About BlueRibbon Coalition Plug

Guest post (below his photo) from my brother and The BlueRibbon Coalition.
I have to make it understood that I enjoy riding trails, trails that have long been on these mountains before all readers concerned were born.I have seen small riding parks and will not visit them, they are as a rule (there are exceptions) abominations for a trail riders message.
My experience in off-road adventures out west,Colorado,Nevada,Idaho and some other places I forgot, oh Kenya, is that rarely if ever do you see a hiker, rarely if ever do you see another group of riders.The vast majority of Trail Riders are good people, I would wager a much higher average than the average voter.These people are out in the middle of nowhere, on ideally trail that is no more than 2' wide, just single track trail.
A wholesome sport with inherit dangers, yet per capita I would wager that more people are harmed, by stick and ball sports, even a larger carbon footprint created, by this form of entertainment. I am not asking you to quit but between the amount of traffic created by such events, the amount of money spent of advertising spent creating sales for items that people do not need, drunk drivers not only from the games where beer is sold but also to all those who leave pubs,parties many a bit over served.? How many Trail Rides sell beer? They only people that are in danger are the riders themselves, the wildlife? I have lived in the woods, animals adapt to my actions,my bike, my spontaneous irrational laughter. I had to cap my chimney to keep raccoons out. I have hawks (name the bird I have it, unless the hawk is around) I have armadillos, turtles small things I cannot identify...Animals adapt they are not traumatized by a motorcycle, and if they are well maybe they have some sort of nervous condition or phobia, because unless you are on top of the food chain you have a lot to be worried about in the wilds, much more than a bike announcing its approach with what is a quite, safely audible muffler. I could go on but to what end? I have lost all my readers already...I'm wearing a funnel I found on the side of the road for a rain hat, I put a cork in the top hole...If you read the former sentence then you really have time on your hands. JW (written underdeadline/duress but not read by the author)


Charlie's Corner: On Any Sunday Redux
Editorial by Charlie Williams,
BRC Trail Ambassador
Article Photo
A while back I was lucky enough to get to attend the On Any Sunday reunion in Long Beach, California. My official purpose was to gain support for BlueRibbon Coalition's Breakfast of Champions.

That was my official purpose, having fun was just a by-product!

For those readers who are not familiar with On Any Sunday, I'll give you a brief history:

A long, long time ago, a man named Bruce Brown made a movie about surfing, The Endless Summer. Bruce and his cameras followed a couple of surfers around the world while they were seeking the perfect wave. It was good; my Dad took us to see it in 1966 when the movie was released. We were at my grandparents' beach cottage on the coast of North Carolina.

The movie was a life-changing experience for me; I wanted to be a surfer. So the next day, Dad took us to the surf board shop to rent a board. In our group was me at 8 years old, my brother at 4, my mom, at an unspecified age, my uncle, and the really short guy from next door.

I remember it clearly; the smart-aleck clerk asked my dad what sized board we wanted. My dad, not knowing any better said he would like a board big enough for all of us. Well, I guess with the really short neighbor along with us, the clerk figured we were some sort of circus troupe and dug out an 18 foot board—big enough for all of us.

We tied the behemoth on top of the station wagon and headed home. I remember the giant board beating the living daylight out of me in the breakers. Remember, I was 8 years old and maybe 4 feet tall, and I ended up bruised and scuffed on every portion of my body. I also remember crying and throwing a fit when it came time to return the board.

"NO, I can do it! I can do it!"

No, I could not do it, although this movie has inspired me to try to surf all my life. Every chance I get I go to the ocean and swim around on my board, but I'm no closer to surfing now than I was when I was a kid. It's a very hard sport, especially when you live in the mountains of Idaho.

Then, in 1972, Bruce Brown released a new movie, On Any Sunday. It was a motorcycle movie. It explored the world of motorcycling and I realized there was a whole world of motorcycle guys like me out there. Up to that point I just thought it was me and my neighbors.

Growing up in Indiana, surfing was impossible, but motorcycle riding was something we did every day after school. Until my Dad took us to see On Any Sunday, I thought we were the only kids in the world who spent all their time building tracks and riding bikes. But the greatest realization I came away with was that we were not alone. There was a whole bunch of us out there, and my world grew a lot that night.

Dad took us to the movie house, he knew more what to expect than we kids did. He could, and would read; we could, but would not read. So we didn't really know what to expect from this "motorcycle" movie.

Well, you know we were all impressed because we sat through the film three times!

A funny thing is that between showings, the theater showed a short film about Hellmann's mayonnaise. My family have used Hellmann's mayonnaise ever since. The thing is Hellmann's didn't really sponsor nor did it have any thing to do with the movie On Any Sunday. It was just a chance encounter that sold a lot of mayo for them.

Another funny story is that in Mexico, they love their mayonnaise. Years ago the Hellmann's mayonnaise ship was delivering a shipload of mayo to Vera Cruz Mexico from the factory in New York. Well, the ship got into a terrible storm and unfortunately sank off the coast of Mexico. Although all the sailors escaped, the Mexican population was very sad about the loss of their favorite condiment, mayo, so in honor they named the day Sinko de Mayo, a tradition that lives on today.

Over the years, I've watched the movie On Any Sunday a hundred times on TV, but not since I saw it for the first time have I seen it on the big screen. So when I heard the Orange County Dualies were arranging a reunion with proceeds going to help the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation with a showing of the movie on the biggest screen west of the Mississippi river, I was in.

For the chance to finally meet the people who made this film—a film that has affected my life, along with every one who has ever watched it—I just had to go.

It turned out to be a great event too. It was cold and rainy when I left home and sunny and warm in southern California. I knew people there from all over the country, so it was a reunion for me and my friends too.

So I got thinking, and that's how you get involvedâ You know how the BlueRibbon Coalition has their Breakfast of Champions at the Indianapolis Dealer Show? Well, what if I could invite all these On Any Sunday stars to the breakfast? How cool would that be? We could have an On Any Sunday theme and I really think this would be a good draw.

So I started approaching these guys and I introduced myself as being a representative of BlueRibbon. Here is the good news, every one of them were very familiar with the BlueRibbon Coalition and were eager to help with the breakfast. I was impressed with how well the good name of BlueRibbon was received. You should be proud of our organization.

So next year, the Breakfast of Champions is going to have an International Six Day Enduro theme, but in the year after that, 2010, we hope to have an On Any Sunday theme, how cool will that be?

We are always looking for ideas to make us better, if you have any, please drop me a note, and I'll promise, no more stupid mayonnaise jokes.

—Questions or comments regarding this article should be directed to the BlueRibbon Coalition: Phone: , Fax: . Email: .

BlueRibbon Magazine, July 2008