Volume 2, Issue 14 June 22 - July 5, 2000

If you've been thinking of getting rid of your old motorcycle, think again. The Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) has a new vintage-class racing category, and they are looking for new riders to compete.

Mike and Bonnie Verdugo of Denver joined the MRA when the association added a vintage class. According to Bonnie, Randy Caley, also a member of the MRA, worked hard to get a vintage racing class added. "This is the first year that they're racing vintage bikes in the MRA," said Bonnie, "so we wouldn't be racing if the class hadn't been added."

Mike, in addition to creating sky diving helmets for Sky Systems during the day, restores and races vintage motorcycles. Mike and Bonnie both ride Yamaha RD-350s, Bonnie for pleasure and Mike for racing. Mike currently is ranked second in MRA's vintage GTU class. "Right now, there's only about six or seven guys in the class", Mike said, noting that he and other MRA vintage racers are anxious to promote the new class to keep it alive.

In comparison, the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) has around 5,000 members, with races sponsored throughout North America. Mike and Bonnie hope that the MRA's vintage class membership will increase once more people learn about vintage motorcycle racing.

"The MRA likes to call themselves the best kept secret in Colorado," said Mike. "We want more people to know, to get more people to come. The organization is kind of coming out of its shell. There are more people racing than there are spectators watching."

"Vintage racers want to be careful, they don't want to wreck their vintage bike. They're not quite as cutthroat," said Bonnie. Mike, however, is not so worried about protecting his bike. "I ride like hell and crash sometimes," Mike said.

Some vintage racers may be cautious, but accidents still happen. At one vintage race Mike and Bonnie attended, two riders, going 90 mph, collided. The riders both had to be taken to the hospital, which required the two ambulances waiting at the race to be used. The race had to be stopped until another ambulance came in case there were more accidents.

"My first race, I crashed the day before at practice, and broke my finger," said Mike. " I loaded up the truck, and hauled ass to the motorcycle store, bought new stuff before they closed. Got home and fixed the bike with my hand all bandaged up, iced my hand all night, and the next day finished my first race."

Mike has been riding motorcycles since he was four years old. "I kind of grew up around it," said Mike. "My dad was a racer when I was little. He did pretty much what I'm doing here, restored old bikes."

Mike describes his family as "desert rats," riding motorcycles every weekend. "Until I was about 12 years old, when my dad found religion," said Mike. When bikes were no longer around the house, Mike turned to rock climbing as a substitute.

Mike competed successfully in rock climbing, skipping engineering class to go rock climbing, until a shoulder injury forced him to stop. He found his way back to motorcycles after his injury. "They've kept me sane ever since," said Mike. "Its kind of like Prozac for motivated people. Seriously, I get depressed if I'm not doing something. I have to keep doing something all the time rather than medicate."

Mike is a compulsive fixer-upper. In addition to restoring motorcycles, he occasionally restores vintage scooters. A lime green scooter currently awaits parts in his garage. "That one originally went 40 miles per hour, but I just couldn't leave well enough alone," said Mike. A disabled Porsche, which for many years sat in someone's garage next to a pool table acting as a beer coaster, is one of Mike and Bonnie's next projects. "Sell more bikes, make more money, fix the car," said Bonnie.

Around Mike's day job and working on his own bikes, he restores bikes for other people as a hobby, "Just for people I like." Mike does most of his restoration in the garage at his and Bonnie's house. In the summer, an opened garage door acts as a cooling system, while in the winter a small space heater keeps Mike from freezing. He designs seats, and does bodywork and paint, at Sky System.

Bonnie is anxious to start racing, but says that racing is expensive. She gets a kick riding her restored Yamaha around the city, marveling when people gawk at her bike and ask her questions about it. Her bike's motor is ear-deafeningly loud.

The picture framing shop Bonnie works at is one of Mike's racing sponsors. Bonnie keeps track of the money for Mike's racing and reminds him to come in out of the garage once in awhile.

"We've never spent more than $400 on a bike," Bonnie said. Bonnie and Mike come by a lot of their bikes just by people giving away their old cycles. "These old ones, people have apparently forgotten how to work on them, but I haven't. Bring them on over," said Mike.

"There's a definite rift in motorcycling right now," said Mike. "You got your hardcore Harley guys: all Harley, all the time, everything else sucks: and then there's guys like me that are just into pure performance and style, and the mechanics of it. They feel like I should be ashamed for riding a Japanese motorcycle. But until America builds a motorcycle that performs like a Japanese motorcycle, I'll keep riding them."

"We're trying to be the other white meat, the softer side," said Bonnie. Bonnie and Mike think vintage racing is about enthusiasm with being a jerk about it, a non-elitist attitude. "I ride full-bore all the time," said Mike, to which Bonnie added, "So do I."

MRA is a Colorado-based nonprofit organization. MRA vintage races are held at four tracks in Colorado. Mountain View Motorsports Park is thirty miles north of Denver on I-25, east at exit 245. Pikes Peak International Raceway, in Fountain, is south of Denver off of I-25. Pueblo Motorsports Park is in Pueblo off of I-25 on Pueblo Blvd. Second Creek Raceway is at 88th Ave. and Buckley Rd. in Denver.

For more information about the Motorcycle Roadracing Association, visit www.mra-racing.org, or call 303-530-5678. For more information about the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association, visit www.ahrma.org.

2000 MRA Race Schedule

July 2: Race, Second Creek Raceway

July 23: Race, Mountain View Motorsports Park

August 5: MRA open practice at Pikes Peak International Raceway

August 6: Race, Pikes Peak International Raceway

August 27: Race, Second Creek Raceway

September 10 Race, Mountain View Motorsports Park

October 8: Race, Second Creek Raceway