By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Sports Editor

It is hard for most people to acknowledge the athleticism of auto and motorcycle racers. The arguments range from the fact that the machines do most of the work and the riders are typically seated for the duration of the race.

But imagine that you ride Motocross. You drive around an eight-mile loop for two to three hours and you do it every weekend from March through October. It can be painful and grueling and at the end of each race, you definitely feel like an athlete.

Palmetto's Terry Mealer is such a motorcycle athlete and he just clinched his second consecutive Grand National Cross Country Championship. Mealer is the lead mechanic at Cycle Specialty in Fayetteville and he has been racing motorcycles since 1964.

Originally from Birmingham, Mealer moved to Austell in 1988 and then to Palmetto in 1997. He has raced in several riding series, including the national Motocross Series and the two groups he currently races in, the Grand National Cross Country Series and the Southeastern Trail Riding Association. In his career, Mealer has won two American Motorcycle Association titles and now four Grand National titles.

The race is usually called a hair scramble because eventually all 300-500 racers in the race will be on the course. The terrain of the course is always changing and each stick or stone can be an obstacle at some point during the race. The bikes average about 45 miles per hour but can reach speeds close to 80.

“I first got into motorcycle racing because it wasn't a team sport,” said Mealer. “I had played baseball and enjoyed it, but I liked riding because it is just the motorcycle and you.” Motocross was just starting up when Mealer got into the sport and the potential of the sport definitely attracted him and many riders like him.

Unfortunately, what keeps many people out of the sport is the financial aspect. It is very difficult to afford racing in the National Motocross Series full time. But Mealer enjoys watching the sport continue to transform; that is, when he's not racing. In an average year, Mealer races in between 30 and 35 races. He has sponsors that help him stay on top: Moose Racing, Yamaha and Parts Unlimited. While most racers are sponsored by companies, they race for themselves. As Mealer points out,” It's not like Nascar. There are no team tactics.”

The best and worst moment of his career came at the same place, the Blackwater 100 in Davis, W.V. The Blackwater course was full of peat bogs, swamps, rocks, and small rivers. The narrow course would look like a foot path at the beginning of the race and like a bomb site afterward. Mealer won the title there one year for his best moment, and his worst and toughest moment was having to drag his bike out of a peat bog there.

“I just started to sink in and pushing the bike out was very hard, especially when you consider there were other racers somewhere on the course.” They do not race at Blackwater anymore because the environment could no longer withstand the riders and the massive influx of fans for the race.

Mealer is most impressed with the changing image of motorcycles and motorcycle racing. In the late `60s and `70s motorcycles were associated with Hell's Angels, but thanks to Motocross's surging popularity, stemming from wide television coverage, video games featuring the top riders, and the emerging presence of many individual thrill sports (Gravity Games, X Games), motorcycle racing is now a viable option. Much less crazy than bunjee jumping in a canoe.

Mealer figures he will continue to race as long as he is having fun and still competitive. He practices once a week at an undisclosed location and travels to the race with his wife, who is a triathlete. Mealer doesn't do much other than race his bike and fix other people's bikes, but he is doing what he loves. His positive and relaxed attitude play a major role in his success and should continue to do so in the future.

Like any good athlete, his advice for those wishing to enter the sport are to be dedicated, practice and concentrate.

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