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So last week when my girlfriend said that we were going somewhere after work on Friday, I didn't ask any questions, and simply braced myself for possible boredom [I'd heard her breathe the words 'pottery barn' earlier in the week. Fuck that noise]. When Friday finally rolled around, and we started heading towards Clovis I finally had to ask what was up.
That was when she surprised me by saying that we were going to the Dan Rouitt flattrack museum. Flattrack museum? I'd lived in Clovis most of my life, and I hadn't heard more than a whisper of a flattrack museum. As we pulled into a residential neighborhood I began to wonder what we were getting into. After double checking the address about five times, we pulled up in front of a modest-looking, but well kept home with a [seemingly smallish] shop on the side.
We got out, feeling vaguely like we were trespassing, and walked up to the shop where we were greeted by a dude in a wheelchair. I hadn't even gotten through the door before I realized that I had just walked into something amazing. The guy, Dan Rouitt himself, greeted us like friends, offered us something to drink, and welcomed us into what turned out to be the coolest fucking enclosed structure I've ever set foot in.
The first room was packed from floor to ceiling with posters, gear, helmets and every other sort of motorcycle memorabilia imaginable. After drooling over this for about 20 minutes, Dan casually asked 'So, you want to see some bikes?". Of course. He had me flip on some light switches, and open up the door- behind it was the coolest collection of oval-track bikes I can ever imagine seeing. We talked [well, mostly Dan and my girlfriend talked at first- I was dumb with intoxication at the spectacle of bikes before me] for about another half hour, when Dan asked 'You want to see a couple more?' Before long I was walking into a room that was even more jam packed with awesomeness than the one before it.
There was an Indian single boardtracker, and English grasstrack speedway bike, Enfields, Triumphs, KRs, XRs, a Bultaco or two, and just about everything else you could want to slide through a turn on. I was in paradise. I got to stand eye to eye with Donnie Castro's Triumph and share stories with Dan about a guy who was a hero to us both in our youth [my pops went to school with the Castro's, and was good friends with Don's younger brother. Dad would always point him out when we watched On Any Sunday]. I got to see a Japanese speedway bike face to face. Possibly the coolest of all, I got to meet a really great guy and hear some of his stories about something we share a lifelong passion for- racing motorcycles in the dirt.
Dan is a great guy, who welcomed us as friends, and was only too willing to share his stories and his collection with us. He was one of those guys that you can't help but like. He couldn't conceal his genuine love for bikes, and the people who share his passion for them. We were there for a couple hours, and he told countless stories about countless different people, and he never had a bad word to say about any one of them.
If you ever get the chance, and you dig seeing old race bikes and hearing some great stories, give Dan a call and check his place out. You won't be disappointed, even if you feel like you're at the wrong address when you first pull up.
And now... the pics. Theres a bunch of 'em, so bear with me while I post them. Warning: there's a few of those dreaded and much derided bikes from the land of the rising sun. In this context I didn't think anyone would mind, but let me know if its a problem.
That was when she surprised me by saying that we were going to the Dan Rouitt flattrack museum. Flattrack museum? I'd lived in Clovis most of my life, and I hadn't heard more than a whisper of a flattrack museum. As we pulled into a residential neighborhood I began to wonder what we were getting into. After double checking the address about five times, we pulled up in front of a modest-looking, but well kept home with a [seemingly smallish] shop on the side.
We got out, feeling vaguely like we were trespassing, and walked up to the shop where we were greeted by a dude in a wheelchair. I hadn't even gotten through the door before I realized that I had just walked into something amazing. The guy, Dan Rouitt himself, greeted us like friends, offered us something to drink, and welcomed us into what turned out to be the coolest fucking enclosed structure I've ever set foot in.
The first room was packed from floor to ceiling with posters, gear, helmets and every other sort of motorcycle memorabilia imaginable. After drooling over this for about 20 minutes, Dan casually asked 'So, you want to see some bikes?". Of course. He had me flip on some light switches, and open up the door- behind it was the coolest collection of oval-track bikes I can ever imagine seeing. We talked [well, mostly Dan and my girlfriend talked at first- I was dumb with intoxication at the spectacle of bikes before me] for about another half hour, when Dan asked 'You want to see a couple more?' Before long I was walking into a room that was even more jam packed with awesomeness than the one before it.
There was an Indian single boardtracker, and English grasstrack speedway bike, Enfields, Triumphs, KRs, XRs, a Bultaco or two, and just about everything else you could want to slide through a turn on. I was in paradise. I got to stand eye to eye with Donnie Castro's Triumph and share stories with Dan about a guy who was a hero to us both in our youth [my pops went to school with the Castro's, and was good friends with Don's younger brother. Dad would always point him out when we watched On Any Sunday]. I got to see a Japanese speedway bike face to face. Possibly the coolest of all, I got to meet a really great guy and hear some of his stories about something we share a lifelong passion for- racing motorcycles in the dirt.
Dan is a great guy, who welcomed us as friends, and was only too willing to share his stories and his collection with us. He was one of those guys that you can't help but like. He couldn't conceal his genuine love for bikes, and the people who share his passion for them. We were there for a couple hours, and he told countless stories about countless different people, and he never had a bad word to say about any one of them.
If you ever get the chance, and you dig seeing old race bikes and hearing some great stories, give Dan a call and check his place out. You won't be disappointed, even if you feel like you're at the wrong address when you first pull up.
And now... the pics. Theres a bunch of 'em, so bear with me while I post them. Warning: there's a few of those dreaded and much derided bikes from the land of the rising sun. In this context I didn't think anyone would mind, but let me know if its a problem.
