My ereturn to motocross racing after a 9 year break...

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Why can't I edit the title? Doh!

Some of you may recall from the older forum that I did a motocross race back in 2014, after a then-14 year gap in my racing.

Well, this past weekend (Oct. 14th, 2023) I got back on the bike and did TWO races (each race consists of two "motos", with the totals being used to determine overall standing at the end of the event.) I ran two different classes. Race three was the 40+ Open (Open meaning any size/displacement bike competes) and Race #12 was the Open Modern 2-stroke 1997 or Newer class.

I was competing with 7 other riders in the 40+ and 6 others in the 2-stroke class. Each race had other classes also running with us, so you'll see several bikes in the videos.

Oh, and I was also announcing the 10+ hour event. 22 Races total, two motos each. (The guy you hear on the P.A. in the video I link here is another rider who took over the mic for my races.)

There are two more videos of that day on my channel.

Overall the day went pretty good. My overall finishes were 7 in the 40+ and 6 in the 2-stroke. My average lap times were in the 2min 28-29 sec ranges. (the fastest were running 1min 35-39) so I have some more training and riding to do to catch up.

We did have the leftovers of Friday the 13th to start the day off....first off, on Friday I was working on the starting gate, clearing excess dirt from the gate drop bar and linkages. While trying to raise the gates (it holds 20 riders on each side of the starters box, 40 total) the post for the manual raise bar broke at the weld. Luckily we normally raise it with a hydraulic ram system, so I did luck out there.

But Saturday started off with three issues: One, our food truck driver called in at 6am, he was sick and couldn't make it, so we were without a food vendor. (The club scrambled and lined up a bunch of pizzas and bottled water). Second, my Ipod decided to play a song laden with f-bombs over the P.A. at 7:15am, when no bikes were running. The boss radioed me saying he had some texts coming in complaining. I ran to the tower and cut it off, and of course it was frozen on the wrong playlist and wouldn't let me change it. So no music for the rest of the day. And finally, the wired mic I set up in the tower (which tested fine on Friday) wouldn't work for my boss, who had agreed to announce on my races. (Found out later he brain farted and forgot to turn it on.)

Oh, and my GoPro battery died midway on my second race, and the third race recorded with NO audio, but the last one....it switched to stills and missed the entire race. Time for a new GoPro too I guess.

Despite all that, the day's races (including mine) went off without a hitch and only a few minor injuries.

Next season I will be racing one class (two motos) for the entire Series (10 races) so I can grab a top spot in the Series overall.

[Frank Cox]

You're a braver man than me, Tony!

Even 40 years ago I would have been far too cowardly to attempt anything that looks like that.

Tony Bandiera and Tom Cruise....

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Thanks Frank. Even at 60, I have been happy to discover I can still race (but need to train more), and my previous crashes on the bike while getting used to it have shown I still bounce rather than break.

There are other riders out there even older than me, In So Cal there is a club called the "Over The Hill Gang" where you have to be at least 50 (or maybe 40) to join, and Sept. 2022 when I was down there, I saw a guy who was 80(!) and still racing. I hope to make it at least another 5-7 years myself.

This is most definitely a "young man's" (and women's, in Race #12 I compete with a girl named Dannie) sport, but even us old farts crazy enough to try this can still race in most places.

I wish I was as good looking and talented as Tom, but sadly I am far from it. But I do my own stunts too.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Do it while you can Tony! I figured living in Utah and going hiking a lot plus other fun stuff would have been good for me. But it's been almost the opposite. I wore out one knee and the other will need replacing in a couple of years. Heart is still great and the transplanted kidney has not changed in going on three years. So keep doing what you enjoy!! Before you know it all that will change.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Absolutely Mark. And good news about your Kidney, John E. mentions you from time to time.

Back in 2007 when I had my near-death episodes with blood clots, the doctors said I can never ride dirt bikes again. The first one who told me that, the morning after my diagnosis, got an earful with lots of colorful metaphors, after telling me that AFTER giving me a lecture about how a man my age (then 44) cannot sit around and be lazy. I raised my BP and heart rate in that tirade high enough to set off the alarms at the nurse's station.

I was back on the bike three months after discharge from the hospital, and my doctor a few years later actually encouraged me to ride as it was helping with my stress/anxiety and blood pressure.

