"Hi...just started checking out your site. Back in the day (1980s) I raced Huskys and knew Mike from when he lived in Central Ohio. Those early 80's were quite the halcyon days of off-road racing here in Central Ohio when the economy was strong; having Husky US HQ and Burleson here helped a lot as well...and Cycle News East was still around.
I have so many stories from that era but here is a classic Mike Melton episode that really highlights what a good person he is. One summer afternoon at work I got a call from Mike asking me to be at Honda Hills to "try out something new". I took my then girlfriend now spouse out to Honda Hills to find the Husky team truck parked there with Mike sitting in in a lawn chair. I found it odd that the loading door to the truck was closed.
I helped Mike open the truck loading door and watched him unload the what was the first Husky water cooled 250 in the US; it turns out it was to be ridden at the USGP the following weekend so essentially it was a work bikes. After watching Mike for a few laps he said "take it for a spin but don't go fast enough to crash it!" Quite a thrill for an IT guy with a day job to ride something like this..
Due to business travel and getting re-qualified to fly again I have not been involved with bikes and racing since the late 1980s. I do miss those times chasing the guys wearing the blue helmets with the white stripes on them in local races."
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