The Bug and Its Demands- A Story of The Pyramid Valley Champion
We have all had our encounter with “The bug” – a specific moment where something we saw and felt was so powerful that it consumed every thought we had. For me that moment was May 24 1981 at the High Point AMA Motocross National in MT Morris PA. Every year the top Motocross riders in the world would migrate to the little town of Mt Morris and put on a show for us locals. Guys like Jeff Ward, Kent Howerton, Broc Glover, Bob Hanna and Marty Smith. This was by far the largest event in our small town I had always wanted to attended Mt Morris but something always came up in the family. But this time my brother and I pestered Dad so much he had no choice but to take us.
High Point Raceway. There may not be a prettier sight in all the world
When we got to High Point on race day the ambiance was incredible! The smell of of deep fried Corn Dogs and 2 stroke engines permeated the air. It smelled like a weed eater in a fairground The riders looked awesome on their factory bikes with their flashy new riding gear but one rider stood out far above the others and that was Marty Smith. When he was on the track his long golden hair hung out the back of his helmet and floated in the wind. When he got off the track he had legions of autograph seekers mobbing his box van and a saturnalia of beautiful women surrounding him. For a young 12 yr old like me I had never witnessed such a sight.
Marty Smith – Motocross Legend, Lady Killer and God amongst men
I had not just been bitten by “the bug ” but I had been gnawed by it. I had to become Marty Smith. As soon as I got home from the race I started looking for motocross bikes. I had a little Honda QA 50 mini bike but that wasn’t going to cut it. If I’m going to win I need a Suzuki because that is what Marty is riding. After countless hours of searching the classified ads I found a sweet 1980 Suzuki RM 100 for $300. This just so happened to be all the money I had saved in the bank from my paper route empire over the last 3 years. I didn’t want to liquidate my account but the visions of long haired, tanned ladies towel drying me off after a race win far outweighed the monetary loss so I bought the bike. The bug has its demands!
1980 Suzuki RM 100 – A Revolutionary Motorcycle
As soon as I ride this bike I feel like a champ. I am blowing away my friends on their lesser weak machines, I feel like a man on a mission. After 3 rides on this bike I decide NOW is the time to race and ask my Dad to take me racing. My Dad immediately tries to talk me out of this. He says ” Son you only rode that bike 3 times Do you even know what it takes to compete in a race? I said ” Dad I’m the fastest of all my friends I want to be Marty Smith and I want to race”. I began to throw multiple tantrums as I was possessed by “the bug” and had no control over myself. Now, the great part about my Dad was he always let my brother and I make our own decisions even if he knew we were doomed. So Dad agreed to take me to the race.
When race day comes I am so excited I can barley contain myself. Dad and I make the long 2 hour trek to Pyramid Valley Raceway in Lost Creek West Virginia. When I got there my excitement turned to nervousness but I’m sure Marty Smith went through this and the ladies will certainly look down on cowardliness so I’m not backing down.
Pyramid Valley- It’s not High Point but it’s a great place to groom a legend
All of us riders get 10 minutes of practice prior to the race. At this point I am bottled with nerves and excitement. I can not wait to get out on the track, this “bug” thing is emotionally difficult at times. When I get out on the track for practice I quickly realize I have a major problem- everyone is passing me at will! I haven’t passed a soul and I’m riding as fast as I can. I was unaware that there were so many freaking fast people out here. I am psychologically smashed but I will go on.
Now the racing format is 2 races. one in the morning and one in the afternoon. My first race is scheduled about 1 hour after my practice so I have to deal with these nerves and the fact that I might be the slowest dude out here for a whole hour. When my race comes up I am flat out scared and I want to go home but no guts no glory so I line up at the start. As soon as the gate drops I go full throttle into the first turn and I come out in 3rd place!! Not bad but by turn 3 the reality sets in and I am getting passed by everyone. By turn 7 I cant even see anybody as they all passed me. Needles to say I finished dead last.
When I got off the track my Dad was doing his best to console me but I wanted to go home and cry. The problem is in 1 more hour I had to go back out and race these people again and I knew I was outmatched and I would finish last. As Tom Petty once wrote “The waiting is the hardest part”. I’m trying to conjure up anything I can think of to get out of the second race but its a no go. The other great thing about my Dad is he would not allow me to quit so I have no choice. When the second race starts its the same thing within a lap I am last. However this time on lap 2 I crashed. It was a small uneventful crash but I laid on the ground and faked an injury so I didn’t have to finish. There will be no legions and women for me as I took the cowardly way out. I would later learn living with cowardliness is harder than living with failure.
On the drive home I was so upset I finally broke down and cried . I remember my Dad said. ” Son I know it hurts buy lets face it you were not prepared. At least now you know what it takes. It will be up to you to decide if you want to come back” That statement did not sink in until the next morning. Despite me never wanting to be humiliated like that again I simply had to go back , this “bug ” was way too strong but I had to prove to my Dad as well as myself that I was ready. I had to change. The first thing I did was go to the local track and I found some experienced riders who were willing to share some of their racing knowledge with me . This is when I met a guy by the name of Bob Grega, he said “If you want to be faster you have to ride with faster people” and that I did. I practiced as often as I could. I rode with faster riders.I started working out to get in better shape and I studied everything about motocross that I could. I trained so hard you could hear the Rocky theme playing in the background. After 3 months of tireless work it was time to try again
When I got back to Pyramid Valley the pressure was on but I was less nervous because I was prepared this time. When my race started I was much faster and smoother and surprised myself with a 3rd place finish and 2 months later I won both races at Pyramid Valley and got this huge shiny trophy. Five Months after having my pants spanked off by these guys and demoralized to tears I was now beating them! I later went on to have a pretty decent Motocross career and in my later 20’s I switched to Road Racing and won a few regional titles. None of that would have been possible if I would not have lost and learned that day at Pyramid Valley
Trophy of a champion The ruler of Pyramid Valley This $3 piece of hardware symbolizes hard work and determination. The juice was worth the squeeze!
There are many similarities in this story with trading and business in general.We often underestimate our competition and sometimes we underestimate just how deep we will have to dig to achieve our goals. The real lesson for me I learned from this experience and one that I have used my whole life is that if you want to be a winner, hang out with winners and there is no substitute for preparation. Being around people that will push you to your limits will pay more dividends than anything else period. To succeed you have to be driven almost to the point of obsession . You have to be willing to constantly step it up and feed off other winners like a sponge. You have to be willing to risk it all on your dreams and goals because the “bug” has its demands and if you ignore the “bug” it will get louder and louder. If you ever caught “the bug: you know what I’m talking about.
When we embark on new endeavors most of the time they don’t work out right off the bat as fast as we like. But our ability to get back up and conquer our fears and failures build the character we need to be successful. Sometimes we need to taste the sour so we can enjoy the sweet. There is no better feeling in life than when you have pushed yourself way past you pre set limitations and expectations and achieved more than you thought possible.
Ready to hang out with winners and feed the bug. Get started today on a 14 day trial.
PS- Oh BTW when I bought my house in San Diego 12 years ago imagine my surprise when I found out that my neighbor was none other than…… wait……..you guessed it …MARTY SMITH!! Stay tuned for the continuation of this story!!
Doug
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