Seems like my entire life has run on legs and rolled on wheels: delivering newspapers on a Vespa scooter, running track and off-road marathons, cruising on Triumphs, Enfields and Viragos, or racing motocross and desert on Bultacos, Huskys and Yamahas, first with the Rams and then with the Desert Knights.   Best finish was 10th overall.   Most memorable was my last, 15th overall, 1st 250 Vet Expert in the Checkers 1981 River Run.   Back then, I didn't care where either sport had come from or was going.   I just wanted to get to the startline and wait for a gun to go off or a banner to drop.   But the years have come and gone.   Gone are my young eyes, agile body and competitive mindset, stuff I took for granted in my youth.   Then my back went under hot lights and cold steel, and I had to rethink my life and what I could do with it.   Hey, I could still run and still ride, but a major result of my rethinking became this website, a public place where everyone can enjoy the pictures, stories, and memories, and thereby honor those who made desert racing what it was yesterday and is today.   The guys and gals out there racing today who are not yet in a frame of mind to care about the old days will someday realize how fast today becomes yesterday and be glad somebody is saving it for tomorrow.   If you can add to the record, please do, feedback is always welcome...

Billy Dean