#72B(aby)

We would like to announce the arrival of Kyla Twiss Brunson on Valentine's Day.  She is the daughter of Chris Brunson and Shiloh Howard and ONLY grand daugther of Tuffy and Les Howard.

Shiloh is our quad racer #72b and took first place in the State awards for 2010.  Less than a month after receiving her award for that accomplishment, little Kyla made her appearance.  Shiloh plans to get back in action on her quad later this year.

Congrats to Shiloh and Chris (and our Ebug)!!

Ever Feel Like a Pirate???

Our racing adventure has taken us to St. George, Utah, recently, for the Wizards Rhino Rally Hare Scrambles desert race.  Tuf and our son, Josh, are racing the "team" event category this year in hopes of bringing home the USRA's top team honor....FIRST!!  However, my husband, Tuffy, had been struggling with the thought of this race the week before. He even lost sleep all one night because he kept getting the feeling like something was wrong...He has never been like this before a race in all the 35 years I have known him.

Josh and his family had to drive from Elko, Nevada.  Normally, that wouldn't be that big of a deal if they hadn't had to drive through Salt Lake City, Utah to pick up a new enclosed bike trailer first. Then hit the interstate south for St. George. What should have been a 7 hour drive or so, turned into 11. So Josh was pretty tired from all that driving before the race even began.  The trailer is awesome, however!!  Kept us nice and warm in the cold, rainy weather.

The race consisted of two loops this year. The first one approximately 56 miles long, the second about 38 miles.  Josh decided he would be first man out and took on the long loop so his Dad would get a break on the second loop.

It was a silent mass start and Josh got the bike going on the second kick. He was back just a bit from the Amateur class he started on the line with, but that was ok...he would pick 'em off one at a time.  And I must say, the start was the ONLY thing dusty that whole weekend.

Josh pushed himself as hard as he could to get the team as far up in the expert class  before his Dad would be taking over the reigns.  Unfortunately, a cow decided to pop out of nowhere after Josh passed a rider and he t-boned it and went airborn right over the handlebars only to land in a solid patch of sharp lava rock on his back and head.  It knocked the wind out of his sails for sure.  Also took a good chunk or two out of his nice helmet.  One thing can certainly be said about the body armor that Josh had on underneath his jersey and the Camelback water pack...IT SAVED HIS LIFE!!   He usually does not wear a Camelback. But this was a long loop and he might need it. 

 Had he not had either of those things on, the result would have been much worse.  We know this because his uncle experienced something similar (minus the cow) decades earlier and it did not end up well. So anyone who thinks riding without this type of protection is smart, is just crazy.

Once Josh managed to get his poop in a group, he evaluated the damages to the machine after hitting the cow.  Bear in mind that is was freezing cold, raining hard and it was red, slick mud everywhere.  He noticed the left foot peg was gone but found it. He put it in the Camelback to make sure it got back to his Dad. Well, it didn't make it...wore a hole in the Camelback and fell out somewhere.  The bike was also about to lose a kickstand. Josh tried to tie it back on somehow but it finally fell off later. So no kickstand, no left footpeg (on the shifter side), the handlebars were bent down but Josh managed to get back on after a lengthy stop, and proceeded to do what he and his Dad set out to.......finish the race healthy!!!

Please note that our son is an avid snowmobiler and has some crazy skills for driving one on it's side. Well, those skills came in handy on this day as he was riding like a one peg leg pirate.  When he was able, he would tuck his left foot up on the seat or brace it behind him somehow. Or he would have to make sure the bike was in fifth gear and just use the ball of his big toe to stand on it when he could.  Do you have any idea how difficult that is? Try standing on one leg for about 2 hours and then get back to me...oh, and have someone dump ice cold water on you for special effects.

As those of us in the pits wait idly by for the team bike #72T to show up, Tuf was all geared up and ready to roll for his turn at bat.

Finally, we spot the bike in the distance and we all get ready for the switch up. Only Josh comes in and kept apologizing and was so upset that they were so far back after he had worked so hard to get them in the top 20 experts before he hit the cow. Then we heard about hitting the cow. We were so concerned because at that point, we really had things moving so fast to get Tuf on the bike that the cow part never sunk in until Tuf left and was told he only had one foot peg to ride with.

