Pioneer woman, Mary McGee, on Episode 199

Mary McGee is a legend in off-road racing; solo’d the Baja 500 on a bike as the first person to do so; a woman who never learned to quit and always said yes to everything offered. She thinks she’s the luckiest woman ever, her history is a great story. Mary was inducted in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2023. Mary is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app.

3:31 – My 9-year-old brother and myself (age 5), by ourselves went on the steamship from Juneau to Seattle

19:29 – Vashak said to Dan, Mary, she should road race the motorcycles, make even smoother than the car.                                

24:45 – Women couldn’t have credit cards in their name, they couldn’t have anything in their own name. 

29:41 – “Are you motorcycle people?” yes, “You have to leave”

34:24 – my friend, Steve McQueen, said, “Mary, you have got to get off that pansy road racing bike and come out to the desert.”  Will I have to get dirty?

55:48 – We only made it to El Arco and it was freezing; I went around and around that fire and got myself nice and hot and went right over to those two guys sleeping on cardboard and slithered right in between them

1:10:34 – Once you start something, you should see it through to the end, however it goes.

Special thanks to ORMHOF.org for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

Transcript

[00:00:01.020] - Big Rich Klein

Welcome to Conversations with Big Rich. This is an interview-style podcast. Those interviewed are all involved in the off-road industry. Being involved, like all of my guests are, is a lifestyle, not just a job. I talk to past, present, and future legends, as well as business owners, employees, media, and land use warriors, men and women who have found their way into this exciting and addictive lifestyle we call off-road. We discuss their personal history, struggles, successes, and reboots. We dive into what drives them to stay active and off-road. We all hope to shed some light on how to find a path into this world that we live and love and call off-road.

[00:00:46.890] - Big Rich Klein

This episode of Conversations with Big Rich is brought to you by the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. The mission of the Hall of Fame is to educate and inspire present and future generations of the off-road community by celebrating the achievements of those who came before. We invite you to help fulfill the mission of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Join, partner, or donate today. Legends live at ormhof.org.

[00:01:15.450] - Big Rich Klein

My guest this week is the epitome of the word pioneer. From racing sports cars with the SCCA and being the first woman to compete in motorcycle, road racing, and motocross, then started desert racing and being the only woman to solo and finish the Baja 500.

[00:01:36.060] - Big Rich Klein

And then to finish the Baja 1,000 as well. We're going to get into all that and more with my guest, Mary McGee. Mary Thank you so much for being willing to share your life story with us.

[00:01:51.110] - Mary McGee

Well, I appreciate you're asking me. Thank you. It's quite exciting.

[00:01:56.090] - Big Rich Klein

Absolutely. And I know there's a lot of people out there that are that are waiting for this interview, so let's get right to it. And where were you born and raised?

[00:02:08.360] - Mary McGee

I was born in Juneau, Alaska.

[00:02:12.360] - Big Rich Klein

Well, that's a little bit different.

[00:02:14.590] - Mary McGee

It is a little bit different. And I got to live there with my... I lived there with my mother. My parents got divorced shortly after I was born, and I did meet my father when I was 50 and I got to thank my mother. I know that's a little weird, but that's the way it went.

[00:02:37.970] - Big Rich Klein

I can understand that. I have some friends that would probably say the same thing. That's the way life is.

[00:02:47.480] - Mary McGee

I have a nine-year-old brother, and we lived in Juneau with my mother. Then the Navy came along. It seems that the Japanese  were up in the Aletiun Islands. The Navy came along and said, Women and children should get out of these coastal cities because the Japanese are right up there. My mother heard this, and she said, Oh, good.

[00:03:16.680] - Big Rich Klein

She wanted out.

[00:03:19.530] - Mary McGee

Oh, because my father, who had been friends with the judge, Drinking Buddies, had him put in the decree that she couldn't take us out of Alaska.

[00:03:30.010] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, wow.

