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On_Any_Sunday_X264_4000Kps
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00:00:00Four million people ride motorcycles in the U.S.
00:00:24They come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
00:00:30They come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
00:01:00They come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
00:01:29To some people, a motorcycle is work, or a way to get to work, or a way to get away from
00:01:39it all to the solitude of the open country.
00:01:41A motorcycle is whatever you want to make it.
00:01:45Turn it on, you can give yourself a real thrill.
00:01:48A motorcycle is easy to ride, except the first time you try, your next-door neighbor, who
00:02:04probably doesn't know himself, is giving you the hot tips.
00:02:07Brake, clutch, shift, throttle, just simple coordination.
00:02:11Brake, clutch, shift, throttle, and a way to get to work, or a way to get to work.
00:02:21Brake, clutch, throttle, and a way to get to work, or a way to get to work.
00:02:31Brake, clutch, throttle, and a way to get to work, or a way to get to work.
00:02:40Brake, clutch, throttle, and a way to get to work, or a way to get to work, or a way to get to work.
00:02:52Brake, clutch, throttle, and a way to get to work.
00:03:05Brake, clutch, throttle, and a way to get to work.
00:03:18On any Sunday, I'm a flying man On any Sunday, like the tail of a kite
00:03:29Flying and dancing in the wind Something inside of me goes back through the years
00:03:37And I'm a kid I used to know I'm flying
00:03:44Over my shoulders to the dust I'm falling
00:03:48Come to the catcher if you can
00:03:52On any Sunday, I'm a flying man
00:03:59Flying man
00:04:04A group of businessmen during the rush hour
00:04:15The young man with a garment bag over his shoulder is Mert Lawell, 29 years old, 5'6", 143 pounds
00:04:23He's not a banker or an accountant or a salesman
00:04:32But he is a professional man like the rest
00:04:35His profession? Motorcycle racer
00:04:39Mert makes his living in one of the most dangerous sports in which man participates
00:05:02His skill in the racetrack is earning the right to carry the American Motorcycle Association number one professional plate
00:05:12He won it by competing in a series of 27 national championship races and scoring the highest number of points during the season
00:05:20The speeds he hits are incredible on the half mile tracks, one of the races he rides
00:05:34It's 100 miles an hour in the straights and 80 in the corners with an inches of posts and guardrails
00:05:40He rides within inches of other riders he literally has to trust with his life
00:06:01Professional motorcycle racing is a violent world
00:06:05A great world
00:06:31Mert Lawell is a gentle man in a violent world.
00:06:47His job as a professional racer takes him on the road about eight months of the year following
00:06:51the national circuit.
00:06:55He leaves his family and home in the suburb of San Francisco called Tiburon to compete
00:07:00for another season in 27 national championship races across the United States.
00:07:22He and the rest of the pros pilot their machines off starting lines in 16 states.
00:07:2880 horsepower engines and 300 pound machines.
00:07:32That would be like having 2,000 horsepower in your family car.
00:07:39To win the number one plate you have to ride five different kinds of races.
00:07:44They each take different machines and different riding techniques.
00:07:51There are several hundred professional AMA racers in the United States.
00:07:55But there's only about 15 who have the ability to win Mert's number one plate.
00:08:00The riders are guys like Mert, definitely not the Hollywood image, but highly skilled professionals.
00:08:07Like Dick Mann a former number one, Gary Nixon twice number one, Gene Romero, Cal Rayburn.
00:08:17Most are small around 5'6 or 5'8 and most are young like Mark Brelsford 20, Dave Smith 21, Dave
00:08:26Valdey Valdana 20, Don Castro 19, Keith Mashburn 20, Frank Gillespie 22, Jim Odom 23, Jim Rice 23.
00:08:40Watching them in slow motion they look almost casual in their actions, but they're doing over a hundred miles an hour.
00:08:46Number 24, Jim Rice, number 14N, the late Ken Pressgrove.
00:08:53They don't all make it through each racing season.
00:09:00There are only a handful of people in the world who have the courage and skill to ride a motorcycle
00:09:06like Mert and these professionals.
00:09:12Even with their skill they get into trouble.
00:09:14The best thing to do to avoid a bad crash is to purposely lay the bike down like John
00:09:19Hately is doing at 80 miles an hour, keeping his cool and checking traffic behind him.
00:09:27In car racing you can make some small mistakes like spinning out.
00:09:31In motorcycle racing there's no such thing as a small mistake.
00:09:35Even laying it down hurts, leathers and all.
00:09:41Most riders can expect to lay it down several times a season.
00:09:46Some of them are involved in some unbelievable crashes.
00:09:50Keith Mashburn, number 30X, went right through a 4x4 fence.
00:09:56Ten minutes later he was picking the stroud of his hair and ten minutes after that he was
00:10:04back on the track, letting it hang out further than ever.
00:10:07If they didn't have the ability to shake it off and get back on the track they wouldn't
00:10:11be professional racers.
00:10:13Frank Gillespie, a young California rider had a bad one too.
00:10:24Down on a dusty track and out with a broken shoulder.
00:10:27Two weeks later he's back, ready to race again, broken shoulder and all.
00:10:33Gary Fisher is a good example of the incredible courage these racers have.
00:10:38He was involved in a horrible crash in the Midwest.
00:10:41Amazingly all the riders got up.
00:11:06Gary said he was all right.
00:11:07An hour later he was taken to the hospital with a broken back.
00:11:12He soaked the cast off in the bathtub, put on a brace instead and within six weeks would
00:11:18take the brace off and race.
00:11:28To win or keep number one you have to compete in different types of races.
00:11:33One is road racing, riding very special, highly tuned machines with fairings to cut the wind.
