Did I Stutter?
Headline - Endo cures 4th grader of speech impediment. Leads to lifelong racing addiction.
When I was a kid I was a bicycle fiend. Riding, racing, jumping, wheelies, bunny-hops, slide-outs. It was not uncommon for me to rush home from school and head straight to the garage. My aim was usually along the lines of removing my rear hub to re-pack my bearings - after cleaning them in leaded gasoline of course. I’d lube everything with fresh grease and put it all back together for the afternoon’s ride. I had 3 or 4 bikes and I was constantly swapping parts around and building “Frankensteins” - constantly looking to go faster and higher.
Try this front sprocket with this rear sprocket. Do these wheels feel faster? Which front forks are best for speed? Are these handlebars better for jumps?
My favorite feeling was getting my bicycle moving so fast on a downhill run that I’d reach a “terminal velocity” where it felt like my bike couldn't handle the speed. You know the feeling - your front wheel starts to skitter & shake under your handlebars and your back wheel feels like its no longer making contact with the pavement. Oh, man, those were the days - I freaking loved it!
Pull up on the handlebars and scoot your butt back as far as it will go. Search for the grip in the tires.
Relax, ease your mind, breathe deep, and let it ride.
Did I Stutter?
I can clearly remember stuttering my way though the early grades of school. Words just got stuck and wouldn’t come out, no matter how hard I tried. There was a general consensus of either “he’ll grown out of it” or “he needs to be in the school for the clodpates.”
I also clearly remember in fourth grade, setting up a j-j-jump on a downhill section of our str-str-str-street one afternoon. Speed and exhilaration were intertwined in my bike riding repertoire. Jumps off homemade ramps often factored in with the “go faster” component. Faster! Higher!
Today would be the day we’d go f-f-f-faster, f-f-f-f-f-f fly higher, and jump f-f-f-f-f-further than ever bef-be-f-f-f-f-fore. (Fs were hard for some reason).
Building a Death Trap
Even though I was heavily involved in the construction of our ramp that day I was scared shitless of this jump. Scrap pieces of plywood, 2x4s, bricks, and an old wooden box , all cobbled together and evolving into what was starting to look like a death trap.
Bicycle helmet? No. Not even invented yet to my knowledge. All we had were visions of Evel Knievel - though were we sans cape. I even rode to the top of the ramp, checked the wind, and then eased my way back down to set up the perfect approach from the top of my driveway.
Jump for a Cure
I knew my jump was fubar’d as soon as my front wheel touched the ramp. Total loss of control. My airborne flight still appears in my stress dreams to this day - that visual of me 30’ over the sidewalk on Tanglewood Dr. in Irving, TX. Ok, maybe it was 15’, or 10’, ok possibly only 3… Or more like this guy…
I landed ass-over-teakettle on the concrete - a total endo, hitting my head so hard I immediately went unconscious. I don’t remember a lot of what happened next but I do recall coming to on my front porch. My mom was certain I belonged in the ICU while my dad was confident I just needed to lay on the porch for a bit longer and then try it again - provided the ramp could be reassembled before nightfall.
A few days later, with the symptoms of concussion cleared, we all noticed one thing for certain. Despite an egg-sized knot on my cranium I was no longer stuttering. My speech was as clear as a bell, and remains so to this day! True story!
Alpha
The thing I love about motorsport is its pure alpha nature. Alpha male or alpha female it doesn’t matter. A race track is a place is for those who want to lead the pack, not follow meekly behind. I pretty much look at life in that manner…
I love that feeling of taking the car right to its edge, or just beyond. Your steering wheel skitters, your back wheels slide as you oversteer, there’s often feelings of floating on the pavement and that sensation where you know where you want to land, you’re just praying you land there…
That long sweeper curve where it feels like your car might break loose at any moment - are the tires gonna hold? As you pull through the curve and into the straight you have a brief moment to think back to all those nights & weekends in the garage. That sway bar is working, those bushings are holding, those new bearings are smooth, and that work on your cylinder head is paying dividends as you mash your right foot into the floorboard.
Relax, ease your mind, breathe deep, and let it ride.
Why We Do What We Do
That’s it! That’s the feeling! That thrill, that exhilaration - it’s what I’ve been looking for since 4th grade when my bicycle’s front tire was skittering like mad. While I was trying to find the balance in the machine. While I was praying I didn't end up with chunks of asphalt embedded three layers below my epidermis.
That’s what we’re after. Why?
Because Race Car…