Ups & Downs
UPs & DOWNs
DOWN: To the economy, for putting the kibosh on three great motorcycle events. Citing the recent financial downturn, organizers of the Honda Hoot, the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours and Motogiro America have all dropped their events for 2009. The Hoot's cancellation comes on the heels of Honda announcing its was pulling out of both Formula One and AMA roadracing, and brings to an end 15 years of a rally that drew as many as 16,000 visitors to the Knoxville, Tennessee, area. All three organizations profess hope that a future economic upswing will allow the events to be reinstated for 2010.
To Nicky Hayden, for filling us in on what's required, physically, to race modern MotoGP bikes. "Stick-and-ball athletes don't think of us as athletes, which is a shame," the 2006 world champion recently told Men's Fitness. Hayden's trainer, Aldon Baker, has his client in the gym several times a week, but don't look for "The Kentucky Kid" to be heaving a ton of weight. "You can't be some big beefcake guy; that'll just slow your acceleration down," Hayden noted. Cardio workouts are a mix of endurance and high-intensity running. A recent addition is power yoga. "Nicky needs more flexibility," Baker explained, "because he's got to stay in a weird position for the race."
DOWN: To bad luck, for forcing American Jonah Street out of the Dakar Rally. One of only three nders from the U.S. competing in the bike class, Street looked like a possible contender during the first week after he won Stage 5 (between Newquen and San Rafael in Argentina). The win was Street's first in the Dakar Rally and moved him into second overall one-third of the way into the event. Unfortunately, he re-aggravated a previous wrist injury that proved too painful to con tinue the race. "I'm sorry I can't go on," Street wrote on his team's website. "I'm bummed because of all the hard work that has gone into this. It was an extremely difficult decision to make, but it is the right one for the team, me and my family. It was a dream come true to win a stage, and hopefully, we'll be back next year to con tinue what we started."
