I LOVED THE IMAGE OF THE EXCITEBIKE GAME, IN LAST WEEKS 'ASK PING 'COLUMN. I AM A FORMER EXCITEBIKE EXPERT FROM THE OLD DAZE, ON THE STAND UP ARCADE VERSION, AND I HAVE PLAYED IT ON NINTENDO ALSO. THERE WAS ANOTHER EVEN MORE AWESOME MX VIDEO GAME OF THAT ERA, BACK IN THE 80'S, CALLED 'ENDURO RACER' WHICH WAS KIND OF A 3-D VERSION OF EXCITEBIKE, WITH ACTUAL HANDLEBARS AND A FRONT BRAKE LEVER ON THE STAND UP VIDEO ARCADE GAME. THAT THING WAS REALLY TRICK BACK IN THE DAY. THEN I WENT ABOUT TEN YEARS AND DIDNT PLAY ANY MORE VIDEO GAMES, ARCADE OR AT HOME. IN 2002 I WENT TO A SX WHERE THEY HAD THE THQ TENT WITH A BUNCH OF VIDEO GAME CONSOLES HAWKING THE NEW 'MX UNLEASHED', SO I TRIED IT AND IT WAS BITCHIN. I BOUGHT ONE AND HAVE BEEN HOOKED EVER SINCE. I RENTED THE LATEST R/C 2002 SUPERFLY MX GAME AND IT WAS VERY DISSAPOINTING AND I TOOK IT BACK RIGHT AWAY. THE MX UNLEASHED WAS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF IT. THEN IN 2004 THEY CAME OUT WITH ATV VS. MX UNLEASHED, BETTER HANDLING, BETTER GRAPHIX, EVERYTHING WAS BETTER EXCEPT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THE RACING. THE 'OPPONENTS' ARE MORE LIKE INSECTS THAT FLIT ON AND OFF THE TRACK TO ATTACK YOU AND WHEN YOU TRY TO PASS THEM THEY JUST RIDE OVER THE BERM AND CRASH, SO ITS VERY BORING JUST RIDING AROUND BY YOURSELF ON THAT GAME. EVENTUALLY I WENT BACK TO THE 2002 ORIGINAL MX UNLEASHED WHERE THE OTHER RIDERS WILL ACTAULLY RACE AGAINST YOU, SO ITS JUST MORE FUN TO PLAY. I KNOW THERE IS A NEW VERSION COMING OUT FOR PSP BUT I HAVENT TRIED IT YET. BUT THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES OF EXCITEBIKE, I HAVENT THOUGHT ABOUT THAT GAME FOR A LONG TIME, IT WAS VERY COOL BACK IN THE DAY.
THANKS FOR YOUR EAR. DAVE ROSIN
Dear Dave, 
The Caps Lock button should be on the left side of your keyboard. Please press it. Thanks.
PING
Ping,
Here in Georgia we pride ourselves on quality education. We finally made it to #46 in national SAT scores. The locals are celebrating in the streets and threatening to raise taxes so we can move to the 45th slot. Sadly, there are still many here who were educated in the public school system while we were still ranked 50th.
In a post on www.georgiaoffroad.com one of the old timers with the screen name JoJMoto posted the following: "Scott I have to disagree with David. First off, David is not a racer or ever ridden MX. He simply is a T.V. guy who is good at commentating and is doing really well for the most part. He even called Windham Berry Carston [sic] last week."
I immediately decided to set the record straight but could not remember how many 125cc supercross races you won. A quick Google search revealed the official David Pingree website. Thinking I might find your career stats here only led to frustration. How about updating your website more than once a year?
Jim. Cumming, Georgia
Dear Jim,
I have indeed ridden MX before. In fact, I’ve got four 125 SX wins, a few national motocross podiums, and a Prince of Bercy title on my resume. And there is no way I mistook Barry Carsten for Kevin Windham. Now, Mr. Drebber, on the other hand, might have said the wrong name, but it was probably just a simple oversight. Look, Jim, there are humongous douchebags all over the web, and this guy sounds like he is one of them. Let it go. As far as my website is concerned, I apologize. It hasn’t been updated since the Clinton administration stole the Ws out of all the White House keyboards on their way out. I don’t even know if the VRM guys are still running websites, because I haven’t heard from them for years. If I ever give in to the MySpace craze I’ll let you know my new web address. Good luck with that whole higher-education thing you’ve got going down in Georgia.
PING
Ping,
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Tim. Ohio
Dear Tim,
I think one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while happened at Unadilla this year. Chad Reed was, ahem, talking to a guy about a horse (if you know what I mean) right before the start of the second moto. Erin Bates ran up to him to find out how his knee was feeling after he twisted it. Unfortunately, she got to him before he was finished and he was still tucking things in as he started answering Erin’s question. It made me laugh.
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PING