So Tuf is on his way to do what he can with what Josh has given him. Mainly, the determination to make up for lost time and win this thing!!  But Josh just couldn't calm down...he felt like he had let his Dad down. He was upset that he had done so much damage to his Dad's bike. We had to continually reassure him that none of that bike damage mattered as long as he was ok, aside from some sore muscles he was going to feel every one one of, in about two days.

But this is our son...he has a huge heart and a very soft spot for animals. He was upset about the cow as well. Until we heard it had gotten up and moved and was ok as far as anyone knew.  But the part that kept eating at him was believing he was letting his Dad down. I kept reassuring Josh that what he did out there just gave his Dad more motivation to speed up and get the guys near the first place team rider who left the pits nearly 5 minutes ahead of them.  It took a while to get Tuf out of the pits because he was so worried about how upset Josh was and after hearing about the cow incident.

While our grandsons, Blaze and Crux, played all around the trailer and running in and out of the climate controlled curtain (everyone needs one of these, by the way), Joshua's wife, Kristie and I got Josh all cleaned up and in some warm clothing and spent the better part of the next hour calming him down and reassuring him he did a wonderful job. Dad would do the rest.

After about an hour and a half, we see bikes coming in with numbers that were just ahead of Josh when he came in the first time.  So we knew Tuf would not be too far away.  Josh headed to the finish line while Kristie and I stayed back with the boys out of the rain.  Then we see the first place team bike go past our pit area.  I have to admit, it was a sad but moment...but then I had to remember how far back they were when Tuf left the pits and it was understandable that this bike would be coming in first.

More bikes went by and then the sight of all sights....Tuf and Josh together on the bike waving their two fingers in the air with joy! They had placed second team in this event.  And ironically enough, Tuf had made up almost all of their time and he never wrecked once.  They finished less than a minute behind first place. They were not injured...they finished healthy...the wish his  Dad had from the start.

And we collide...lol

Tuffy and Les Howard 2008

In my last blog, I spoke about how my husband and I met.  The pic posted on that blog is of our wedding in 1978 on the Carbon County Fairgrounds Motocross Track.  So I thought it appropriate to show you one of us now on this page and tell you a little about that wedding...

Now, I have to say, I NEVER in a million years would have dreamed that I would have gotten married on a motocross track...or ANY track of any kind, as I was growing up and dreaming of what my special day would be like.  I say, and always have said, that things happen for a reason and this was no exception.

We were engaged for two years prior to our wedding. During that time we must have tried to set a date at least six times. And with each hope for our day to be realized, it got shot down by a race date that we needed the points for.  You see, we BOTH raced motorcycles back then and we were both going for state titles at the time.  We participated in all three required events for state points qualifying back then.  Desert, Motocross and Flat Track racing.  As you can imagine, this ate up alot of our weekends and we practiced each night after we got off work.  So trying to squeeze in a wedding was quite the feat.

One day my hubby called me at my apartment and said, "Hey, do you have a calendar handy?" I told him I did. He said, "Good, I am coming over and we are picking a date. I don't care if there is a race or not".  So I rushed to wash my face, get dressed and be ready for this all important meeting.

He knocked on the door, came in and we went month by month and looked at the race schedule with each hopeful date, thinking it might be "the one".  Every time there was a race we HAD to be at.  Out of frustration my husband says, "Ok, this is not working. I want you to just close your eyes, flip through all the pages, land on one and put your finger on a date."  I looked at him like he was nuts and said, "Oohh k".  Flip I did, put my finger on it I did...the date?...July 8th...significance?...my sisters birthday (her 16th no less!)...and races?...NOT ONE!!!  What are the odds of that happening? See what I mean about everything happens for a reason?  So the date was set...finally!!!

