Every year thousands of riders and enthusiasts gather at various race tracks around the US and Canada to watch individuals race their two wheeled steeds down a quarter mile of cement. One of these race tracks is located in Woodburn, Oregon mid way between Salem and Portland. Woodburn Raceway, like so many race tracks of the past, is located smack dab in the center a hay field about a mile east off the I-5. This makes for a perfect setting since drag racing is a loud sport; not too conducive to neighborhoods crammed full of single or multi-family homes.

On the weekend of August 21- 23, 2009, Woodburn Raceway once again hosted the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA), a three day event Friday through Sunday afternoon. Actual racing takes place on Saturday and Sunday where the final contenders race against each other.

This year, as with last, overall numbers of participants and fans were down from years past. The combination of poor economy and less available tracks has taken its toll on the race community. Even in the world of AMA and NASCAR numbers are down.

Drag racing among bikes has had a long and colorful history and has always been a part of the motorcycling landscape. But today it faces an uphill battle with everyone from developers eying potential property to environmental zealots who claim racing is causing harm to the environment. Plus, one can’t discount the price of fuel and its impact on racing.

For many years now, Drag Racing hasn’t gotten much in the way of television coverage. It’s considered the ugly stepchild within the race world. Of course, this in no way reflects upon the dedicated down to earth people who race and enjoy supporting drag racing. It’s just the way of the times.

Drag racing even amongst car fans has lost its luster as compared to its glory days. During the sixties and seventies, every kid in the US knew who Big Daddy Don Garlits or Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney was. We all had models of the Little Red Wagon, Snake or Mongoose race cars. We also collected the Hot Wheels editions of the same cars. Yep, the seventies race car drivers did for racing what WWF did for the world of pro wrestling. They focused on building larger than life Characters. Characters you cheered for, or booed. Monster Trucks exhibitions picked up on this and have built up their roster of Grave Digger’s and the like. If I were in charge of motorcycle or car drag racing I would do the same thing.

Unless you paint racing bigger than it is, like Monster Trucks and WWF, you won’t get the kids and young adults to embrace it. Instead you will continue to cater to a shrinking fan base. So in this man’s humble opinion the answer to increasing TV time and bringing in more fans is to go back to what worked in its hey day.

Ranting aside, spending a day at the races is a great way to blow off the day and enjoy the smell of alcohol and nitro in the air. Be prepared to bring along some ear plugs; it will make for a much more enjoyable time.

What I like about AHDRA is that you can ride your bike to the track and then race it as is if you like or you can trailer it in. I saw a few full dressers making their way down the race track along with a number of other daily riders. I also noted a handful of go fast gals who spent their time heading down the track. Different from last year was the contingent of club sponsored/supported race teams and individuals. Last year I didn’t notice any MC patches on the backs of the racers, this year I counted at least four club colors being flown possible more.

Those who race range from locals who come down for the two days to test their limits to full on teams who travel the US the entire season chasing points. But, regardless of patch affiliation, racing team or being on their own everyone who comes to the race track walks the same common ground: They love Speed, Adrenalin and pushing themselves to the limits of their physical and mental capabilities, and of course they are all Machine Heads!

Yep, I get it, and if money wasn’t an issue you’d most likely see me barreling down the raceway at full tilt boogie.

One of the advantages to these types of races is that your one day $35.00 admission price gets you into the pits. Here you get to visit the various teams and individual racers. You can also stand about 10 feet away from the track and watch the racers take off or finish their quarter mile. You can’t do this in the AMA or NASCAR circuits unless your pockets are lined with gold.

Speaking with a few race teams, I was informed that a number of race tracks have been put on off limits to AHDRA and other American Made bike racing associations. All I can say is there have been a few incidents tied to some colorful characters at some of these raceways. Race track owners frown at such things and don’t want a repeat so they have made it too costly for the AHDRA and other racing associations to rent the track from them.

Lastly, racing on a sanctioned track can be a healthy way to meet your need for speed and letting off steam. One fellow I spoke with was up from Fresno, CA. He and his Dad drove up so he could race his bike. While chatting with him he told me that he began racing five years ago and it has quite literally kept him off the streets and out of jail. Need I say anything more? Maybe if more Fathers and Sons joined together and took up racing the jails might be less full and relationships stronger. Now that’s worth pondering.

God bless, ride safe and we’ll see you, out at the racetrack.

