Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Mike Melton Aiming for another National Enduro title By To m Ko lnowski Mike Melton 's struggle to win: the National Enduro Championship was finally brought to reality in 1983 , i n a seaso n in which he scored overall w in s in seven even ts on the cha mp io nsh i p sched u le and backed tha t up with a trio of seconds - a verv credi ta ble record in a best (0 out of 12 42 " C u n n ing ha m , a nd Mik e ha s a lso ada p ted well. But a l ter th e lo ng seaso n -an d with th e rit le in han d , he was ready for some relaxation . : " It 's definitelv o ne of mv better series. yea rs! I was prett y fortun at e 'a ll year His effo rts in th e two previ ous sea long - but th in gs ma y t ur n aro un d so ns wer e o ver sha do wed by th e pe rth e o the r wa y for next year, and formances of Dick Burleson a nd T erry mavbe I won 't do as well. So me ti mes Cunningham . In '8 1, Burleson won YO I; ca n ge t it a ll toget her a nd o the r th e title for th e ei g h th co nsec u tive tim es yo u- ca n ' t, a nd in '82 things time th en announced h is retirem ent . were n ' t goi ng a ll rh at well. I'm kind Cunningh am a nd Melto n fini sh ed in o f g lad th ai i r's a ll o ver for th is sea th e pl ace a nd show positi on s. C u n so n, a nd wi th th ings going lik e th ey di d I've managed 10 stay prett y n ingham went o n to ga rner th e titl e in '82, and Melt on o nce aga in was pumped u p a bo u t riding. R ig h i now , right th ere with a sol id seco nd o vera ll I'm reall y looki ng forward 10 going finish . In 1983, th e so u the rner, o rig idown home a n d spendin g so me time nally from th e sm all town o f Butler , with m y famil y. a nd ma ybe even get: Geor gia . co m p le ted h is steady rise 10 tin g lu ck y enoug h 10 sh oal me a the lap . deer. " With the tit le beh ind h im , yo u It 's taken Mike several vear s since h e wa s cro wne d as Ih e ' SE &TRA m igh t thi nk Mike wou ld have tri ed Endu ro C ha m pio n in 19i8lOachieve 10 get a wa y from th e co m pe titio n th at go a l. H e's c urre n tl y livin g in scene as m uch as possib le a fter the Co lumbu s, Ohi o, in an a vera ge su bN at iona ls were o ver. The o p posite urban apart ment o nl y a few miles was true. H e has co n tin ued to attack from hisplace ofemployment-Husqlocal en d uro s and hare scr ambl es on va rna Mot or Co m pa ny . In Mike's a wee kly basis , p lacing more not ch es case, as is a lso true with C unnin gh am , in th e wi n column, no dou bt a ided by th ey a re more than sim p ly factor y th e increased co nfiden ce th at accornend uro rid ers. T he y also have a da y-topani es a prestigious ti tle. Strivi ng for that goa l ha s been a way of life for da y exi ste nce beh ind a desk in the o ffice , o r in th e workshop. Mi ke si nce his da ys in so u the rn That C?~Rt".t.i_u.Q.n . . I?P!oy~t:nl .Scit~A- "._. _ ~egrgi.a •. ' . •• ~t io? :"?i.k~d:well ·Eor Bu rleson and ', . .~W~e·n ~ -~irst"sfarted'riding, one of ", ... . .- - my goa ls was 10 go 10 the ISDE an d do well ov er th ere, a n d to wi n the Nati on al Enduro C h a m p io n sh ip . G elling the tit le has meant a lo t 10 me - th ere's a lot pe ople that rea lly want it but wi ll -never actual lv have it. I've accom p lishe d so me th ing in my lif e rather th a n just sta ying a t hom e a nd working in a pl ant th e rest of my life-I co u ld n' t go back 10 th at. But racing is not a pi ece of ca ke lik e most peopl e th ink- you d o a lot o f tr av elin g, yo u do a lot of work and man y tim es it 's seven da ys a week . While it ' s work , it' s a n enjoya ble kind o f work for me," In thi s case, work ca n be defin ed as not o n ly regul ar co m petitio n a t th e Nation al level, bUI a lso as a nine-tofive typ e o f e m p loy ment wh ere Mik e spe nds hi s tim e betw een events prepping hi s bikes, o f co u rse , but a lso as a Husk y techni ca l representativ e. " Working a t Husky ha s gone prett y well. Wh en you do get lime to work o n yo ur bike, the pho ne is co n sta nt ly ringing. I dontrnind ta l ki ng to o ur deal ers a nd c usto mers- tha t's what we're here for. Terrv a nd I also tak e ca ll' o f servi r e schoo is we o ffer to new dea lers t ha t co vel rebuil d in g motors , suspe n sio ns , a n d thi ngs in genera l. Wh en I ca n help so meo ne ov er the phon e wi th a p rob lem th e jo b is even bett er. " Th e Husk y facilit y in Co lumbu s basical ly, forms the cen ter . o l t bt;i r , ea stern co m p etitio n effo rt s, AS yo u' enter the fro n t door. yo u ste p into th e office that is shared by two-thirds of th e staff - Melto n and Cun ni ngham. T h e fin a l th ird is Burleson, who manages t he operati on . These t hree m en have co ll ect ively held th e Nationa l Enduro ti tle for the past decade. " It's h elped me out a lo t getting 10 work alongsid e Di ck . Th e m o st important th ing that he helped me with is my m ental attitude. Since the time I moved here from Bu tler, it's been a big h elp. Of course, he has made sure I prepped the bikes right, bu t he 's alwa ys made me try harder a n d to ld me to work out more. Yo u can 't just say , ' H ey, I'm in good eno u g h shape 10 do i t,' He always tries 10 get me enthused about tra ining, and pushed me so I wou ld get o n some sort of regu la r p ro g ra m , H e's a lways there if you need any ki nd of q uestions answered abou t riding or whatever - he's been down the road, so he knows wha t it takes. " As fa r as tr aining goes, I usua lly start the year by worki ng o u t a t Na utilus th ree times per week. T hat wi ll usuall y last well into Ma rch and Apri l and after that I'll do it when I ' can sin ce we're into th e riding sea son. Wh en th e National end uros sta rt, we ' ll leave on Fr iday morning a nd get back on Monday, a n d with working the res t of th e week there's no t a lways time 10 get in a ll of the trai ning I' d like to do , I don 't worry abou t it so lo n g as I 'm riding every week. I'll head do wn -and ride so me of the.' ,. ", # • • • • •• • ~) _ • 1' 1 I ' I. ' I

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