While cars are my foremost passion, you can also find me hitting the dunes on my dirt bike when time permits. Like most of my cars, it's modified and has-or I should say had-a fairly stout suspension that would often slide the superman scale to a delusional level. On a recent outing I was riding over a dune and came across a blind drop-off. The problem wasn't the drop-off, but the angle of the dune on the other side. It wasn't so far that you couldn't jump across to it, but the top of the drop-off was way too soft and came up way too quick, not allowing me to react fast enough. The result was one cased suspension, blown front forks, getting thrown like a rag doll, and ultimately compressing my back and fracturing a vertebra.
While it was a painful ordeal I'm still struggling through, I can walk, so I really can't and won't complain. All this brings me to safety. Fortunately, I had full gear on, preventing any further unnecessary damage. I'm the same way at the dragstrip, including the helmet, neck brace, blue fire suit, and gloves-I'm ready for the worst. Matter of fact, I'll never forget the first time I suited up, anticipating 10s. A buddy of mine mocked me and said I looked more like a smurf who was ready to dive into the 7s. My personal feeling is I don't want to crash on the freeway at 65 mph, let alone at a track doing close to 140. And it only gets exponentially more dangerous from there. My last project went 160 mph and I'm hoping to eclipse 180 with the new one. You better believe I'll have the right gear on and as many bars required to cage the car properly. Get my drift?
I'm sure many of you follow my sentiment for safety; however, there are plenty of people out there who'll happily spend a bankroll on their car, only to cheap out on safety equipment. My favorite one is when people ask if they can "get away" with a marginal helmet. Believe me, I don't like spending my hard-earned dime on many things, but gray matter is one you can't put a price tag on. So whether you bracket-race a 17-second car or jockey a 7-second ride, I would strongly urge everyone to adhere to the track rules and invest in the proper equipment. After my last incident, I've learned there's nothing like pain to make you realize you're only human. And maybe I'm just not as young as I thought.
As always, if you have any thoughts regarding your magazine, be sure to e-mail me at the address listed below. CHP