SHERIFF'S TEAM - 2007 Dirt Rider 24 Hour - Dirt Rider Magazine Online

This is one black and white you could probably outrun.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputies Motorsports Team got an invite to this year's Dirt Rider 24 Hour Torture Test, and they showed up with a Montclair Yamaha WR250F decked out in the black and white of a cop bike. The team consisted of Eric Parra, Jeff Tesdahl, Daryl Peacock, Dan Peacock, Chris Cadman, Lyle Raymond, and Mike Duval, with Deputy Matt Brady handling team manager duties. Matt's a road racer, so we don't blame him for not riding a loop. He did get to goof off all day and night in the custom golf cart that was - you guessed it - decked out like a cop car.The Sheriff's team was probably the best-organized group at the event. They flew in Assistant Sheriff Doyle Campbell in a helicopter to start the first bikes just after the Sheriff's massive Air 5 Sky King rescue helicopter did a fly-by over the pits. The Sky King stuck around - and good thing. It came in handy when a rider injured himself that day.The Sheriff's team was the first bike out onto the course, with Deputy Eric Parra at the controls. Each pit stop/bike exchange went smoothly and the little WR required almost no maintenance and won plenty of cop fans along the way. Several riders were considering buying a 250F after having such a good time on the team bike.I decided to ride a loop with the Sheriff's team shortly after it started raining, and a few hours after the sun had set. I wanted to do a loop in the rain and in the dark, and also wanted to ride with the cops. I rode sweep for Eric Parra as we headed out onto the loop at 22:10 - that's 10:10 pm for slackers like you and me.I knew from the very start that the rain had made the trail way slicker than anything I'd every ridden on before, and that Eric Parra was going to be a lot faster than me throughout the loop. I went into survival mode even before the pits were out of sight. Eric had to stop and wait for me several times as I skated and slid my way around the trail. I knew Eric was riding for a team, and I started to feel guilty for slowing him down. At about the third time he had to stop for me I told him to go ahead with out me, that I knew the course and would be fine.Eric told me that we were partners on this loop, and that I was partnered with a cop. "And cops don't leave their partners." It may not sound too dramatic here reading about it in a web article, but at the time it was sure nice to hear. If only for this one loop, I had a partner that wasn't going to let me feed the mountain lions.Some people say a lot of bad things about cops, but these guys have something special that most of us don't understand. I got a glimpse of it that night. These guys are on a team. Not a race team that changes riders and managers every couple of seasons, these guys are in a lifelong team that means something to all of them.

Deputy Matt Brady

Eric and I made it back to the pits in non-record time, but we arrived together. What I thought was going to be a fun chance to ride in the rain at night became something more. The cops were awesome and all had a great time. I spoke with a few of them right after the event, and here's what they had to say after surviving the Torture Test -Matt Brady (team manager) - "I think it was everything we expected. We're actually happy that we got good weather... relatively good weather. Everyone had a good time and I think we had an impressive show."Mike Duval - "I got the smorgasbord last night on the 11:30 to 12:30 run. I got rain, snow, mud, fog, so it was interesting... I did 3 laps with the team, I did another chase lap, and I did about 5 more partial laps with the video... I had a blast. It was awesome."Jeff Tesdahl - "It was good, a lot of fun. Yesterday I rode the second out and rode all the hard courses. They were fun, a little challenging but it was a good time. I was laughing the whole time, I was like,

n slide, but it was outstanding. I thought the whole event was fun. The course was perfect. Our bike worked like a dream, and DR put together one hell of an event. It's fun. We'll be back next year if we're invited, no doubt about that."THE VIDA STUDENTS -Joseph Arango successfully completed the V.I.D.A. Program curriculum and graduated from the program on Saturday, February 3, 2007. Joseph is back on track, attending all his classes and has caught up with his high school graduation requirements. Joseph is on track to graduate with his class and is well on his way to a successful life. The V.I.D.A. Program allowed Joseph an opportunity to learn discipline, self-control and self-esteem which has led him onto the right path and the Sheriff's team is glad to have had a small part of exposing Joseph to the motorcycling world. Waniesha Cunningham unfortunately dropped out of the V.I.D.A. Program due to the untimely death of a close family member. The officers have been in touch with Waniesha's mother Yolanda and she was happy to report that Waniesha has turned a corner with her life as well. Although she didn't take the same path as Joseph by graduating from the V.I.D.A. Program, Waniesha's involvement allowed her to learn about discipline and self-respect. Waniesha's mother is very pleased with her progress. Waniesha has been attending school regularly, even before entering the V.I.D.A. Program and she continues to do well academically, but now she is doing well at home and with her mother. We all wish both of these fine young people continued success and the LASD Motorsports - Motorcycle Racing team is looking forward to assisting countless other at-risk youth grow into successful adults.The team's fundraising efforts enabled them to raise approximately $4000.00 to support their Rewarding Achievement in Classroom Education (RACE) Program. If you want to buy one of the team's cool t-shirts from the event, you can e-mail the team manager at mbrady.lasdracing@yahoo.com. If you want to learn more about their program, check out www.lasdroadracing.com.