The Days of Dirt and Dust; back in the day, East Coast Motocross
Everyone, this eventual book is about Back in the Day; if you have some stories, please feel free to contribute. We can add chapters from your region. Please let's pass our stories on, tell your friends. Feel free to contact me: york.ysta@gmail.com
The days of dirt and dust; Back in the day, East Coast Scrambles/Motorcross.
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| Chapter # 1 | |||
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| Barry Higgins, Fishkill, N.Y. 1965 |
( Monticello, was the beginning of true motocross before we even knew what is was) Also West Hampton and Bridgehampton truly were tough sand tracks on L.I.
Motocross the sport was born in and around Europen countries. I believe America's first introduction was by a race promoter, Edson Dye.
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| Pepperall 1968 |
Surely, in my opinion, Barry Higgins was the best the East Coast had to offer. With many young upstarts, Jimmy Weinert, and Sonny DeFeo ( son of Sal, owner of the famous Ghost Motorcycles, in Port Washington, N. Y. Ghost Motorcycles was also the sponsor of Barry Higgins.
As I watched Thunder Valley I watched a very young rider Justin Cooper,
from Long Island, this prompted me to tell this history of Dirt and Dust.I step out on a limb, and say Justin Cooper is the best first-time rookie I have ever seen!
Also, here we will find the first,
woman Kerry Kleid to ever have an AMA Professional Motocross license. She was mentored by the great Barry Higgins, also his girlfriend. In future chapters I will tell the story of Kerry Kleid's AMA Pro license.In a place called Uniondale, Long Island, was Sagan Motors.
Paul Sagan was a man bred to perfection. His shop sold Fiat, Porche, BMW, Honda, and Triumph Motorcycles. Proud I was to become the owner of a Honda CB 160, in1965. Paul sponsored flat track racing, he introduced me to dirt riding. Many afternoons Paul and I his student rode up Uniondale Ave to Mitchell Airforce Base, then closed after WW11. He taught me how to slide a motorcycle in the dirt. OMG, I was hooked!Soon I fitted it was with semi-knobby tires, and took off the mufflers, it had twin cylinders, yea! I was cool!
Little did I know a lifetime of Motorcycle, mountain-biking, running, event promoting and triathlon racing was beginning?
Please excuse some of the accurcency here, that was 1965 + now 2018, there were no notes, no photos, just a crazed group and one gal.
Some days I would ride up to Mitchell Air Force Base; between the base and The Meadow Brook Pkway was a closed golf course, we would sneak in ( top secret) through a hole in the fence, many times being chased by security; after all, we were bing time criminals?
The Long Island Gang
Along route 110 in a Huntington, L. I. Was a power line, that led to huge sand pits. ; For most of us our scrambles/motocross careers began at Rt 110.
One day at 110 on the small scrambles track we rode I met Bob Islamolf ( The Mongoose ), then our group grew, Andy Hanlon, Dan McCann, the Vargner bros., Joe Anunizza, Marty Ripp, James VanArman, Jimmy Yeager and more, I apologize it has been too long.
Wow, I almost forgot, Marty Rip and I would load his Honda 360 and my Honda 160 in his 1962 Volkswagen Van, ( try that )and go to Mitchell Air Force base to practice at sun up, before going to work, how is that for dedication?
I will never forget that day in 1969 when The Wide World of Sports came to Pepperall, this may have become the first time most Americans viewed or even heard of the sport of Motocross.; The Wide World of Sports on ABC was seen every Sat. Afternoon for many years, it was the day we met maybe the most famous of alltime sports announcer, Jim McKay. 
Coming soon Chapter # 2
WHATsUP
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| York Unidilla 1968 |
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| Weebew Club We teach public speaking |
This is so cool! I feel like I know all of these people from all the motocross stories I've heard.
ReplyDeleteI have a Paul Sagan story. In 1963, I just turned 18, I wanted a car but couldn't afford one. A friend always talked about motorcycles, which stuck in my mind, and I thought why not a motorcycle. I lived on Long Island and looked up motorcycle places and saw Sagan's. I went out there and told him I wanted a motorcycle. I was looking around his shop and I saw a Triumph I liked and said I wanted that one. He actually laughed at me, because I was looking at a Bonneville, and I was, and still am 5'3" tall and he said it was too big for me. When he laughed at me, I was embarrassed and I remember his daughter, who was this beautiful tall blond girl, was so nice to me, chastising him for making me feel bad. So he showed me a 200cc tiger cub and I bought it on the spot. In those days you didn't need a motorcycle endorsement and I was all set to get on the bike and ride it home. I had never even been on a bike before. He realized this, and after modifying the chain guard by cutting it and repainting it, which really pissed me off, because it was a brand new bike and he didn't even ask my permission, he took me out to a field and showed me how to ride the bike. He was very patient, stayed with me for about an hour at least, until I could at least handle the clutch and brakes enough to get home. He also took my brand new bike and said he wanted to show me what this bike could do, and proceeded to drive it like a maniac in the dirt. That was my introduction to motorcycles. I also remember he had an actual formula car he was working on in this shop. Sagan was a character and I'm glad I got to meet him. I did get home eventually, stalling out too many times to count before I got there.
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