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/128644
Pretty soon , it was t ime to go back. I c arefully followe d the directions aga in. Okay , there's the Cracker Barrel, there's the lum be rya rd, and there 's the fire station; all right where the d irect ions sa id the y would be. Pretty soon I was back at Jed Clam pett 's p lace but , a c cording to the d irections , th is was t he house of the reigning AMA 25 0cc National Motocross Champion . It couldn 't be. Well , I d idn 't reall y have m uc h of a choice at t h is p o int ; "O k a y ," I thought, "I'm going in." As I drove up close r to the house , I was expecting to see a n angry home owner burst out , sh otgun in hand , ready to confront this idiot who had wandered o nto his property . At this po int, I wa s looking around for a cl ue , an y cl ue that would re veal this p lace a s bei ng Ca rmichael's . There was an o ld barn n e a rb y . and in it I saw a motorcycl e tire leaned up against the wall. O k a y , that's a good sign , but I'm not thoro ughly convinced yet. I got o u t of the c ar and slow ly walk e d up to t he wooden porch in fron t of the ho use. On the por ch was an o ld rock ing c hai r, ju st wa iting for Gr ann y to come out an d pa s s t h e tim e in it. The n I saw m y second pos itive sign - two o r three pa irs o f DC s ne a ke rs outside the fron t door. I hal f- he a rt e d ly knocke d on the door, then peaked throug h the win dow. I s a w what appeared to be a nice ly f urnished liv in g room , a k itchen and sta irs , and I could fa int ly hear m us ic coming from a ster eo . I stepped ba ck to tak e o ne last lo o k a roun d t he surrounding countryside when I saw it - a Supercross tr a ck ! How co uld I have missed th at? T h is time, I knocked o n the door wit h confidenc e . A dog bark ed a nd m o me nts later a fig ure with red ha ir ca me pr an c in g down the s t a irs. Carmichael smil ed and opened th e doo r , an d he gave me a warm gr eeting. "He y, man , good to see you ," he sa id. "Not half a s good as it is t o s ee yo u." I replied . I en lightened h im with m y litt le orde a l and h e laughed . He invite d me in. Carm ich a e l a nd I ha ve known ea ch ot her for a long time, but mos t of our enco u nte rs h a ve bee n at the race track , a nd on a working basis , which isn 't the best environmen t for social izing . Afte r all , o n ra ce da y, he 's got bus iness to take care o f and is perhaps a littl e st ressed with the upcoming mot os, a nd I'm defi nitely stressed tryi ng to get q uotes a nd all the inform ation I need t o write t hat d ay 's repo rt for thi s n e w spap er . Sti ll, Carmichael has a lways been friendly to me a nd has al wa ys be en willing to give me a n interview. even whe n he ' s had a bad day o n th e track a nd I'm th e la st pers on in th e wo rld he wa nt s to ta lk to . II (Above) Ricky Cannic h a el perfonns one of h is classic Ca nni c h ae l "whlpIts" on his private, backyard practice track. (Far le ft) It may n ot look like a "c a s tle," but Cannlchael 's small house near Tallahassee, Flo rid a , Is roya l In its own w ay. (Left) Cannlchael lik es to lit erally h ang out in his barn. ~ By K IT P A L MER P HOTOS"B Y 'KAR L OC KERT A N D P A LM ER started to wonder what a back side full of bucksho t wo u ld feel like . I'm sure it wouldn't fe e l good , but I was certain I was about to find out, a nyway . I was looking fo r Ricky Carmic hael's house , but so mehow I e nded up in th e st icks outside of Ta lla hassee , Fl orida , n e a r th e Ge o rg ia bo rd e r, d riving m y br igh t-red rental c a r down wha t looked like some hillb ill y ' s lo n e ly d ir t d riveway. I h a d n e ve r b e e n to Ca rm ich a e l' s h ou s e befor e a nd I rea lly d idn't know what to expect , b ut I kn e w th is wa sn 't it. Who wo uld wa nt to live ou t her e? Up ahead. t hroug h the trees in a clearing , I could see a s ma ll hou se , no, a large tool shed. This ca n't be the righ t place, I thought, so I turn ed around a nd headed bac k to Tallah assee . I wa s early for our a ppo intment anyway, and a hot c u p of coffee a nd br eakfast sound ed really good abo ut now . At th e res ta urant, I studied m y dri ving dir e ct ion s to Ca rm ich a el' s hou s e aga in a nd a gain , and it appea red that I had don e eve rything right. cue I e n e vv S • .JANUARY 3 .2001 19