It Has Nothing To Do With Age Part 2

It Has Nothing To Do With Age  Part 2

Flashback to this teenager when Alpha, his father, purchased a Honda 50 cc

for him, including Jim, Penny and Tony to ride. Alpha served in both the Army and the Navy during World War II. For the Navy, he was a mechanic and worked on drones as they were used for target practice.

This proud father brought his two boys and Penny to the desert for all to ride on that Honda. Later, Jim joined the service and Penny found boys, leaving Tony and Alpha to bond in the desert. Soon after, Tony the teenager, purchased his own Yamaha 250 cc enduro, and later a 1968 250CZ.

That machine became his transportation to and from high school. Becoming friends with other bike enthusiasts, Tony was now racing motocross and endurance in the desert. In endurance racing, in the desert, they simply followed the markings. Currently, he can’t recall who first introduced him to this sport, the name of the desert, or his first race. He can’t recall who accompanied him either. Yet, this memory lapse does not disqualify or diminish the experience. It doesn’t raise a bit of doubt about his credibility either. Many details of high school were not remembered. By the way, his seamstress mother made his smart terrific looking racing jerseys and jacket.

After high school, Tony joined the Air Force going off to Vietnam. Met and  married Debbie while stationed in Sacramento. To no one’s surprise, Tony was an aircraft mechanic specializing in engine repair. After the service, back in California, he purchased a 400 cc Maico for his racing.

No longer a teen, this man- child competed in motocross from 1976 to 1978. Then, during one competition held in Dixon, California, and after completing one race, Tony came to the conclusion that it wasn’t fun anymore. The competition became more cutthroat; and there were too many races which meant more downtime between his races. Also, the temperature was about 105° at the time. He returned home and told Debbie that he was trading in his motorcycle for a horse. He changed horse power. He went from 40 horse power to 1 horsepower.

To Be Continued