GAIL WHITE Motorcycle competition keeps Salem man out of rat race

Fred Andrews is living the dream.
Fred, of Salem, began motocross racing when he was 10 years old. By 15, he was winning races throughout Ohio. At 18, right after he graduated from high school, he headed West with a friend.
"All the bike manufacturers were in California," Fred explains. "I had to go out there and show them who I was."
Twenty years later, Fred is still showing them who he is.
"When I first started in motocross, my dream was to not have a real job until I was 40," Fred says, laughing. At 38, he has just signed a two-year contract, ensuring his delay into the "real world" until that ripe old age of his dreams.
Much has changed for Fred throughout the years, but one thing has remained the same. "I can't think of anything more fun to do," he beams. "It's not like a job. It's something I love to do."
When Fred and his friend set out in search of their dreams all those years ago, they slept in their truck and stayed at friends' houses.
"We lived on the road," Fred says of his young racing days. "We were a young bunch of kids out racing motorcycles."
Fred found the national circuit more difficult than the local and state races. He placed a steady fourth or fifth in most races. It was enough to get him noticed by a manufacturer. Soon, his equipment was sponsored and he was winning $200 to $300 every time he raced.
"The difference between amateurs and professionals is amateurs win trophies," Fred explains. "Professionals win money."
Higher pay
It wasn't long before Fred was adding zeroes to his winnings, bringing in $2,000 to $3,000 a race. His living conditions also improved. No more sleeping in the bed of his truck or on the floor at a friend's house. Sponsors started paying for hotel rooms and plane tickets.
Then Fred began getting calls from sponsors overseas.
"Different promoters would call and want me to ride their bike," he says.
He has ridden in nearly every European country and much of South America. A promoter in Italy invited him to stay for a month. He is a four-time South African champion, shyly admitting he is somewhat of a celebrity in that country.
"There are so many different cultures," Fred says about his experience. "Anybody who thinks they have it bad in America, I'd like to send them somewhere else."
Future in doubt
While Fred was cherishing his opportunities, he was concerned about his future. At 28, he was old for motocross racing.
"The younger guys were coming in," he says. "I was at the end of my ropes."
1993 was a major turning point for Fred. The Grand National Cross Country organization was born.
Motocross races last 30 to 35 minutes and are held in a stadium setting with man-made jumps and hills. Cross-country racing is three hours long and participants start at a central point and head out into the forest, contending with mud holes, trees and steep hills.
In his first cross country race in March of 1993, Fred came in first. The direction of his career changed from motocross to cross-country.
Personal life
Fred's personal life changed as well -- or at least it was supposed to.
"We were supposed to get married in 1993," Fred says in sharing the story of his marriage to wife, Amy. "But they had canceled a race and rescheduled it for the day of our wedding. So, we got married in 1994."
He said it so nonchalantly I nearly missed the significance. "Whoa!" I found myself saying. "The race came before the wedding?"
"She's known me since she was 15," Fred says with a soft-spoken gentleness. "Her brother used to race. We met at the track."
Truly, they are a match made in motorcycle heaven.
In 2000, Amy was pregnant with twins. She had the babies Friday, and Fred was off to a race Sunday.
Today, at 3 years old, Remington and Clayton play with little motorcycle rider figurines.
"They can ride if they want to," Fred says of his boys' futures.
"It's amazing," he continues, with an awestruck dad's tone in his voice.
I didn't ask what Fred thought was so amazing, but from his tone, I believe it has something to do with living his dream all these years, yet looking at his boys and feeling like his dream has just begun.
gwhite@vindy.com