Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

IClockwlse from top left) Glover. on the left. IItt8mpta to block a shot from Rick Johnson In a game of HISal1. Arat thing In the morning" for catching up with the news. There's no factory box van and mechanic to go out and practlca locally; just throw a bike Into the back of the truck and head for tha hlUs, moming to go water skiing with Jim Gibson, surfing with Scon Burnworth or getting in a good 18 holes of golf. When we visited Glover, Rick Johnson, also of El Cajon and a Yamaha Pro Support rider, introduced him to a killer game called "HiBall." The object is to throw a ball through a hole in the opponent's "court" which can only be accomplished by bouncingconstantly - on the trampoline floor. It sounds simple, but it is work. (Glover quickly got the hang of it and managed to beat Johnson a couple times. Like most champions, he hates to lose at anything.) It's easy to believe that Glover would have been a professional athlete of one sort or another if he hadn't become a factory motocrosser. "I was really into baseball (at Valhalla High School); I think that's where I would've went. Football was good, too, but nowadays you either have to be eight foot four and 325 pounds or something and be able to run the 100'yard dash in nine something." As for riding practice, Glover gen· erally goes out two or three times a week. He has a couple of practice tracks set up in the hills a few miles from home, and the usual routine is to load a bike into the back of his impos. ing Chevy four·wheel·drive truck, go to the track and ride until the tank runs'dry. When it's necessary to test, he'll often drive north to meet his mechanic, Jon Rosenstiel, at Saddleback Park, trying the new ideas, different combinations and minor modifica· tions that might produce a better race bike. Whenever possible, though, Glover likes to spend as much time as possible at home, or at least close by. Right now, home is a comfortable two·bed· room condominium lie shares with his girl friend of severa] years, JoDi Toom, and his dog, Turbo. Across the room from his complete stereo system, one which would be the envy of any audiophile, is a little hide· away that serves as Glover's telephone booth. As does any successful businessman, Glover spends quite a bit of time on the phone, a fact he somewhat reo luctantlyaccepts. A few trophies sit in one corner of the living room, and a few 8 x lOs of him racing grace other spots. There is nothing that screams to a visitor that a professional racer lives here. He won't be living there too much longer, he hopes. "Right now, I'm building a house that's gonna be nice - four bedrooms, 4400 square feet, a four-car garage (1200 square feet) so 1 can put all my three·wheelers in it." Situated on a hill overlooking a golf course on one side and the city of El Cajon on the other, Glover's future home is also about 200 yards away from one of his practice tracks. Currently, plans are to have the house fin· ished in the summer of '82. One thing that Glover has already gotten off the ground and rolling is a business on the side - 3B Lightning. The shop, started with partners Bill TaJley and Bob Williams, cater to the performance-oriented three·wheeler enthusiast with monoshocl< frames and special engine modifications their specialty. Though he isn't there on a dayto-day basis, Glover does stay actively involved. Why. three-wheelers? "It gets to the point where you go out and race every weekend for a job. There's so much tension, so much pressure involved." Thus, the need for diversion. When Glover goes out to the desert, usually to the sand dunes at Glarnis, he likes to go out with some friends in his motorhome, towing a large trailer which almsot doubles as a machine shop besides serving as a three·wheeler transporter. Other "toys" in his stable include a ski boat, a Yamaha 550 Seca and a new Pontiac Turbo Trans·Am, the reward for his latest national title - the Trans-USA series. Between the training, practicing, testing, playing and checking on 3B, it would be easy to think that all of that burned up a day fairly completely, but others bide for his time, too. While we visited him, a local radio station was trying to arrange a meeting, a race promoter called about travel changes, and Glover let it slip that he was supposed to play in a special celebrity volleyball match and also judge a beauty contest in the near future. The reason for the last two, besides some fun: Glover feels that it can only be beneficial to the sport if the general public becomes more aware of and familiar with the top names and faces in motocross. "I think Yamaha and all the major teams need to ex ploit their riders more ... get 'em out to be more spokesmen for the company, and link the factory with the general public," he ven tured. When tagging along with Glover through a "normal" day, though, you've got to wonder where he'lJ fit any more thingo; in his already full schedule. When we spoke to him, he was in constant though not hurried motion as he went from room to room and closet to suitcase, packing for a three-week racing trip to Australia wllere others would find it as difficult to catch up with him as we did. • 29

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