I was never acquainted with Track riding until almost 50 years after my first motorcycling experience, when my middle son Sean had an interest in it. At his first Track day I tagged along as his emergency contact and eventually became his pit crew. I pleasantly found that this particular motor sport is very family and friendship oriented. The group of guys who formed CCK Racing were a natural haven for us, and exhibited the camaraderie and willingness to support anyone drawn to the sport. As part of the pit crew I typically help out in whatever needs to be done as I’ve found those in CCK Racing, and others in this remarkable sport, do selflessly for everyone around them both on and off the track.
How did I get involved in this? The journey to motorcycling started at age 14 on an XR75, but the depth of that interest started before that. I was drawn to sports that had two factors… some level of mechanical technology and a physical style to use it efficiently. I studied the styles of top competitors in various sports in relation to their equipment sets. This interest was what eventually led me down the path to 7.5 yrs of college and career in engineering focused on product development and world wide manufacturing. But it all started by fiddling on improving things and with the bio-mechanics associated with these sports. For instance at age 13 I started becoming an accomplished snow skier and obtained my NAUI Jr diving certification. Part of my interest in riding began by exploring hiking trails out my back door where I started riding bicycles on them to extend my daily range, and eventually used motorcycling to go even further into the hills of Northern California.
Seen in center of photo riding in parade alongside H.S. instructor Jim Merkel who eventually developed a successful Car & Motorcycle training program that spread across several districts in Northern CA. Jim coined the name Joe “Loop” O’Banion after I looped, long time friend and riding buddy, Chuck Creighton’s KTM 400.
My senior year at Shasta High School I was elected President of our Car & Motorcycle Club shortly after getting my second bike, a Husky 175. Typically riding throughout the week and day long dirt bike rides on the weekend, with a larger group, was not uncommon. Many of the riders I rode with competed successfully in various forms of dirt competition (Flat Track, Motocross and Enduros) but I was content to just explore, usually in the first 3 positions on any ride which varied with the terrain. My natural reflexes are geared toward riding in an upright seated or standing position, even though I’ve owned several highly modified RD400’s for the street. In college I was involved with teams that designed, built and raced Human Powered Vehicles that went 50 & 60 mph (basically fully faired bicycles). My smallest bike was an Aero50 in grad school at WSU however 🙂 ! My most ridden bike, rain or shine to work, is a 1987 KLR650 which I still own. My girlfriend, now wonderful blessed wife of 35 years, was the one that drove me to see it back in 1989. She was a natural passenger too, and we’ve enjoyed many years of riding on it together since then.