[00:03:31.750] - Mary McGee

She got this notice, and she ran to her lawyer who ran to the judge, everybody running around, went and got two tickets on the steamship, first steamship out of Juneau. Of course, they all go to Seattle. My nine-year-old brother and myself, by ourselves, went to Seattle. Now, my mother had two friends on that ship We sat at their table and we ate when they ate. So we definitely got the food. Excellent. Yes. But that's actually how we got right out of Juneau. Friends met us in Seattle, took us to their house for a night or two, then took us, put us on the train to Iowa. My brother was nine, I was five. We're on the train by ourselves. Every time a conductor changed, they changed conductors. One conductor would say to the other, There's two kids. Watch them. I heard them say that.

[00:04:51.970] - Big Rich Klein

Well, that's better than it seems like they do nowadays.

[00:04:55.580] - Mary McGee

Oh, it wouldn't happen now. Right. Remember, the second-world war was on, so the blackout curtains were up. But anyway, the train went to… We went all the way to Harpers Ferry, Iowa. It's on the Mississippi River. We got there. There were no people on… It's just a little platform and a mailbag for the train, right? This is a long time ago. I remember the conductor, he's pulling up his stool and he's saying, Are you sure somebody's meeting you here? Finally, the headlights came on in the parking lot. My grandfather and my aunt had been there for hours waiting for us because the farm was still 20, 30 miles away. Then we lived on the farm with my grandparents for a while, a year, actually, before my mother could get to the States. Before the Navy She wouldn't let her leave because she was medical personnel. She was a nurse. I'm sorry, I forgot to say that. She had to stay until they would let her go. They were convinced that they had control of whatever the Japanese thought they had control of up in the Allusions. Then my mother finally got there a year later, and my mother and my aunt and my grandmother My mother decided...

[00:06:32.900] - Mary McGee

First, it was my mother and aunt. They would go visit my other aunt and uncle who lived in Phoenix, Arizona. My grandmother said, Well, don't you think you're going to leave me here? Then my mother, my aunt, my grandmother, my brother, and myself got on another train and went to Phoenix, Arizona.

[00:06:57.580] - Big Rich Klein

But at least this time you were with your mom. Say that again. But at least this time you were with your mother.

[00:07:04.760] - Mary McGee

This time I'm with my mother. She got there. I can't tell you. I still remember how I missed her. That year, I didn't have her with me. Or by me.

[00:07:16.350] - Big Rich Klein

Right. I can imagine that at five, six years old. Yeah.

[00:07:20.240] - Mary McGee

I was five years old. It was not fun. We got on the train. All of us got on the train, and we went to Phoenix. My aunt and uncle, as I said, I lived in Phoenix. My uncle had to move there because of health problems. They met us at the train, took us to their house. Their house was a one bedroom house. Now, there's all this people, right? Okay, well, my aunt and uncle had the bedroom. My two aunts, I forgot, I had two aunts traveling. Two aunts took the My mother and the four kids, my aunt and uncle had two kids, and then my brother and I. My mother slept with us outside, and the lady next door took my grandma other and let her sleep on the daybed on the porch.

[00:08:19.630] - Big Rich Klein

Wow.

[00:08:21.000] - Mary McGee

So it all got handled. It was just a little weird.

[00:08:24.100] - Big Rich Klein

So you started adventuring very early.

[00:08:27.980] - Mary McGee

I didn't know that's what it I was scared to death. But that's what it was, adventuring. You're right. You're so right. I never thought of that. Thank you.

[00:08:40.150] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah. And so then you're there, you're six, seven years old, and you're starting life over again.

[00:08:51.870] - Mary McGee

At that age, at my... Let's see. In 1940, we got there in 1942. Earth 3. There was only 42,000 people in all of Greater Phoenix. It was not a big city. No. It was a little crappy town. My mother, who was an RN, she was a nurse. There was one hospital in town, and she couldn't get a job at the hospital. They did not need nurses. My aunt and uncle worked out at the Good Year factory, so she got a job out there. Imagine a city that doesn't need nurses.

