P124
CN
III WHEELSPIN
BY KEITH DOWDLE
G
rowing up in small-town
America in the late '70s
and early '80s left a
race enthusiast like me waiting
anxiously by the mailbox for my
weekly race fix to arrive. Re-
member those days? No inter-
net, no social media and almost
no motorcycle-racing coverage
on TV except for the 10-minute
snapshot from the two 45-minute
motos at the Carlsbad GP once
a year.
In those days, Cycle News
was the one and only source for
all things related to the motorcy-
cle industry, motorcycle racing,
and the latest breaking news
which, to this day, is still cov-
ered under the heading "In The
Wind." Weekly updates on the
world of motorcycle racing was
about as instantaneous as it got
back then—and Cycle News was
the only source for that.
I was a moto kid working in
a dealership 40-plus year ago,
and our allotment of Cycle
News newspapers arrived every
Thursday. Like clockwork, as
soon as they showed up, I would
immediately stop whatever I
was doing, un-band the stack of
newspapers, stick the inventory
in the counter display, take one
for myself, and start reading.
Back in those day, CN came as
an ink-heavy newspaper, and my
smudged fingers were a dead
giveaway that I'd been reading
on company time. Let's call it
market research.
"In The Wind" was always
my first stop. I loved getting the
inside stories, the latest poop,
the good gossip. Knowing that I
knew something that no one else
in our little town knew yet. How
could they? I had all of the issues
of that week's Cycle News, so
I'd know before anyone. I'd move
on from there to the motocross
coverage.
OPPORTUNITIES
"I'll also give you a glimpse into
decision-making at the upper echelon of
a major manufacturer and an insider's
insight into why the OEs do what they
do and how they think."
