Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

'~nd maybe Cycle News could go back to siding with the hard-core base instead of the Harvey Milktoast fair-weather ladies." letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cycle News, PO Box 5084, Costa Meso, CA 92628·5084; faxed to 714·751-6685 Of emailed to editor@cydenews.cam. Published leiters do nol necessarily reRect the position of Cycle News, Inc. letters should not exceed 200 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-:;::_....... words, and all are subject to editing. Anonymous letters will nol be considered for publication. All leiters should contain the writer's nome, address and daytime phone number... Editor. Oh, So That's It I thought I would toss out why I think Valentino Rossi is so fast. The reason is his ability to accurately gauge his speed into turns. Kenny Roberts once said that there is no 105 percent; that anything over 100 percent is a crash. I disagree! I think it is more like this: At 100 percent the tires are pushed to their normal slip angle. At, say, 101 percent, the rider will definitely crash. But between these two values the rider will, to varying degrees, run wider and wider. After watching the 2004 season, I think that Rossi's success is that he rarely goes below 98 percent and above 101 percent. Corner after corner. Race after race! My only concern right now is that he stays fit for Laguna. Honda was shamed last year (or was it spanked?) and they will come out fast and hard and looking for blood. David Bell Oakland, CA I think you're probably 93 to 97.8 percent carrect... Editor Supercross Lappers Wow, where do I start? I grew up and witnessed for years racers on their podiums and during interviews complain about lappers getting in the way, lappers holding them up, lappers cutting in front of them, lappers, lappers, lappers... blah, blah, blah. During the San Diego Supercross 250cc main event, I couldn't believe my eyes: Chad Reed and Ricky Carmichael were lapping through to third place. Mike LaRocco, David Vuillemin and Kevin Windham were relegated to the lowely position of lapper while running in third, fourth and fifth, respectively. I guess it's okay to be called a lapper from here on in - what a compliment! Alex Sokolov South Pasadena, CA Mike LaRocco finished on the lead lap .. Editor Clean Pass? I find it humorous how much effort the media has put into placating Chad Reed by emphatically stating time and again that his pass was clean on Ricky Carmichael on the final lap of the San Diego Supercross. Was everyone else watching the same race' I guess if you define a clean pass as "no contact," then sure, I guess it was clean. But I don't think that darting across the line and slamming on the brakes in front of somebody is exactly a clean pass. Try watching the video again - RC had two choices: tough blocks, or Reed's brake lever. Is this really clean racing? Why has every major media entity publicized the "clean pass" so much? I doubt you guys ever say anything about this stuff, and I know that RC is above starting something when Reed is just his whipping boy anyway, but the AMA really should be better about this stuff. Neal Ratner Bakersfield, CA The Good Old Days Years ago, ESPN had Supercross on every Friday. David Bailey and Art "Ecky" Eckman were in the booth and LeAnn Tweedan was on the floor of the stadiums. Heck, even the U.S. Postal Service was on the ball. I used to have my wife hide the mail on Fridays so I didn't know who won the race. Those were the days. Daniel jendre Eastman, WI World Superbike Blues So there I am looking for coverage of the first World Superbike races of the year and I find that Speed Channel has scheduled them for Tuesday at I2 p.m. and I p.m. Instead of showing them on the Sunday, they are showing luge and bobsledding. Gee, I thought Speed was a motors ports' channel. Once again, I can see where motorcyclists fall in Speed's priorities. Look, Speed Channel, if you don't want to give decent coverage to motorcycle racing, that's fine. Just give the broadcast rights to Outdoor Channel, ESPN2, or some other network that "gets it." You do not. It's looking like you never will. Fred Houk via the Internet Now We're Fair-Weather Ladies There seems to be a pattern of the newagers at Cycle News making excuses or sticking up for things that are a detriment to motorcycling like the AMA, ESPN2, Cameron Steele and the sound wussies, for example, while ragging on old-schoolers like myself who have the audacity to call a duck a duck. We're supposed to forget that Speed Channel offered live coverage of supercross at one time, and we used to have expert commentators like David Bailey and Art Eckman, and we should be glad that supercross is on whenever on a third-rate ball channel with at least one commentator who would be more qualified as a DJ screeching albums back and forth at a hip-hop concert. And the majority of riders who ride way away from everything should have to ride bikes that sound like sewing machines because of the few who don't have enough sense not to ride by where people live. You sound wussies should lobby to get some mufflers on those dragsters and funny cars, too. Fully experiencing the raw power of those is really taking the excitement out of that form of racing as well. And maybe Clear Channel could get one more series going at the same time so we could have a series within a series within a series. That would really help the sport. Or maybe... The AMA could put the best interest of the sport first for once and realize it would benefit them also. And Clear Channel could realize Americans don't like Dorna and have a problem with lesser rid- ers being called World Champions and better ones only being National Champions. And realize supercross/motocross is overwhelminglya family sport, and the tattooed freestyle sect are only a small minority, and try leaning toward a family atmosphere instead of a drunken-out-of-control-rockconcert atmosphere. And the sound wussies could take up golf if they haven't already, and leave motorcycling to those with far less delicate palettes. And maybe Cycle News could go back to siding with the hard-core base instead of the Harvey Milktoast fair-weather ladies. How cool would that be? Lewis Greer Springfield, MO Man, does my tongue hurt when I have to bite it this hard... Editor CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 9, 2005 5

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