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FEATURE STORY

MAMMOTH
I wonder if anyone else gets “Post Mammoth Blues”? Each year on the drive home from Mammoth, I think about going back up there during the winter with the family for some skiing and snowmobiling. That usually turns into wanting a place up there. The kicked back lifestyle, the hiking and fishing, the good food, good people and awesome training environment have always intrigued me.

The motocross track is just another one of the magical things about the place. The history there, the spectacular setting and clear skies combined with the way they run it always leaves you at ease and making plans for the following year. It’s not even about who wins as much as it is about the celebration of motocross. This might be it for the Mammoth Motocross though. The lease is up and the forest service wants the land back. I guess they don’t care about all the positive things that the event has produced or the revenue it brings the town each year. I’m sure letters won’t hurt, but it’s going to take some luck for the chief of the forest service to let us keep those 18 acres. Lucky for us we have Dave McCoy fighting for it. His vision and passion for motocross has provided us with one of if not the most beautiful and demanding tracks in the world. Each time I have been there, he pulls up in his dusty SUV and watches the races from his spot up on the hill. He is in his late 80’s and seems to love every minute of his creation.

Yesterday, just in case that really was the last race, I rode my new Honda Rincon around the track for one last look. If the land is taken away it’s going to be a real bummer, but at least we can all say we were a part of something special! We will always remember Mammoth. My dad raced there in the 60’s, I raced there in the 80’s, and my son raced there the last three years. It means different things to everyone and the meanings are lasting. Every great rider and racer has been there. It seemed fitting for what might have been the last main event ever at Mammoth that Jeff Ward pulled the holeshot and that McGrath ended up winning. Jeremy has always supported that event and after Larry Naston brought him up on stage with a long and very nice intro, he seemed slightly uncomfortable with being put on a pedestal. He loves going up there to ride just like everyone else. He said, “The only difference is when I put my helmet on I just go a little faster.” When I listened to Jeremy talk, it confirmed for me that those 18 acres are bigger and more significant than anyone who has ever raced there. Lets all hope they let us keep them.

db

You can help the Mammoth Mountain MX cause by writing a nice, polite, intelligent letter to Joellen Keil within thirty days to:

Inyo National Forest
ATTN: Mammoth Ranger District
P.O. Box 148
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

Or email your letter to: Comments-Pacificsouthwest-Inyo@FS.FED.US