My first offroad hero... - Hans Giese
23/12/09 11:16
It is with such sadness that I write this farewell.The memories we leave behind,and perhaps the direction we give to lives unknowingly, just by being ourselves,is to me the mark of a life well lived
It is with such sadness that I write this farewell.The memories we leave behind,and perhaps the direction we give to lives unknowingly, just by being ourselves,is to me the mark of a life well lived.My story takes place in 1981... I was coming down a nasty downhill in my second desert race ever.It was the Prairie Dogs hare scrambles.I was brand new to the Shamrocks M.C.and barely knew anyone in the club.I hear a guy coming up fast behind to lap me while I was death gripping the bike at a snails' pace.I move over as far as I can to the right and a guy on a Husky pulls up beside me,slows down,kicks his boot out at me and looks at me.He yells,"Thanks man!" and speeds off.I see a shamrock on his jersey and I think,"Man,who is THAT guy". He makes it look so easy and says,"Thanks" in the middle of a race to a scared kid.I wanna be THAT guy.I think he went on to finish 3rd or 4th overall.After the race he actually finds ME and again thanks me for pulling over.That as they say,was the start of a beautiful friendship at a time when it meant so much to a very nervous 14 year old kid.So very cool,and a statement to the kind of guy he was. Dave went out of his way to be there for anyone who needed his help.He expected nothing in return,he simply gave because it was the right thing to do and it made others feel better.You could not help but to give back to a guy like that.He was without question my first hero in the off road world of motorcycles.All while simply being himself.Though I hadn't seen him in many years,I kept a close watch on his success behind the racing scene.It was no surprise at all to me to see it come to him.I always figured we\'d catch up some day...I just never figured it would be like this. Dave,you meant the most to me when it mattered the most.Thanks for the brief moment in time we shared.Most of all,thanks for truly being THAT guy.