Good Morning......so nice to see a collection of enthusiasts in one spot. It's always very homey in dirtbike land. This is probably how it felt when I was a baby......wrapped in swaddling clothes, wide-eyed and thirsty. Except one thing. When I was born, my folks wrapped me up in shop rags and freshly laundered cloth diapers and stuck a foam "uni" filter under my head to keep me comfy.
I'm told that's how ya do it when your Father spends 18 hours a day at his struggling 1 year new Honda Dealership. We had no cash for extra stuff so diapers were used on babies and as well as on the showroom floor for polishing up new Hondas everyday. And when the diapers ran out, Pops would strap a clean shop rag on us. No worries when you practically live at the shop. Mom used to brag about her expertise in meal preparation. 6 course meals right out of the vending machine! Didja know that if you take a tootsie roll and set it on top of an Abba-Zabba and then fold the sides of the Abba-Zabba up lengthwise that it looks like a hot dog? Cool, huh?
My brothers and I were the luckiest kids in Southern California if not the World!
I am thankful my Father kept us close and made us work. It made me what i am today. I saw, touched, smelled, and sometimes talked to every single model of Honda Motorcycle that Honda brought to the U.S. from 1963 to 1993. Thankfully my Dad loved racing. Any kind of racing. And so my siblings and I worked our butts off in return for used Z-50's, CT-90's, CT-70's, and QA-50's. My dad used rebuild everything for us into full on custom race bikes. He was an artist! His dirtbikes were fast and clean. He eventually ran a race team out of the shop and custom built each and every rider's bike. He did all the motor work on the CR's all throughout the early 70's and 80's. He carried a porting tool with him in a briefcase. It was just soooooo cool.
We ran D-37 and CRC races every other weekend. Then Indian Dunes for our start as serious mini-cycle racers. I think my older brother might have been the guy to enter the first ever SL-70 in a race in California. We made a special trip to the dock to pick up the bike, assembled it lights and all and had it on the starting line at Indian Dunes for Friday "night" mini-cycle racing. We had the only one......until the next Friday when 30 kids showed with them. It was cool.
Anyhow, I have great memories and feel very blessed. The Business was sold while i was in College and I've sinced married the coolest gal on the planet, Fathered 6 kids, enjoy life in Laguna Beach when I'm not 50 floors up in the downtown hi-rise where I making a living as a maniac Wall Street guy. Which leads me to my point and my presence here. It's time to go riding!!!!!
We're heading to Northern Cal for a couple of years and I've got the kids all set up with two new Honda XR-70's, an XR-50, and an 85 SX KTM. M. Smith set up a new KTM 525EXC for me. It's beautiful!
We plan on riding a lot. We're going to take a year or two off from 5 soccer games every saturday, and the weekday parade of kids to swim team workouts, jr lifeguard, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, gymnastics, and ballet to go riding!!!!!!
I need help....I have no idea where to go???? We prefer to steer clear of MX tracks with the little ones at first. I would love suggestions on open area and trail riding anywhere North os San Francisco on up to Sacramento. My kids are all under the age of 14. Two are already fast fast, but the young ones need space.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks a ton! Apologies for the ramblin' stroll down memory lane.
Billy G
I'm told that's how ya do it when your Father spends 18 hours a day at his struggling 1 year new Honda Dealership. We had no cash for extra stuff so diapers were used on babies and as well as on the showroom floor for polishing up new Hondas everyday. And when the diapers ran out, Pops would strap a clean shop rag on us. No worries when you practically live at the shop. Mom used to brag about her expertise in meal preparation. 6 course meals right out of the vending machine! Didja know that if you take a tootsie roll and set it on top of an Abba-Zabba and then fold the sides of the Abba-Zabba up lengthwise that it looks like a hot dog? Cool, huh?
My brothers and I were the luckiest kids in Southern California if not the World!
I am thankful my Father kept us close and made us work. It made me what i am today. I saw, touched, smelled, and sometimes talked to every single model of Honda Motorcycle that Honda brought to the U.S. from 1963 to 1993. Thankfully my Dad loved racing. Any kind of racing. And so my siblings and I worked our butts off in return for used Z-50's, CT-90's, CT-70's, and QA-50's. My dad used rebuild everything for us into full on custom race bikes. He was an artist! His dirtbikes were fast and clean. He eventually ran a race team out of the shop and custom built each and every rider's bike. He did all the motor work on the CR's all throughout the early 70's and 80's. He carried a porting tool with him in a briefcase. It was just soooooo cool.
We ran D-37 and CRC races every other weekend. Then Indian Dunes for our start as serious mini-cycle racers. I think my older brother might have been the guy to enter the first ever SL-70 in a race in California. We made a special trip to the dock to pick up the bike, assembled it lights and all and had it on the starting line at Indian Dunes for Friday "night" mini-cycle racing. We had the only one......until the next Friday when 30 kids showed with them. It was cool.
Anyhow, I have great memories and feel very blessed. The Business was sold while i was in College and I've sinced married the coolest gal on the planet, Fathered 6 kids, enjoy life in Laguna Beach when I'm not 50 floors up in the downtown hi-rise where I making a living as a maniac Wall Street guy. Which leads me to my point and my presence here. It's time to go riding!!!!!
We're heading to Northern Cal for a couple of years and I've got the kids all set up with two new Honda XR-70's, an XR-50, and an 85 SX KTM. M. Smith set up a new KTM 525EXC for me. It's beautiful!
We plan on riding a lot. We're going to take a year or two off from 5 soccer games every saturday, and the weekday parade of kids to swim team workouts, jr lifeguard, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, gymnastics, and ballet to go riding!!!!!!
I need help....I have no idea where to go???? We prefer to steer clear of MX tracks with the little ones at first. I would love suggestions on open area and trail riding anywhere North os San Francisco on up to Sacramento. My kids are all under the age of 14. Two are already fast fast, but the young ones need space.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks a ton! Apologies for the ramblin' stroll down memory lane.
Billy G
