CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
I
was on a family vacation
in Florida, when I got the
news that Dane Westby
had died. At first I saw
what looked like a tribute
to Dane on Facebook. My
wife was sitting next to me
and I didn't even say any-
thing, but she could tell
by the expression on my
face that something was
not right. "What's wrong?"
Jackie asked. I don't recall
my answer. I was frantical-
ly looking for more info. At
first I tried to think positive
thoughts—maybe some-
one on my Facebook feed
was simply a big fan of
Dane and posted a slew of
photos of him. Then another
posting that read: "We'll miss
you my friend."
It was then that it began to
sink in. Oh no.
I still fought it. Maybe there
was a mistake, or this was
some kind of hoax. There's no
way Dane Westby would die
in a street accident I reasoned
with myself and my wife. He
was a racer who got the need
for speed taken care of on the
track. He wouldn't be crazy
street riding. How could this
happen? Then I had a flash-
back to Donald Jacks, the
uber-talented road racer who
also died in a street accident
in 1995 in a collision with a
bicyclist.
That's when my phone
began ringing and I got my first
emails. Had I heard? Dane had
died in a streetbike accident.
It was real after all. I closed
my eyes and what seemed like
hundreds of images of Dane
flashed by.
When I first began my career
as a motorcycle-racing journal-
ist I knew so many of the racers
as friends. In the 1980s and
early '90s I was contempo-
raries with them. I was close
friends with many of them,
stayed at their houses and they
at mine during travels to races.
We shared hotel rooms or
carpooled to the events to cut
expenses. I got to know many
of the riders of that era during
their club racing days, I saw
them work and claw their way
up the ladder.
Fast forward to today—as
much as I hate to admit it, I
somehow mysteriously find
myself as a middle-aged writer
covering a young man's sport.
The racers I write about are
young enough to be my sons
(or daughters). I no longer
share rooms with them at the
races, don't travel with them,
largely aren't aware of them un-
til they become pros and don't
have that same close friendship
with the riders of today that I
GOODBYE DANE
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