So , come midday we all began pushing ( remember , no firing anything up ) the bikes down onto Main Street , where we all lined up against the curb , side by side , according to our starting numbers . Starting positions were determined by drawing from one of three buckets during signup – one for pros , one for pre-entries , and one for post-entries . The lowest numbers were reserved for the pros , pre-entries next , and post-entries getting the really high numbers . How high ? Well , I drew starting number 222 , which I was pretty happy with , while guys on the tail end were in the 500 ’ s . Eventually , we were given the ok to fire up , then everyone began rolling out onto main street into rows of four . We quickly moved forward , as row after row were waved off , and before I knew it , we were there at the start line . Spectators were everywhere . Main Street was packed on both sides . People were just jammed in everywhere , including on porch roofs of the houses alongside us . There was dust , and lots of two-stroke smoke , and in the moment before we were waved off I saw dozens of black marks on the pavement from where the riders before us had spun knobbies off the line . And then the green flag jerked and off we went .
TO BE CONTINUED ...
That ’ s me at the start , in 1986 – with yellow visor , in center . Check the guy on the far right Hasn ’ t even started yet , and he ’ s already having trouble .