The Perfect Rail

I have found it there, you can't always catch it, but it is there waiting
for you. A surfer may look for the perfect wave his whole life, only
catching it once. But I have found the perfect rail. It's out there at the
Fern. I catch it on certain race days, when I enter the zone. It's that one
time in life when everything stops. All movement, time, everything. For that
brief moment in time, I don't worry. I don't worry if I'm going to be fired
from my job for beating the life out of someone who pushed me over the edge
from there verbal abuse. I forget I still have to come up with more money
for college for my children. I don't think about making my mortgage payment.
I forget about the war and its tragedies. I forget about how corrupt this
world is that we live in. How scared I am to raise my children in this world
of sex offenders, hate and selfish attitudes that I see so frequently.
Because at that moment in time, I found the perfect rail. When the laws of
physics, speed and balance all come together with your senses. Yet you can't
hear anything except your breathing. You only see the turn exiting around
you. You feel almost euphoric. Time stands still just for that brief split
second. The sandman comes. And then as quick as he came he is gone. I saw
him a few weeks ago out at the Fern. He flew over a triple and caught the
wind. He had more hang time than the Wright brothers did at Kitty Hawk on
their inaugural flight. Yes, the sandman comes and graces us with moments of
brilliances that let us shine under the blues skies of the Fern. The Fern is
not like any other track. At first look it may not seem beautiful to you.
Take a closer look and you will see the most beautiful sunset you will ever
see. Vivid blue skies and peace with nature that can usually only be found
in the back country high up in the sierra in the big lonesome. If Yosemite
was God's gift to climbers then the Fern is His gift to those who seek the
perfect rail. It is a precious limited resource that we must use wisely. We
cannot move it, when houses or industry encroach upon it. It will be gone
and lost forever. And so will the perfect rail. My good friend Tony Berlutti
has traveled all over the world to race motorcycles with team Suzuki. He
told me "Lon we are so lucky to have Fernley in our back yard. To tell you
the truth I think it is one of the best sand tracks in the country." Well I
think Tony is right. We must hold on to Fernley so our children can have
this one last pure place to regain their sanity from the pressures of this
living hell that we all live in.



lon Harter #102R