00:11:39Chin on a foam tank pad with very precise methods of throttle, clutch and brake.
00:11:43There are five road races in the early part of this race.
00:12:02There are five road races in the early part of the season from March to the first of June.
00:12:17Road racing is noisy, precise and very exacting.
00:12:21It's also a graceful and beautiful thing to watch.
00:12:28There are six road races in the early part of the season from March to the first of June.
00:14:47When you're watching from the stands, it's hard to believe that coming off the banks,
00:14:58they're hitting 160 miles an hour.
00:15:00All on the track!
00:15:16Try jumping out of your car at 120, and you'll know how he felt.
00:15:35Miraculously, he didn't break a bone.
00:15:38Watch again in ultra-slow motion, and you can see the abuse he took.
00:15:42His glove goes flying 30 feet down the track.
00:15:45It takes a tremendous jolt.
00:15:52Watch his right leg get bent under.
00:15:58It's amazing it didn't break.
00:15:59Like all forms of racing, road racing is precise.
00:16:17It's got a certain beauty to it, and it's also very dangerous.
00:16:21This is the mile, the most incredible of all dirt track racing.
00:16:28On the straight, Mert hits 130 miles an hour, and around 100, sliding the corners.
00:16:34Mert's teammate, and kind of protege, Mark Brelsford, number 87.
00:16:43Mark is spectacular on the mile.
00:16:46Most riders agree the biggest thrill of all is to sit up at the end of the straight and at 120, pitch it sideways.
00:17:16Mark laid out, feet up, out of the turn, 100, 110, 120, and back down the straight, tucked in to reduce the wind resistance.
00:17:37When Mert's not racing, he's working on his machines.
00:17:41After each race, the engine is torn down and inspected piece by piece.
00:17:46It's a lot more complicated than twisting nuts and bolts.
00:17:50For instance, each gear in the transmission is ground down by hand to save a few ounces of weight.
00:18:00If he can get a fraction of an ounce off this cam follower, he can pick up a few extra RPMs, and that's an edge over the others.
00:18:09He spends hours alone in his garage trying to figure out a way to improve an engine part.
00:18:16Only another professional racer who maintains his own equipment, like Mert, can really appreciate the work involved.
00:18:32He spends over a thousand hours a year working on his motorcycles.
00:18:35It's off to Columbus, Ohio, one of ten cross-country trips Mert makes during the eight-month racing season.
00:18:51He drives his van over 70,000 miles a year, traveling with his friend and helper, Jack Dunn.
00:18:59They don't stay in motels, but drive 24 hours a day, stopping only to eat and refuel.
00:19:05Mert is totally dedicated to his profession.
00:19:10He works at it seven days a week.
00:19:13He doesn't have time for many outside interests.
00:19:16Motorcycle racing is his life.
00:19:19He grossed about $50,000 the year before, ended up with about $20,000 after expenses.
00:19:25That's good money, but not what it should be for the skill, knowledge, and dedication he has, let alone the risks.
00:19:36For most people, San Francisco to Columbus, Ohio, would be four days.
00:19:41For Mert and Jack, 27 hours, non-stop.
00:19:44They don't arrive a day early and relax.
00:19:47The pit gates open at 8.30.
00:19:49They arrive at 8.30.
00:19:57An hour later, after driving all night, he's on the track going sideways at 80 miles an hour.
00:20:14Before each race, there's about an hour of practice.
00:20:22They aren't practicing riding.
00:20:24They're experimenting with frame geometry, gearing, and tires, most suitable for this track.
00:20:30There's a lot more to racing than holding the throttle wide open.
00:20:34Tires alone are an exact science to them, with different rubber compounds and different tread designs.
00:20:41Even a pound or two difference in air pressure makes a difference in handling.
00:20:46Before each race, they cut their tires with razor blades for added traction.
00:20:51Each rider has special cuts, and they change from hour to hour, depending on the condition of the dirt.
00:21:01There are many things to attend to before a race, like taping on these clear plastic strips called tear-offs.
00:21:06Some riders stack up five or six and rip them off one by one as the flying dirt sticks and obscures their vision.
00:21:14It's got to be a real thrill just to reach up and find that tab at 100 miles an hour.
00:21:27The last thing they strap on before a race is their steel skid shoe, custom-made for each rider,
00:21:33with the shape of the bottom sliding surface varied to suit the rider's style.
00:21:37The 20-lap half-mile in Columbus, Ohio.
00:21:48Mert had won the race two years in a row.
00:21:50A win today would put him in good shape to keep his number one plate another year.
00:21:56A $6,000 purse and 60 points.
00:21:59Mert wanted both.
00:22:00On the starting line, watching for a flicker of movement from the flagman, he's like a gunfighter.
00:22:08No show of emotion, not even a blink.
00:22:11Total concentration.
00:22:12It was everything.
00:22:26I hope to be in a good shape for the ship.
00:22:34Hello.
00:22:35Hello.