A trip back in time. Different Strokes for Different Folks coined by Sly of the Family Stone in his song from the seventies aptly applies to the world of motorcycling. For every American-made bike fan there is an equal if not greater fan of the metric variety of motorcycle. For every fan of the cruiser class their will be a fan of the Sport Bike class and if street weren’t enough we have off road as well. Speaking of dirt bikes, chances are very good the majority of today’s street bikers (That’s you) came to the sport via the dirt roads and back trails you traveled as a youth while on a trail bike.

Speaking for myself, I was first introduced to world of riding while at the farm of our family friends the English’s. They had a Honda Automatic Trail 50 which they used to ride around the farm. On more than one visit to the farm, I was given the chance to ride around on this bike which if memory serves me right was a light green. Again if memory serves me right they also had a pale pink maybe pale red one too. Later in my early teens a couple of my neighborhood buddies purchased with the help of Mom and Dad trail bikes of their own. Mark purchased the 100 and Bruce purchased the 125. Now here’s the fuzzy part, I recollect them both being Suzuki bikes, the 100 was yellow and the 125 was red. I have tried to look up each of the bikes but without having an exact date I can’t be sure of the make. (Maybe someone can help me out here and comment on what was being sold during the early seventies which fits, my profile).

Since I’m not in contact with Bruce or Mark I can’t ask them. Regardless of what make they were we would ride them all day long during the summer months and after school.

The place we did most of our riding was what we fondly all called The Trails. These trails were located in beautiful Ferndale, WA. Our house was on Seamount Drive and was the first among many housing developments built to support the employees of the newly constructed Mobil refinery. My Mom and Dad had moved their in 1958 so Dad could go to work as an engineer for the Mobil refinery. When 1959 came around I was born. My Dad after nearly 30 years retired in 1987. Anyhow these trails were a patchwork quilt of overgrown grassy unused farm land and forested areas which abutted our neighborhood. It consisted of more than a hundred acres of trails, roads and the such which made for excellent riding be it on bicycles or motor bikes along with the occasional auto or tractor.

Since we had plenty of time on our hands we would even build our own trails through the brush and trees. These trails featured everything from Dead Mans Hill to various almost forgotten forested trails along some nasty ravines. It also had a main rutted dirt road which meandered through the whole of the area. It also featured a run off stream from a swamp along with multiple entry points some of which we barely ever used because they headed off into whole new territories. As a kid you couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend your days exploring and riding. Fortunately for me The Trails were less than 5 minutes walk up the street from my house and only 30 seconds from Mark’s front door.

One day while we were out riding Bruce was feeling rather charitable toward me and decided I should have a crack at riding his bike solo. So after clamoring aboard and running through the basics of shifting and braking I set out. Everything was going great that is until I grazed a tree while trying to slow down the bike and I knocked off the Odometer knob. Subsequently Bruce wasn’t so charitable and I was relegated to riding on the back from that point on.

One of my fondest memories during those years was the time everyone in the neighborhood who owned a motorcycle decided we would do a group ride and ride all the way out to Custer and go swimming in Giles Pond. Giles Pond was a good 10 miles or more from where we lived and when I went there on my bicycle I would use the roads. Well somehow or another Mark H another neighbor boy knew of a way to get their without using the roads. So after we all gathered at the trail head rider and passenger alike Mark H. led the way for our mini caravan of 6 various makes, models and years of trail bikes along the back trials, dirt roads and farm land and the occasional country road to our destination. When we got to the pond we decided to strip off our cloths and swim across the pond which was a good distance. Once we hit the far shore and had a quick rest we swam back to the bikes and got dressed and then rode back the same way we came.

Later while in high school I would drive my car down to my cousin Scott’s home located off 196th in the Tacoma area. We would ride around the byways of Puyallup on his Honda CB 450. By the time 1980 rolled around I decided it was time to buy my own bike. So, after I located the bike I wanted through the local newspaper, I drove over and put down a $50.00 retainer on it. I then went to my bank and pulled out $500.00 and negotiated a loan for the remaining $700.00. After enlisting a friend to drive me back over to Redmond I was then able to purchase my first bike.

It was a thing to behold, a used 1978 Yamaha 650 Twin Special with only 5000 miles on it. It featured a tear drop black tank and Chromed metal side covers thanks to the previous owner who was into Harley’s. He had purchased the Yamy for his wife who was now ready to own her own Harley, hence the need to sell the bike to me. So after handing him the cash he handed me the title and keys and off I rode.

What do you get when you put 1000 plus members of 100 plus various motorcycle clubs together under one roof?  You get NCOM, the National Coalition of Motorcyclists.

