Ups & Downs
Ups & Downs
ROUNDUP
UP: To Gary Eagan, for breaking the Iron Butt Association's record for a north-south transverse of North America. Riding a Ducati Multistrada outfitted with a 6-gallon auxiliary fuel cell, the noted longdistance rider covered the 5632 miles from Prudhome Bay, Alaska, to Key West, Florida in a mindboggling 101 hours. That broke the year-old record set by Christopher Sakala on a BMW R115OGS by 13 hours. Amazingly, Eagan slept less than 6 hours during the trip, saying, "Everyone has a gift, mine is not needing much sleep."
DOWN: To car trouble, for keeping former 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts Jr. from attending the pre-race MotoGP press conference at Donington Park, England, this past July. When it was suggested that Nicky Hayden's father Earl, who owns a used-car lot-Second Chance Autos-in their hometown of Owensborough, Kentucky, could provide Roberts with reliable transportation, Nicky replied, "He'd set him up with something, for sure. But he'd have to make his payments on time. Otherwise, we'd have to send our big meathead after him to repo it."
DOWN: To developers, for stripping Southern California of a legendary motocross track. After a 37-year run wherein it hosted the USGP and the ABC-TV "Super bikers," Carlsbad Raceway will be closed by the time you read this, victim of urban encroachment. Onginally built in rural northern San Diego County, the track is now flanked by thousands of homes and an industrial park. The final death knell was the construction of a sewer pipe that runs beneath the starting gate and dragstrip. Godspeed, C'bad.
