Thanks Andy. I think our wives are just trying to protect us even though it seems like they are sucking all the fun out of life.lol Actually mine is very supportive as I'm sure yours is as well. She takes xrays for a living and I don't think she wants to see me at work.lol
We started building the track around 1989. It only had a couple of jumps pushed up by the farm tractor and an oval track for the Honda Odyssey we had back then. I started to hang out with a kid my age that lived just down the road around that time. He raced MX, was/is very good on a motorcycle(me not so much) and was riding all the time. We became besties in a very short time and he got me more interested in MX. It wasn't long before the track started to grow and my parents were helping to support his race efforts. In the spring of 1991 my parents bought a 955K and we got the old Euc going so that we could haul in more material for the track. The unfortunate part of having flat property is that everything has to be made and you can't take advantage of any natural terrain. Anyway, the track wasn't the best practice for high speed but it was always filled with jumps so it taught us a lot about technique and timing. I never really got into racing but I have done hundreds if not thousands of laps around this track.lol My friend retired from pro racing in 1995 when he landed a full time apprenticeship as a heavy duty mechanic. He was #3 in Canada that year in both 125cc and 250cc classes. Unfortunately even with his talent, at that time there wasn't any money in racing here and it cost a lot to travel across Canada for several months on top of maintaining the bikes. A few years later things were a little different and with his skills he could have made some good money racing. Timing is everything I guess
. Since then over the years the track has sat dormant most of the time but I try to keep it maintained. I got back into riding around 2001 when I started to hang with some younger guys. We rode a lot on mini bikes as well as the full size stuff until around 2008. The Fiddy fad passed and my riding buddies moved away for work leaving me with no one to ride with on a regular basis. In November of 2010 I almost bought a new bike to replace my 07 but my wife and I decided that to build our shop instead. We all know where that has lead me...
Now I'm at home all the time in the shop so I need some fresh air now and then. My ex pro friend bought a new bike in the spring and another one of my old riding buddies has just got back into riding in the last month or two(has been racing carts for a couple years). He has it bad and even though he bought a new enduro bike in October, he just ordered new MX bike last week after hearing I got mine.lol Hopefully we get some good rides in together over the next few months and it will all be worth while!
Reg