00:22:36Burt was riding beautifully stretching out his lead he'd done everything right he'd chosen the
00:22:59right tire he picked up those extra few rpms by grinding down his cam follower his machine
00:23:06was perfectly set up and he was riding like the national champ he is
00:23:17the crowd sensing victory and urging him on
00:23:23on the last lap the pack came around but no murk here he came in last place out of the race with a
00:23:30broken throttle cable a two-dollar part it cost him the 60 points he needed and his share of the purse
00:23:41instead of several thousand was a hundred and sixteen dollars it was a pretty disappointing day
00:23:48it would be tough with the races left to earn enough points to keep number one
00:24:02by monday mert was back on the road heading for more races and hitting the gourmet restaurants along the
00:24:07way you may survive the race but not the restaurant
00:24:17murk went on to win three national races he greatly enjoys the things that come with winning
00:24:24what followed him through the season was an unbelievable string of bad luck he broke down
00:24:36in nearly half the championship races often little things like a throttle cable or an electrical short
00:24:42or a tire tread coming off here at Terre Haute Indiana with a half a lap lead
00:24:49Jack Dunn just knew something would happen and it did murk pulling off with a broken crankshaft
00:25:02he'd brake bounce back brake again race again but now it was too late with the races left to run
00:25:11there was no way murk could earn enough points to regain his number one plate
00:25:19the plate he'd ridden 12 years to win and had one season he'd now have to give to someone else
00:25:29there were four riders who had enough points to have a shot at ending up number one
00:25:34one was murk's best friend dick bugsy man number two the veteran of the circuit not only excels at each
00:25:40of the five ama events but is highly skilled in motocross as well there's no one who's more respected by his
00:25:46fellow riders and the fans than dick mann on the bsa number two dick bugsy man
00:25:56the second rider who could win the number one plate
00:25:59one of the youngest 20 year old dave aldena his first year as professional expert
00:26:04david aldena the crazy kid from santa anna california
00:26:08off the track he's conservative compared to his action on the track
00:26:21he crashed 15 times during the year at speeds up to 120 miles an hour and was never hurt
00:26:28david said you never know how fast you can go until you fall down
00:26:31if he didn't crash he often won the third rider in contention was gene romero gene's nickname is burrito
00:26:40he's the most flamboyant of all the professional racers but is very serious about his racing
00:26:45particularly late in the season when he wanted the points for number one
00:26:49i don't want to hurt anybody but i just want to get out there and i got to get third no matter what
00:27:03boy it's gonna be either one i gotta get third or come and visit me at the hospital i dig carnations man
00:27:11the fourth and final rider who could be number one was jim rice jim the winningest rider on the
00:27:16circuit had taken the checkered flag six times as many times as anyone ever had in a season
00:27:23the number one plate would be decided at sacramento california in september
00:27:34quite different from the national circuit is the on any sunday world of motocross
00:27:47a motocross track is uphill downhill jumps bumps mud rocks and dust the rougher the better
00:28:06competition is still the name of the game it doesn't matter whether you're battling for first or 31st
00:28:12it's just as fierce here's a classic confrontation for 10th place the guy in the yellow figures he'll
00:28:19zap his buddy through the puddle and cover his glasses with mud and water so he can't see
00:28:24and that'll put him behind but his pal just threw away his 40 dollar prescription lenses
00:28:30and pass him right back again on the corner
00:28:42when some riders start getting behind they panic and try a shortcut through the giggle weeds
00:28:48when they can no longer race it's simple frustration
00:28:50getting your bike stuck in the mud is bad enough getting your body stuck in the mud is the worst
00:29:03especially when it's your girlfriend who has to dig you out
00:29:23everyone makes mistakes riding motocross even world champion ben alberg here going over the handlebars
00:29:30somehow when alberg gets off he does it with a certain style and grace
00:29:34everyone crashes now and then but not often with style and grace more often the classic flying w
00:29:59thing
00:30:22is
00:30:29Oh, my God.
00:30:59Missing a turn and going off the course is a common error.
00:31:14The classic was this guy running eighth who cut the course and nailed his buddy running third.
00:31:29You wonder how they get into the positions they do.
00:31:42The one kid who was laughing so hard he got stomach cramps.
00:31:44Thousands of riders compete in motocross in the United States.
00:32:03One of them is Steve McQueen.
00:32:04On the starting line, he's not an actor out for a ride.
00:32:09He's 100% motorcycle racer.
00:32:23There's no one with a more competitive instinct.
00:32:25When he gets on his race face, the world could be falling down around him,
00:32:29but all he sees is the track.
00:32:37A $1 million body out there with the possibility of being used by someone for traction in a corner.
00:32:45If the movie studio moguls realized what he was doing on a Sunday afternoon,
00:32:49they'd have a coronary.
00:32:50The two best motocross riders in the world are Ben Ahlberg, 500cc world champion from Sweden,
00:33:10and Joel Robert, 250cc world champion from Belgium.
00:33:14Joel Robert, number 17, is a national sports hero in Belgium.
00:33:26Motocross races in Europe sometimes draw crowds of over 100,000 people.
00:33:32In Joel's home country of Belgium, fans have been known to lay on the track in front of other riders
00:33:37to help Joel win.
00:33:40Except he doesn't need any help.
00:33:44With the number one plate, Swede Ben Ahlberg, 500cc world champion.
00:33:55His riding skill is unbelievable.
00:33:57Here, using power to straighten himself out.
00:34:01Scientific tests have been made, and motocross was found to be
00:34:04the second most physically demanding sport in the world,
00:34:08following only soccer.
00:34:09After 30 minutes of racing, even a rider in perfect condition like Ben Ahlberg
00:34:15is almost totally exhausted.
00:34:17He's got maybe an hour to rest between races,
00:34:19then do it again, three times a day.
00:34:29Motocross races run in all kinds of weather.
00:34:32It's a race against the other man,
00:34:34but even more, it's man's battle against the course itself.
00:34:39There's a certain brutal beauty to motocross
00:34:42that you can only see in slow motion.
00:34:45little bitumenical and knowledgeable things and sometimes
00:34:53you want to both of them.
00:34:55.
00:34:59form改嘅
00:35:04cher
00:35:04and
00:35:05.
00:38:39Have a good time, Malcolm.
00:38:40Oh, great.
00:38:41Lots of fun.
00:38:42See any incidents out there?
00:38:43Any problems?
