ROUGH RIDIN'
Lawrence's Richard Hird credits his victories in the 250cc expert class to hard practice and driving ambition. Hird competes every Sunday.
MUSCOTAH—At 7:30 on quiet summer Sunday mornings, the sun is just appearing over the horizon of this sleepy Kansas village, about 15 miles west of Atchison.
But for some University of Kansas students, this town will become the center of their world later in the day. They will risk breaking away on bone to find a way out. Students steep hills with sharp hairpin turns and jumps.
The sport is motorcross. The two riders, Rich Williams, Prairie Village junior, and Richard Hird, Lawrence, have been doing it since they were 14 years old. They look forward to it every weekend.
"People don't realize how much work it takes to run a motor or in a run," Williams, age 20, said. "But when you're going to the gym, we're just a group of Sunday burns, out having a good time. Hell yes, we're having a good time, but at the same time, we're pushing our bodies to the limit, using up every bit of muscle we've got and doing it."
Part of the attraction of the sport is the thrill and danger that it entails. The combination of man and machine, so prevalent in some other sports, is even more demanding here.
The winner of the day's races on the mile-and-a-half long course are determined by time instead of laps. The winners are not just the ones who go the farthest the quickest, but he also is the one who has the best knowledge of what his bike can do on a given track.
"Agency probably has the best track, since they are two teams that had hits. Hickman 20, is the Midway chump in the Champs-lysse."
The riders take what seem to be adequate safety precautions. In addition to a helmet and protective goggles, each rider wears a special mouthpiece to keep their eyes covered when that goes flying, with the bike, through the air.
They also wear shoulder pads, similar to those worn by football players; special leather chaps with a reinforced knee; knee pads; knee-high steel-plated boots, and a kidney belt.
The average motorcross rider is between 15 and 25 years old. Some eight- and nine-year-old children have been known to take up the sport, but Hird says they are more likely to be older and more physically pounding that the rider's body must take.
After you get to 25, too, your body, especially your kidneys, have taken a beating that you don't like. And that's bad for you.
The size of the motorcycle's engine and the ability of the rider determine the class in which the rider competes. On this day, there will be races in the novice, junior and expert riders.
"I guess if you were going to give this sport a different name than motorcross, it would have to be rough rider", Williams said. "I mean it's really quite a challenge. You and your machine riding in unison against a course so grueling that only the best skill can complete it. Now that's rough."
After a day of dusty, hot racing, Hird welcomes a quick shower delivered by fellow racer Rich Williams, Prairie Village junior.
Story by Rob Rains Photos by Ell Reichman