CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
F
lat track racing on a cush-
ion track—the essence
of the sport. Riders flying
through the turns with the
front wheel of their machines
plowing through a thick,
sandy loam of dirt or crushed
limestone and the rear wheel
stepped out sideways kick-
ing up a rooster tail, guiding
the arc of the turn by a skilled
twist of the throttle. For many
flat track enthusiasts, it's the
pinnacle of racing. One rider
from a famous racing family in
Ohio was universally known
for his cushion track skills
and that was non-other than
George Roeder II, or Geo
(pronounced Joe) as most friends called him to
differentiate from his famous Hall of Fame father.
We caught up with Geo at the recent Antique
Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA) National
Meet in Wauseon, Ohio. Geo was there selling
parts and promoting his motorcycle shop, and he
was also slated to race against another pretty de-
cent cushion track rider, Jay Springsteen, in what
was being dubbed "Showdown at Sundown."
The theme of the Wauseon AMCA Meet was
"My First Motorcycle" and Roeder, in keeping with
the spirit of the theme, had the very first motor-
cycle he began riding when he was four, a Harley
65cc Shortster. "My boy helped me and we kind
of pieced this back together," Roeder explained.
Of course, it had smaller wheels on it when I first
started, and as I got bigger dad put bigger wheels
on it."
Roeder said motorcycles were part of his life as
far back as he can remember. The middle of five
siblings, Geo was already racing minibike races
by the time he was five.
"We used to go to places like Sportsman Park
and they would have minibike classes," Roeder
remembers. "Of course, there'd be kids on
Rupps and all kinds of stuff."
As an amateur Geo began winning national
events as he came up racing talented youth
riders like Chris Carr and Doug Chandler. "One
year up in New York, Chandler smoked every-
body," Roeder said "He was flying. I got to race
against the most talented riders in the country
when I was a kid."
It didn't take long for Roeder to gain a reputa-
tion as a strong cushion rider.
"We grew up racing on fairground tracks just
like this (Wauseon) all over Ohio," he said. "So I
THE CUSHION CRUSHER
P134
Geo Roeder II still loves to be around motorcycles.
He attended this year's Antique Motorcycle Club of
America (AMCA) National Meet in Wauseon, Ohio.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
LARRY
LAWRENCE
