First Round.
"J & D" Photo courtesy www.stacyracing.com
“Dad I wanna race”….sounds simple doesn’t it? Four tiny words from a little boys mouth that have been able to conjure up an incredible range of emotions, countless breathless moments and some of the most incredible smiles I have ever seen on my son’s face. Before I get ahead of myself lets start where it really took root.
Jake was just past his 3rd birthday and we had decided to take in a race at the nearby Central Cycle Club track. NESC was running that day, Keith Johnson, Mike Treadwell and Pat Barton would be battling it out. Jake and I took up a spot close by the near legendary triple called “Central Air” and we watched the bikes soaring over us whipping sideways through the air. Jake, still small enough to be comfortable in my arms pulled on my shirt and said, “That daddy…..I wanna do that.” I sorta dismissed it as being a reaction to the excitement of the races and didn’t think much more about it...but Jake did.
The first bike wasn’t obtained until he was 5, a 1986 PW with the classic red and white colors, by then I had gotten used to him always talking about wanting to ride and race. We took in tons of local Motocross and Arenacross races, Freestyle events, caught the Gravity Games and of course watched Supercross and the X-Games. Jake rode the wheels off that PW50 for a good year and a half before it was time for a bigger bike and we decided to go with the Honda XR70. It was a step up in size and power to be sure not to mention that model bike is built like a tank, perfect for the abuse it would surely take. After spending the rest of that summer riding and getting used to the new bike we decided that the 2004 season would be our first as a racing team. After going over the pros and cons of the various racing organizations in New England we decided that the best choice for us was to join NEMX. They offered a wide variety of tracks, plenty of track time for the little guys and reading over the lively discussions on their website showed some people that seemed laid back and fun. We picked the number 610 (Jake’s birthday) and registered for the 2004 season, the first race would be at the legendary MX338 on March 20th.
Of course this being New England, March 2004 decided to come in like a Lion and go out like a Leopard….a Snow Leopard that is. With the sandy shores of Southwick still not in view under the snow and the next race being at Central Village, which we can’t ride thanks to CT law. The following round would be at Brocton’s new MX track, but a trip to Disney nixed that race for us. It was beginning to look like it would be a long time before Jake’s first gate drop, enter Winchester Speedpark. I had heard a number of good comments regarding the cool SX style track as well as the dedication and great attitude of its owners Dave and Suzanne Boisvert. So after checking their race schedule we picked April 10th that would be the opening round of their Spring series and a good chance for Jake to get some track time before the NEMX visit to WSP the following month. So we packed up the gear, bike, tools, ez-up, tent, power washer, clothes, food and last on the truck our newly made water barrel. We headed off to camp out the night before to make sure we didn’t miss anything the morning of the race and cruised along up Route 2 through Connecticut and onto 91 heading through Mass. The whole ride I was unable to see out the rear view mirror because of the water barrel sitting tied to the top of one of our totes in the truck bed. We went through a bit of construction and after hitting a little bump to the left I heard a peculiar bouncing sound, but I dismissed it as just road noise and cruised on. After a few miles I checked the side mirrors and then glanced in the rearview, thinking “nice not much traffic and nobody tailgating”. Then it hit me that I could see out the rearview….THE BARREL!!
All I could think of was that heavy brass fitting attached to a 55-gallon drum sized missile smashing through some poor persons windshield. I had to pull over and see if there was some damage behind me, surely the police would be looking for me soon enough. Well we got to a wider spot in the road and I pulled over to the side envisioning the carnage I must have caused, I looked over at Jake, told him to stay put and went to survey the back of the truck for any clues as to the disaster I had wrought. And there….hanging over the rear bumper…… was the barrel, suspended inches over the road by a line I had put around the spigot. I kicked myself a few times for ignoring elementary physics, re-tied the barrel in place and we were off once again. The rest of our ride through the crisp spring afternoon was uneventful and by 6:30 we arrived at Winchester Speedpark.
We headed up to the main building filled out the necessary forms, got everything under the sun notarized and in roughly 10 minutes Jake was signed up for the spring series and the next days 65-C moto. All that was left to do now was set up the tent, unpack the truck and have some dinner. As we sat eating our cheeseburgers I began to notice that it was getting a little cold, I also noticed that we were the only people setting up a tent. We were one lonely canvas island in a sea of RV’s. “Oh well”, I thought I had brought plenty of blankets, our sleeping bags, we both had sweats to sleep in and we would be sleeping on a nice air mattress so it wouldn’t be like sleeping on the frozen ground.
Those of you reading this that have ever camped in New Hampshire in the early spring are laughing right now I’m sure of it. Jake and I both woke up shivering at about 3:20am, I’m not sure if it was my teeth chattering that woke him or if it was the other way around. Needless to say we high-tailed it into the truck and turned on the heat, one run for a couple blankets and pillows later we had our new tent for the rest of the night. Stretching and yawning we rolled outta the truck into the chilly morning air at about 6:00 to find everything including Jakes bike was covered in frost. Soon enough the sun came around the side of the hills and took the chill off so we had our breakfast and wandered up for the riders meeting.
It was a nice informal riders meeting, flag instructions and gentle reminders to everyone that the winter rust would be best shaken off slowly not knocked off with a slam to the turf. Practice was smooth and with the exception of a few rough spots Jake came through unscathed. Before we knew it moto number one rolled around so we staged up behind the 85cc class and watched as they roared off into a very tight first turn, 2 riders tangling and flipping into a heap, an audible gasp coming up from the crowd. Suddenly I thought to myself…”What the hell have I done!!!” Then I got a hold of myself and remembered all the times we had talked about this very moment and how happy Jake was to be sitting there surrounded by the other riders and getting ready to race. We rolled onto the start pad and as he got ready I could see the nervous excitement on Jakes face and I leaned in to make eye contact. “OK buddy, ya ready?” of course his answer was “Daaaad” (pronounced Duuuh!!) and we both laughed. I then said something to him that I would say before every race Jake would run in 2004, it was actually something I heard New England racing legend Doug Henry’s wife say to him on the gate at Southwick. “Look ahead, think ahead, remember to breath, have fun and I love you.
Jake running in his first Moto ever, April 04 Winchester Speedpark.
Photo courtesy www.stacyracing.com
With that I stepped back holding my breath as the 30 second board came up, the gate dropped and off he roared. Both motos went very well, Jake finished each with his wheels on the ground and as he rolled out the exit gate after moto2 and climbed off his bike the look of total satisfaction on his face was worth every moment spent getting there. Yea I cried a little bit, so what? The track was very dusty that day.
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