How did you get started in racing?

Crute and I used to ride railroad tracks for miles and miles too on pitbikes. His pos rm50 broke down, so I rode home on my xr. Got my yz 80 and a ski rope out of dads boat and towed him home. Remember that Stacy ? Lol. I do know that when kids in school were smoking dope Crute and I were riding trails on pitbikes or going to dirtworld and pymatuning on party nights.
 
I think I got started the first time with a rubber band but it was so long ago, it's kind of hard to remember...

And I don't know if that little Jeff Miller kid was there that day. But if he was, I'm sure he beat me. Some things never change...
 
The first MX race I went to was around 1976 at the Erie County Field House. I remember pitting on the blacktop parking lot. Hard to beat blacktop pits. Then every Friday night under the lights at Wattsburgh Fairgrounds. They had qualifiers and LCQ's every night. I was instantly hooked. I raced a lot of D5 back then, I also enjoyed Huggie Bear in Mercer, Limits MX and Flattrack Saturday nights in Knox.
 
Rode and wrenched on bikes a bunch as a teenager with neighborhood friends, (out in the country). Even was a flagger at Honda Hills once back around 79. (first motocross race attended)

With a kid on the way, ended up married waaaaayy too young.
Got angry with life having to sell my dirt bike and mustang for diapers and formula, buckled down, entered apprenticeship and worked my ass off till I got the kids raised.

Started buying bikes again around age 34-35.
Sick of being spectators, youngest son and I entered our first race at Grumpy Valley. 36 years old, 2002.
I grew up watching my dad race stock car when I was young, so I've always wanted to race. Just took me awhile to get here.
 
The older I get the faster I was, haha! This is a great topic! This is spot on for the passion of riding that drives folks to go racing and other folks to promote races...you lose the passion, you lose everything!

My step-dad got me into riding...earliest memory is sitting on the gas tank of KX500 holding onto the bar pad with he ripped through some trails around the house. My first-bike was a Honda CT70 with fold-down handlebars. Us kids would ride in our 5 acre yard for hours and hours. He eventually started racing CRA harescrambles back in the mid nineties...I have walked just every CRA HS track that existed in the 90's. I was hooked...no turning back...every school project that could be about riding was. Every tale of my life has been directly or indirectly influenced by motorcycles...some tales include quads, haha!
 
My dad and his friends at work rode in the 70's. I was at the races in diapers I do believe. 5 years old and I was out there helping the flaggers do there jobs. It was in my blood at that point on. Then one day he came home with a 76 XR 80 I think it was. Went to my grandmother's house and took my first ride, well, wreck. I think I was 6 and had no idea what to do about the clutch and all that jazz. Needless to say it was a short time later dad came home with a JR50 for me. much better no clutch to drop and crash. From there on out I was hooked! My dad says we, well he tried to quit a few times. I remember a couple 3 year stints one around 81 and the late 80's too. Until Art and the little Pyma track started running those dustbowl rough races! It was too close to not race! Hard to believe Pyma has been there close to 25 years. Boy we traveled all over from Eastern Ohio Western Pa and Western NY to ride before Pyma came around. What great memories from all the tracks I've been to and the people I've met along the way. Moto is a great sport!
 
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