Old-Time Supercross

Ron Lechien back in 1983, the first year he rode with the big boys in AMA Supercross.

I watched the 2nd round of this year's Supercross series from Phoenix, Arizona yesterday.
Although I picked the winner and the holeshot artist in the pool at jerk (James Stewart), I didn't get 2nd or 3rd place correct.
I wonder how I did.

It was a decent race, but, not terribly exciting, either.
Partly because the track seemed to lack anything special, save for one 90-degree tabletop jump that seemed pretty old-school (but a good one).
I actually got more of a buzz from watching old Supercross races on YouTube for a few hours, going back to the days when I had first started following Supercross and knew the names of every rider on the starting line.
Heck, I knew who they were not just from their bike's number and brand/color, but from how they looked while riding the bike, too.

One of my favorites to watch has always been Ron Lechien, a guy who oozed a seemingly natural style and ability that other guys probably would have paid good money to be able to learn how to copy.
He started winning shortly after coming onto the scene when he was just 16 years old, against the biggest of the big guys back then.
The bummer with him, though, is that he got very interested in partying and smoking pot and acting stupid, which not only had a negative effect on his results, but on his health and his relationship with his employers.
Yeah, potheads are still drug addicts, you know.

Off to jerk,
-John