GINTERVIEW
e
By Donn Maeda
l~ ~
sky outside is dark and
grey. The wind has been
blowing for hours, and the
air is nippy and cold. A
gloomy day indeed, but it
would take more than that
to phase Ricky Graham.
Clad in a pair of blue Wranglers
and a red flannel shirt, something
about Graham is d ifferent. As he sips
on his mug of coffee and gazes out the
window of his Salinas, California,
ranch house, a look of content settles
• •
6
CycleN Rider of the Y Ricky Graham
ews
ear
over his face. When he speaks, Graham often smiles. And it' s a genuine
smile. For the first time in years, Ricky
Graham is truly happy.
And why shouldn't he be? At 34 an age at which many riders begin to
ponder retirement - Graham has
returned to the pinnacle of his sport
and performed what can only be
described as the most awesome comeback in the history of motorcycle racing. That alone would make any man
happy, but for Graham, there's more.
After a highly pub licized battle
with alcohol in the early 90s, Graham
saw the light, came clean, and performed a 180-degree turnaround that
not only bettered his personal life, but
h is on-track performances as well .
Now, it's been over two years since
Graham 's lips have touched a drink,
and it shows.
"That's all in the past now," says
Graham. "1 wish people would just '
give it a rest."
Maybe now they will.
After twice reaching the top of the
sport in 1982 and '84, injuries cost
Graham both his title, and his Honda
factory ride in '85 . Determined to
•
prove his doubters wrong, Graham set
out on his own for the next two years,
but a lack of major sponsorship and
increasing expenses caused him to
take a step back in '88 . Graham was
burned out. Racing was no longer fun,
and it had become far too expensive
as well.
The following three years were dry
ones for Graham, as he raced only a
few selected events. Winless since '86,
most insiders had written him off, and
few expected him to ever win again.
Graham was negative about racing,
negative about life.
