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/126038
.... s.. ~ ROLLING STUPID roPES &RACINGTHE INSIDE STORY MACK: Seen 'e m! Man , I've done everyt hing. Kic ked in the corners, p ushed pe ople out of t hei r line , stopped on the - apex while leading. Don't try to make me out like so me rookie, OK ? MC: Sorry, didn 't mean to ins in uate th at yo u weren 't a dope yourself. We 're j u st trying to fmd o ut how youo pera te . MACK: When I'm kn ocking pe ople down o ut there I fed like Su perman. I'm absolutely fear less when it co mes to so meone else 's life . MC: An y t hough ts y o u 'd like to pass _ o n? MACK: Su re . If you can ' t ta ke it, then do n ' t go ar ound handingIt o ut . But if yo u 've got yo ur he ad scre wed o n wr o n g, like me and the guys, th en there ain't nobody in th e world yo u can't block, kno ck down, o r injure. I mean , how ma ny pe o p le can make a livin g do ing wh at I' m d oing? Right ? ~I C: Righ t. ENDURO RIDER ~I C: SPORTSMAN RACER to blaze in to the corner about three gears too high an d knock abo u t ten guys down. I got started when I was yo u ng. Some of th e older gu ys used to do it, so I just star ted. I doubt if 111 ever go on to the bigger stuff be cause I haven 't ever m ade it p ast th e first corner yet. . MC: Why first turn crashes ? JOE: Why not? I like to fed sharp and you can't look and feel yo ur best if yo u ride around in the sun for the whole mo t o. MC: Aren't yo u concerned with possible .lo n g range damage to your body ? JOE: Hey man , who knows what's go nna happen tomorrow. Does Rocket Rex Staten WOrTy every time he sees a cres cen t wrench, ca n Ro ger D. 100k his fo rks in the face again ? Hey, my monoshock co u ld blow my tail off tomorrow, so 1'm not gono a let a co up le o f sore losers get me down jus t 'cause they don't know what ra cin g is. MC: As you kn ow', this interv iew is about dopes. What are y ou into ? JOE: First-turn crashes mostly . I like l\IC: You've been racing a long ti me. I supp ose yo u 've seen a lot of dopes ? By Rick Semen Before you read any further, let 's get a few things straight. First, we are not taking sides in this di scussion . We have already lost too' many ad vertisers doing zhat. The information co ntain ed herein is just that ; in fo rmat io n . The truth or falsity of that information' isn't our concern. We i;ieryicwcd as many racers as we could, bearing in mind that many of those we approached would be unable to form co heren t sentences, False names are used to protect th e ign o ran t. The 7.do p e " re fe rr ed to consist s of most of t he co m m onp lac e t h ings found in our sub-culture: pit ra cers, squids, show-offs, berzerkers, 125 No vices, and even magazine edi tors. Yes, we "felt that editors sho uld b e included, simply b ecau se they personify the effects of rac ing dopes. • 4 modern cycho 18 DIRT TRACKER What's you r specialty ? LEE: Most ly Na t io nal Enduros, Two -Days and an o ccasi o nal swa p me et. ~IC: Don 't yo u indulge in do pe riding? Sure , doesn' t everbody? LEE : Actually I started p retty heavy in t o crashing all by myself, but I ha d to kick the hab it. I definitely prefer to tak e someone with me . It's really neal. I can really enjoy a good crash when a co up le of guys are under my bike. MC: How often d o yo u indu lge yourself? LEE : If I'm o n a 24 mph average I like to take out about four guys an hour. Through t he rough sections and slower averages I cu t ba ck to about two. With a really fast average time I like to ride backwards on th _<;9urse, ~ MC: Does this have an y bad side ' effects? LEE : Yeh, I have a pretty expensive paint and clothing bill every month. I've found that for maximum effectiveness I need to . change the color of my bike and jacket every week. We run a pretty regular schedule and a lot of the guys remember me and duck when I come by. I know a lot of racers don't think dopes should be allowed out on the co urse. No ' matter how hard we try to wipe ou t these spoil sports, m ore people are opposed to us. I was quite pleased to see that mo to cross does no t suffer th e same type of discriminat ion as end ur e s. Whil e out at a local all-junior day at a local MX the majority of the riders were dopes. I hope that they don 't expand into endures, 'cause we like the sp ort as is with just a couple ' guys roosting an d splashing the riders. I guess it is ine vitable th o ugh.