Ok, so I have never seen how a wedding goes off. I had no idea about what to do, how many of what to get or anything. My Mom came up from New Mexico to help but she had never had a "proper" wedding so even she had no idea what to do. There wasn't alot of "wedding planner" types back then.  We were both from different religious backgrounds so that became an issue as well.  We decided since we were both Christian, might as well pick a Christian preacher to marry us. Done.

Now, where to get married?  I always wanted the little church, the white dress and the "you are so beautiful" look I would get from my husband as I walked down the aisle.  My father-in-laws idea?  Getting married on the motocross track in our racing gear since that is what we both loved to do.  We thought he was joking....but NO...he was not.  We thought it would be fun but I really couldn't see me wearing a beautiful white gown on the track either.  I didn't want to give that up (more on that later).

So the site was picked, the preacher was set up, the date was solid...now, about how to walk down the aisle at the track...

My hubby and I chatted it over and decided I could only go down the aisle one way...on a motorcycle.  But dirtbikes would really be messy. We agreed we should start our married life on the starting line of the track. But how would I get there.  It hit us!!!  My Dad!!!

In May of 1978 I had finally ordered my first real car that was all mine and no one else's.  The day I got it and went to show my Dad, he had a surprise for me, as well.  A brand new Harley Davidson street bike!  It was awesome!  That was it!! I would ask him to drive me down the aisle on his Harley. But would he do it?

As you can see in the wedding pics on my other post, my dad is driving me down the aisle on his Harley. When we asked him he thought we were joking. But when I told him I was serious and I truly wanted him to do that, he got a tear in his eyes, said he would love to do it and gave me a huge hug!.  So we were set.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Many of our friends and family continued to roll into the reception at my in-laws home until 3am. My hubby and I gave out around midnight. lol...

Oh, did I mention that the catch to our doing the wedding on the track was that we would renew our vows later (in 5 years) and I would get the chapel and the dress?  But one thing would be missing when we did renew our vows....my Dad.  He was killed Labor Day weekend two months after he gave me away at my wedding. ©Leslie Howard 2010

Racing...a way of life!

From L to R: My Dad driving me down the "aisle", Brother Patton performing our ceremony, and my hubby and I taking our first sip of non-alcoholic (lol) champagne together.

My husband and I met on a motocross race track in 1976. It was a dreary, rainy, wet day and I had only been in town for 3 days, when my Dad urged me to go watch a dirtbike race. Turns out his girlfriend's son was going to make his first attempt at it. I had no desire whatsoever to go to this race!

I guess I should add that I had taken a bus from Liberal, KS three days before, my boxes which held almost everything I owned had gotten lost (interesting since I was on the same bus the whole trip!) and did I mention that I had to wear my Dad's clothes (yes, you heard me right) and I was 17 at the time.

Long story short, my Dad's girlfriend just happened to be my mother--in-law's cousin. They were both at the race and my mother-in-law was insistant that I meet her son and take a ride on his bike after the race. I had no idea why she wanted me to do this so bad so I made it conditional that I would but only if she asked him FIRST!!

Race ends, I walk over to the finish line and I see this amazing smile and gorgeous, warm brown eyes looking at me. I found out later he had no shirt on and only race pants and boots...hey, I was falling in love and that didn't seem important at the time. Oh, but those eyes....

I was instructed to go to a specific part of the course and he (oh, yeah..his name is Tuffy, by the way) would give me the ride of my life.

He approached in a tee shirt, race pants and that smile! I have to admit, I was excited...it didn't matter that I found out just prior to my ride that my mother-in-law had NOT asked him first. I hopped on the bike, put my arms around him and my Dad stood nearby yelled, "You better bring her back after one lap around the track". We both shook our heads in agreement.

As my husband to be began taking off, I naturally put my arms around him and I have never let go. I just got the feeling at that moment that he was "the one". I couldn't explain it, heck, we still can't explain it. But 34 years after we met and after 32 years of marriage, we are still together and our kids and grandkids share our love of racing.

This, folks, is just the beginning. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to many more posts, comments, etc. in the future.

PS-My Dad's girfriend's son never showed up. lol..and as you can see in the pic at top of page, we were married on the motocross track we both raced on and he helped design back then. ©Leslie Howard 2010