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FIRST LOOK! CAN-AM MOTORCYCLES READY TO RESURFACE WITH A 2023 MODEL
MXA VIDEO: WE TEST THE 2023 HONDA CRF450
2022 UNADILLA NATIONAL PRE-RACE REPORT: TV SCHEDULE, INJURED LIST & MORE
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MXA VIDEO: WE TEST ANTONIO CAIROLI’S RED BULL KTM 450SXF
MXA VIDEO: WE TEST THE 2023 HONDA CRF450
THIS WEEK IN MXA: THREE TEST RIDERS RACE THE WASHOUGAL NATIONAL
CHASE SEXTON WASHOUGAL POST RACE: “I KNOW ELI AND I CAN WIN MXON”
MXA TEAM TESTED: 2022 FASTHOUSE ELROD GEAR
MXA TEAM TESTED: NITROMOUSSE & NITROWEDGE FOAM INSERTS
MXA TEAM TESTED: NACSTAR WORKS COMPLETE WHEELS
MXA TEAM TESTED: SCOTT PROSPECT AMPLIFIER GOGGLES
I’ve never understood how people I’ve never met seem to recognize me. In fact, when Gene Hackman’s son Chris was racing motocross, I talked to Gene every weekend at Saddleback and didn’t recognize him until my friend asked me to introduce him to “Gene Hackman.” I don’t find myself that distinctive in the mirror. I know what you are going to say, “Of course they recognize you; your photo appears in every issue of MXA.” I don’t accept that reason. I consciously run photos of me racing, not posing. I don’t give interviews. I don’t attend public events. I never go to motocross reunions. I don’t have a Facebook page. I’ve never shot a selfie, and the majority of the face photos of me are from when my hair was dark brown and I was 30 years younger.
Surprisingly, I’m surprised when people recognize me—a little embarrassed but appreciative. Here is a sampling of what they say to me.
“You’re Jody, right? I think you are a great rider,” said a guy at the riders’ meeting.
“Thank you, but I’m not the rider I once was. I’ve slowed down considerably,” I replied.
“No,” he says, “I said writer.”
“Well, the same thing applies to my writing as to my riding,” I respond.
“I want to thank you for getting me through school,” a guy standing behind me in the sign-up line said out of the blue. “When I was young, I could barely read, and my teacher told my mom that she didn’t need to worry about me going to college. But, my teacher brought a copy of Motocross Action to class one day and I couldn’t put it down. I graduated from USC School of Business because of Jody’s Box.’”
“I have a similar story. I graduated from college with the help of a guy named Cliff,” I said.
“Jody, I’ve always wondered how fast you were in the your prime,” said a guy in the checkout line at Harbor Freight.
“Back in the 1970s, I was fast. I could probably do 70 back then. I think I’m down to 35 now,” I answered.
“What track did you do 70 miles per hour at?” he asked.
“I’m talking about words-per-minute. I was pretty fast on my old Smith-Corona Sterling,” I said.
“Do you remember me?” asked a guy standing by the fence at Glen Helen. “I met you at Lake Whitney in 1976. You told me how to jet my Suzuki TM125.”
“Sorry, I don’t remember you,” I replied.
“I was wearing a blue sweatshirt,” he said.
“Oh, was that you? Why didn’t you say so? How have you been?” I didn’t remember him, but I do remember lots of blue sweatshirts.
“I raced in the same class as you at Saddleback in 1986. We had some great battles,” said a guy as I buckled my boots in the back of my truck.
“I’m sure we did, but Saddleback closed in 1984,” I said.
“Maybe it was Arroyo Cycle Park,” he countered.
“Arroyo closed in the late 1970s,” I replied.
“Well, it was somewhere and I beat you,” he said.
“You and a thousand other guys,” I said.
“How did you do today?” asked a guy after the second motos were over.
“Let me get back to you on that, because I think I still have another lap to go,” I replied.
“I never really liked ‘Jody’s Box.’ You seem like an egotistical know-it-all,” said a guy who leaned on my bike as I worked on it.
“That’s okay, good taste often takes years to develop,” I replied.
“I thought you were younger,” said a guy on the starting line.
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MXA VIDEO: WE TEST THE 2023 HONDA CRF450
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THIS WEEK IN MXA: THREE TEST RIDERS RACE THE WASHOUGAL NATIONAL
CHASE SEXTON WASHOUGAL POST RACE: “I KNOW ELI AND I CAN WIN MXON”
MXA TEAM TESTED: 2022 FASTHOUSE ELROD GEAR
MXA TEAM TESTED: NITROMOUSSE & NITROWEDGE FOAM INSERTS
MXA TEAM TESTED: NACSTAR WORKS COMPLETE WHEELS
MXA TEAM TESTED: SCOTT PROSPECT AMPLIFIER GOGGLES