Burritto's greatest triumph was on a Yamaha

 It may not be right to call then heroes, those whom we grew up following.  They were more normal than we expected them to be, had no special characteristics that made them unique, but somehow we became enamored with them.  The list of them dying is growing every month, as age or life style catches up with them.  Sadly the next generation will know little or nothing about them, which saddens me, so I would like to remember one man, a champion, but one who spent most of his life in the back marker category, whose love of riding and racing was his life, and he took it to many levels.  He was half of the Mexican American racers, Dave Aldana the other half, and I was fortunate to have seen him race,never knowing the behind the scene story.  Back then we were just kids who loved to ride and go fast, and hung around friends who raced, who had the talent and drive to ride fast in competition.  We saw him in On Any Sunday, he was Cycle Magazine’s Rider of the Year, had the number one AMA plate one year, and won the Daytona 200 once, competing often.  He was sponsored by Evel Knievel, sponsored Honda’s flat track team for years.  He rode Triumphs, switched to Yamaha 2 strokes, and after racing, still supported flat track racing, maybe the most American style of racing, dirt track, one that is overlooked today. Not a big  name like Malcolm or McQueen, but every bit a champion as they were.  Mention the nickname Burritto, two t’s, and you know whom I talk of, Gene Romero.  Who died from COPD last week at age 71.  Like the song by The Eagles, James Dean, “he was too fast to live, too young to die, bye bye.”  I don’t get it, but I miss him....

Never met him, never really followed his career, but whenever he was mentioned, he was admired and respected by his peers.  And what a peer group that was.  Gary Nixon, sawing off a cast to race, Dick Mann, riding while broken bones were healing, Dave Aldana in his skeleton leathers, a young and upcoming Kenny Roberts, Kel Carruthers, Jim Odom, Agostini, Rayborn, and Jim Castro, some well known, some only from On Any Sunday.  Duct tape on the helmets and shoes, back when big money wasn’t the main attraction.  Who held jobs during the week so they could raced weekends.  A man who loved racing and understood it, on all levels.  A look at the determination in his eyes when sliding sideways at over 100 mph gives us some insight, but without getting dirty and competing, you will never know.  Two of his quotes maybe say it best. 

If you've seen the film On Any Sunday, you remember the line. "I don't want to hurt anybody, but I just gotta get out there...get third or come and visit me in the hospital, man, I dig carnations.

Lying there in a full body cast and asked how he was doing, he quipped, “It’s no problem, I’ve had worse things in my eye.”  A man like most people we know, or wish we had known, and find it is too late when they are gone.  A man who even before he was a champion won the AMA Most Popular Rider of the Year Award.  A guy you would like to bench race with, introduce your kids too, and tell stories about of way back when, when we were young.  Where principals and ethics drove us, where respect was earned, and inside a very small brotherhood, your nickname was one of respect.  Things are much different today...but of course, their nicknames sanitary and clean. Too bad their reputation isn’t.

In every group or subculture, there are those who we hold up to a greater level, who we want to be like.  In Christianity it can be a pastor,worship leader, or a Billy Graham.  Names we know, and only know more about from headlines.  Sometimes we put Jesus in the same category, we can recite his famous quotes, follow him to the cross, maybe even to the empty tomb.  But then we go on our own way, doing our own thing, with limited contact with him, mostly through a church service or fellowship. We spend little time getting to know him.  We find daily life boring, because although we believe, we have no confidence in him.  Our prayers sound like begging, have no depth, and we fail to listen after we speak. We relate to Jesus on our own level, never experiencing all he has for us.  John tells us simply, “we have confidence that he will answer all our prayers if we do what he asks and obey him.”  Do your prayers show a dependence on him, or are you independent, he is your co-pilot?  In our confidence are we bold when asking, when telling or sharing, when praying for others, and acting in the spirit?  We can only be bold when we know someone intimately, when we can say without reservation what he would say, and act accordingly.  So many today sign off “in his service,” or “in his name,” but are really just using his name in vain.  Do we really trust that all things will work out for us?  Do we go to prayer expecting or hoping he will hear?  If his answer is different than your expectation, how do you respond?  When you quote the scripture “he became poor so we can become rich,” are talking of things seen or unseen?  Peace or pieces? 