00:38:44No.
00:38:45No.
00:38:46Turn around this way for just a second.
00:38:47Only one I ever see is Larry Burquist.
00:38:49Yeah, they're up ahead of you still.
00:38:50Yeah.
00:38:51Yeah, we know.
00:38:52He couldn't keep up with the motorcycle.
00:38:53He couldn't keep up with the motorcycle that year, but every other year, the lone dust
00:39:00cloud across Lake Sheppala was Malcolm Smith and his motorcycle.
00:39:05He never failed the lead.
00:39:10One year, he was two hours ahead of the next machine at the halfway point and rode the final
00:39:15200 miles on a flat front tire.
00:39:18The rougher and tougher the event, the more skill and human endurance it takes, the better Malcolm
00:39:25likes it.
00:39:26As he would say himself, that was really neat.
00:39:31The six day trials is the Olympic Games of motorcycle sport held for the 45th year.
00:39:49348 riders from 16 countries have gathered to compete.
00:39:53Among them, Malcolm Smith.
00:39:55Here, getting his bike inspected and marked prior to the first day.
00:40:00Each part of the motorcycle is marked with a special paint.
00:40:03In six days of riding, no parts can be changed without being disqualified.
00:40:09Even internal engine parts are marked and the engine is sealed.
00:40:15The only parts that can be changed are control cables, chains, tires, and tubes.
00:40:21At 6.45 in the morning, the first of the riders get underway.
00:40:25They leave four per minute.
00:40:27The colors on their helmets denote the rider's country.
00:40:30Germans in white, Spanish in yellow, Italians red, English green, Czechoslovakians in blue,
00:40:40the Swedes with yellow in blue.
00:40:43Malcolm number 242 would be starting on the 60th minute.
00:40:48Of all the events Malcolm rides, this is the only one he takes very seriously.
00:41:07There's no prize money involved.
00:41:12The top prize for an individual rider is a gold medal.
00:41:15Off goes Malcolm and 348 others through the countryside of Spain, the beginning of a grueling adventure.
00:41:22The concept of the event is quite simple, to ride about 200 miles per day for six straight days and keep on a prescribed time schedule.
00:41:33The trouble is none but the best can keep up the time schedule and these riders are the best in the world.
00:41:39It's an honor just to be selected to ride the six days.
00:41:48You go through a series of checkpoints each day.
00:41:51You can get there early but you can't clock through until your prescribed minute.
00:41:55You lose one mark for each minute you're late to any checkpoint.
00:41:58In all, there are 65 time checks.
00:42:01If you're only one minute late to any one of these, you lose a mark.
00:42:05To win a gold medal, you can't lose a single mark in six days of riding.
00:42:10It's hard to appreciate the difficulty of the six days without being there.
00:42:15It's hard to realize just how long six days on a motorcycle really is.
00:42:20The best riders are usually the Europeans.
00:42:27Most are paid a salary year-round to ride.
00:42:29A gold medal at the six-day trials sells a lot of motorcycles in Europe.
00:42:34Malcolm isn't paid.
00:42:36In fact, he pays all his own expenses just to go over there and compete.
00:42:40During the competition, the temperatures range from 80 degrees to 20 degrees.
00:42:45They went from 2,000 feet to over 8,000 feet riding in the clouds in the mountains of Spain.
00:42:58Of the 1,200 miles the event covers, about 800 of it is trails like this.
00:43:03It may last for 40 miles.
00:43:06On the foot pegs maneuvering like six days on a bongo board.
00:43:12The speed average, 24 miles an hour, but very few can keep it up.
00:43:21All work in the machine must be done by the contestant himself with no outside help.
00:43:26The bikes are locked up except during the time you're riding against the clock.
00:43:31The only time to make repairs or adjustments is if you can get ahead of schedule and stop to do it.
00:43:36If you can't change a tire in four minutes, you're not competitive in the six-day trial.
00:43:42The only tools you can use for anything are what you carry with you.
00:43:46If anyone hands you a tool or helps you in any way, you're disqualified.
00:43:53If you keep your bike together, change tires fast enough, keep on time, and lose no marks, you still haven't won a gold medal.
00:44:03You have to compete in a series of special tests at the end of each day's riding.
00:44:08One is this 200-meter acceleration test.
00:44:11Clock top speed at the end earns needed bonus points.
00:44:15Except there's a sound meter in that tenth, and if you make too much noise going by, bonus points are subtracted instead of added.
00:44:28Another special test at the end of each day is a five-mile timed cross-country loop.
00:44:34Sort of a motocross against the clock.
00:44:36The fastest times earn the most bonus points.
00:44:39And to earn enough bonus points for a gold medal, you have to be in the top 30%.
00:44:45The motorcycles have mufflers and lights, which are under the number plate.
00:44:49And you can be stopped at any time and have your light checked.
00:44:52If it doesn't work, you have to stay there until you make it work.
00:44:59In the special test, Malcolm has to go fast, but not too fast.
00:45:03He's got to save the machine. He's got to save his body.
00:45:06There are more days to come.
00:45:08Day after day, Malcolm left in the morning chill from El Escorial.
00:45:18Stiff and sore, but on time.
00:45:24Each day, he left to do battle with the clock and the elements of Spain.
00:45:29Mostly fatigue in his face, but on time.
00:45:32The six days more than any event tests a man's all-around ability.
00:45:38His riding, his endurance, mechanical skill, and his ability to think clearly when tremendously fatigued.
00:45:46If you do everything right, don't make one mistake in six days, you win this gold medal.
00:45:52Malcolm won one in Poland, he won one in Germany, and he won this one in El Escorial, Spain.
