How I got started....

[Loyd Blackwell]

that is a Dandy

  Thanks again Steve. I've got one more. It's been bugging me ever since this happened.
One of the guys that we raced with was a distributor for Champion Spark plugs. A real nice guy plus he always had lots of plugs. He called and talked to the Dad one Friday night on an off weekend, no races. When the Dad hung up the phone he hollered at me and I was wondering what did I do now. He said "Bill got his boy a mini bike of some kind and was wondering if you could come over some time this weekend and show them how the gears work. They can't figure out the shift pattern" "Oh" I said, sure I can do that. Then it dawned on me that I had never seen a mini bike with gears?
  Saturday morning I was over there early. It was a Bonanza with a little Hodaka Ace 90 motor on it. Coolest thing I'd ever seen up till then. I was riding my little Honda 50 scooter. Little did I know..... It was a one down three up gear box as I recall. Bill said ride it see what ya think. That was the fastest thing I'd EVER been on. I just let it roll down the steep drive way at Bill's house. I had it in first gear and on the other side of the street I got it pointed down the street and cracked the throttle a bit... The next thing I knew I was at the other end of the street. It covered the distance of that city block in a heart beat. I was sitting there shaking and talking to myself wondering if I should push it back. It had been a couple of feet from the curb when I gave it the gas and it stood up on the back wheel and feeling somewhat like it had a gyro built in proceeded to do the 0 to 60 thing on the back wheel in a second or two it seemed. Some how I managed to get it back to Bill's house with both wheels on the ground. He was grinning like the cat that ate the canary and said "well?"  and I don't even remember what I said. I just wanted off that thing. I don't know what he ever did with it, his boy was only about 7 or 8 yrs old then. I know he did not ride it then...... Sure wish I had it now!!!
  That was one of those times my heart actually jumped up in my throat....