I got bit by the mx bug back in 1989, and it became such a huge part of my life that it took everyone by surprise. I was a total nerd through high school, the most athletic thing I did (half-heartedly) was track. Motocross has helped me to deal with depression, suicidal thoughts, lack of confidence, and physical conditioning. It is dangerous, no lie, but far less dangerous than high school football, which my mom kept trying to push me into. And it's fun as well, once you and the bike start to get along.

If you get a chance to go see a local mx race or one of the big Supercross events, do it. The people and atmosphere there are fantastic, and the riders love interacting with fans and they are also some colorful characters. Even at the local level here in Idaho, we have some characters for sure.

[Mike Blakesley]

We used to have a motocross track here years ago, but I think the local club sort of faded away and it never came back. Glad you are back in it, it's healthy to do something you love.

[Leo Enticknap]

I have to confess to having known precisely zero about motorcycle racing ... until a nephew of my wife asked me at a family gathering if I was related to Tyler Enticknap, who apparently is quite a big name in that world. It was a question I couldn't answer immediately, and so I referred it to my father, who has dedicated his retirement to researching Enticknap family history, going back to the thirteenth century, and amassing filing cabinets and terabytes full of data in the process. He answered in the affirmative, but had to go back to the 1600s to find our common ancestor!

Unlike my very distant relative, this is way outside my bravery level. Sounds like a fun day, though, F-bombs over the PA included. Reminds me of one morning at a little theater I once worked at while a student. I was called in to a Saturday morning shift for sickness cover at the last moment, and failed to notice that the Pulp Fiction soundtrack was still in the nonsync CD player from the previous evening. Around 400 children were already seated, awaiting the start of the "Kids' Club" show. I flipped the breaker on the sound rack, with the fader still at feature level, and the CD player started automatically when power was applied. All those children suddenly heard, "FREEZE, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS ... OR I'LL EXECUTE EVERY LAST MOTHERFUCKING ONE OF YOU!" screamed at them.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Mike: That is sad, but unfortunately a trend that is not going to stop. Having been involved in mx for many years in virtually every capacity, I am aware of the actual costs involved to open, maintain, and operate a track. The numbers are horrendously large (Insurance for a single race day often exceeds $2-3,000 USD, even more for the high-profile races and stadium Supercross), that plus fuel, manpower, water (HUGE Expense), heavy equipment (even rentals add up fast) make most tracks barely break even, but most lose money, especially for the first 5-7 years of operation.

Some of the legendary tracks in So Cal (Perris, Glen Helen, LACR) survive due to things like having long since paid for the land, and also building up a good rider base to keep things running. Glen Helen in particular really stays alive thanks to hosting high-profile races like Red Bull Day In The Dirt (which I entered last November, but that was a train wreck and a story for another thread perhaps), The World 2-Stroke Championships, etc. Literally THOUSANDS attend those, and IIRC the Day In The Dirt had over 1,200 entries. But many tracks (Competitive Edge, Milestone, Starwest, DeAnza, Raceway 395 and others) have all been forced to close, mainly due to encroaching residential or industrial needs, some due to public protests over noise and traffic, and some just because the owners/operators got tired of hemorrhaging money.

And thank you, yes it has helped both my mental and physical health, and I love it more than anything.

Leo: I did often wonder if you and Tyler were related, as your surname is unique. Glad to know there is a (distant) connection. Tyler doing Supercross is a whole 'nuther level well above what I do, but back in the 90's I had one prominent pro state that if I would ever suck it up and ride to my actual ability and potential, I could do Supercross. (Back then anyways, no way I'd even try now.) That Starwest track I mentioned above was a scaled-down Supercross style track, and that Pro claimed I was FASTER there than at my "home" track, Perris (which is a longer, less intense outdoor style track.) Worse still, back then GFI Racing (Perris' owner) hosted Amateur Supercross, which were races held on a slightly tamed down version of the REAL Supercross tracks, the week after the big event. Anaheim Stadium and San Diego were the two they ran. Goat Breker (yes his first name was Goat) often tried to talk me into entering those races, (he was even going to pay my entry fee to do it) but I wussed out, decisions I regret to this day. They were safe and fun, but VERY competitive.