00:45:58Back in the United States, what's Malcolm do?
00:46:10Heads for another motorcycle race with his friend Steve McQueen.
00:46:14The event is the Elsinore Grand Prix.
00:46:17Fifteen hundred motorcyclists line up in the main street waiting for the start.
00:46:24Fifteen hundred riders and fifty thousand spectators fill the little town.
00:46:44It's a hundred-mile race through the streets of the city and into the foothills outside of town.
00:46:52The average age of the 2,000 Elsinore residents is 60 years old,
00:46:56and it's the only town in America that welcomes such an event.
00:46:59The residents love it, and so do the riders.
00:47:02Malcolm will be starting in the second row, Steve starting in the fourth row.
00:47:17Held back by a rope, riders leave at ten-second intervals, ten abreast.
00:47:22It was supposed to be ten-second intervals, but it got a lot shorter than that.
00:47:27You could tell the most eager riders by their rope burns on their neck.
00:47:44By the time the race was two miles old, Malcolm passing the last rider and taking the lead.
00:47:53It had rained a few days before, and there was a big puddle.
00:47:57As the pack came thundering through, the water puddle turned into a mud puddle.
00:48:02Then it turned into a mud hole.
00:48:05The first 200 riders made it through, but for the 1,300 yet to come, it was all stopped.
00:48:11There's no money involved in the race. A trophy for the winner.
00:48:23In fact, they pay a $15 entry fee for the honor of riding.
00:48:29While they were getting out of the mud hole, Malcolm had opened up a commanding lead.
00:48:47Malcolm rides so smoothly and effortlessly, he doesn't appear to be going very fast.
00:49:00He is. There's 1,499 riders behind him.
00:49:04When he came back through town at the end of the first lap, he was so far ahead, there were no other riders in sight.
00:49:11With the rest of the riders thundering through town, it was sport for the spectators to see if they could get across the street
00:49:31before they got run over by a motorcycle.
00:49:41Everyone rides Elsinore. If there's one event you ride a year, it's usually the Elsinore Grand Prix.
00:49:46People of all ages, girls, the pig farmer from Murrieta.
00:49:53There's only about 200 riders who are seriously competitive. For the rest, it's a great Sunday adventure.
00:49:59Doing wheelies through town to dazzle their friends, bouncing off any object in sight,
00:50:04missing half the corner, and ripping out 10 miles of banners and dragging them back through town.
00:50:11The people of Elsinore can't believe what's going on in their town.
00:50:17They pull a chair up in their front yard and have a grandstand seat.
00:50:29Number 48, Steve McQueen, entered under the name of Harvey Mushman.
00:50:47But it didn't take long for the spectators to figure out who number 48 really was.
00:51:05She was dazzled, but her husband wasn't too impressed.
00:51:09Yeah, I could do that.
00:51:15Steve really earned the respect of his fellow riders.
00:51:18Some of them didn't realize what a good rider he really is.
00:51:21His car racing experience gives him the ability to pick the perfect line through the corners.
00:51:40In the subsequent Elsinore race, Steve crashed, broke his foot, got up and finished eighth, broken foot and all.
00:51:56It was Malcolm Smith's day.
00:51:58When Malcolm passes you, it's a mistake to try and stay with him.
00:52:07In the lead, but still time for a wave to a friend beside the course.
00:52:11Malcolm's got an uncanny sense for doing the right thing.
00:52:20Here, swerving off the course through a hole in the barbed wire fence and around the now cleaned out mud hole.
00:52:34Back through the fence again without missing a beat and passing six guys in the process.
00:52:41What's the guy who rides motorcycles every Sunday do for a living?
00:52:48Malcolm owns a motorcycle shop.
00:53:00In ten laps, Malcolm passed 7,000 riders, some of them three times.
00:53:06Malcolm almost never makes a bobble or a mistake.
00:53:09It's about 200 feet down off the side of the road.
00:53:16When it was all over, it was Malcolm Smith.
00:53:19There he stood in the pits with his ear-to-ear grin.
00:53:23He didn't even look tired.
00:53:24Steve turned in a great ride, finishing tenth overall, riding against the best riders in the country for this kind of event.
00:53:33Every time I start thinking the world is all bad, then I start seeing some people out there having a good time on motorcycles, it makes me take another look.
00:53:39That was good fun.
00:53:40That was good fun.
00:53:41There are a lot of things that are good fun on a motorcycle, like sidecar racing.
00:53:42So specialized that only about 200 people do it in the United States.
00:53:45There are a lot of things that are good fun on a motorcycle, like sidecar racing.
00:53:46So specialized that only about 200 people do it in the United States.
00:53:53The passenger is called the monkey.
00:53:54He's usually flat on one side.
00:53:55The passenger is called the monkey.
00:53:56He's usually flat on one side.
00:54:00He's usually flat on one side.
00:54:07The passenger is called the monkey.
00:54:16The passenger is called the monkey.
00:54:18He's usually flat on one side.
00:54:23Motorcycle drag racing is another highly specialized form of competition.
00:54:37They hit speeds of 160 miles an hour in the quarter mile.
00:54:50Before they leave the line, they burn their tires to get them hot and sticky for better traction.
00:55:00This guy was going to donate his lungs to the Mayo Clinic.
00:55:05Special machines and riders who usually specialize in nothing but drag racing.
00:55:09It's won or lost in a hundredth of a second at the finish or even at the start.
00:55:20Probably the least number of people in all of motorcycle sport race their motorcycles on ice.
00:55:27Quebec City, Canada is the site of one.
00:55:30The fans try to stay alive in the 10 degree below zero weather.
00:55:37The riders wear leather masks to keep their faces from freezing and protect them from cuts from flying ice off the track.
