Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE U nadilla is one of the most legendary names in American motocross. Unadilla Valley Sports Center, nestled on the side of a river valley hill in upstate New York, is about as elemental as it gets for professional motocross in America. A natural-terrain circuit, the Unadilla course looks every bit like a classic European motocross circuit that one could imagine located some- where in the foothills of the Alps. When I was a kid, one year my family went on a vacation, leaving frosty Indiana to head to sunny Florida. It was a long drive, and I was just shy of getting my learner's permit, so I spent a lot of backseat time in the family truck- ster. At one point, I grabbed my dad's Rand McNally Road Atlas to try to ward off miles of inter- state boredom. I decided to find as many towns that I could that hosted AMA Motocross races or U.S. GPs. Of all the tracks that held big races back in the day, few were bigger than Unadilla. I remember the pictures in the motorcycle magazines of the clas- sic old track, with Bob Hannah or Marty Tripes battling the stars of Europe. As a young motocross fan, I learned early on that Unadilla was a mecca in the sport. America hosted its first Motocross des Na- tions at Unadilla, as well as its first U.S. 250 Motocross Grand Prix. So, with atlas in hand, I flipped P116 UNADILLA IS NOT IN UNADILLA not in Unadilla, New York—it's re- ally 30 miles to the north, in New Berlin, New York. Former AMA Motocross/Super- cross manager Duke Finch—who grew up near the village of Unadil- la—once told me of a gas station owner who for years has had to pass on the bad news to Unadilla newcomers that their journey was not quite over. I happened to be driving near the town and decided to hop off the interstate and see if I could find that station owner and hear if he had any funny stories about folks trying to find the fa- mous motocross track. to New York State, found Unadilla in the index, and scanned the map to see exactly where in the state this track of motocross lore was located. It took a little while to find, but suddenly there it was: right next to I-88, sort of in the middle of nowhere, I thought to myself. As I drifted off to sleep to the clump, clump of interstate expan- sion joints under our wheels, I had that happy, snug little feeling that I knew exactly where the legendary Unadilla track was. Just one thing was wrong—I really didn't. You see, Unadilla's famous motocross facility was not and is not in Unadilla, New York—it's re- to New York State, found Unadilla