No wedding rings please
‘The proportions, banking and a tacky blue groove make the Springfield Mile the fastest dirt track in the US. For a few years after World War II, the U.S. National Championship was awarded to the winner of this one race. ‘It’s still the one every red-blooded American motorcycle racer most wants to win. It’s traditionally held on the long weekend in May. Lately there’s been a second event in September. ‘If you want to win here you have to run the entire race wideopen. Joe Kopp once told me that he always took his wedding ring off before riding Springfield because when he was a novice some guy caught his ring on the Armco lining the inside of the turns, and ripped his finger clean off. (I don’t remember if, in Kopp’s telling, that guy finished the race.)’
27 May and 2 Sept springfieldmile.org
Fly and ride: Fly into Chicago’s O’hare airport. Five minutes from the terminal you can rent yourself a Harley-davidson from Eagle Rider. Springfield is then just three hours south. Pay attention to where you leave your hog because there’ll be thousands like it in the parking lot.