Life in the Fast Lane

As I called the person I chose to interview I suddenly became very nervous, what if he said no, what if he hung up on me, all of these “what if” questions came to my mind. Although I knew that we had nothing in common I thought that it would be an interesting topic to write on and hoped that he was willing to help me. The phone rang, and rang, and rang again before I heard “Thank you for calling Cycle Gear this is Robbie Bottoms, How may I help you?” My heart stopped for a split second, this is not how I thought it would be, and I figured Brandon would answer. I quickly replied “Yes, Robbie this is Leah Rollinson, Brandon’s fiancée, would you mind if I interviewed you for my LSU English 1001 interview paper assignment?” As soon as he said sure, I became relived but where and when should this meeting take place. “CC’s around seven o’clock tonight?” I asked. I told him that I would wait outside for him and that I had red hair, so he could point me out since we have never actually met each other. As I sat there waiting that night I tried to figure out what he looked like and how he would answer my questions.
I heard this horrific noise coming from the parking lot as I turned around there was this guy on this motorcycle; he had this flashy multicolored helmet on and a blue and black leather jacket. He turned the bike off and sat up, taking his helmet off. He got off the bike and unzipped his jacket and laid it on the seat. He had jeans and a Cycle Gear work shirt on and was about five foot ten inches tall. His motorcycle was a Suzuki GSXR 600, which most people that ride street bikes refer to it as a “gigser”. I hoped this was not the person I was interviewing. He walked up to my table the first thing that I realized is that he is bald, has bushy brown eye brows and deep blue eyes. He nervously asked “Is your name Leah?” I stood up ready to shake his hand and replied, “Yes and you must be Mr. Bottoms. Thank you for allowing me to interview you.” As we sat down, I could tell that we were both nervous. I began to ask him simple questions such as how was your day, have you been busy with work, and how is your son. Once we both bought our coffee, we quickly got to the interview.
Robbie Bottoms was born and raised in Alabama. His father, Charlie, and older brother, John, both enjoy working on motorcycles. Robbie remembers not being old enough to help work on the bikes all he could do was watch and learn. As he grew up his father and brother taught him different things about motorcycles. Working on motorcycles became his main interests and hobby. He knew that he would enjoy having an occupation in what he enjoyed doing. Robbie could have opened his own mechanic shop but that is not what he wanted to do, so he looked around for other options. He quickly stumbled upon the AMA, American Motorcycle Association, and across the idea of working with a pit crew, this interested him.
Robbie had to go to school for two years to be trained properly for the pit crew. He attended one of the best schools for this field MMI, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, in Phoenix, Arizona. While there he learned the basics and advanced trainings with motorcycles. The basics cover everything that he would need to know for a mechanic shop or dealer ship. The advanced training classes are for people that have the potential to be an asset to a pit crew. Robbie stated that the tests they had to take usually were not written test because the class usually did not do well on these. Upon asking him if the tests were not written then what were they? He explained to me that the students had to go through a series of time tests, these test were to ensure that the students had the skills and was fast enough to be in the pit crew.
Someone that wants to be in a pit crew does not only have to train physically but also mentally. They must be able to detect problems very quickly and be able to do their job with their eyes closed. A pit crew is important to the rider and it also creates several jobs for people that enjoy being around and working on motorcycles. A pit crew is there to make sure that the bike is in the best condition for the track and rider. A pit crew consists of about ten people; this number depends on the size of the manufacturer or company. Every one on the pit crew has trained and excelled several fields. Robbie specialized in engine performance. The other fields are re-building top end, bottom end, and assembling the motor. This is important because they have to be fast, accurate, and efficient in order to be considered for a pit crew. The pit crew members do not have certain tasks that must be completed as individuals but rather as little teams. Several people may be assigned the same job for checks and rechecks. This is good because it makes sure that there is no mistakes or overlooks by the previous person.
Although Robbie enjoyed working with the pit crew he quit shortly after his wife became pregnant. His wife did not want to have to explain to their child that his father was dead. Robbie started working at Cycle Gear, a store devoted to after market performance and accessories specifically for motorcycles. This was a way that he could still be involved with performance parts and motorcycles. He started out as an in store sales associate in Arizona. He was offered a managers position for a new store that Cycle Gear was about to open. He accepted the offer but did not realize that he would be uprooting his family from their home and close family members. Even though they knew that it would be hard to be a few states away from their family, Robbie, his wife, and their son moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Robbie’s first glimpse of Louisiana came from traveling with the pit crews. Louisiana was much different then he expected. “There were houses, streets, people with all of their teeth, regular grocery stores and pretty girls.” Robbie started very jokingly. Robbie never thought that he would one day live in Louisiana. Although he was not directly affected by Katrina; he has realized that the Baton Rouge community has been greatly shaped by the storm. It took him to move to Louisiana to believe the media, stories, and books he read on the effects of Katrina on the Louisiana community.
Robbie’s son, Trace who is a year old, is already fascinated by bikes. Robbie told me that whenever there is a race on TV that Trace stands in front of the television set and makes what he thinks is the sound of a motorcycle. Trace also enjoys sitting on his father’s bike. Robbie plans to pass on the family tradition of fathers teaching their sons how to properly work on the bikes. He hopes that his son has as many opportunities as he did with bikes. But Trace’s mother is very afraid that he will get seriously injured and wants to teach him the safety and responsibility that he must have to ride motorcycles.