After the show, I asked if girls could do this? They made some jokes and at the end of the night I approached my future mentor and asked if they needed help on the road. Sonny told me not at the time because he had a full crew. I asked where they were going next and they told me Jacksonville, Fla.  I put my guitar and everything I owned on the motorcycle I had then and headed north. On the way to the event I got a flat tire and rode it for 20 miles on the side of the road, until all of a sudden I looked up and there was one of the motordrome crew asking if I would like some help. They loaded my bike in the truck... and that was the beginning of my career on the wall.

Sam:  Sonny's family was known as the first family of the drome. His father was one of the sport's pioneers. Joe Sr. started riding the high banked board tracks and  raced  professionally. In the early 20's, his father and mother road the drome together. Sonny's mother Viola rode until 1929 when she retired to have her first baby, Joe, Jr.. Sonny was born in the drome, and grew up around the family show with his 4 brothers. Back then the greatest dromes were family shows, and the Pelaquins were one of the Best. Sonny loved the big cats, and the family got to breed and raise their own.

Sam : First, know that  I am lucky in that I truly love what I do, so that never was an issue. But to understand a little of the physics... first of all, from the day we start walking and for all our life, we learn to lean up to keep from falling down. In the drome, you have to reteach your reflexes to lean down to keep from falling! I was not a "natural", and I fell a lot! I learned on a 70 cc Indian with no power and literally had to get up extra speed on the starting track to THROW it up onto the wall! I  mastered this tecnique, but it caused problems later on. After riding like this for a while, we got 2 new racing bikes -a 100 and a 125 cc Indian. These bikes had plenty of power, but since I had learned on the 70cc, I had no idea how to use it! I had never learned to RIDE up the wall! If  I made it past the tracks up onto the wall I was ok - but the tracks bit me pretty regularly. One day a lady friend of Sonny's came to visit. We called her the "SILVER DOLLAR LADY" because she'd hand Sonny silver dollars to take while he rode the wall. Now Sonny only rode with us sometimes back then, so I hadn't really gotten to study his style at any length. When Sonny mounted up and began his wall run to take the gleaming coins from her hand, I watched every move he made. I learned great lessons that day that helped me become a better rider. 

Sam:  I would have to say the CHANGING of bikes up on the wall. This was only performed by Sonny's brother Joe and his wife Vonnie (she came from a circus acrobatic family and was billed as "La Vonnie"). She was a 4' 10",  90 lb bundle of dynamite!  Joe and Vonnie were the best trick riding team in the business. It took a masters' precision, major trust, and perfectly tracking machines. Vonnie was so light that the Indian didn't even know she was there, and she could climb around on the bikes with no effect on them whatsoever. In the drome, being tall is a handicap. Long legs get in the way, and you have to tuck your knee to your chest to keep from clipping the handlebars when going sidesaddle, etc. Trick riding takes a lot of muscle power, and riding the wall makes you strong. It's like aerobics and weights at the same time, as we pull 3 to 4 Gs on the wall.

Sam:  I love all the tricks, but the ones that get people involved are the most fun for me.We do audience participation, and taking something out of someone's hand at 50 mph without touching them seems to really give the people a kick! Getting close to the red line and looking them right in the eye is pretty cool too!  I guess though that sitting sidesaddle up ("upward split") gets the most audience reaction... and is one of the most dangerous tricks to do.  

Sam:   The upward split is dangerous because you are facing up with your back to the floor, and if something happens when you're in that position, there's a good chance of breaking your neck. If a bike doesn't track straight it can be a chore. On little bikes, I have to compensate for this by constantly shifting my weight. On the Indian, which is much heavier than I am, you can tweak the front end (johnson bar being the tool of choice), or put washers on the wheel axles. I've seen bikes dropped, sledgehammers taken to the axles, and other stuff  I'd just as soon avoid! The leafspring stand is also very difficult, because you lunge one leg forward over the handlebars onto the leafspring when you let go.

Sam :  The 101 Indian Scout is the best balanced motorcycle ever made! The guy who created the frame was a genius. It's perfect for the wall just by the luck of it's design. The center of gravity is low, and the leaf spring front end is sweet! We flip the front end over to stiffen it up, but aside from that, the bikes are basically stock. They run forever, and love to work for a living! They hit the floor and keep on running! As the old saying goes, "You can't wear out an Indian Scout!"  The only thing that's bad is that they were only made for 4 years, and sometimes it's hard to find parts. For some stuff, you can use parts from the other models, but some things are exclusive to these bikes. Luckily, people are repopping more pieces all the time.

