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/126065
II arley -Davidson JD with a sidecar, p laying tennis and water skiing. "I also enjoy working out and training." "The ISDT is very de manding. You . not only have to ride well, but you have to know how to make the bike last for six days. To me, just riding the ISDT is worth a year's preparation and training. I'm looking for m y first G old Medal in Austria." Don Cichock i -- Bethpage. N.Y, When he's not terrorizing the 125 cc class in the Two-Day Qualifying series, twenty-six year old Don Cichocki earns his living as a gardener. The New York rider ("I've lived o n Long Island all my life.") has b een active in co m pe t itio n for six of hi s nine year s of rid ing cy cles. h is mo st re cent accomplishment being the second best scorer in class for the Two-Day serie s. Like every o ther Pen ton rid er that 's going to Austria t his year , (there ar e fiftee n of th em ) Do n owes bi g t hank -yo u to the people from Lor ain . He also has a group o f persona l frie nds "whose last names he didn't men t io n , but who a b via usly were super helpful t hr oughout the seas on : Steve , Bill, Lee , Frank and Dada . Marcia Mac Oonald. last y ear's Silver Vase T eam Man ager and all aro und super ga l, also ge ts a bi g thanks. '" guess it's to do something th at no t a everyone ca n : ' Don summarize s h is reason for investing a ll the mult i-bu ck s and meg a-effort to wa rds riding in th e ISDT. " A nd for th e cha lle nge . You just ' can 't sum it all up in a fe w line s. To w in a G old medal in th e ISOT is defin it el y worth all the money , tim e an d e ffort I've spent during t he series. I just hop e luck is with me in Zeltweg !" A veteran of six ISDTs , Don tips his thank-you h at to, "Marcia McDonal d, for p ush ing (me -- not th e machine) and to the peop le at Pen ton for he lp with my mach ine and transporting it ." With three Silver Medals. one Bro nze and two ONFs to his Six Days reco rd. Dan's not being able to give th at elusive Gold Medal another a good hard chase in the 1976 Austrian event is no dou bt one of his greatest disappointments. When we asked why Do n Cutler invests all th e time and money necessary to pursue that piece o f metal, his reply was simply, "Try' it once. It's ha bit forming ." Gary Edmo nd - Canterbury. Conn. "I've never been ab le to decide wh y I h ave m ad e this sport my way of life. It m a kes times p ard on my fami ly .. .I' ve j ust decided that th is is wh at I wa n t to d o , an d I wan t to d o it to th e utmost ." Gary Edmond's w ords see me d to sum up th e feel ing s of m an y ISOT riders. A husband an d fa ther, the twe nty-seven year o ld p art s man ager and sales ma n at Mi ddl etown Kawasaki contin ued , " I have no interests other than riding. Wit h my work, riding an d family, I d on ' t have time to do anything else." .That statement also has a familiar ring to it . " I would like to thank Marty Ray of Rok on for all hi s he lp . My being new to t he b ike, it took a great d eal of coaching ." Gary said, then ad d ed Preston Pet ty 's name to his thank -yo u list for his support in the two Orego n qualifiers, "Without those two Gold Medals I would not have qualified." " Th e only thing that could keep m e fro m going to Austria would be sickness in the family Gar y said in conclusion, "Or lack of money . 0" It Carl Cranke -- Place rville, Ca. • Duralube Sweep 41 serf Races e weekend You migh t th in k that so meone like Car l Cra nke (or any of th e o ther Silver Vase Team member s: Penton, Pento n an d Leimbach) who has been involved in mo to rcy cling on a day-to-day business level for years would be co m e tire d an d cynical about the whole deal. We've me t seve ral younge r profession al racers who seem to h ave los t to uch wi th the joy of riding so mewhere along the road to financial success. In off-road , rid ing, how ever, st ill a non -pro fessional sport , the exact opposite seems to b e true. Ridi ng is still a fo rm of release rather than an extensio n of the work day . And pro ving o neself is far mo re valuable tha n making an extra b uc k . . "The Six Day s is very personal," Carl wrote, UI do it to prove my sel f to myself. A price can't be p u t on a Gold Medal -- it's so special, as far as personal experience is concerned, that it 's priceless. tt • The twe nty-seven y ear old veteran of four ISOTs (all Gold Medal rides) and his most favorite person in the whole world Nancy Ellis enjoy life in th e foo th ills of Sierra Nevada, Carl lists fishing, swimming, canoeing an d being a woodsman among his non-eycling interests. Penton Imports, naturally, gets the big thank you. "John Pen to n and Larry Maiers were responsib le for Six Days be coming a reality to me ," he adds. "The Two·Day s eries was very uneventful th is year. No problems .. five starts, five Golds, five class wins !" Let's all wish for Carl's ISDT to be eq ually, as he puts it, "uneventful." Don Cutle r -- Putnam. Conn. IITwo broken bo nes, three stainless steel screws and one ver y large cast," the m a c h i nils t fr om Conn ecti cut , Don Cu tler answered when asked if th ere any problem s tha t might keep him fr om makin g it to Six D ays. Don , at fo rty 'y ears of age, w ould have b een th e oldest member of the 19 76 . U.S . forty man c o n t i n ge n t (incl ud ing alte rnates), a dis tincti on that now goes to Charlie Beth ards . John Fero -- Whittier, Ca. "Wh en a per son in my po sit ion wh o doesn 't hav e a lo t of m oney to spend o n t he ISDT qualifiers, and wh o ha s been dr eaming of d oing it fo r five years , _sudde nly me ets so me peop le wh o want to help and suppor t him , j us t saying t ha n k yo u do esn't see m lik e it 's eno ugh." . J ohn Fer o , o ne o f th e three Yamah a riders wh o will represent the U.S . in Austria this y ear wa s spea k ing . " new emp loye e at Yam aha Int e rnati onal in Buen a Park . Cal iforni a , the twe n ty -nine year o ld fa t her o f four was recall ing th e fo lks ba ck home in Nebraska wh o 'd helped wh en hcd needed it mu st . . " Yo u live and bre ath e for Six [Jay s and t hat motorcycl e , and th e o nly reward yo u get is the sel f-sat isfac t io n o f trying yo ur bc st . You don' t rid e th at mc to rcyc le as an individual : the n.' arc man y. man y pe ople rid ing with y o u menta lly . Doi ng my best is thc way I'd like to t ha nk all t ho sc people." In addit ion to the Xc braskan s, J oh n also thanks Bill Stewart of Yamaha , an d o f c o u rs e , Y ama h a Int erna tio nal fur rnak ing it all happe n for him .