BEST OF JODY’S BOX: WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT LOOKING BAD?

BY JODY WEISEL

See the photograph on this page. That’s me in the tree turn at Saddleback Park. It is quite the quaint little time-capsule photograph. You can tell that I’m still flying my Texas roots by the flag on the back of the helmet and the map on the side. I am actually a native Californian, born in San Francisco, but I started racing motocross and road race in Texas in the late 1960s. I also tried short track at Ross Down, but I quit because I wasn’t sure that the outside wall could take much more abuse.

Did you notice the Heckel boots, Gold Belt and Bill Walters leathers? I’d say this was 1976 or 1977, but what difference does the year make when we are talking four decades ago.

But, I didn’t come here to talk about my sartorial taste or the fashions of the day (although the long locks coming out of the back of my helmet were de rigueur in 1970’s motocross). Nope! I came to talk about my riding style. It is awesome.

Quit laughing. I have the tree corner wired and, even at my worst, this is still better style than David Vuillemin ever displayed (and he managed to go amazingly fast while looking like a spider on a marble). Sometimes you gotta break all the rules to get the job done. But, I could see where some wannabe motocross instructors, and there are more of those than you can shake a stick at, would look at my approach to this corner and start pointing out the obvious flaws. I don’t see any, other than my pants are a little low in the back and one sprig of hair is out of place (ruining an otherwise perfect coiffure).

Okay, I admit that my elbows are down. I’m sitting side-saddle. I’m leaning the bike right while my weight is on the left, and I’m not looking down the track. All wrong by conventional standards. But, for whoever thinks those are flaws in my riding, I’m doing this corner perfectly for the situation—so cut me some slack.

Perhaps I should shed a little more light on what’s so good about looking bad. First of all, except for Ketchup Cox who shot this photo, the tree turn wasn’t visible to anyone at Saddleback. Thus, I’m not looking bad, because no one can see me. Second, if you have never raced at Saddleback, I’ll forgive you for thinking that the tree turn is made out of dirt. It’s not. That is actually brown ice. Going fast at Saddleback required the skill set of a figure skater and in this photo I’m Peggy Fleming. Third, I’m on Pirelli tires, which no sane rider would ever race with at Saddleback if he wanted to keep all the skin on his elbows that is. Fourth, that is a Spanish-built Montesa 250VB, which, now that I think of it, makes this a photo shot in 1977. Montesas were typical Spanish handlers. Translation: they didn’t turn unless you slid the rear end around like a flat tracker (a technique I had already failed at Ross Downs).

On this rock hard, slick, uphill, 180-degree turn around a tree, I’ve scrunched up to put more weight on the front tire, twisted my rear end in the opposite direction to keep the rear Pirelli from slithering out from under me, and I’m looking where the bike is headed, which at the moment this photo was shot wasn’t in the desired direction.

Oh, one more thing, if I did the tree turn by the motocross school manual, I’d be lying on the ground. Thus, this is awesome style.