Love of racing bikes

In this space I will write, in chronological order, the history of the bikes I have owned in my riding (and racing) life. Some great stories circulate around the bikes I’ve owned, and I hope this blog will jog the memory to recall some of the great experiences I have had through my passion for bikes.

I will start with the earliest bikes I can reliably remember (trikes and such excluded), and will frame the list with bikes I have raced, because that's the other point of this blog. I have always loved racing. From my early teens on, I have been fascinated with bike racing. From racing neighborhood friends on clunkers down trails in the fields where I grew up, to racing against more serious competitors on motorcycles—and later back to bicycles—racing has always been the point of most of the riding.

It's interesting to note that my early years of bike riding were an attempt to emulate what I dreamed of... motocross racing. In my late 30s it came full circle, back to bicycles. Maybe it was a reaction to the danger and complexity of motocross racing, that was certainly part of it. I was shocked and saddened to see two of my motocross heroes, Danny “Magoo” Chandler and David Bailey injured racing, and those events got me thinking more about the danger of that sport.

But I think it was also a desire to move on to a new challenge, something I could improve on every day. I think that's what I really love about bike racing. There's no limit— there’s always something you can work on.