blipping my throttle just because I
was impatient; I was really just trying
to keep my bike from stalling, but
thanks for pulling over. Most of the
trail in this section was single-track,
and the passing zones were nonexistent, for the most part. Of course, I
ended up overheating the bike while
waiting for a couple of guys who were
having trouble getting up one of the
single-track climbs, but after I shut
the thing down, it actually spared me
and fired right away. After tailgating
every single person I encountered on
the trail and riding like a man possessed, I made it to the gas stop.
Jimmy insisted that I take the float
bowl off the carb and pull the pilot jet
out, which I proceeded to do, comforted by the fact that the FMF truck
was sitting three feet away. You know
what? He was right: the pilot jet was
• NON-STOP THRILLS AT
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
• WORLD'S GREATEST RACES
completely blocked by dirt. FMF had
a new pilot jet in the truck, so I simply threw one in and the thing ran
perfectly. Pretty weird, though. Try as
I might, I can't think of how that
much dirt made its way into the carbo
I guess Jimmy Lewis didn't make his
way all the way over to Africa to
compete in the Dakar Rally by being
mechanically inept. Thanks again,
Jimmy.
The rest of my day didn't go as
DAYTONA 200 BY ARAI
SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2002
DAYTONA SUPERCROSS BY HONDA
SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2002
CHAMPIONSHIP DIRT TRACK RACES. • •
FRIDAY- SATURDAY· MARCH 8-9, 2002
planned, either, but it was my fault. I
was so far behind the rest of the
group after working on the bike that I
decided to avoid the next triple-A
route. Unfortunately, the route ended
up taking me all the way back to
Rancho Tecate (the hotel where our
trucks were parked) via the highway.
I was so pissed when I realized that I
missed 25 percent of the ride, but as
it turns out, around 20 people got lost
on the way back, and the way my
day was going, I probably would have
been one of them.
The single best thing about this trip
was that it threw open a door that I
barely had my foot in - off-road riding.
I had so much fun on this trip, and
met so many nice people - it was one
of the coolest things I've ever participated in. The other thing I realized
was that it's a form of motorcycle riding that a diverse group of people can
participate in, young and old. It gave
me hope that I will still be able to ride
dirtbikes into my 70s, and I doubt I
can say that about motocross.
CN
cue
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FEBRUARY 13, 2002
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