Every year NCOM is held at a different city throughout the US.  It is a chance for motorcycle clubs (as in 3 piece patch holders) along with Christian MM and other patch holders to come together under one roof and learn how to be more effective in directing policies and legislation in their towns and states.  It is also a time for attendees to come together and hammer out various disagreements among themselves.  It is a time for networking, building alliances and making new friends and saying hello to old ones.  Many of those who attend but not all come as representatives for their states Club delegations. Much like in politics each district has its local delegates that go the state meeting and then go to the national meeting.

The reason I was attending this event for the first time was to receive an award for my work as the producer/creator of HogRadio. I along with 7 others from among the riding community were awarded the Silver Spoke award at this years 24th annual NCOM.

This is the first time I have ever been awarded this way for something I have created since I was in high school when I was awarded for my part in an art project for my high school.  I didn’t even know of this convention prior to research I had done after starting HogRadio 16 months ago.

Since my goal has always been to bring information to our listeners that they wouldn’t get anywhere else and to spotlight all the good things about motorcycling and the biker lifestyle I was honored for improving the Image of motorcycling.  It didn’t hurt that we had interviewed Richard Lester, founder of AIM and NCOM on our show a few months back.  Regardless of why they chose me I was humbled by being awarded and being honored, I even had a chance to share a few words to the 400 or so awards banquet crowd.

One of the major moves by NCOM is to reach out to the Sport Bike riders and offer them a chance to become involved with what is going on.  They had a fellow from PRO which is a sport bike club organization located on the east coast consisting mainly of black riders.  I met Seven, the rep who attended NCOM, and will have him on HogRadio very soon to discuss with us the movement within his circle of influence which is made up of thousands of African-American sport bike and cruiser class riders.  Many of you would be surprised to know that there is a 50/50 women to men ratio amongst this riding community.  These women take riding as seriously as any guy does, which in my book warrants notice.

Which brings me to my main point, do you take your rights as riders as seriously as you do your riding skills?

There is a lot of legislation taking place in the various hamlets and cities geared to making riding a not so nice past time.  Some within the New York city council wish to give the police the right to impound your bike and charge you $500.00 to retrieve it if they see your bike has pipes without an EPA stamp of approval on them (can someone say factory pipes only).

Other towns have been working to curb large gathering such as this years Myrtle Beach fiasco.  While others such as Snohomish decided to snub the Annual Old Bike day by requesting huge increases to cover “crowd control”.  They lose out and another town will gain by this stupidity.

What about loud pipe restrictions?  We have noted on HogRadio that many of the sport bike crowd have discovered the world of race pipes designed to increase air flow, HP and mileage.  It’s no longer the cruiser class but everyone who will be affected here. What about all the rat bike and café style bikes being built and ridden?  These will come under heavy scrutiny if the money grubbing politico’s have their way.  Not to mention activists out to throttle anything that smells like gasoline.

What about all the riders killed by stupid drivers in their cars or trucks?  In the majority of cases these reckless drivers get away with a fine and a ticket and nothing more.  Yet now the state wants bike owners to start being tested every other time they get their endorsement upped.  Note, I’m not against testing, but why not make all car drivers take a mandatory test every other time they have to re-up their drivers licenses and make sure to have them learn about the rights of motorcyclists.

The only way things will improve is if we the riding community get involved in contacting our government reps.  Maybe you don’t get pulled over because you wear a three piece patch but believe me; the day will come when you are pulled over because you ride a bike.

Conclusion, get educated on the facts, and make your voice heard!  This way you can continue to enjoy your passion of riding motorcycles.  And as a close friend who has never ridden a bike in his life stated to me. “If bikes never existed and they were invented today, chances are good that they would never be allowed on the street.”

God bless, ride safe and we will see you out on the road.

Steve Johann
HogRadio Producer

Two Tickets from Paradise… we packed our bags and we headed back home.

As I explained in the first part, we stayed in a World Mark time share condo in Kihei which is located halfway between everything and also happens to be the driest part of the island. The temps never made it above the mid 80’s and there was always a slight breeze to keep you cooled off.

Before coming to the island, we did a little research thanks to a great book Maui Revealed, loaned to us by friends who had visited Maui. This book is written by people who live on the islands. It details out just what to see along the roads you are traveling even down to the road markers and turn outs.

