RocketRobin
PR Founding Father
David Pingree at his funniest….. making jokes about the way it used to be vs the way it is now. Read this question / answer from Ask Ping and have a laugh.
Sir Ping,
I was eating a tub of Cheetos last night and stumbled on to YouTube to kill 5 or 6 hours and came upon the latest MotoSport.com video titled “Vintage Iron – Jerry Robin/Guy Cooper/and Brett Cue.” First off, it’s a kick ace video of Coop and the 2 young brats ripping it up at Guy’s place in Oklahoma. Not only was it awesome to see that Guy still has skillz that killz and PAID the Billz, but it was awesome that in the video all 3 are riding some vintage bikes out of Coop’s collection (BQ is aboard a CR 480). During the video BQ mentions that he has a lot of respect for guys that rode those bikes back in the day, I believe his exact words were “it’s like riding a sponge.”
My question is: how has the evolution of bikes changed our sport, and do you think the guys who rode professionally in the 1970’s had to be physically tougher than guys today? I’d say we take it for granted that we can walk into any bike dealership and buy a bike that is pretty damn close to the same bikes that the pros ride.
Thanks for the great articles each week, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my question.
Ryno
Lebanon, MO
Yes, come to my cabin later. I will kill an animal with my bare hands for us to eat and we can talk about how great our beards are.
Ryno,There’s no question the evolution of motocross equipment has changed the sport and the way we ride. But it is difficult to compare different generations. I’m sure the bearded, cigarette-smoking men of the 1970s pushed the limits of their dual shocked piles of crap until they were vibrating and swapping right out of their hands. I don’t think James Stewart or Ryan Villopoto would want any part of that. Conversely, Gennady Moiseev would drop a Kremlin-sized load in his genuine leather racing pants if he had to jump a standard supercross triple, even on a modern machine. It was just a different time and the challenges were different. Just like in sport of any kind, limits are being pushed and athletes are getting better. How do you think Heikki Mikkola’s training regimen looked compared to our champion’s now? I’m speculating entirely but I imagine Heikki went out in the morning and chopped down a few massive trees with an axe, rode a couple motos and then went out and partied his face off with a bunch of Finnish swimsuit models at a Helsinki club. Again, absolutely zero facts here I’m just assuming that was his program. Meanwhile, down at the RV camp in Florida, Ryan rides motos all morning, spends lunch on his bicycle and then winds the day down pushing some weight around in his gym. He gets to eat 6 ounces of lean meat per day along with a fistful of grass clippings, four almonds and a snippet of tree root all washed down with distilled drinking water. If his lap times are acceptable he gets to spend the night with his wife, otherwise he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber out in the garage next to his bike. Welcome to pro motocross in 2014.
I wonder if Ryan wakes up cursing Ricky Carmichael’s name. If it weren’t for RC upping the ante during his reign RV would be at Havasu right now doing beer bongs with Fro and training wouldn’t begin until early December. But, hey, that’s the price you pay to make the big bucks, right?
PING
Sir Ping,
I was eating a tub of Cheetos last night and stumbled on to YouTube to kill 5 or 6 hours and came upon the latest MotoSport.com video titled “Vintage Iron – Jerry Robin/Guy Cooper/and Brett Cue.” First off, it’s a kick ace video of Coop and the 2 young brats ripping it up at Guy’s place in Oklahoma. Not only was it awesome to see that Guy still has skillz that killz and PAID the Billz, but it was awesome that in the video all 3 are riding some vintage bikes out of Coop’s collection (BQ is aboard a CR 480). During the video BQ mentions that he has a lot of respect for guys that rode those bikes back in the day, I believe his exact words were “it’s like riding a sponge.”
My question is: how has the evolution of bikes changed our sport, and do you think the guys who rode professionally in the 1970’s had to be physically tougher than guys today? I’d say we take it for granted that we can walk into any bike dealership and buy a bike that is pretty damn close to the same bikes that the pros ride.
Thanks for the great articles each week, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my question.
Ryno
Lebanon, MO
Yes, come to my cabin later. I will kill an animal with my bare hands for us to eat and we can talk about how great our beards are.
Ryno,There’s no question the evolution of motocross equipment has changed the sport and the way we ride. But it is difficult to compare different generations. I’m sure the bearded, cigarette-smoking men of the 1970s pushed the limits of their dual shocked piles of crap until they were vibrating and swapping right out of their hands. I don’t think James Stewart or Ryan Villopoto would want any part of that. Conversely, Gennady Moiseev would drop a Kremlin-sized load in his genuine leather racing pants if he had to jump a standard supercross triple, even on a modern machine. It was just a different time and the challenges were different. Just like in sport of any kind, limits are being pushed and athletes are getting better. How do you think Heikki Mikkola’s training regimen looked compared to our champion’s now? I’m speculating entirely but I imagine Heikki went out in the morning and chopped down a few massive trees with an axe, rode a couple motos and then went out and partied his face off with a bunch of Finnish swimsuit models at a Helsinki club. Again, absolutely zero facts here I’m just assuming that was his program. Meanwhile, down at the RV camp in Florida, Ryan rides motos all morning, spends lunch on his bicycle and then winds the day down pushing some weight around in his gym. He gets to eat 6 ounces of lean meat per day along with a fistful of grass clippings, four almonds and a snippet of tree root all washed down with distilled drinking water. If his lap times are acceptable he gets to spend the night with his wife, otherwise he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber out in the garage next to his bike. Welcome to pro motocross in 2014.
I wonder if Ryan wakes up cursing Ricky Carmichael’s name. If it weren’t for RC upping the ante during his reign RV would be at Havasu right now doing beer bongs with Fro and training wouldn’t begin until early December. But, hey, that’s the price you pay to make the big bucks, right?
PING