LOL the day was indeed a lot of fun. The f-bombs,.not so much. I always strive to keep my show family friendly, (I won't even use "damn" or "hell" on the mic) so it was probably more upsetting to me than anyone else. The funny part is, a lot of riders and spectators know me personally, and many have asked how I do it (keeping the show so clean) when I am ex-military and drop more f-bombs in casual conversation than Eddie Murphy. I told them I don't know, and never want to know, because if I figure it out that filter will fail me at the worst time, just like my iPod did.

I would have loved to see the looks on those kid's faces in your story....bet more than a few were worried.

[Frank Angel]

F-bombs over the PA included. Reminds me of one morning at a little theater I once worked at while a student. I was called in to a Saturday morning shift for sickness cover at the last moment, and failed to notice that the Pulp Fiction soundtrack was still in the nonsync CD player from the previous evening. Around 400 children were already seated, awaiting the start of the "Kids' Club" show. I flipped the breaker on the sound rack, with the fader still at feature level, and the CD player started automatically when power was applied. All those children suddenly heard, "FREEZE, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS ... OR I'LL EXECUTE EVERY LAST MOTHERFUCKING ONE OF YOU!" screamed at them.

Leo, am I a terrible person for laughing my ass off?

[Leo Enticknap]

It gets better (or worse, depending on your point of view). That theater was a single screen, that frequently alternated programs during the day - for example, one movie at 2p and 4p, and another at 6 and 8. Therefore, the ad and trailer reel ran from a separate 2K reel (because we were only given one print of the ads), and after it, we'd play nonsync briefly while we threaded the platter (by the time I left, I could do it, and check my threading, in around 90 seconds), and then the feature.

If none of the main movies playing that week were U-rated (British equivalent of G), we'd put together a separate preshow reel for the kids' club shows, usually consisting of just a few child-friendly trailers. This was the responsibility of whoever worked Friday, if it had to be done.

That week, I wasn't scheduled to work either the Friday or the Saturday. The fun started when I got a call about an hour before showtime on Saturday morning, from the panicked manager who reported that the chief had called in sick (the illness in question, I later discovered, being a monumental hangover). After covering the mile and a half from home to the theater as quickly as I could, I powered up everything equally quickly, saw only one ad and trailer reel on the bench, guessed that the chief had determined that there was no need for a separate kids' club preshow reel, hung it, and threaded it up.

Immediately after a blast of the Pulp Fiction CD, the little darlings were treated to ads for cigarettes (which, though banned from TV by then, could still be played in cinemas), pretty much every alcoholic beverage available in your local bar or supermarket, and finally condoms (the infamous "Mr. and Mrs. Hitler, parents of Adolf ... if only they'd used a Jiffy!" commercial). After that came trailers for a bunch of movies that were either ultra violent, sexually explicit, or both.

The shrunk, pink and crackly print of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that followed that preshow reel must have been an anti-climax after that!

Leo: I did often wonder if you and Tyler were related, as your surname is unique. Glad to know there is a (distant) connection.

The only two other Enticknaps I'm aware of that became even in the ballpark of that famous were George, a politician, and Rupert, an opera singer. So we're certainly a diverse bunch in terms of our career choices, though it could be argued that motor sport, opera, and politics are all variations on show business!

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Frank: Nope, I laughed my ass off too. So we are either both OK or terrible....

Leo:

So we're certainly a diverse bunch in terms of our career choices, though it could be argued that motor sport, opera, and politics are all variations on show business!

True that!! Even motocross has aspects of opera (the sounds of 20+ race bikes going around the track) and politics (Whiny riders and parents of the 50cc kids, as well as constantly fighting battles with regulatory agencies and insurance companies to keep things running smoothly.) As an announcer, I too have to tread a line between my familiarity with the riders to be entertaining, but not insulting or inappropriate.(Some riders make that last part difficult.)

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Update to this thread:

The brat bike is in cold storage in it's little garage for the winter, and it's NOT happy about it. Every time I go out to get some tools it growls at me. I won't be making any trips out of state to ride this year...money is a big problem right now.

Here's the detailed story to the train wreck race in November: http://www.film-tech.com/vbb/forum/film-yak/34169-i-m-bored-so-story-time-gather-round-kids

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to y'all.