Jesus came to give to us abundantly, more than we can expect.  Yet we hinder him, looking to others when we should be looking to him.  And he is always there when we do finally turn to him.  It is us who miss out when we only know about him, only know what we have been taught, or never experience Christian life as he desires.  He even will help you with your unbelief, even when you believe.  Down to the least of us, who he associates with, not wanting them to remain the least, but to bless abundantly.  And when we do it to them, we are doing it unto him.  A side of answered prayer we neglect....

I expect very few at my funeral, I am not in it for the numbers or the greatness.  I hope to see you in heaven later.  I once was in it for me, but Jesus showed me a better way.  His way.  Sadly we only remember those we choose to remember when they are gone.  Don’t miss Jesus this time around, for the next time will not be so easy.  Show love and respect for others now while they can see it, while they can be blessed.  I never knew Burritto, and have learned more about him from obituaries.  But his friends knew him well.  Jesus calls us friends if we keep his commandment.  Do you know him well?  Your funeral will tell others how well, then it is too late.  Celebrate life today, spend it with Jesus.  Not religiously, just with him.  Tell him about a ride, a dream, a problem.  Listen to him, as you would a friend.  Bench race an afternoon away.  On Any Sunday was a great movie about racing and riding, don’t let it be your Christian epitaph.

love with compassion,

Mike

parable of the wheelie

My friend Ted is perhaps the wheelie king since the departure of Doug Demokos. He will wheelie anything, and once wheelied 17 miles while his friends rode on two wheels on the freeway. So whenever I would take a new press bike down to him, he would immediately wheelie it and give his opinion. He was a fan also of going fast while doing a wheelie, and when I took down the new Thruxton, he was like a kid on Christmas day. He had plans to buy one, as GM of a multiline dealership he had already placed his order, and now was his first ride on one. So while business stopped, we all went out in the parking lot to watch Ted. Only to find he couldn’t wheelie the bike! He came back to me, complaining there must be something the matter with this bike, this had never happened to him before. Quickly I reached over, pushed the i-button, turned off the traction control, and said, “now try.” And off he went, and the front end went up, and he made several passes running through the gears, claiming to hit 60 once front wheel in the air. Ted had been dong what he was trained to do, but so was the bike. When the bike thought it was losing traction, it cut power to drive wheel, and the bike came to a halt, until it reset itself. Problem solved, ego restored, and wheelies performed, all with one click of a switch. But you had to know which switch...

Stuck on a hill in pea sized gravel on two wheels is no place to be, yet this is where I was. Add in the crowded parking lot, the 100 degree weather, and riding uphill, I was stuck. Every time I would try to spin the tire to get out of the gravel, the bike, a Tiger 800, would bog down, a light would flash, and I would sit for a moment. A victim once again of the traction control, and with no easy switch to push, you had to scroll through and hope to find it, so it was off/on, power/no power, which took minutes to go the 15 feet to pavement. I looked like a rookie, but again, the bike was doing what it was told to do, turned off I wonder why I would ever took it back on, but it is built into the engine mapping, remedied with next years model. So for now I avoid gravel on my adventure bike. Giving a new meaning to adventure.

Mickey called and said he need miles on a buy back. The Explorer was perfect, but the owner claimed at wide open throttle it would lose power, then regain it again. I immediately knew the problem, so did Mick, and I could duplicate it at ease. But I kept the bike for 500 miles just to satisfy Triumph. Again traction control, when accelerating it would put so much power to he ground, 137 hp, the rear wheel would slip enough the rider couldn’t tell, but the bike did, so cut power. Symptom identified, but problem not solved. You see, Triumph had given him a new replacement bike that would do the same thing. It was doing as programmed, the nut behind the handlebar needed to be reprogrammed too.

