Untitled Document
I was looking forward to the Albuquerque stop on the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series because I hadn’t been to New Mexico in over thirty years. My parents took me to the White Sands National Park when I was little kid and I still remember the trip. I was hoping this time would be as memorable. Well it was, but only because the air travel was a nightmare. I know I complain about it every week, but this time I am going to break it down and let you judge for yourself.
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Things started off like they usually do with me getting dropped off at the airport about 2 hours before flight time. I checked in and went to get a USA today to read. After I passed thru security I found out our plane was delayed due to weather. No biggy I knew it was REALLY cold and snowing all across the Midwest. So I sat in the gift shop (Gerald R. Ford airport in Grand Rapids doesn’t have a lounge past security) with a group of people who were in pretty much the same boat as me. We hung out for a while and it didn’t take me long to realize I was not going to make my connection in Chicago. Then we found out our plane had bad brakes and was flying back to Chicago EMPTY! Whatever! I told them if the pilot was willing to risk it so was I! No dice, they weren’t buying. So they put us on another plane about an hour later. Bet you think we were leaving now, right? Wrong, they pushed back from the gate and we sat on the runway for another hour, oh and because this plane was late getting in, there were NO refreshment available. So we finally fly to Chicago. I was thinking, no problem Chicago is a big city, I’ll catch the next flight to Albuquerque and that will be that. Wrong again, the next flight was Saturday and didn’t get into Albuquerque until 7 pm. Well since opening ceremonies start at 7o’clock I figured I’d be cutting it a little close with that one. Mind you I am standing in an airport terminal with about 500 people jockeying for position around the ticket agent in a vain effort to get some customer service. After what seemed like an eternity the ticket lady said I could fly to Dallas and catch a flight to Albuquerque in the morning that would get me there by 11 am. Done, I’ll take it. So I get back on a plane and guess what happens? Yup, push back from the gate and wait. And WAIT. Finally, we take off. We land in Dallas about 1:30 am, Saturday. I am expecting someone from the airline to be there to help me get a hotel room, but nope, just me and no luggage. So I got a room and crashed out.
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I woke up two and a half hours later, without a toothbrush because that was in my luggage, and caught the shuttle to the airport. No worries on the Dallas to Albuquerque flight and I got to Tingley Coliseum about 1 pm. I was figuring it would be warm in the southwest. Boy was I surprised to find temperatures hovering in the 20’s. Oh well so much for working on my tan. When I got to the venue I found out I missed a rockin’ good time the night before. Of course the entire staff rubbed it on and rode me all day about my crappy luck. After getting changed and doing the pre-show run thru I spent some time talking to Kevin and Keith Johnson. They were born and raised in the Albuquerque area and their family owns Bobby J’s Yamaha, which was the first Yamaha dealership in the U.S. These guys are great riders and very friendly. But they are fiercely competitive on the track and the trash talking was in full effect back in the pit area. Both Kevin (the younger of the two) and Keith are going to become new fathers soon, so they were really happy to be able to race at home and spend time with their families. (As it happens they had a great night and went 1-2 on the podium. Check out Arenacross.com for the race recap.) Bobby J’s Yamaha sponsored the pit party and the Johnson boys were a huge hit with the fans. A highlight for me was meeting their Grandfather, Bill. No one would know him by that name since everyone calls him “Pop”. Pop has been around motorcycles and racing as long as anyone and he has a sheet that the carries around with the names all off the announcers he has met over the years. When he showed it to me I was blown away, I mean it was a who’s who of announcers. He even had the dates of when he met them. I saw Erv Braun, Tim Cotter, Mike Young and Jim Holley, to name a few. He made me feel really great when he asked me to spell my name for him so he could put me on the list. YES!! I am officially in the club. After a great show we all got together at the bar in our hotel. All the regulars where there, including Pam, Dirt Bike Mike, S, and Liz, plus we had BJ Dalsing joining us for a guest appearance on our crew. The promising amateur rider Trevor Ferry let his Dad come down and hang out which was good because Trevor had a tough night and missed out on his kiss for winning the 65 class in the night program. Colt ”45” Humphrey came by with a couple of other riders and we hung out and bench raced until they shut the place down. James Stewart was a big topic because of his new injury. He may be sidelined for an extended period and that will definitely put the defense of his Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in jeopardy. For more on that check out Supercrossonline.com.
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Sunday was a lot of fun with over 300 riders showing up to ride the amateur day. I had to leave a little early to catch my flight. Well you know the best laid plans saying, or Murphy’s Law…. FLIGHT CANCELLED!!! You have got to be kidding me. After about 20 minutes of haggling with Fred at the ticket counter we found a way to get me to Chicago on Sunday night. But that was as far as I could go. I never did find out what happened to my plane, but it was New Mexico, so maybe Aliens got it. I have a week off with Tim Cotter handling the announcing duties in Louisville. That means I will be refreshed and ready to roll when we get to Hampton, VA for the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series stop at the Hampton Coliseum. Hey you can check me out on Pit Pass Radio on Tuesday, January 22, at 9 pm. I am going to be a guest on the show so tune in at pitpassradio.com. I would love to hear from you so send me any questions or comments at mxannouncer@hotmail.com. David
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