VOLUME ISSUE APRIL , P123
Cycle News' Gary Van Voorhis
caught up with the veep's son at
a Gary Bailey Motocross School
in early 1977. Ted, known as
"Teddy" by his fellow students,
was just another rider at Bailey's
school, and the strict former
Bultaco racer-turned-instructor
likely gave no quarter to the
young Mondale, no doubt telling
him that your daddy isn't out
here to protect you, so you better
use that front brake—and you
damn sure better not follow the
rider ahead of you!
Not only was the vice prez not
there to watch over his son, but
the school was also apparently
without any Secret Service pres
-
ence of any sort, at least, none
that were visible to Van Voor-
his. Mondale was just another
19-year-old kid, learning how to
keep pipey 1970s motocross
bikes singing in their narrow pow
-
erbands as they bounced across
bumpy MX tracks, well before the
term "prepped" was ever used to
describe a motocross course.
Walter Mondale grew up in a
working man's family. He would
attend law school, but only after
having enlisted in the U.S. Army
and using the GI Bill to help him
pay for his education. Ted ap
-
parently had no free ride either,
as he told CN that he had to buy
his first motorcycle with money
earned from a paper route. Ted
was 12 years old when he began
riding, and for a short time, even
his papa found himself bit by the
motorcycle bug.
From the story, he seems to
have worked hard to keep him
-
self clear of his father's shadow;
it also appears as if he didn't try
to bully his way into a privileged
position of any sort—he even
worked a regular job at Blalock
Cycle, a longtime (since 1947)
dealership in the D.C. area.
Mondale was just a teenaged
MX racer—which also meant
that he had a slightly wild side!
The Mondales were the first
vice-presidential family to live in
a house located on the grounds
of the United States Naval Ob
-
servatory, and the large home,
with drumskin-tight security on
the perimeter and ample lawn
space, served as a perfect test
-
ing ground for Ted and his YZ!
"I've done a few peace sign
wheelies on the lawn for the
folks [who were] waiting for the
tours to begin," Mondale told
CN. "And," he added, "maybe
[for] an admiral's wife or two! It
was all in fun!
"When my father was a sena
-
tor, I would have to set my bike
up by running it up and down
the street a couple of times,
quick like, before the police
came to see who was making
all the noise. Now at our new
house, I can race it back and
forth across the lawn as much
as I want, and nobody really
bothers me."
"Of course," he adds, "the
fence and the guards at the gate
might have something to do
with it!"
Ted's motocross career didn't
carry him into the pro ranks.
Like his father, Ted Mondale
would eventually go to law
school. Also, like his father, he
was a public servant, holding a
seat in the Minnesota State Sen
-
ate from 1991-1997. In 1977, he
told the American Motorcyclist
magazine that even though his
future plans were still uncertain,
he did have one job title, and he
spoke of it with pride.
"I'll probably study law or
political science," Mondale said,
"but I've also thought about an
-
thropology. Heck, that's a couple
of years away. If you have to
classify me as anything right
now, I'm a motorcyclist!"
CN
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Ted Mondale was an avid
motocrosser whose bike of
choice was a Yamaha YZ125.