Just as a motorcycle can let you down and condemn you, so can our own hearts. Ever buy something based on emotion and wished you hadn’t? Ever meet the one, the girl of your dreams, only to find she was the one of your nightmares? That is our heart condemning us, which is why we need to be careful in our decision making process. I have told my sons for years never make a decision on a high or low emotion, only to be proven right when they failed. Forgiven, they start over, hopefully not forgetting. And this can strike at any time. We can be in the midst of a spiritual high, thinking all is right with us and God, and fall prey to our conscience reminding us of what we once were, and telling us God will not forgive you, you are a loser, so quit. Three lies coming to get us down, with one solution. Remember who we belong to, standing in the presence of God not by our own power, but by the power of the holy spirit, given to us when we come to Jesus. We are not righteous in ourselves, we are righteous in him and because of him. We are accepted and forgiven by God, for there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. But how do we silence the doubt in our hearts? “I believe, help with my unbelief,” a man said to Jesus. It works for us too.

We are told by John “do not love in words or tongue, but in actions and in truth.” Jesus is the truth, and when we are in his spirit, we have access to what we need to act in his love, and we will be reassured we are in him, the truth. His love. Here he is referring to a specific act, telling us in other words “return good for evil.” Pray for those who persecute you. For it is easy to pray for those we like, but the enemies, like we once were, need the truth too. Do not wait until you are confronted, ask God to allow you to show love first, for what we sew, we will reap. The Golden Rule in action. And John knew, Jesus had nicknamed him and his brother James “the sons of thunder,” as they wanted to blow up the government and take over. The same John we now know as the beloved. If he can change that heart, if he can now write do not let your heart be troubled, imagine how Jesus can change your heart?

And I know of what I write, as when my aorta exploded and a plastic one installed, my heart was changed, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I should be dead, as my aorta had exploded, but God used it to show his love and mercy to me, to testify of his greatness. Dead, but alive, ask any doctor. I am a miracle. But even while in rehab, I wanted to serve others, to minister, and even while out of the hospital for a few days, God was using me, sharing with Bam, a 1%er in Albuquerque, afraid of a heart procedure he was to have. Leaving the Harley store, I heard from across the store “God bless you Mike,” and he had. A changed heart, and one being changed. Who was blessed more? And the blessings continue today....

Lonely, call on someone and listen to them. Then share as God gives you the words. Hurting, visit someone hurting more, they are out there, no matter your situation. Scared for your life, remember the one who is life, and gave his. By actions and attitudes, or as St. Francis of Assisi once said, “preach the word daily, and if necessary use words.” I couldn’t have said it better. Come to life by showing love and life to others. Give and you will receive. It’s a simple as pulling a wheelie....with the traction control off. Treat the cause, not the symptom, and see Godly results. It wasn’t Ted that wouldn’t wheelie, it was the bike. Let not your bike, or your heart be troubled, for as a Harley riding friend tells me, 95% of the Harleys sold are still on the road. The other 5% made it home. And no, I still cannot wheelie, something about two wheels moving the soul...... The parable of the wheelie, Jesus and motorcycles, it just don’t get any better!

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

a tale of two test rides

I was on my way to San Juan Capistrano for lunch when I passed the local Indian store.  Seeing the Indian Demo Trailer and the bikes lined up, I knew what was going on, so stopped and checked it out.  A group was ready to go off on their demo ride on new Indians, and having done crowd rides before, opted to pass, but would return later, after a real ride.  Which I did, only for the new flat track model, and in a group of three, off we went.  Now you cannot tell much in ten miles, especially at posted speeds, but the guy leading was cool, and we went at a pretty fair clip.  Even into the eighties on a short freeway jaunt.  Lots of power, great Brembos, and a horrible seat buzz at 5000 rpm.  Think of an old Sportster on steroids-BAD!  But it is quick, and after a short ride, would I buy one?  No, but I want one, maybe loan me ne for a weekend...just to see.  And hopefully the bikes are set up properly, these weren’t, as low tire pressures and no explanation of things before we left.  But I did get a ride, fortunately the last demo I took, when the salesman wanted to return, I said I wasn’t done and took off.  And he was off today.  But the guy in charge gave me a suspicious look when I said “I want to burn the tires off this thing.”  Pointing to a sign that said you had to be able to ride a 1700cc bike.  If he only knew of my Rocket Three adventure with 220 hp....

