Oh the great trike race? I think I was seven or eight, and Maggy was five?
I actually don't remember who put it on or why, except that it was in a park
next to the river in Sacramento. I think it was like SFR workers versus kids
or something. I remember lots of long hair and shaggy beards. There were all
these grown-ups in these handmade, and very fancy tricycles, with gears and
handbrakes. And there were all these other kids there with fancy vehicles.
My sister and I drove her stock Mattel Big Wheel, the kind with the ribbons
on the handle bars. We were the known underdogs going in. I remember lots of
snickering when we pulled up to the grid.
Maggy was our qualifying driver. She had some problems in the sweepers, and
we didn't get such a good starting position. I don't know, she just wasn't
pushing it very hard. We were pretty close to the back.
It was a LeMans start, and Maggy's start was good. More motivated than in
the qualifying session, she immediately worked her way up to the front of
the field. This was an endurance race: two laps each, then driver
changeover. I don't remember the total number of laps but it felt like
forever.
What I mostly remember, besides trying to dodge all these other expensive
trikes, was feeling like I was going to puke. Driving a Big Wheel at its
absolute limit on the heat in Sacramento is incredibly hard work. For one
thing, you can't coast.
We won this race, defeating not only our girls division, but the boys
division, too, and all of the grown-ups. Unfortunately, the trophy just
says, "Fastest Girls Team." They had no idea that we'd also take TTOD.
Neither did we.
There was some controversy in the pits, however. Apparently, our driver
changeovers weren't really "legal." But there was no rule actually governing
the changeover process. The protest committee determined that this slight
changeover variance in no way gave us any inherent performance advantage,
but we were warned that a future committee might give us a different
verdict.
Our peers were incensed. The Kelly Girls had developed a reputation as
overly fierce competitors, willing to stretch our interpretation of the
rules to win at any cost.
We returned the next year determined to prove that this victory was no
fluke. The governing body clearly outlined the proper pit speed, a rule
which we followed. We won again in Maggy's Big Wheel. Meanwhile, my mother
began her string of Solo II National Championships. The beginnings of Kelly
Legacy were now solidly set.
The next year, I was now nine years old, stronger, wiser, and I had my own
Green Machine, complete with its own spoiler, which I thought could do some
damage. My dad worried that this wasn't really the vehicle for the win, so
he got Maggy this other fancy looking trike. Though there was a bbq, no one
else even bothered bringing their trikes, as it turned out. Why bother.
Those Kelly Girls were turning into buttheads.
That marked the end of an era. The Kelly Legacy, at least on the part of the
Kelly Girls, would be put on temporary hold, and in fact, it appears it
still is. But I'll tell you what: I never lost the fire. The images of that
Summer of '77 fuel me to this day.
In an old issue of "The Wheel," circa 1977 I think, there is full coverage
of the first year's race. There's a picture of Maggy and me performing one
of our infamous and controversial changeovers. We were very little people
back then, and even kind of cute in our little matching uniforms. When I
first saw this spread many years later, it was somewhat disappointing. What
I remember is feeling so tough, yet the intensity is somehow lost in the
photo. All you see are these two blond kids playing with a Big Wheel in a
park.
Katie K.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pat Kelly [mailto:lollipop@ricochet.net]
> Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 10:26 PM
> To: lllllsharp
> Cc: Kelly, Katie; Steven J. Sherwood; Jerry Mouton; s4wood@yahoo.com;
> Bay_Area_Autocross_List
> Subject: Re: Guess what i just found...
>
>
> some other time; maybe Katie will tell it. :-) It was Katie &
> Maggy who
> did the deed.
> --Pat K
>
> lllllsharp wrote:
> >
> > Can we hear more about this great tricycle race Pat?
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Pat Kelly <lollipop@ricochet.net>
> > To: Kelly, Katie <kkelly@spss.com>
> > Cc: 'lllllsharp' <lllllsharp@email.msn.com>; Steven J. Sherwood
> > <ssher@home.com>; Jerry Mouton <jerry@moutons.org>;
> <s4wood@yahoo.com>;
> > Bay_Area_Autocross_List <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> > Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 8:14 PM
> > Subject: Re: Guess what i just found...
> >
> > > Actually a little sooner than that, unless we start with
> the great trike
> > > race in Sacramento. But that's another story.
> > > --Pat Kelly
> > >
> > > "Kelly, Katie" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Well, gee, if you call yourself mature...
> > > >
> > > > Katie
> > > >
> > > > I started autocrossing when I was four.
> > > >
> > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > From: lllllsharp [mailto:lllllsharp@email.msn.com]
> > > > > Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 7:30 PM
> > > > > To: Kelly, Katie; Steven J. Sherwood; Jerry Mouton
> > > > > Cc: s4wood@yahoo.com; Bay_Area_Autocross_List
> > > > > Subject: Re: Guess what i just found...
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Somehow one year does not matter much Katie I think Ill
> > > > > include you in the
> > > > > mature group too
> > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > From: Kelly, Katie <kkelly@spss.com>
> > > > > To: 'lllllsharp' <lllllsharp@email.msn.com>; Steven
> J. Sherwood
> > > > > <ssher@home.com>; Jerry Mouton <jerry@moutons.org>
> > > > > Cc: <s4wood@yahoo.com>; Bay_Area_Autocross_List
> > > > > <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> > > > > Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 5:07 PM
> > > > > Subject: RE: Guess what i just found...
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > > Yes, you are all old now, and you'll note that my name is
> > > > > NOT on those
> > > > > > results. 1985 is WAY before my time.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Katie Kelly
> > > > > >
> > > > > > P.S. Mike Camicia was my autocross instructor... in
> January of 1986.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > > > From: lllllsharp [mailto:lllllsharp@email.msn.com]
> > > > > > > Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 3:21 PM
> > > > > > > To: Steven J. Sherwood; Jerry Mouton
> > > > > > > Cc: s4wood@yahoo.com; Bay_Area_Autocross_List
> > > > > > > Subject: Re: Guess what i just found...
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > I didnt think I was that old .. geez I looked at
> those names
> > > > > > > and said wow ..
> > > > > > > they are old now ...
> > > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > > From: Steven J. Sherwood <ssher@home.com>
> > > > > > > To: Jerry Mouton <jerry@moutons.org>
> > > > > > > Cc: <s4wood@yahoo.com>; Bay_Area_Autocross_List
> > > > > > > <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> > > > > > > Sent: Saturday, August 26, 2000 6:30 PM
> > > > > > > Subject: Guess what i just found...
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Goofin around in my garage just now I found a printout
> > > > > > > > of results from an autocross in 1985 at Alameda Cnty
> > > > > > > > Fairgrounds...guess who was on the list?
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > It would be too hard...I will just tell you...
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Jesus Villareal (Jesus, whats with the Villarea"D"?)
> > > > > > > > Jack Van Wetterling (VW Scirocco)
> > > > > > > > Charlie Davis
> > > > > > > > Art Allen
> > > > > > > > Frank Stagnaro
> > > > > > > > Larry Sharp
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > BTW, that was my first autox ever...I stunk back then
> > > > > > > > too...I did a fun run with a time of 36.765 and I
> > > > > > > > really improved on my second run...36.764...yes, I
> > > > > > > > improved 0.001 second. :-)
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Steve
> > > > > > > > #47 CSP
> > > > > > > > 00 Audi S4
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
>
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