With his 60th birthday in his rearview mirror, a Maple Ridge superbike racer is as fast as ever.
Ken LaLonde iscoming off what he calls a season to remember – both good and bad. To start the reason season, a wonky throttle would leave him idling. At the end of the year, the engine blew. But in between, that bike saw him hitting lap times the veteran racer hasn't seen in years, and he won championships in two superbike pro classes with the Westwood Motorcycle Racing Club.
LaLonde has been racing since he was 19, getting his start at the Westwood Motorsports Park in Coquitlam.
He had lost his drivers' licence for speeding on his Yamaha RD350, which was "the hot bike to be on at the time."
Then he learned about racing at Westwood, which he could do despite his suspension. He talked about this opportunity to his father, Phil, and must have been persuasive. Dad bought a bike too, and father and son started racing together.
Ken won a championship in 1985, and soon had sponsorship offers.
Unfortunately, Phil suffered a bad crash that left him in hospital, and he gave up the sport.
Ken had a long break from racing after Westwood closed in 1990, until he heard about the racing at Mission Raceway Park and re-started in 2004. The passion was kickstarted all over again. Today he still races as much as he can, in Oliver and Washington State, as well as the Mission track.
"It's a great thing to look forward to," he said. "I like being at the track, and being around people who have a passion – it's where people want to be."
These days he races a BMW S1000RR, 200 horsepower superbike, that's capable of over 320 km/h.
"It can shoot you up to 100 miles per hour in three seconds, and it can brake just as fast."
In 2014, when he turned 50, LaLonde almost retired from racing. He had tears in his an ACL and meniscus in his knee, and his rotator cuff, to go with "lots of aches and pains from getting thrown on the tarmac."
It's a tough sport. He once suffered six broken ribs in his back from a crash. It hurt just to breath.
"You think 'I've got to find another hobby,' when you're lying there."
He was feeling a healthy fear – moreso than when he was young.
"It's a very dangerous sport. You can get thrown off your bike through no fault of your own," he said. "There's nothing as exciting as when you're off your bike, sliding on the pavement, and you see the other bikes coming toward you."
So at 50, he decided it was time to hang up his helmet... briefly. Because despite leaving superbike racing, he decided he wasn't safe. He slipped on wet grass and broke his leg, while simply walking. Lalonde took it as a sign, and says "I went out and found another bike."
He loves the track as much as ever, but he and his bulldog Mack like to sneak away for a nap between races these days.
His wife Gail supports him.
"She takes care of me at the race track She makes the whole experience happy, and lets me be me, and being at the track is a joy."
Now he races against kids as young as 18, and part of the joy is in mentoring the up-and-comers.
"There's a lot of knowledge I've gained over the years," he said. "For example, almost every racer has crashed on cold tires – pushed too hard before they're ready."
When he started, he had so much to learn.
"When I went ot Westwood, I didn't even know which way the track went."
And you didn't ask anyone, because other racers guarded their secrets. He's not like that, and as he nears 61, he's posting times that are close to his best.
"He's been around the block, and I've learned a lot from him," said Nick Dudziak, who took second to LaLonde in the superbike class. "He's a good all-around guy, who's always helping the newbies."
Dudziak, who is also from Maple Ridge, also won the Formula Ultra class.
He was impressed by LaLonde's racing this season.
"He got really fast this year – he turned the jets on," he said, and Dudziak guesses it's more "seat time," that made the difference.
"The more you ride, the better you get," he said. "You get used that crazy-fast speed."
LaLonde plans to race "until I don't have fun."
"I play golf and other things, but there's nothing like racing."