Which reminded me of another ride test when Ducati brought out the Diavel years ago.  Broken into two groups, the first one the “gee I get to ride a Ducati, and obey all the laws,” and then the group I was in.  After a quick orientation, of how to switch to power mode, and being told not to, yeah right, the first group of 12 went off, then us, where I was the last in line, next to Mark Cernicki, road test editor with Cycle World.  We quickly passed all the bikes in our group over the 25 mile ride of back roads, and most in the of the group, having fun with the 157 hp on tap.  Cernciki is nuts, somewhere between fearless and senseless, and when I entered a tight 15 mph corner at 25 well leaned over, he went around me flat track style, all crossed up.  Looking at me when we stopped, I asked “bored?”  He nodded and off we went again....Now that is the way to conduct a test ride.  And no I don’t want one, and would never buy one.  Like the Indian FTR too expensive.  I rate both as stylish and powerful, but not to be ridden far or for long.  Like the Triumph Bobber, cool to show off and ride short distances, but you need another bike to go riding.  I suspect to see Indian sell all they can make, limited supply will help, and see me in six months when they are used for a lot less money.  But it will bring customers into Indian showrooms, I hope it does better than Harley did with  Buell.  Maybe the quote by the then Harley CEO said it best, “it is easier to sell $3000 worth of chrome than to sell performance to our customers.”  Where is Cernicki when they need him?  And I have been warned he crashes a lot..and not to lend him my bikes.  But for one afternoon...it was paradise.

It may be hard to find anyone who hasn’t been invited to church.  Many that I know who are saved have not been saved in a church service, although churches teach and encourage members to invite friends to church to be saved.  Like my test rides, they want to bring in a person and sell them Jesus, see them saved, and join up and in.  Not a bad idea, but not evangelism as scripture tells it.  We are to abide in Christ, acting like Christians everyday, all the time, you never know who is watching, and we are to be an effective witness.  Yet I watch too many evangelize by inviting those to church, and losing faith when no one accepts.  Be it safe to say, everyone somewhere along the line has had a bad time at church, or from other Christians harassing them.  They have questions too,and are not the enemy, Satan is.  Yet we turn on them when we cannot win an argument, or persuade them to agree with us.  Yet they too have the same spirit telling them they need Jesus as we did before were saved, the spirit gives life, and Jesus is that life.  Religion binds us, but not together.  We have freedom in the spirit, but some don’t want freedom, and deny the spirit, even though saved. 

What is it that sets us free?  The spirit.  Not being a Baptist, Catholic, Mormon, or any other organized religion.  Only Jesus.  But too many test rides with Jesus are like the sponsored crowd rides, keep it safe, eliminate stress and threats, and look for a sale or conversion at the end.  With no follow up....allowing you one chance to be saved, then on to the next group.  Like many I wasn’t saved in a church and never went forward at a rally.  A man took the chance of telling me about Jesus, and the spirit took me from there.  I  never said a prayer of faith, joined a church, or became a member.  I gave my life to Jesus, and after a test ride, my words were “I’ll try this for awhile,” and 44 years later haven’t looked back, or regretted my decision.  Jesus offered me freedom, can your religion offer the same?  When the many go forward on Easter, why are the churches not filled the next week?  Was it just another ride with Cernicki, or another group ride following the guy ahead of you at a safe distance?  Do they have the spirit of the Lord abiding in them?

