The olympics, I thought, were supposed to be free of politics, the games are supposed to be about competing, and in my opinion, anyone who makes to the olympic games is a winner already. For many, going to the games is a life long persuit. I was furious when our then president Jimmy Carter decided to boycott the olympic games for reason I cannot remember. Pretty cool huh? To be preparing for these games your whole life, where you might be at your peak, and have this one chance to compete against the the rest of the world, only to have some pinhead politician say you can't go and represent your country. What boulderdash!!
The reason we don't have a great dirt bike company in the US has many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is way too much money is tied up in that ridiculous spec racing series known as NASCAR. I mean anybody can drive a car, but not everybody can drive/ride a motorcycle. Motorcycles in this country still suffer from the wild image of Hollister in the late 1940's. And in my humble opinion, the current crop of tattooed, pierced, enthusiasts which somehow make it to regular media, re-enforce that stereo type.
Another reason is the current radical environmental groups. These groups hold a certain amount of sway with the media. Many of today's "stars" are constantly spewing forth word vomit regarding the environment, and anyone who does not think the way they do is quickly character assassinated, and shouted down so that the opposing views cannot be expressed. Point being that these "stars" use their popularity to influence what kind of programming is put out by the major media. And the major media cow tows b/c of all the advertising money.
What I also find most amazing is the radical environmental judges that make ridiculous rulings against ohv's, citing "threats" to certain species, in spite of the fact that the scientific evidence, gathered over a number of years, at a cost of millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars, shows little if any threat to said species. IE the desert tortoise which is listed as "threatened", not endangered mind you. In a recent ruling by a San Francisco federal judge, who ignored the evidence that ohv's do little if any harm to the tortoise, chose to side with the Center for Biological Diversity and close down 4 miilion acres of desert to protect the totoise. Now just a few years back the Government, under allot of pressure from the aforementioned eco nazis, closed down 3.7 million acres in the desert to protect the tortoise. Guess what? The freaking turtles are still dying in the areas that no longer have any ohv traffic. So that leaves the Ravens and the diseases that are killing the turtle. But we can't kill the Ravens, because they are protected too. Never mind the fact that their numbers have increased to the tune of 6500% since 1948. Tortoise shells are vulnerable to the Ravens until age 5.
So with big media blatantly mis informing the masses about the cause(s) of the turtles demise, ohv's are to blame as well as the grazing of herd animals, it's no wonder why business with large amounts of money steer clear of ohv's. For instance, the manufacturers of ohv's for the most part do not donate any money to help with the legal battles that are waged by the Blue Ribbon Coalition, and other ohv groups. I'm talking about the biggies here, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki. If I'm incorrect please correct me on this.
When we see stories on the TV telling everyone about how the ohv's are destroying the flora and fauna, they conveniently leave out the fact that ohv area's make up less than 2% of all public land, and that available public land for ohv use has decreased by 50% since 1983.
Now combine the fact that ohv sales have been going up by 20% over the last several years, and the available land has been shrinking, and you get over use of areas and the eco freaks can then point to them and say see how they destroy the land.
So you can see that water would feel pretty darn cold to an investors toes when dipping them in the water.
Unfortunately, Cannondale had some pie in the sky idea's about making a dirt bike, and an atv. It's too bad they didn't go with their original motor they had designed. They were quite similar to Berg's if memory serves. But instead they decided to screw over the guy who made the original engines and by an unproven motor, and then try and put fuel injection on it too boot. It's really quite tragic, I know allot of people were really excited about that bike, and Dirt Rider magazine had to eat a huge helping of Crow when they chose that bike, their bike of the year without ever throwing a leg over it. So now, ATK has all the tooling, unfortunately I don't think they have the capital to make it happen. It's too bad really. I think the only way it is going to happen is if Ford, Chevy, or Dodge get's involved. And I don't know that they have the fortitude for it. I am told that Ford gives money to the Sierra Club to keep them off their back. Probably the same with the other manufacturers. It reminds me of ol Jesse Jackson and his rainbow coalition, extorting monies from companies to keep them off their backs.
Well, I've rambled enough........... If you think any of this is BS, tell me which part and I'll give you some more info.
