My First Bike...Shawn Norfolk

Do you remember when you got your first bike? For most of us, it’s one of the best days of our lives. Thanks to the support of our friends at Spy Optics, we’ve decided to start a new Saturday column called “My First Bike.” The subject of this week’s column is No Fear’s Shawn Norfolk, who has fond memories of his first bike, which sparked his passion for racing motorcycles.

Well, I got this bike on my third birthday, and it was a 1972 Indian Mini-Min. I wanted to race it immediately, but I couldn’t even ride my bicycle without training wheels. So my parents told me that I could race as soon as I could ride my bicycle without training wheels. Needless to say, my older brother Skip decided that I was going to learn how to ride my bicycle that day. He would push me from the top of a hill and I would hold on until I crashed.

Twenty-some-odd crashes and two severely skinned-up knees later, I DID IT!!! And we went racing the following weekend at Dunkirk Raceway. I rode the Mini-Mini class. There were 15 kids in the class that day. I had on a pair of my dfad’s welding goggles, some work boots, and a Washington Redskins jersey (#20), and I finished third! That day changed the path of my life forever. My whole family ended up going to the races ritually. My dad raced his Rickman, Skip raced his Rupp, and I raced my mini-mini. The following year, my younger brother Scott joined the force, and that is what we did for the next 18 years: went racing. As a family.

If you work in the industry and have a story you would like to share with our readers about your “first bike” experience, contact Fubar: mikef@racerxill.com