I Ride - Fred Villopoto - Dirt Rider Magazine

"Ryan is a third-generation racer. His father was good; he could have been a champion, too. His father won Hangtown, but he was lazy; he didn't want to practice. He didn't want to work, so I said, 'The hell with you.' I took all his bikes away and threw him out. He went down the street and got a ride from Olson's Suzuki in Eureka, and they put him on a bike. So it didn't work, me throwin' him out of the house.""I try to ride once a week, maybe twice a week when I'm home.""I went up to 190 pounds last year when the season was over, and I swore that wasn't going to happen again. So I'm gonna try to enter any of these races, including the amateur races, even if I just practice them. I'm gonna try to ride as much as I can so I don't put weight on again.""I got third place last year in the GNCC Masters class.""My ride today was great, but I wish it would've been dry. Then I would've felt like a young kid, and I could do something. But it was all work out there. All nonstop, no-rest work.""The guy warned us about seven times before we got out there: 'Be careful; it's gonna be slick,' and I said, 'What's slick mean?' Well, I found out. It's like on ice.""I got a trail bike that I try to ride on the track rather than in the woods, because I like the thumping power. I gotta suffer the suspension, but that doesn't matter.""I got my first electric starter, and I love the electric starter. I can't ride again unless I have an electric starter. Once you get one, you're done."