When asked “how do you know you are in the spirit?” my reply is “I know when I’m not.”  You see the fruit of the spirit, is suppressed, no love , joy, or peace.  No goodness or kindness, no meekness or self control.  I am in control, and the worst parts of me show.  Hatefulness, jealousy, bad thoughts and even thoughts of murdering the one who cheesed me off.  So what to do?  Turn to Jesus and confess it, ask for forgiveness, and help, and go on.  Knowing we were that person once who was hated, but now we can love.  The regeneration of the mind as Romans calls it.  One test ride will not do it, you need to ride everyday.  To keep Jesus close, and abide in his vine, his love. 

So don’t confuse the church with Jesus, or call him religious, he came to free us from religion, and set us free.  Name a sin or problem, he can and will free you from it.  Sadly for some just a test ride until things don’t go their way, but for those who persevere, it is all worth it.  In tough times he stays close revealing himself, and wants to stay on in the good times too.  He is the ride that doesn’t end, the friend who rides along and never leaves you.  His spirit is the sound you cannot hear audibly, but can hear inside.  He is the one you cannot use finite words to describe.  For he is infinite.  And he is the one offering you that ride to meet him, to know him, and to let him save you.  And then never leave you.  If that sounds like a ride you are interested in, call on him wherever you are, right now.  He is listening, and the call is free.  He will set you free.  Many are called, but few are chosen, they deny who Jesus is.  He is more than chrome and add-ons, he is life. With everything included, no accessories needed.  Everything you need, nothing you don’t.  Between you and me, if they ever make a bike like that, I’ll buy it.   But for now, I’ll keep my Triumphs.  You are what you ride....even if you never rode a 1700 cc motorcycle to prove it!  Demo Jesus today and add life to your style.  And leave the golly gee group behind.

Anyone up for a ride?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

the days of rubber floor mats

After the quick excursion to Jersey and back in March, the Mustang needed a good cleaning.  Over 5800 miles of interstate dirt had accumulated, interrupted by one three dollar quick wash in Vinita, so I decided to have it detailed.  When the mobile detailer I chose showed up, he didn’t have the deionized water tank on back, and I asked him about it.  “We are not a car wash, we detail cars.”  Now I am not sure when we became trendy and started detailing cars, I remember learning to wash and wax cars with my Dad’s 1966 Rambler.  Saturday mornings in the shade at Brookside Park you found car guys Simonizing their rides, after washing them at home.  Wax was cheap, with Classic Car Wax advertising how their expensive car wax, at five dollars a can was worth the extra money.  Waxing was a twice a year affair, spring and fall for most, for protection in the harsh winters.  But so much of what we call detailing was done in the driveway by us young car guys, under the careful supervision of our parents.

It was a big deal for me when my Mother got a new vacuum and we were able to use her old one to vacuum the car.  No more whisk brooming the floors and mats, now all the dirt we missed got sucked up.  But we still had the rubber floor mats to contend with, which in most cars ran the full length from left to right.  Before bucket seats became standard, at one time a novelty for the sports car type, now you had one six food rubber map to scrub.  Scrub and rinse, scrub again, rinse again, and hang to dry, and then repeat with the rear mat.  Onto the wheels while they dried, taking a Brillo pad to the white walls, only the rich could afford the Bleche White, I could never tell the difference, and then put the mats back in, wash the exterior, dry with a chamois, and Windex the windows.  And when done getting a smile of approval from your Dad, and fifty cents to buy a comic or two, a Coke and a Tootsie Roll, and a Bub’s Daddy for later.  Big money for a big job, which took all morning, and when your friends stopped by, thought how cool you were, and asked to help, but this was your job, your responsibility, your chance to brag.  All carefully performed while listening to WABC and Cousin Brucie on the AM dash radio.  Cooler if it had a rear speaker.  Closest thing to stereo most of us ever heard.  The days of rubber floor mats are long gone, but the memories live on, if only in the details, and the detailing. 

