We all dream about training harder to go faster and to win more races in our own little ponds. We fantasize about jumping farther, doing megawhips and backflips and winning big races on a big stage. And we have delusions that given the chance and a few lucky breaks we could run as fast as the top guys in the world, maybe just for one lap, with the right bike. After all, those guys have had all the advantages, riding since before they could walk, having been sponsored since first grade and enjoying the use of personal trainers and factory bikes. Given an equal playing field, on your best day, could you beat one of those guys for one lap? It could happen.
That's the theory. A dream, a fantasy and a delusion all rolled into one "never gonna happen anyway" package. But what if it could happen? What if an Average Joe got the chance to test himself against one of the best in the sport? A "give it all you got" for one round against Ali, three swings at Roger Clemens's fastball, a chance at catching a touchdown pass thrown by Tom Brady or a match race against, let's say, Ryan Hughes.
"You got to do it," DR Editor Jimmy Lewis said. Now logic kicked in-I wouldn't have a chance even for one lap. I'm old and wrecked and never was fast anyway. "All true," Lewis agreed. "That's why you'll have to handicap the pro rider. Making him sit on the gate wouldn't really work because then it's just about lap times and letting you get far enough ahead, but if you put him on smaller and smaller bikes...that's the handicap! See how low he has to go for you to beat him. Set it up and do it, send me photos and a story. Got to go."
Thus, I was committed like a bridegroom at a 12-gauge wedding. I called my old friend, Mike Webb (manager of Team Suzuki Off-Road), to lament about my big mouth, but instead of being given a sympathetic ear I got laughed at. "You got to do it with Ryno," he said. "That guy doesn't back down for anything. I'll arrange for the bikes, and we'll do it at Elsinore. This will be great!" Click!
Now I had committed to actually do it in a couple of weeks, I did the only thing that occurred to me: I cracked open a beer, thought about going to the gym, decided against it and cracked open another beer. This was a training pattern that I would follow right up to race day.
Ryno
In retrospect, Ryan Hughes may have been the best and worst possible choice for this experiment. Hughes is recognized as one of the toughest men to ever swing a leg over a bike. A fanatical trainer, Hughes put himself on the map by nearly winning the 1995 AMA 125cc National Motocross title. After a number of National wins and podiums, the championship came down to the final moto of the season at Steel City. As he charged through the pack trying to catch Steve Lamson, Hughes' chain broke. No one who was there or has seen the footage will ever forget the image of Hughes as he pushed his bike around the track, up the finish hill and across the line before finally collapsing in exhaustion.
He was a successful 250cc motocross and supercross rider and even moved to Europe to race GPs for Honda. Hughes was a part of Team USA's victory at the 2000 Motocross des Nations, giving him a world championship trophy. He returned to the States to do R&D for Honda, even campaigning the CRF450R in its rookie season in '01. Ryno was hired by KTM in '03 to go after the 125cc National Championship. He shocked just about everyone with a two-moto sweep at Hangtown, but then he broke his leg at Southwick, duct-taped the broken limb together and still finished both motos! Ryno came within seven points of winning the title, but a cancelled final round due to a flood at Kenworthys left him short of another championship. So to make up for it, Ryno went out and won the '04 World Endurocross Championship. In '05, as a privateer, Hughes struggled on poor equipment in the 125 MX class. Then near the end of the season, he jumped on a nearly stock RM-Z450 and garnered a couple of fifth-place finishes in the Nationals, just behind guys named Carmichael, Windham, Reed and Stewart, and ahead of everybody else, proving he still had the speed and endurance to run up front at the National level. For '06, Ryno has signed to race for Team Suzuki/FMF Off-Road in pursuit of the WORCS championship.
Why is Ryno the best and worst choice for this experiment? All of the above proves he takes racing very seriously. Once the helmet goes on, all friendships, joking and good times end. The only thing that matters is winning, period. In a match race like this, Reed might want to give me a break. A guy like Travis Pastrana would surely fall down laughing. Ryno would do neither; even in a goofy magazine match race against a lame-ass journalist, Ryno would never back down.