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Post by MotoBill on Nov 23, 2003 9:44:04 GMT -6
Yea, dad said no way when I asked for permission - but we went anyway.
Burdock Mound over by Granton, WI had hillclimbs back then. And when you're a 16 year old farm boy you think you can kick the worlds arse right? My best friend Gary Seefeldt and I "borrowed" his dads Ford pickup, spent the morning stripping everything off my trusty Honda SL125 (my only transportation at the time) and headed off on perfect Sunday afternoon.
Back in 1974 they really didn't care about "parent waivers" 'cause they signed me right up. Yes, this was an AMA D-16 event. I had jury-rigged a tether with some wire and haybale twine (that got the guy on the line ALL wigged out) so there was a little delay at the line while they "reconfigured" my system.
So, off I go. I got into 2'nd gear as I hit the hill so it was bog city. I guess I must have snicked back into 1st right about then and just hung on! That little Honda just kept pulling as I rode all over the place, from one side of the run to the other more like a trials rider than a hillclimber but by gawd I made it! Somebody told me later that it took like five min or something like that. First real AMA event-1st hillclimb EVER and I made it!
You never forget that feeling.
Well, that and it WAS 1974 on a HOT afternoon at a biker event and EVERY woman there was wearing some version of a halter top. And short short cutoffs. I didn't care - I made it up the hill!
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