Racing and the heat off the battle were great dimensions during my years of reporting for Cycle News East, but what I seemed to enjoy most were the before and after moments in the sport...the anticipation of the event to come, who had a cocky comment directed towards another racer (there seemed to be many in those days) and of course injury updates.
Then the gate dropped, the race commenced, and within minutes we had a winner.
Here's a shot of Kent Howerton (aka the Rhinestone Cowboy based on his Texas roots) being interviewed after winning a Supercross by Jammin' Jimmy Weinert. Kent and Jimmy represent big brands in the sport of motocross. I used to hang on every word while making winner's circle photos - in those days, our tools were a notepad and two camera bodies, one shooting film for CN East and the other body capturing images for CN West. That's another story in itself and it will be unpacked in another post.
I believe the moto media gives us too many race images and not enough of the "real story"...what's happening in the pits, shots of riders with fans, more on the mechanics and team managers. The relationships are complex and race photos don't tell the entire story. I wanted to take my readers behind the scenes, as if they were traveling within the sport, as I was.
Well, that's just the opinion of this old-time reporter. And I'm glad to have this blog as a platform for my thoughts!
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