Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125790
.,
course he gives you a warning arrow
that a turn's coming up before the
actual turn arrows. When you get around
the turn there's another marker right
there to tell you you're right on the
trail. It's always in the right spot. You
always know where to look for Al
Eames' arrows. You don't bother to
look)n the spots where the .arrows
aren't supposed to be. You'll go half a
mile and there won't be an arrow. But
you know there's not supposed to be
any arrows. Then you get to a point
where there's supposed to be an arrow,
you look up, and there it is.
eN: Dave, you're an astronomer, aren't
you? Do you work in an observatory?
Dave: Yes, the Smithsonian Institution
Astrophysical
Observatory
in
Cambridge. I also work for Harvard
University, Department of Astronomy.
CN: A couple of people told me you
were an astrologer.
Dave: Well, they weren't far wrong. I
get that at cocktail parties all the time.
CN: It's kind of a strange thing. There
don't seem to be that many professional
people in motorcycling.
Dave: Really, there's quite a few. In
New England for example, Ronnie
Webstl'r who rides with us on the
Yankee Team is chief engineer at Gerber
Scientific in Hartford, Connecticut. Piet
Boonstra, who's been a very successful
rider in New England for years, in the
top three a couple of times, is an
executive in charge of computer
production at IBM's main plant in
Poughkeepsie, New York. Mr. Ferb
across here, who's our assistant team
manager, is project engineer in New
York working for Cyanamid.
CN: Before I started writing, I used to
work for an electronics outfit. There, it
was always fine if you came in' limping
from a ski accident, but they gave you a
bad time if you came in limping from a
motorcycle accident.
Dave: Well, there's a funny story about
that. I fell off pretty hard trying to get
in shape for the Six Days in Germany. I
broke my back, crushed one of my
vertebrae. It was only a week before I
was supposed to take my oral exams for
my Ph.D., so they brought the exam to
my hospital room. The eight examiners
came to my hospital room and I took
the exam flat on my back in
hyperextension. They're reasonably
liberal at Harvard, anyway.
CN: That migh t be the onLy reasonable
way to take a Ph.D. exam!
Dave: It was the greatest gimmick of all
times. They felt so sorry for me they
couldn't fail me, you know.
CN: Are you heading back to New
England now?
Latham: No, I'm going to Arizona
where we have. our observatory, our
field station. Do some observing. Do
some more work on the Yankee and see
if we can't put to good use some of the
things we found out this week.
CN: Have you got that air cleaner
problem worked out now?
Latham: Yes, we do.
CN: I saw you frantically trying to keep
the dirt from running through it .'
Berkshire.
Latham: Yeah, well, it was r.·
muddy up there and we didn't haL