Now if you may remember, we had colored interiors way back when.  With floor mats to match, with some having the cool clear ones, my Dad would never spring the extra couple of bucks for it.  No Armorall for the dashes, no spray for eh ashtray odor left behind, and 360 degree air for airing it out afterwards.  If you had a cool parent they would even roll down the tailgate window in the family station wagon, maybe the only cool ride to have in one.  Mercury in their sedans even had a disappearing window in the rear, rolling down electrically behind the rear seat, how cool was that?  But strangely enough, we never cleaned under the hood, I guess no one cared back then about shiny engines and clean engine bays, today part of the detail. For who, ask yourself, when was the last time you looked under the hood?  Could you even find the motor?  If so, so what?  Some cars don’t even have dipsticks any more.  Which may explain why some older cars are perfect in and out, except for under the hood.  It was all about the appearance and even more so today.  So while some wash, other detail.  But very few look under the hood....

Seems very few Christians go beyond a pretty exterior.  Look good on Sunday, carry the right Bible with the right cover, have all the presets to Christian stations, have read all the latest how to books on being a better believer, and off they go.  Free from sin, the pastor and the Bible say so, but how are we made sinless?  We appear as clean as a detailed car on the outside, but God looks under the hood, are we detailed there too?  Saying a prayer has changed their status, yet the old lifestyle remains.  Some even believe they will be shown special favor when saved, bypassing sickness, problems, and anything else that may upset them.  They may have signed a membership card, been baptized as per the denominational requirements, but how do we know we are saved?  What shows on the outside that really comes from the inside, where Jesus affects the change? 

Jesus does it by turning on his light in our lives.  We were once slaves to darkness, living in darkness that tried to extinguish the light, to encourage hatred, and to produce death in us.  Jesus changed all that, and more.  He starts with giving us life instead of death, light I place of darkness, and hope instead of futility.  Love instead of hatred.  And that is only the start.  We are engaged in a process of growth, learning about God and his spirit changing us to be like him.  Note we cannot do this ourselves, as Paul may have planted, and Apollos watered, but only the spirit could provide the growth.  Just like we need air to breath, we need the spirit to grow and live.  And it just isn’t the church folk who qualify, even the most hardened murderer, molester, thief, addict or alcoholic can participate.  All are invited, yet many refuse the invitation.  They refuse to admit their sin, and when we see our sin we will repent.  When asked for forgiveness, Jesus changing our lawlessness into love.  But only after we receive him into our lives and heart.  With Jesus, in Jesus, the results are always the same, release from lawlessness, or sin.  For some the sickness takes years, but the process is in place the moment we are saved.  As we all should be able to testify...

Years ago we used to stay at The Apple Farm in SLO, until it got too expensive and we had kids.  A higher end hotel than we were used to, so clean, and once while looking under the bed, a sign said “we clean here too.”  No sin or dirt swept under the carpet here.  Can we say the same?  At one time the whisk broom was effective, but still left dirt.  Rubber floor mats may have helped protect the carpet, but the dirt was still there.  Sometimes trapping it into the carpet.  Don’t settle for a quick clean when you can have all the dirt removed.  Out of darkness into the light is available to all.  The world tells us the devil is in the details, we know Jesus handles all the details.  Before rubber mats, before we bypassed car washing for detailing, Jesus was ready to detail our lives.  To not only give us anew appearance before man, but before God also.  In Jesus we find no sin, and when we are in him, we are sinless too.  We still need the car wash, the cleansing, but one good detailing of forgiveness is enough.  For salvation.  Maybe try this exercise, go and wash your car yourself, and see all the dirt left afterwards.  Sweep under the carpeted floor mats, see all the hidden dirt.  Run your hand over the paint and feel the roughness.  Then have it detailed and note the difference.  Jesus gets the dirt we cannot see.  And all we can. 

Just like when we washed our Dad’s car, under his careful supervision with him watching.....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com