike aside and told my dad what had happened, probably giving him a hernia from suppressing his laughter, as any good parent would do.  Thank goodness I've learned to handle it better when I get passed during a race.  From the Taco, I moved on to a Honda Z50, then a Honda MR50 (the miniature of the Honda Elsinores which were then all the rage).  I remember the MR having a throttle limiter, which I would have no part of my dad leaving in, lest I be considered a sissy.  After the MR, I got an XR75, then for Christmas in 1978, I got a brand-new bike: a 1978 YZ 80.  I entered my first desert race in 1979 aboard the YZ at age 13, tackling the Viewfinders Hare Scrambles in Lucerne Valley, CA.  35 miles through the California desert aboard an 80 wearing workboots and no gloves even, "in order to get a better grip on the bars."  I continued racing the 80 in desert races, then was given my dad's 1978 YZ 125 when I was large enough.  I can remember two racing highlights aboard the 125.  The first was the 1980 Check Chase race from Lucerne Valley, CA to Parker, AZ, 225 miles worth.  I made it to the fourth gas stop, 180 miles into the race before having my day end with a rear flat.  My second highlight was my first desert racing victory, a European Scrambles race in Red Mountain, CA in 1981.  My dad was so excited about my being in the lead that he was telling anyone who would listen that I was leading the race on a '68 model.  Boy were they impressed!  Too bad I was still aboard the '78.

When I graduated high school and moved to college in 1984, my riding days ended.  I returned to California in January of 1996, and went to Red Mountain to watch my brother race.  Bad move, as I had contracted the motorcycle bug once again.  Within three weeks of returning, I had scraped the money together for a new '96 YZ 125.  You can imagine my culture-shock upon riding the '96 for the first time, my last bike having been a '78 125.  Um, you could say that bikes had advanced just slightly in 18 years.

I began racing TCCRA in June of '96, race #2409 at St. Jo.  I made two laps in the heat and dust, totally whipped.  I went on to finish 16th overall in '96 in the 125 Amateur class.  My first TCCRA trophy was in '97 at Olney, 2nd place, and I went on to finish 3rd overall in the 125 Amateur class, and was promoted to Intermediate at the end of the year.  Not bad for racing against a bunch of kids!  They should have been ashamed, letting an old guy beat them!  In '98, I suffered my first motorcycling injury, a broken finger suffered at Whitney, which required surgery to insert pins.  I returned after missing four races on a '98 YZ purchased from my brother, and finished 5th overall for the year.

The '99 season has started well for me.  While running in 3rd place in the opening race, I pulled an idiot move and center-punched a couple of logs beside the trail, sending me flying over the bars.  My day was over, ending in an 18th place finish.  I finished third in each of the ensuing two races.  Before the Bridgeport race, I was shocked and dismayed by the news that I had been promoted to the Expert class.  I've finished 8th and 5th in my first two efforts in the Expert class.  My biggest regret about being in the Expert class I suppose goes back to my earliest motorcycling memories: I'm no longer able to watch the "fast guys" race...be sure and visit the "race reports" link on the motorcycle page for results and my observations of each TCCRA race.

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