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/126847
forced to co nte nd with inj u ries in th e last few races. " I h urt my shou lder befo re th e Rose Bow l - in a crash at Mi llville . I to re some liga m ent s u n dern ea th my shou lde r blad e, a nd h ad to get shots in it three tim es tha t week. Jeff Spe nce r taped it u p , but I was in a lo t o f pai n. Nob od y knew a bo ut it..- I didn ' t wan t word to leak o u t. T ha t would've g iven th e ot her guy a n edge, which was so methi ng I didn 't n eed wit h th e tit le on the line. It stilI bothers me, especially if I fall over on i t ." After leadin g the Un ited Sta tes team to victory in th e Mo tocross des Nations h eld in West Germany, Ward h as m o re spare time to devo te to his seco nd passion: bicycle raci n g. And th ere is p robably n o better p lace to get a feel for th e sport than in hi s ho m etow n, the sports mecca o f Mission Viejo, Ca lifornia. "I've been doing roa d racin g , mostly 50-mile criteriu ms . It 's fla t-o ut ra cing - you just sta rt a n d go fo r it. They 're tough. I' m no t good enough yet , but I ha n g in th ere. T h ere are too ma n y stra teg ies in vo lved ." . After watching Alexi G raywall take a go ld medal in bicycling compet ition during the 1984 Ol ympic games, Ward "bough t the ver y same threecolor bike Alexi rode. I even went to the same store in Denver where he go t his from , " Bicycl ing 's a lot of fu n , and it works as trai ni ng for motocross, too. I go down a co u p le of times a week to a p lace where some of the profession a l (bicycle ) guys train. T hey do th ei r speed wo rk on T uesday s a nd T hursda ys, then th ey put in th eir miles on Mo ndays, Wednesdays a nd weekends. Fifty mi les to them is short; fo r me, that 's a lo n g way to go wh en I've been out p rac tici ng (motocross) a ll day. But I' ll hang in wi th th em for th e wh ol e thi ng, a nd it 's a h ard workou t." An other sport in the cards for Ward is a tr iat h lon. " I p lan to try o ne soon, so I' m sta rt ing to get back into ru n n in g a bit. I' ve had so me bad kn ees an d a n kles, a nd I' m ge tting fo whe re I ca n ru n now. I want to ge t to th e po int wh ere I' m do ing a bo ut six m iles a day; that shoul d be enough ." H ome to Ward an d hi s gi rlfrie n d o f five a nd a half years, Mo lly Da il y. is a lak esid e co ndom in iu m in Missio n Viejo. "I bough t it about five yea rs ago , whe n I was movin g o ut o f m y m om an d dad 's ho use. It was more o f a n investment, so methi ng to liv e in un til I found a house I lik ed, but we en ded u p stayi ng the re a ll th is time. . . "I' m rea dy to bu ild a h ouse n ow . I a lready have th e la nd , in Ra ncho Bernardo, near San Diego. The h ouse wi ll p ro bab ly be arou nd 4000 sq ua re feet , an d cost anywhere from $350,000 to $400,000 to bui ld. " Relaxat ion for Wa rd these da ys: " Je t-Skiin g , going down to th e pool or an easy bicycle rid e." . Wh en it co mes to a u tomobiles, Ward 's tast es are of the German variety . " I bought a Mercedes 190, mostly for my girlfrie nd, and I have it lowered and fixed up prett y ni ce, b ut it do esn't ha ve the h or sepower like th e ones th ey sell in Europe." While he wa s in West G ermany for th e Mot ocross des Na tions, Ward di d a bit o f car browsing. " I was looking at th e (Mercedes) 500 SEC co u pe, a nd I' ll p ro ba bly get o ne of th ose in th e n ext few years." And a t least th e nex t few years will be m ore work tha n p lay for Ward ; don't loo k for h im to retire fro m th e sport of mo tocro ss a ny time soon. " I p lan to stay in it as lo ng as I ca n still win. If I get to where I h ave to str u g gl e, or don't have a facto ry ride, I'll p ro bably qu it. I'll race a nothe r 10 years if I ca n stay pretty injury-free. I' m not iired of· it all Y , -,"" "} .. ' . Sell your old motorcycle w ith a Cycle News Wa nt Ad . r-------------------------------r When You Move... 1. For FASTEST service attach old mailing label in space below If ma il ing label is not ava ilable. p r int your old name and address in t hi s box . ER I C JEN!>EN S ERIC'S I I I I I I MOTORCYCLE CO. ALL 1985 HUSKYS IN STOCK AT VERY SPECIAL PRICES -1986 MODELS AVAIlABLE SDDNI - Whe. Vou·.. Ready To Buy. Com. S Us. .. e H~;~;;~a lei Please allow 3 weeks for ch ange to take effect. 2. Print your NEW address here. NAM E (8 1 8 ) 449-ERIC 1361 E. W alnut si, Pasadena. CA 91106 _ ADDR ESS CI TY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ STA TE ZIP , 3. M ail to : ~ Circu lat ion Department CYCLE NEWS. INC. P.O . BOX 498 LONG BEACH, CA 90801 -0498 . _ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ~~~ ~~-~-~ - --~-~_~_~~~~~J