00:55:50Two inch spikes in the tires for traction on the ice.
00:55:55Before a race, they have to be wondering.
00:55:58It would be like getting run over by a buzz saw.
00:56:02If you go down, the main thought is to get off the track because there's more buzz saws coming.
00:56:12This guy set a world record for a 20 foot crawl on his hands and knees.
00:56:19They had tremendous speeds on this half mile ice track.
00:56:22Twenty second lap times, averaging almost 80.
00:56:29Absolutely no wheels spin with those spiked tires.
00:56:34They ride with different styles.
00:56:36Some foot down, dirt track style.
00:56:38Others slide on the knee on a hockey pad.
00:56:42There's only about 50 or 60 people who ice race in North America and only a couple of big ice races a year.
00:56:49It's popular in certain parts of Europe, especially Russia.
00:56:54Ice racing in Canada, 10 degrees below zero in the middle of a snowstorm.
00:57:01From 10 degrees below to 115 degrees above at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where once again, men on motorcycles compete, trying to set speed records.
00:57:19Once a year they have speed week for motorcycles.
00:57:22There's about 200 different classes and anyone with a two wheel machine gets into the act.
00:57:27Some of the bikes are a little strange.
00:57:29This guy had a 60 horsepower skateboard and steel kneecaps.
00:57:35Some guy got an old bomb and put a motor in it.
00:57:39Didn't handle very well.
00:57:41From the backyard specials to the exotically engineered and computer designed streamlined bikes.
00:57:54There was a fellow named Cal Rayburn, a professional racer, who was going to make an assault on the motorcycle land speed record of 250 miles an hour.
00:58:03He was going to drive one of those slide rule super-engineered specials.
00:58:08He lost a little faith in the computers and engineers when he got in and found out an interesting thing.
00:58:14He didn't fit.
00:58:16I think Cal was beginning to have some second thoughts.
00:58:21He kept saying, you guys are nuts.
00:58:24They said his helmet visor must be too big, so they sawed it off.
00:58:30That way it wouldn't dig into his chest.
00:58:33It didn't dig into his chest, but his chin still did.
00:58:37In this position, he was supposed to try and go faster than anyone ever had with a motorcycle over 250 miles an hour.
00:58:45Once the lid was in place, he found out interesting point number two.
00:58:50He couldn't see out.
00:58:53His feet were too big and blocked his view out the front window, and his knee blocked his view out the side.
00:58:58So all he had to do was peer out the side window over his knee and follow this black line painted on the salt at anything over 250.
00:59:09Late in the afternoon, they launched him, and he found out interesting point number three.
00:59:14It didn't handle very well at six miles an hour.
00:59:19He kept saying, you guys are nuts.
00:59:33But he was driving.
00:59:36After a week of trying and crashes from six to 206, Calvin finally set a new motorcycle land speed record of over 265 miles an hour.
00:59:47The steering changed with the speed.
00:59:49Under 100, turn right to go right.
00:59:51100 to 200, turn left to go right.
00:59:55And over 200 back to normal again.
00:59:57And over 200 back to normal again.
00:59:59And over 200, turn left to go right.
01:00:28The mile track at Sacramento, California.
01:00:34This is where the number one plate will be decided.
01:00:38A $12,000 purse, but more important to Dick Mann, Dave Aldana, Gene Romero, and Jim Rice.
01:00:46101 points.
01:00:49Enough to make any of them number one.
01:00:53All the riders were there, but the pressure was on the four.
01:00:58If Dave Aldana won, it would be the first time a first-year expert ever had.
01:01:03Romero was not his usual laughing self.
01:01:07Jim Rice was off alone, walking in the track.
01:01:14Dick Mann arrived.
01:01:16He'd broken his leg in a race only three weeks before, and no one expected him to compete.
01:01:22But he'd sawed off his cast and was going to try.
01:01:28He jammed his swollen leg into his boot and steel shoe, went out on the track, and won his heat race.
01:01:36Mert won the second heat, Gene Romero the third, with Dave Aldana transferring to the point-paying main by finishing third in his heat.
01:01:52The first four riders in each heat transfer to the main event.
01:01:56Jim Rice, number 24, playing it cool in the final heat and transferring.
01:02:05After the finish, at 120 miles an hour.
01:02:08Eleven, D.I.V.
01:02:09The D Donald common jackass is standing in his seatbelt.
01:02:16Gameiki,たい ma'ns, much more in the first half.
01:02:16The pace of his latest achievement is riding with the tiresch camper in the first half.
01:02:22footballER
01:02:31Gentilus
01:02:33Power, power, power, power, power, power, power, power, power, power, power, power!
01:02:37Oh, my God.
01:03:07An hour later, they lined up for the main event.
01:03:34Jim Rice was getting out of the ambulance and was going to try and ride the race.
01:03:41In a lot of pain with a bandana covering his broken nose, Jim quietly took his place on
01:03:49the line with the rest.
01:03:56And down the back chute at 125 miles an hour.
01:04:03And down the back chute at 125 miles an hour.
01:04:10And down the back chute at 125 miles an hour.
01:04:17And down the back chute at 125 miles an hour.
01:04:24It was Dave Aldana.
01:04:30The race was black flagged.
01:04:33Aldana's bike was completely totaled, but David, as he had all year, walked away unhurt.
01:04:39But he also walked away from any chance of being number one.
01:04:43No way he could make the three-minute restart rule.
01:04:53The restart was a carbon copy of the first.
01:04:56Merton fourth, working his way back to third.
01:04:59Romero second, man first.
01:05:01And there goes Romero to the inside and takes the lead at the end of the chute on turn number three.