Venture 1. Road to Kahakuloa Bay. We headed out from our condo in Kihei mid morning and drove along Highway 30. This road is like driving on Hwy 1 along the California Coast (a trip I shared a few columns back) but with the mixed vegetation of the island along with copious amounts of red and black rock formations ala Badlands & Bryce National parks in many of the places once you pass Kapalua. The views were spectacular and we did a fare share of stopping along the cliff side to take pics and enjoy the views. We ventured to the end of the two lane road and then turned back when it turned into a single lane road. (Our rental agreement forbade us from driving beyond this point). But in a Jeep or say any type of Motorcycle the road could be easily and safely traveled without mishap. It actually becomes HWY 340 and loops around the entire north part of the island and eventually leads back to Kihei via 30. Expect to spend the entire day driving this road if you want to make the most of it.

Venture 2. Road to Haleakala Crater. We opted to drive the road during the day and watch the sunset; the other option many take is to drive in the dark and make it up to watch the sunrise. Flip a coin on which you decide. As I said in part one, this road is switchback city as you wind yourself to the top of the 10,000 high peak. But it is well worth the trek. It isn’t everyday you get to drive to the top of a cinder cone and look at the inside of a former volcano and also take in a view of the entire island at the same time. Once at the top you can hike into the crater, something we didn’t have enough time to do.

Be forewarned it gets very cold at the end of the day low 40’s and in the morning well below freezing when you add the wind chill factor. So dress accordingly.

Venture 3. Road to Hana is a lazy twisty road you drive along it is also named highway 36/360, or the Hana Highway. This road offers more cliff driving but with a much wetter lush tropical rain forest feel to it. Expect many turn outs and photo ops of various waterfalls and ocean views on this trek. Once you get to Hana make sure to visit Hana Bay which includes an old wharf. At the end of the road by the wharf there is a short, not so well know path that leads to a very small Red Sand Beach and if you go beyond this point you will find a beautiful little bay with a plaque commemorating the birth place of one of King Kamehameha’s Wives. Well worth the 10 minutes it takes to walk/crawl there.

As you leave and head back you will come across Wai’anapanapa State Park and Black Sand beach; go there! Don’t tell the authorities, but I smuggled off three small bags of sand from three different beaches. I filled up a couple glass jars with the various colored sands as a reminder to us of our trip.

The road to Hana is famous and well worth the trip. If you have the proper transport, bike or Jeep, you can continue all the way around the south island and make it back to Kihei, but keep in mind you will need 8 to 10 (or more) hours to do this as the roads are slow and there is so much to see. Be prepared for rain along the Hana road especially in the AM hours, it broke and was sunny during the afternoon drive back.

Special points of interest: The Sugar Museum which is located half way between Kihei and the airport. Here you will find out about the introduction of the sugar cane to the islands and how it transformed the islands. Maui is one of the world’s largest exporters of sugar. Well worth the $7.00 admission fee.

Another attraction we opted for was the Musical/play/acrobatic performance called “Ulalena;” it is a theater similar to a Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, but it is centered on the legends and history of Hawaiian Islands. This show is located in Ka’anapali and is well worth the $50.00 ticket price (check HawaiiDiscounts.com for a good deal). After the show we headed down the street to eat at “The Mixed Plate” an outside diner where they serve authentic Hawaiian food, with a view of the bay. We split a single dinner plate and barely finished it off, all for $13.00. Another local eatery in Kihei which serves up bodacious amounts of local food is “Da Kitchen.” The tempura fish is excellent. We also ate one breakfast at another local seaside café in Kihei called “Kihei Caffe” my wife had blackened fish and I had pork chops. These three eateries are local and they all serve up huge amounts of food for very reasonable prices.

Snorkeling is a must and one of the best beaches to do this is the North beach at ‘Ahihi Cove by the ‘Ahihi-Kina’u Reserve. This little rocky cove is the home dozens of types of colorful fish and a handful of sea turtles. Go in the morning before 11AM before the water begins to get bit choppier.

There are so many places to go and see, and we didn’t get to all of them, but these are a few of what we discovered and really enjoyed. There are two major resort towns: Lahaina and Kihei. Many of the time share companies have condos in both towns. It is up to you which one you want to stay at. Kehei is dryer and newer, Lahaina is older but more developed. There are numerous other towns which offer places to stay all over the island.

Bottom line, do you homework before you come over, the internet is filled with everything you need. Use the condo as a base camp and realize you will be doing a lot of traveling about and exploring, we spent the early morning swimming in the pool and late evening also and left the rest of the day open for the chance to lay on warm sandy beaches and frolic in warm water, something 90% of Americans don’t get a chance to do everyday. Just as I was skeptical about coming to Maui, and it took the first couple of days to adjust, once I did I came to really enjoy myself. Now I’m ready for another 9 days, this time with the kids.

