trophy with the old Trail 90 on
the top (with the broken-off front
wheel) is the only one in plain
sight these days. It's the one I
care about most.
You see, I thought about that
trophy again a few months ago
when I was signing up for an en-
durance competition that I was
about to take on. The morning
of the race, I went through the
usual registration process and
was handed my pre-race swag
bag that you sometimes get from
the race promoters. In the bag
I noticed was the race's finish-
ers medal, which I thought to be
quite odd—getting your finishers
award before you even start the
race! I didn't really think about
much right after that; instead, I
went about my business, got to
the start line, raced, and was
glad to see the checkered flag
a few hours later. But crossing
the finish line this time seemed,
well, a bit empty.
Finishing endurance races
of any type has always been
a fulfilling experience for me,
and there is nothing a whole lot
better than being greeted by a
friendly and encouraging face
who is about to slide your finish-
ing pin/medal inside your glove
after a grueling enduro, grand
prix or hare & hound, or whatev-
S
omething happened a
while back that made me
think about my very first
trophy I earned in motocross.
Actually, it was my first trophy
ever, and it's still proudly gather-
ing dust on a shelf in my garage.
In fact, I still have every trophy
and finisher pin that I've racked
up throughout my 60 years.
You might think that would be
a lot, but unfortunately, it's not.
Few of my recognition of ac-
complishments are on display at
the moment, but most of them
are carefully wrapped up in a
box somewhere in the same
garage as trophy number one—
mind you, it wasn't a first-place
trophy, but it is the trophy I care
about most. Someday soon,
I will, however, bust them out
and show them off properly, but
for now, Mr. Third Place plastic
P106
CN
III OBSERVATION CHECK
BY KIT PALMER
EVERYBODY
WINS
I finished, I don't
know, maybe 10th
or something, and
my dad rolled his
eyes back when
I went to get my
trophy. "You really
want a trophy for
10th place?" he
said. "Heck ya!"