01:05:10And Romero again getting by.
01:05:12Dick Mann in exactly the same place.
01:05:14Jim Rice running in last place.
01:05:20Ten laps later, the field's spreading out.
01:05:24Romero further ahead and Rice dropping further back.
01:05:26His bike running poorly.
01:05:28And Jim just too physically shaken to be competitive.
01:05:31It's amazing he tried to ride it all.
01:05:36On the 20th lap, Dick Mann pulled in.
01:05:38He'd caught his shoe in a hole and was in too much pain to continue.
01:05:42For him, that's gotta be a lot.
01:05:48Mert hung onto Romero's tail for the first 20 laps.
01:05:51And then, as it happened so often during the season,
01:05:54smoke began pouring out as his engine went south.
01:06:00It was Romero's day.
01:06:0250 laps, wire to wire.
01:06:04His father cheering him on.
01:06:06A beautiful ride.
01:06:07The checkered flag.
01:06:08And Gene Romero, the new number one.
01:06:11It was a day of happiness for Gene.
01:06:29For Rice, Aldana and Mann, it was a very disappointing day.
01:06:33Rice was lucky to be alive.
01:06:35What kind of men are these that take tremendous chances?
01:06:45That saw off a cast and ride with a broken leg?
01:06:49And say it'll be okay.
01:06:50I'm a fast healer.
01:06:55Why do they do it?
01:06:57There's no answer to that.
01:06:59If you ask them, they say simply,
01:07:03because it's what I like to do.
01:07:05For Mert, the day at Sacramento had been a mirror of the season.
01:07:10With as much bad luck as Mert had had during the year,
01:07:13he still finished with enough points
01:07:15to be the number 6th ranked rider in the national point standings.
01:07:19Let's see what's happening in the rest of the motorcycle world.
01:07:28It's Sunday, and we're about 20 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah.
01:07:32There's a hill there called Widowmaker.
01:07:35It's 600 feet high, and the angle up the face is 89%, roughly 45 degrees.
01:07:41It's the site of the annual Widowmaker hill climb.
01:08:01No one's ever made it over the top,
01:08:03and they've been trying for seven years.
01:08:07Riders come from all over the country to compete
01:08:09in yet another highly specialized form of motorcycle competition.
01:08:13As I said, no one's ever made the top,
01:08:15but they give it a hell of a try.
01:08:39Wherever the bike stops is where the measurement is taken,
01:08:51so they get some bizarre push-off techniques.
01:08:59This guy nearly nailed a couple of spectators
01:09:01and lost 12 feet in the process.
01:09:09That's a whole lot better than losing 387 feet.
01:09:20Some of the bikes have a lot of character.
01:09:22The hill climbers themselves are safe to say characters.
01:09:31There was the mortician from Waukegan
01:09:33who thought hyperventilation was the answer.
01:09:37It got him up the hill 15 feet.
01:09:42The classic guy that day was old Hawkeye Hillbilly.
01:09:45He spent considerable time mentally psyching himself up for the hill.
01:09:53Didn't know whether that was his number plate for a traffic citation.
01:09:55On the hill, old Hawkeye the Bouncer turned in a great run.
01:10:15Only about 50 feet short of the top.
01:10:39Old Malcolm was there.
01:10:40He'd never ridden a hill climb, but he thought it would be fun.
01:10:42On his first try, in typical Malcolm Smith style,
01:10:45he forgot to turn on the gas.
01:11:03Later in the day, he got his second run,
01:11:05more than made up for his first error.
01:11:07Riding his stock motorcycle in the 500cc class against the specially built hill climbers,
01:11:19he got up to around 500 feet, right in there with the best of them.
01:11:24Going back down the hill is a major operation for most riders.
01:11:28Malcolm dazzled folks when he turned around and rode his motorcycle down.
01:11:37Holy God.
01:11:45One of the final riders of the day was Mike Gibbon,
01:11:47who'd driven all the way from Grants Pass, Oregon to ride this event.
01:11:59Chains on the tires and nitromethane fuel in the tank.
01:12:03Mike Gibbon made the first tire mark on the top of Widowmaker.
01:12:06After seven years, it had been done.
01:12:09He got a big trophy and the local Lions Club gave him $100 to help him pay expenses back to Oregon.
01:12:24It had been quite a day. Widowmaker had at last been conquered.
01:12:33Malcolm got a hundred feet further up the hill than any other stock bike,
01:12:38finishing third against the special hill climb machines.
01:12:41This fellow is a trials rider, the magicians of the motorcycle world.
01:13:01Good trials riders can do wheelies like this for miles, around corners, everywhere,
01:13:06just bopping along, watching the scenery.
01:13:08Trials riders are the violin players of the motorcycle world,
01:13:13tremendously skilled at what they do.
01:13:18The kid couldn't believe it.
01:13:20There was nobody to tell.
01:13:23In riding trials events, all you have to do is get through a difficult section of terrain
01:13:27without putting your foot down.
01:13:29A good trials rider's ability to do this is amazing.
01:13:32It would seem impossible to get a motorcycle with 10 inches of clearance over a 30-inch log,
01:13:39and then make a sharp right turn to stay in bounds and not put your foot down.
01:13:44It can be done.
01:13:49Here's a beautiful example. Lift the wheel at the precise instant, turn it mid-air so when you land your turn has already begun.
01:13:57It looks easy. Don't believe it.
01:13:58Malcolm rides one or two trials a year on his Sunday outings.
01:13:59In fact, he rides one or two of almost everything a year.
01:14:00In trials too, he is very good.
01:14:01In trials too, he is very good.
01:14:02In trials too, he is very good.
01:14:03In trials too, he is very good.
