Monday Gate Drop

I doubt that I’m alone in saying that I hate seeing the weather cool down like it always does this time of year. Not only are the temperatures changing but the days are getting shorter as the sun moves south. However if you’re a motocross rider, the fall is the best time of the year to ride as the tracks are usually in perfect condition.

On Sunday we went up to RJ’s for the final round of the Southwestern Ontario Provincial Series. The track was in great shape and although the entries were on the low side (they always are this time of year), everyone who raced had a great time at one of Canada’s most famous motocross tracks. Since yesterday was the final round, congratulations to all of the Ontario Provincial Champions as it’s pretty cool to be the best in your province.

The Mez tears up RJ’s last year.

As we were driving up to RJ’s early yesterday morning, the route that I take there from my house takes me right by the former home of Chuck Mesley just outside of Stayner, Ontario. For the remainder of the drive to RJ’s I was reflecting on Chuck’s racing career, which was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. From the first time I noticed Chuck racing the Ontario circuit back in the 1990s I don’t think there has ever been a rider who tried harder than “The Mez”. Whether he was winning or charging from behind, he was always wide open and very entertaining to watch. Although I could sit and write for hours about the ton of memories I have of Chuck, I’m going to pick three that really stand out for me.

The first comes from the early 2000s when he invited a bunch of us to ride his newly redesigned track that sat behind his parents’ home. The track sat behind a group of trees so you couldn’t see it from the road. If I could’ve seen it I probably would’ve turned around and drove back to Shelburne. In case you didn’t know, Chuck Mesley loved to jump and he was pretty good at it. If there was a new jump at a track, he most likely was the first to jump it.

So we all rode back to Chuck’s new track to train for the upcoming Nationals and not surprisingly there was about 60 jumps littering the track. It looked like a supercross track and a freestyle compound got together and had a baby. There was everything from little doubles to giant 120ft gaps with very little room for error. I remember Chuck riding up to us with a big smile on his face. I asked him if he was really serious with this track. His reply was “Oh Palms, they’re easy, just watch,” and with that he took off and jumped everything, no problem. Over the next few months of people riding there I’m not sure how many injuries came out of there but there were a few for sure.

The next memory comes from the year 2000, which I believe was one of Chuck’s best and a real turning point in his career. Thanks to his new mechanic, Jesse Wilson, Chuck learned that year about training hard, bike set up and most importantly slowing down a little to go faster. I knew from Jesse being my mechanic in 1997 and 1998 how good he would be for Chuck, so it was no surprise that he was hard to beat that year in Ontario and in the Nationals. His confidence grew each time he raced and for the first half of the 2000 national series he was a top ten guy. That year with all the top riders entered, finishing in the top ten wasn’t easy. If it wasn’t for a crash in Ulverton (that wasn’t his fault) and a broken femur, Chuck would’ve finished 2000 with a top ten number.

As you can see, Chuck hasn’t lost his strength.

My third memory of Chuck comes from the sport of hockey and not motocross. In the town where I live there is a Senior A hockey team called the Shelburne Muskies. I was playing goal for them and one day I overheard our coach saying that he was looking for a tough, semi-skilled player to add to our roster. Since I had seen Chuck play a few years back with another team in our league I knew he might be a perfect fit for the Muskies. I told my coach about Chuck. Although he was a little hesitant, he signed Chuck for our next game without seeing him play or practice. I guess we were going to be short players for our next game.

So for our next game I’m on the bench as a back-up goalie and Chuck takes the ice for his first shift of the game. Actually, in Chuck’s first five shifts he hit some big kid so hard that the kid left the game. The other team then sent out their tough guy to teach Mesley a lesson. Chuck knocked him out with two punches. After serving his five minute fighting penalty Chuck came out and scored two goals all before the first period was over. I remember as we went to the dressing room for the first intermission, our coach just looked at me and said “Ya, he fits in nicely”. That was Chuck though, always giving 100% all the time in whatever he was doing, and he was always very entertaining.

As I said, I have a lot of great memories of Chuck and his family as they’re all great people. To find out what he’s up to these days I called him and this is what Mez had to say. “Things are good. I’m just working in downtown Toronto near Varsity Stadium building something for the Pan Am Games. It’s a long commute from Collingwood but we start work at 6:30am and finish at 2:30pm so I don’t have to deal with traffic. I’m still doing the Crossfit stuff and enjoying it. I actually did a Crossfit competition a little while ago so that was fun. Obviously I miss riding. I’d love to get a two-stroke here soon and ride and maybe race Walton again, that would be fun. Good to hear from you, say hi to everyone in the industry for me.”

Well, it’s good to hear that Chuck is doing well. He was definitely one of Canada’s most popular riders when he was on the circuit. I hope everyone has a great week. In closing, I just want to pass along our condolences to Robert Tiffin’s friends and family. Robert crashed at Gopher Dunes last weekend and passed away a few days later. Although Robert didn’t race much, he loved riding and will be forever missed. RIP Robert.