Sam : I have ridden so many different bikes!  I rode for 13 years before I got to ride an Indian. I learned to trickride on the little bikes 'cause Sonny's trickrider before me wrecked the last Indian we had back then. If Sonny saw me moving too quickly into different positions on the small machines (getting sloppy 'cause I was comfortable), he'd change my tire, or make me ride another bike. He made me a very experienced rider in those few years. On a little bike you have to ride faster because they are lighter, and constantly adjust your balance because every little bump moves the machine. It's exhausting, but man, do you get strong (and lean)! The first time I rode an Indian was in 1986, when Don Daniels and Mike Morrison (California Hellriders, where I was riding at the time) let me take the Indian up for a New Year's present! Sonny had told me as a kid that once I rode an Indian on the wall I would not want to ride any other bike, and he was right as always! There is a great difference in weight, and you can ride much slower. An Indian will plow smoothly through a bump that would throw another machine. When I am on my Indian it's like I hold on and she takes me up and holds me safe. There are many tricks you can do on an Indian that are not possible on any other bike. On the other side, my 101 has fallen on me a couple of times and broken my back, whereas I used to walk away with just a broken arm or leg or something on a lighter machine. In the drome, a bike will follow you, so the rule in a potential crash situation is to try to get away from the bike. You usually don't have a choice of whether to ride it down or not, as getting thrown through the air is usually the norm! I don't know about bringing me luck, but I can see riding her for many more years, whereas the beating your body takes from constantly having to readjust your balance to keep a smaller bike tracking straight could end a career much sooner. My Indian brings a lot more to the plate than any other machine. I love her. 

Sam: When I back up to the track, every time is like the first! It's a little tense, with a lot of excitement and anticipation!  But you have to pay so much attention to what you are doing that as soon as I start rolling,  I become centered and totally focused on riding. The adrenaline starts to flow and everything comes together. I am way blonde and hyper/scattered and it is the only place in my life where all of me comes together. It is my safe place. All my senses are heightened and my mind is clear. But Sonny had a saying we all think about! "Over confidence will kill you." 

Sam:  Yes, as a matter of fact we were are just now working to book and perform at the Daytona Speedway. Also featured will be my great friend GOTHGIRL, who will performing her awesome music at the drome. I am really looking forward to it, and I will finally get a chance to meet you in person, Don.

Sam:  I love to ride in the dirt, (motocross and enduro), and I also think that freeride motoX  is the greatest! I also would like to do some vintage flattrack and road racing. I worked at the racetrack with horses as a kid, and I guess the horsepower thing stuck

Sam:  Passion!!!   For me, there is nothing superficial about the Drome! I mean, I've seen lots of guys that were there for ego(and women) alone - but they were never great, and they didn't last. If that's all there is for you, how far can it go? Every ride is different, I learn something new every time I go up, and the future is endless with  possibilities.The passion, willingness and ability to learn something new everyday has to be present in your heart and mind. It is hard work, but you get so much back! It is truly a very emotional sport and I would not trade one minute of my life on the wall for anything! Also, everyone always leaves the show happy, 'cause it's the "real thing" (like coca cola used to be...!).

Sam: He never created EGO HEADS! They are dangerous to both themselves and others. He always kept us safe. He never told you if you did good on the wall - just blasted  you if you did something wrong, which for Sonny meant something unsafe. There were so many great times! We always laughed! One time though, we were doing the race (both cracking dips on the wall together), when my throttle cable broke and set my throttle wide open! If I headed down, I would have run right into him, so I had to go up. Luckily, he cut his dip a little low, and I ended up passing him over the red line at the top of the wall with inches between us! After, he went to the floor and parked. I fought my bike down to the track (my kill button was not working at the time), and when I finally got stopped, he looked at me and laughed and said, "Hey, we could have shared the same hospital room!" He was not one to dwell on the negative! 

Sam:   At the end of our 1981 season in Canada, the carnival retired their drome, and we all got retired. We ended up working together on a horse farm in West Palm Beach, where I had worked for many years in the off season. Soon Sonny was running the place! I went back on the road shortly after with another show, but Sonny had been diagnosed with diabetes and had to retire from riding permanently. He still came to visit often to talk on the mike and gave his help and advice until he had a triple bypass in 1990 or so.   

Sam:  Most of the guys had riding names, especially with Sonny, because we had so much fun! I guess "penguin" came from Pelaquin, and he was billed as "the Mad Penguin from Fairbanks Alaska, performing the Flying Igloo Ride For Life!"  I mean, we also had "Mick Finn from Berlin", and "the Great Raoul from parts unknown". Sonny used to call me "the Mile a Minute Girl" when I was a kid.

Sam: I have taught many guys to ride over the years, as well as four girls so far. I guess I am a good teacher because it didn't come easy to me and I know lots of the little things which can help. The bad part is that when I teach someone, I usually can keep them from getting hurt - and it creates the "Big Head" which can be monstrous later on. In the old days, the trick riders were tyrant kings who told you nothing to make it easy, and let you fall. This weeded out more quickly the ones who would quit if they got hurt (many), and kept the competition for the trickrider job down to a minimum. I do hope to teach many more folks - I just wish there were more who wanted to learn. You can't blame anyone for not wanting to though - 'cause it's not whether you WILL fall or not, but WHEN.