Cw 25 Years Ago August, 1964

CW 25 YEARS AGO August, 1964

ROUNDUP

I MET TWO-TIME GRAND NAtional Champion Dick Mann for the first time three years ago at Daytona. He joined a few of us for breakfast, slipping into the conversation now and again, but for the most part he seemed to enjoy simply sitting in a sunlit room abuzz with motorcycle conversations.

In Cycle Worlds August, 1964, issue, we had a short feature titled “Meet Dick Mann,” that introduced readers to Mann by taking them into his garage and watching “Bugsy” work on his bike before a race. “He speaks quietly, but with authority,” we wrote of the then-29-year-old racer, “and has an amazing store of knowledge about cycles, riders and competition. He is very cooperative and is happy to speak his mind on a variety of subjects.”

More than 20 years later, I found those words still applied to the gentleman sitting beside me at breakfast. And even though Mann had won more fame, and more championships, since that 1964 article, he still spoke in a quiet, unassuming manner.

That August issue also pointed out a trend that continues today in Cycle World, our relationship with racing. In this one issue, we covered the Isle of Man TT, the Spanish and French roadracing GPs, as well as trials and motocross from Europe, roadracing in Canada and flat-track and off-road racing in America. The magazine forged that relationship in the early years, and with our current Race Watch section, we continue our fascination with machines built for speed and the men who ride them.

Camron E. Bussard