Ups & Downs
UPS & DOWNS
UP: To the Cycle World water fountain, for apparently fortifying the H20 and causing a run on baby girls born to members of our Newport Beach, California, staff. First up, Marketing Director Corey Eastman and his wife Christine, who gave birth to 6-pound, 9-ounce Sarah Marshall on February 15. Next was Associate Editor Mark Cernicky and his wife Megan, who gave birth to 7-pound, 6-ounce Maely Jade on February 18. Congratulations to both families
UP: To 18year-old
Ashley Fiolek, for becoming the first female motocross racer to be signed to the Flonda “factory” team. Fiolek joins Honda Red Bull teammates Andrew Short, Ivan Tedesco, Davi Millsaps and Ben Townley. She will defend her 2008 AMA/WMA Women’s Motocross Championship title aboard a CRF250R. With more than 100 race wins and 13 national titles as an amateur to her credit, Fiolek made her professional racing debut in 2008, taking the WMA title in her first attempt with four overall victories, six individual moto wins and a perfect string of six podium appearances.
DOWN: To owners of bikes with loud pipes, for slowly eroding our right to ride. A movement is building steam across America to enact more restrictive sound ordinances specifically targeting motorcycles. “The single greatest threat to motorcycling in America-both onand offhighway—is excessive exhaust sound,” says AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “As motorcyclists, we have to realize that we live in a world already filled with unwanted distractions, and chief among them is sound so excessive that it becomes a nuisance to the general public.” By ignoring the issue, Dingman added, motorcyclists are putting targets on the backs of all riders. Peer pressure, self-regulation and input from the AMA to keep legislation from singling out motorcycles may help avoid ordinances like the one proposed in New York City that would require EPA-stamped OEM exhausts on every bike up to 20 years old. For more information and the complete Dingman interview, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com.