01:14:04Here's a beautiful example. Lift the wheel at the precise instant, turn it mid-air so when you land your turn has already begun.
01:14:11It looks easy. Don't believe it.
01:14:14Malcolm rides one or two trials a year on his Sunday outings.
01:14:18In fact, he rides one or two of almost everything a year.
01:14:21In trials too, he is very good.
01:14:24Try this someday if you want to do something really difficult.
01:14:39Neat, Malcolm.
01:14:42Quite a different breed from the trials riders are the desert racers, unique to the southwest, particularly Southern California.
01:14:50There's even a group of girls called the Desert Daisies who race in the desert.
01:14:56A great variety of people from all walks of life gather each Sunday to race.
01:15:02Number one plate holder in the desert, Whitey Martino.
01:15:07When they line up for the start, it's quite a sight.
01:15:10Down there on the line are doctors, lawyers, carpenters, plumbers, engineers, salesmen, students, anyone and everybody.
01:15:32A thousand riders ready to race a heron hound over a hundred miles of desert terrain, 50 miles from the nearest town.
01:15:41This scene takes place every Sunday of the year with starts from 500 to 2,000 riders.
01:15:48The prize? A trophy for the winner and the satisfaction of knowing they did it for the rest.
01:15:54They had first to a smoke bomb about five miles from the start.
01:16:03At 10 a.m. the banner drops.
01:16:06The
01:16:08The
01:16:13The
01:16:19The
01:16:21The
01:16:25The
01:16:31About 10% never make the first five miles to the smoke bomb.
01:17:01It's a cross between a race and a war.
01:17:15They raise a cloud of dust that settles three weeks later on London.
01:17:21Once the smoke bomb, they start to thin out, following a trail marked with ribbon and lime.
01:17:26No one's allowed to ride the course first, so it's all new terrain to them.
01:17:30Three stripes of lime across the trail mean a dangerous spot ahead.
01:17:34To the experienced desert rider, mounds of dirt mean danger too,
01:17:38because the mounds had to come out of something like a mine shaft or a ditch or a hole.
01:17:43You can tell when someone found one by the way they disappear so quickly.
01:17:47It's a hundred miles of uphills, washes, brush, sand, cactus, downhills and rocks.
01:18:14A struggle just to get through.
01:18:27But the biggest hazard to a desert racer is another desert racer.
01:18:38In the spring, the B-29 bugs come out.
01:18:42Then hitting one is like running into a medicine ball.
01:18:46Desert racers are good people.
01:19:06There's even a guy who rides the desert with his dog.
01:19:16There's a rug in the tank the dog hangs onto.
01:19:19He's got claws like an eagle.
01:19:21They're pit stops are kind of unusual.
01:19:41Some of the hairiest racing is in the pits.
01:19:45The best riders can invariably be found way in front of the dust and really hauling.
01:19:53Here, J.N. Roberts, one of the really great desert racers.
01:19:59Steve McQueen riding here still rides an occasional desert race, although he prefers motocross now.
01:20:09A few years back, he rode every Sunday and was ranked the 11th amateur rider.
01:20:17Now here, Malcolm Smith, he rarely rides the desert, says he doesn't like the heat and dust.
01:20:25He's ridden about 12 desert races in his life and he won six of them.
01:20:30The other six he broke down.
01:20:36King of the desert and number one plate holder, Whitey Martino.
01:20:43There's a great deal of skill involved, not just riding, but reading the terrain.
01:20:47This is the way it looks to Whitey, weaving through the pucker bushes at 60 to 70 miles an hour.
01:20:57You don't go straight, but it's almost like a slalom through the bushes.
01:21:01If you hit a bush, it's an instant endo.
01:21:07After battling your way through sand, rocks, turtles, bugs, and mine shafts,
01:21:12you'd expect the finish to be exciting.
01:21:15The finish of a desert race is like the finish of no other race.
01:21:19It's just over.
01:21:21There's usually about 100 people watching, and they're waiting for somebody else anyway.
01:21:28Desert races are a very personal experience.
01:21:31No spectators to cheer you, but a great personal satisfaction in knowing you did it.
01:21:36If a thousand start, there's usually about three or four hundred that finish.
01:21:54The rest are strewn out over 100 miles of desert and are picked up by a crew that sweeps the course.
01:22:00But there's always someone who gets off the course, gets lost, and breaks a chain or something.
01:22:07He has no idea where he is, and neither does anyone else.
01:22:14The desert racers' handbook says, build a fire.
01:22:27The rescue squad will see the smoke and come and pick you up.
01:22:36Desert racers don't lean toward tinder and the one-match fire.
01:22:40It's high test in a pucker bush for them.
01:23:06The nearest water is in the radiator of his truck, but he doesn't have any idea where his truck is.
01:23:18That's a thousand-dollar signal fire.
01:23:25Probably the most fun in all of motorcycling is to load your bike in a pickup truck and head out into the country.
01:23:32The pressure of racing over, it's time to relax and have some fun.
01:23:41Malcolm, Steve, and Mert all like to race, but they think this kind of riding is the most fun.
01:23:48It's called cow trailing.
01:23:53If your friends aren't paying attention, how can you resist?
01:23:57Steve could have picked better people to fool with than Mert Lawwell and Malcolm Smith.
01:24:12There's something about going riding with your friends.
01:24:24a feeling of freedom, a feeling of joy that really can't be put into words.
01:24:29It can only be fully shared by someone who's done it.
01:24:33There's something about going riding with your friends, a feeling of freedom, a feeling of joy that really can't be put into words.
01:24:43It can only be fully shared by someone who's done it.
01:24:48There's someone who's done it.
01:24:51There's someone who's done it.
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