Here’s to enjoying God’s creation along with countless thousands of others!

Aloha!

Steve Johann

Going to pack my bags and leave tonight…

Yep that’s right my wife of 20 years and I are celebrating our 20th Anniversary right here in Paradise, namely Maui!  We left the kids with the grandparents and set out on our adventure Thursday the 26th and will be flying back to the cold wet climate we call home April 3rd.

For those of you who have visited Maui, we have made a condo in Kihei our home away from home, thanks to the in-laws great gift to us of nine days in their World Mark time share Resort just a block up the street from the sandy beach and warm waters.  Kihei, for those who have never visited, is the once desert side of this island of 130,000 permanent dwellers (and who knows how many millions of yearly tourists).  It is green, yet spends most of the time in the 70’s and 80’s with a slight breeze.  The waters are crystal clear turquoise blue and warm; a minute after jumping in you can spend as long as you want without freezing your butt off.

As with anything, I’m always a little skeptical of somewhere we hear so much good about by all our friends who have made this trek before us, but after three days I finally admitted to my wife, I could come back again and again even with the kids in tow.

For a full report on some of the best places to visit and experience, I will do a part two of this article, but in this first part I can tell you we have driven much of the island in our rental car, a two-door Chevy Cobalt with no rear leg room (but that’s fine we are just two of us on this trip).  One of the most popular car rentals is the Mustang convertible as I figured every ten rental cars we see out and about is a convertible Mustang.  Yes, when the boys are away they prefer to play, as in playing “cool dude” in a “cool car.” Second must be the Charger.  The only problem with these muscle cars is the speed limit on 90% of the roads is 30 to 45mph with a brief stretch of 55 for about five miles on the main highway.  The roads are curvy and don’t leave room for muscling your way around, unless you want a ticket as the cops are pretty plentiful.  But this brings me to what many do, and that is to rent a Motorcycle for the day or the week.

Because I broke my foot on Labor Day and was on crutches/scooter until middle of December, I was unable to get out and get my Endorsement which I had planned on doing early fall.  Because of this, my wife and I opted to rent a couple of scooters and do our cruising around the Kihei area for the full day.  This was a blast, and my wife who had never been on a motorized two wheeler but the back of my bike back in the 90’s, she had a blast too.  We rented our bikes from Island Riders, walking distance from our condo for a total of $102.00 including tax for the two of us for 8 hours.  Island Riders also rents a number of styles and makes, so you have a great selection.  Harleys go for $135.00 for 8 hours, Buel/V-Rods $155.00 for 8 hours, BMW cruisers $175.00 for 8 hours and the Honda/Kawasaki 750’s go for $89.00 for 8 hours while our 50 cc scoots were $45.00 for 8 hours.

While out cruising the back roads of town, we came across South Maui Choppers a few miles down from our Condo and they offer two Arlen Ness bikes for rent, along with a few other custom bikes.  These guys have only been doing bike building for a few years but have gotten quite the rep, and when Arlen comes to Maui with his family during November, he leads a public ride which is organized by South Maui Choppers.  I also noted a HD Motorcycle Dealer/rental outfit in Kahului, just a couple miles from the airport; they also rent and sell all types of makes and styles.

So the next time we come back, you can bet I will be renting a Motorcycle and will travel some of the same roads we traveled in our Cobalt.  Hawaii has no Helmet Law which made it wonderful for me to cruise around on the scooter with the hair blowing in my face and yes I have quite the sun drenched face and body (a deep red you might say), which I hope will turn brown in the weeks ahead!  The few sport bikes I spotted were ridden by the locals who wore helmets; on the other hand the cruisers, as in H-D and other V-Twin bikes, 95% of these riders didn’t wear helmets.

One of the roads we drove was to the top of the Haleakala Crater, which is one switch back after another to the top. Up from behind I spotted a sport bike rider doing Knee-sliding as he cut the curves behind us.  When we pulled over to let him pass he turned around and headed back down.  I guess the whole reason he was on the road was to knee-slide, and I suspect he had a favorite spot to do this.

All toll, this has been a wonderful vacation which I would love to repeat, ala kids in tow.  Of course my in-laws have to get things lined up and we will have to fork out few C-notes in addition to airfare for five.  Guess I can always dream!

So until the next time, when I cover all the great things (including photo’s) to do while visiting Maui, Aloha.

Steve Johann