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11
Staff Writer
When you think of motocross,
you may envision helmeted
yong men on dirt bikes jumping
over little hills. What you won’t
know, unless involved in moto-
cross, is that hours of practice
and intense concentration are
behind the two 15-minute heats
comprising a motocross race.
A Dallas teenager, who
recently won second place at a
Berwick Super Cross track,
spoke about his three-year
racing career.
“First, I got a bike just to
play around on, just to ride
around the back fields,” said
Jamie Opalicki, 18. “And then
people started saying, ‘Are you
gonna race, are you gonna
race?’ So we went and saw a
few (races), and then I thought
I liked it.”
Opalicki, progressed from
riding back fields at age 12 to
racing at 15. Now, he has a
sponsor who pays his entry fees
at races and the upkeep on his
racing bike.
He races nearly every week-
end, traveling to Englishtown,
N.J. Hanover, Pa.; Bingham-
ton, N.Y.; or to Evansville,
Berwick.
The Clifford and Evansville
tracks are the closest ones to
this area, Opalicki said.
Although those two tracks are
nearby when compared to a
five-hour drive to New Jersey,
they’re not exactly around the
corner.
“It costs a lot of money to
sponsor a track,” said Opalicki.
“I don’t think anyone around
here really wants to invest the
Page through a few of the
colorful motocross magazines
available in the area and you’ll
see action shots of mud-spat-
tered riders flying high off the
ground, close-ups of bike parts
and words like “rad” (radical,
which Jamie Opalicki, of
Dallas, used to describe the
smaller bikes, the 125s, as
opposed to 250s or 500s). You’ll
also read articles on new bikes
coming out, and, you’ll see
plenty of eye-catching adver-
tisements of everything from
gloves and goggles to pistons
and clutch plates.
You'll also see pretty girls
sporting the racing outfits and
standing next to some macho
equipment. |
That seems to be the greatest
portion of female coverage as
far as motocross goes. You
probably would never even see
a book entitled ‘‘Motocross.
Wives,” since most of the pros
seem to be too young and too
dedicated to be married. (A 29-
year old was described as an
old-timer.)
Along with all that, readers
get race results and articles on
‘How to Master Double Jumps’’
and such. There are also fan
magazine-type stories asking
prominent riders about impor-
Favorable weather conditions
and a good population of buck
were two reasons why the first
day of antler deer (buck)
season was such a huge success.
Lee Harshbarger, federal aid
supervisor for the Northeast
Region of the Pennsylvania
Game Commission, says game
buck were killed on the first day
(golfing, wind surfing and jet
skiing seem to be popular);
favorite food (Wendy’s chicken
sandwich, said one 20-year old);
and favorite singer or group, as
well as competition records and
favorite tracks. Pets of the stars
included mostly cats and dogs
with a rabbit or snake here and
there.
There were also pictures of
the stars’ homes — big and
beautiful and mostly in Califor-
nia. Gives riders something to
aspire to, right?
One star rider gave advice on
how to leave the starting gate.
“Feather the clutch lever to
control traction and front wheel
height.”
You can get tips on how to
keep mud and water from drip-
ping through the gap between
helmet and visor, keeping water
out of the exhaust pipe when
washing your bike (put a bal-
loon over it), and on using old
window screen to assist radiator
guards in keeping mud out of
radiators.
Looking into these motocross
magazines, which offer a mix-
ture of hard consumer informa-
tion and fan-mag fluff, you can
glimpse a subculture which
many of us never dream
existed.
— JANE RENN
of the two-week season in Luz-
erne County alone, and 6,295
were accounted for in the 13-
county region serviced by the
Dallas Game Commission.
‘‘We estimate there were
about one million deer through-
out Pennsylvania and that is
higher than in years past,”
Harshbarger said. ‘‘The last
several winters have been rela-
‘Thumbs up’
Dallas Post/Jane Renn
tively mild and there were good
feeding conditions for the deer.
Some years we do lose car-
ryover deer because of the
harsh weather.”
Harshbarger also said that
ideal hunting conditions and the
number of hunters out were
contributing factors for the
increase in bucks Killed so far
this year.
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time and the money to do it.”
It also costs a lot of money to
participate.
Riders wear a helmet (about
$100); chest protector (price
varies, according to style and
amount of protection); thick,
partially steel-plated knee-high
boots ( about $150); and special
‘‘leathers’’ with padded hips
and knees to absorb falls and
the heat of the engine. They
may also wear a kidney belt to
protect the lower back.
Add to that a few thousand
dollars for the motorcycle and a
small trailer to help transport it
from track to track.
“That’s why a sponsor is so
important, because everything
costs so much,” Opalicki said.
Expense and lack of a local
track don’t stop area motocross
riders, however.
“When it comes to motocross,
Dallas has a lot of people who
are really good motocross
racers,” Opalicki explained. ‘If
you went to a motocross race,
you’d probably hear Dallas over
the loudspeakers when the win-
ners and early finishers are
announced. In fact, that goes for
the whole Wyoming Valley.”
But the glories of race day are
only a small part of the sport.
Opalicki practices ‘whenever
I get the free time,” and rides
daily until dark after his shift at
a local Acme.
Roaring around a dirt track
five times with 39 other bikers,
skidding around corners, with
rocks and dirt flying (the spray
is called ‘“roost”), doing double
or triple jumps sometimes in
pouring rain does require endur-
ance and skill in maneuvering
the light-weight bikes.
In fact, Opalicki, likened the
sport’s falls to jumping off a
pick-up truck going down the
road at 40 miles per hour.
Does he fall a lot?
“Not a lot anymore,” he said.
(See MOTO, page 14)
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