The Widow Maker

 

This week will be a continuation of last week's post and looking at the second bike in consideration. In so doing we will take a look at the Widow Maker as some have named it, we just called it the big hill back then. Folks said it was 300 feet to the top, probably not, but it made for good bragging rights. The year was 1978 and the bike was a 1977 Honda MR 250cc Elsinore.

First the Widow Maker hill, it was the main attraction in the Burton's Branch recreation area for those looking to prove their manhood, or perhaps for those who were slightly over-intoxicated. I suppose I would have found myself in the first category. I was a Senior in high school and was feeling an intense need to prove something. As a right-handed young man, I had two left hands when it came to doing anything in sports, especially if it involved handling a ball of some sort. My highest achievements with ball-playing were bench-warming and water boy. Kind of humiliating for a high school Senior. I had over the years acquired a certain amount of talent for this dirt bike thing. I had been asserting this ability in public displays (showing out) whenever possible.

Trying to draw attention to myself, I would pull stunts whenever I had an audience of one or more. Things like riding standing up on the seat while going down the road. Squatting down on one side of the bike like the cowboys when riding by. Riding with my feet and legs over the handlebars, riding wheelies, anything for attention. So you can imagine what a lure climbing this big hill would be to my ego. I had already attempted climbing it on several bikes, the Honda MT 250cc, CR 125cc, and the CanAm 125cc.

It would be the Honda MR 250cc Elsinore that would accomplish the job and put me over the top. My best friend and I had skipped school that day for the purpose of climbing that hill. It took several tries but the victory was finally mine. It put me in quite a unique group, however, to my surprise no one seemed to care. I had no pictures and no one seemed to know what a hill it really was. I tried to paint the picture as best as could, using lots of color, however, it never brought me up to the level I thought it would.

As to the bike, I didn't particularly like it. It felt too soft and you kind of settled down in it when sitting on it. The big metal fuel tank was awkward and in the way, one needed to be real careful in a certain tender area when riding it. However, it did have loads of torque in the little engine, I suppose that was the greatest advantage I had that day.

It was a new bike that never looked the same after that day. It was also the last bike my Dad would buy me, we had gone to Creasy's Honda in Lexington and traded in another bike I had. I have never really understood my Dad's generosity in buying me all those bikes. I never asked for them, it was always his idea, one of which I was very okay with. We had gone through some hard times with his drinking and this may have been away for him to kind of makeup for that. He and I never talked about that much, I just understood there were going to be times that the drinking was going to happen.

Looking back on that day I easily recognize the insignificance of it. Most things in life are that way, on the front side they seem so important, then when we achieve them and look at the back side, they are mostly disappointments. The Scripture speaks of it this way: 1Co 9:25 "All who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a prize—one that doesn't last. But our prize is one that will last forever." 

1Co 9:26 So I run like someone who has a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something, not just the air.

1Co 9:27 It is my own body I fight to make it do what I want. I do this so that I won't miss getting the prize myself after telling others about it. (ERV)

Proving ourselves to be men, testing ourselves seems to rest in most of us. Manhood and Womanhood are both to be sought after, yet we must look for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. There is more to being a man or woman than a physical physique. It is the inner man that proves our character and who we are. The steel and fortitude of which we are made. Sense of duty, personal holiness, control, and restraint of our passions; these are the most difficult achievements to make.

Eph 3:16 I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit.

Eph 3:17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.

Eph 3:18 And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is.

Eph 3:19 Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.

Eph 3:20 With God's power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.

Eph 3:21 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen. (ERV)

The concept of the Gentleman and the Lady is almost lost to us. The lines between what it is to be a man and a woman and how we relate to each other are blurred. It was at one time just doing what is right and proper. As our culture has abandoned the Gospel our idea of just what is right and proper has been lost in the fog.

In 1978 I was looking to be a man and prove something, it needed to be more than a big hill to climb. I needed to look to my character, my own purity of life which was only to be found in Christ's righteousness and His Grace. Had I been looking to the Gospel it would have formed in me that Gentleman, I would have found my identity in Christ's righteousness and not in my own efforts. All that we seek in this life of any lasting value is found in Him. He has redeemed at the Cross our brokenness, our sin, and purchased true life and peace not only in this life but in the life to come.

What we need to prove has already been proven in Him, all we needed to achieve He has achieved. Put our trust in Him and Him alone and we will be real men and real women.

God Bless,

David

1976 Honda MT 250cc

Before we move on from last week's post into the motocross years, I want to talk about a couple of other bikes I have owned. The first one is this 1976 Honda MT 250cc Elisnore. These bikes were dual sport bikes and not intended for any serious competition. However, they were pretty good bikes and with a few modifications could be made into something that was quite formidable to reckon with. They had a good feel about them and carried motocross type handlebar grips. They could be ridden harder than they were really intended to be by design which made it possible to break them. I broke the frame on mine just below the engine case where the semi-double-cradle frame came together. I don't know what the steering rake was in degrees but it felt long when riding. They were durable and made great trials bikes.

