Mark Barnett had a rough life in the pits

Here's the 1981 version of R&R between motos - under the canopy next to the box truck, sitting on the ice chest and guzzling a few gallons of jug water. Sounds like a far stretch from today's top riders and custom motorhomes, doesn't it?

This era of race reporting was so amazing because there was very little "them and us" mentality.  Riders lived out in the open and were full access.  No barriers had yet been created, we operated as a community in the pit area.  It was mostly mutual respect; if a rider needed some space you gave it to them.  I hope that in my years as a Cycle News East journalist and later PR rep for Wrangler, I never intruded beyond what was necessary.

But thanks to the open air environment, I was able to capture many interesting images and share them with our readers.  It's a piece of history that we should hold dear, as that part of racing how now been lost. I'm not against a progression in the sport, but we'll never again see the days when a champion like Barnett is all access.