My Club by Alx Torres-Mori Jan.19.2010 I remember when all I wanted was a sailboat, the idea was to travel the world and see the sights. As a kid I rode a Yamaha DT175, but I left that behind for cars and trucks, so I was familiar with riding (fast!) Life always has a way of throwing you a curve ball; it’s how you take it that makes a difference. In 1987 my pal Rick was to look at a motorcycle he wanted to buy. Since he was new to riding he asked me to give it a look over. I hadn’t even thought about bikes in years, but when I got on, it was second nature. A 1983 Honda CB650 with four chrome pipes, nice. I was now conflicted and wondering how this had happened. I wanted a sailboat but the test ride woke a long dormant dragon. It seemed all my pals were getting into motorcycling at the time and as one friend bought a motorcycle, so would another. I was the dude with no ride. Back then there were no helmet laws and you could test ride bikes so I went to Concord Yamaha and test rode a Yamaha Fazer. Little did I know this bike was fast -- it had the Genesis 700cc motor -- I just thought all bikes ran like this. There were at least ten of us who rode at any given time. It was easily apparent that we were new riders as our assortment of bikes and gear was laughable. At first we just rode around town strutting our stuff and being generally obnoxious. Then we became more serious as our riding ventured out of town and eventually onto long trips. As we crashed we learned and gear was bought in accordance to our style of bike and riding, a motley crew to say the least. What once took a day would now take a few hours as our riding improved and smoke breaks lessened. We became more interested in riding rather than posing, a subtle change that makes all the difference. Tom was our leader as he was the first to get a bike, a Red EX500, and studied the art of riding. We rode Mines Road in Livermore four to five times a week, our personal race track. He wanted to go to the Isle of Man and race; I was to go with him. Tom got us all into watching races and reading motorcycle magazines and learning the subtle art of riding. In 1988 we all rode to Laguna Seca and saw our first GP, we were now a clan, The Hell Rats were born. Tom and I were to be Rat Bros. Racing. We rode all over California and had many great times. As our road trips progressed we encountered broken down bikes, crashes, internal strifes and bad weather. It made us all stronger. Sometimes life takes a bad turn and changes the set path. Tom died on Mines Road nineteen years ago. It was his dream to get to the Isle of Man. In 1997 I met Wade Boyd of Subculture Racing at Zeitgeist. Wade had raced the Isle of Man TT numerous times and helped me get to the Isle of Man for Tom in 04 and 05. I dedicated my TT medal to Tom; I believe he knows this as my luck is still with me. I was now part of Subculture Racing and an elite group of crazies. The Hell Rats faded away as life progressed to adulthood and families took precedence. I moved away but never became an adult or gave up the dream of being a motorcycle racer. I believe some of the Rats still ride and this makes me happy as it shows we still have spirit. When you start to ride in a pack there is a certain sense of pride, someone is watching your back and motorcycle riding becomes a way of life. You have a bond with friends you can count on. Sometimes sacrifices are made and hard lessons are learned. There is safety in numbers as long as you’re not last. To be able to share racing, riding and a few beers telling war stories make it all worth it. If you have a clan you ride with, make a name for yourselves and show some spirit. You may find it’s the best thing you ever do. Cheers, Alx