There are a lot of memories that come along with this bike. Two things occurred on this bike that had profound effects on my life. I was around 17 years old and Don Buckingham invited me to go with him to Brutons Branch and ride one weekend. Back then one could ride all day on the trails at Bruton's and never cover the same one twice. Don was a little older than I was and already a seasoned rider and racing in competition events. I was thrilled that he would invite me to go riding with him, and it may have been my first of many trips to Brutons. I don't remember for sure what he was riding, I think it was a 125cc DKW which I hope to talk more about sometime. Whatever he was riding, we rode that day as I had never ridden before. At the end of the day, I was so tired when trying to load my bike, I fell off the trailer, bike and all. Don was kind enough to load it for me, I was really that exhausted.

This could have been partly due to a small malfunction I had with the bike. I had removed the lighting on the bike to make it more trail-worthy, however, I had left the wiring in place. Some of the electrical wiring going to the rear tail light came loose and became grounded to the bike's frame. When we came to water crossings and the bike became submerged, that electrical ground would give me a shock as the engine magneto charged with the engine rpm. It was so intent I began having leg cramps I couldn't understand, I finally realized what it was by noticing it was every time I would cross a creek. I got Don's attention and we removed the electrical ground, but not before some serious shocks to those leg muscles.

Two things followed, I realized that day I enjoyed riding to the extent that I was going to commit myself to it. And that commitment would create a conflict that would trouble me for nearly two decades. I had also committed my life to Christ at 13, I was now 17 and I was being challenged in my faithfulness. I remember when I told my Mom I was going riding that Sunday with Don, she questioned me, “David, what about Church”? I remember the prick I felt in my conscience, but this was so important to me. I had to choose that day what was most important to me. I did, and it bothered me. I was able to put it aside and forget about it pretty soon. However, after that day, I had to keep making that choice over and over again.

I understand going to church doesn't make anyone better than someone else, it is simply what Christians do. They enjoy being together especially on the Lord's day for worship.

"Act 2:46 The believers shared a common purpose, and every day they spent much of their time together in the Temple area. They also ate together in their homes. They were happy to share their food and ate with joyful hearts." (ERV)

It's not about being good, it's about the Lord's Day. It is called the Lord's Day, not David's Day. Our nation used to take this seriously, that is why there was a thing called the blue laws. As our heart grows cold, our devotions wane. Today Sunday is just another day for ourselves for the most part. Mow our lawn, play at river and party, and a hundred other ways to amuse ourselves. There are times our jobs and life, in general, keep us from Sunday Worship. But this was simply me desiring something more than my commitment to Christ and my local Church.

Over the years as I began racing, I would try to compromise and reconcile the two together. I tried attending Churches near the tracks where we raced. I would find whatever church was closet to the track regardless of the flavor and stop for the morning service and then out to the track. One of the churches started calling us their motorcycle friends. Sometimes I would have to miss practice depending on how far out the church was. This little bit of sacrifice helped pacify my conscience to some degree, but I knew I was not being faithful to my local church. Years later I would even try making gospel tracks and distributing them at the race. I suppose this may have looked pious to those who knew me, but it was only an effort to soothe my stinging conscience.

I discovered I was not the only one troubled with this conflict within the sport. Steve Wise was a professional racer who had won the Superbikes race on ABC's Wide World of Sports. He had become a Christian and started a ministry having Bible studies at races. One year he was at the Amateur Nationals and Julie and I attended his meeting. I asked about how we should deal with this issue of racing on Sunday and staying faithful to our local church. Several at the meeting expressed their concerns as well. He struggled with his answer for a few minutes, then finally conceded that it was very difficult to do.

It seemed he may have made an impact upon the sport, for a time a few stepped up to the plate and began having prayer and speaking a few words of exhortation on Sunday mornings before the race. I even notice now that the boys on TV are mentioning the Lord or the Man up Stairs in their interviews. Apparently, someone is trying to minister and provide some type of fellowship within the sport. The things of this world will continually test us in our commitments to Christ. I won many trophies over the years, only to finally haul most of them to the dump and throw them away. What I thought was so important at first, turned out to be nothing more than a trip to the dumpster in the end. I did keep a few, they are stored in the attic, guess I still couldn't let go of it completely.

The Lord was gracious to me during this time, though he pricked my conscience, yet he still used this time of my life to create life long friendships with people I would have never have met otherwise. I am grateful to Bathsprings Raceway for their effort to race on Saturday night. I remember one rider who had given up racing because he had become a Christian and did not want to miss being at his local church. But he would come and bring his family and race at Bathsprings Raceway. Bath springs gave him an opportunity to enjoy the sport he loved and gave me a chance to see someone faithful to their commitment.

Thanks for reading and hopefully you found something encouraging,

David