[00:09:37.010] - Big Rich Klein

Exactly. I was just contemplating that. That sounds very strange.

[00:09:43.910] - Mary McGee

It does, doesn't it? Anyway, so we all got along. Finally, my mother worked out there until they finally called her to the hospital to work. They finally needed her. My mother and brother and I I got a place of our own, and we moved. Then she continued to be a nurse. They needed her, finally. She had different things She'd been in surgery, a surgical nurse. They actually needed her. Then it goes along. I went to school, naturally. Right. Grade school, high school, got into college, and then I didn't finish at that time. I did get married, met my husband, and he wanted to go to Mexico City to go to college because he wanted to... He had this idea of being in foreign service, and he could get a degree in that. Anyway, that's how we got to Mexico. It turned out I taught second grade in Mexico. My husband went to school, and I taught second grade. I was not a great teacher. I was too young. They hired me, really, because I was so tall, thin, and blonde. Honest to God, that's really why they hired me. Please come to work for us.

[00:11:26.240] - Mary McGee

It was the second best school in Mexico City, private school Mexico City. Okay, now let's go back to other things. Racing.

[00:11:36.740] - Big Rich Klein

Yes.

[00:11:37.960] - Mary McGee

Okay. I loved racing, by the way. Somehow, I got involved with car racing, and it was George Rice. He had a Mercedes Benz 300 SL. The first car race in Phoenix, Arizona, was held out in Glendale, Arizona. That's the name of the racetrack, but now it's out of my mind. He had Darryl Moore, who worked on this car, racing it. I was married now. My husband and I didn't even go out Saturday to practice. Everybody, all the racers were from California. There were maybe five people from Arizona who were racing. But everybody from California came over because it was a new track.

[00:12:36.100] - Big Rich Klein

Right.

[00:12:37.240] - Mary McGee

What fun. George Rice, whom we knew, Sunday morning, walks up to me and says, Mary, you want to race my car in the ladies and sedan race? I said, Sure. That's how it all started. I had to start last because I wasn't there for qualifying on Saturday, but I still won. I spun out and I still won. Wow. Well, goodness' sakes, it was a 300 SL Galway. If you didn't win, you didn't even have the throttle.

[00:13:21.540] - Big Rich Klein

So this was right after you got back from Mexico City?

[00:13:24.640] - Mary McGee

Yes. Okay. Exactly. Yes. It Eventually, see, after that race, other people started asking me to race their cars. I got to race an AC Bristol, which I loved, by the way. Elvo, forget what's marked, something or another. Corvette, other cars. Eventually, it was a Ferrari and so on and so forth.

[00:13:56.940] - Big Rich Klein

Very nice.

[00:13:58.120] - Mary McGee

I know it. Can you believe how lucky I was on the cars I got to race?

[00:14:03.780] - Big Rich Klein

Well, it had to be more than just luck. George must have seen something to give you the keys to his car.

[00:14:13.610] - Mary McGee

Well, tall and thin.

[00:14:15.720] - Big Rich Klein

Tall and thin. Is that it? I don't know. Okay. You can see over the steering wheel in a sports car? I hope so.

[00:14:21.920] - Mary McGee

I could see over the steering wheel. Must have been it. Anyway, I got to race all these great cars. At one race in Phoenix, Foshek Pollack was there with his driver over from Manhattan Beach, Foshek Pollack Porsche. I know you've heard of that. He was from Czechoslovakia. I was racing somebody's Corvette. I don't even know who right now. I was racing somebody's Corvette, and when the racing was over with, he came up to me and asked me, talked to me and done, if I would come race his Porsche Spiders, and I about fell over.

[00:15:20.960] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah.

[00:15:22.070] - Mary McGee

Of course, I never said no to anything. You always say yes, and then you find out what it is.

[00:15:27.380] - Big Rich Klein

Exactly. Otherwise, you might blow a really good opportunity.

[00:15:32.310] - Mary McGee

Oh, absolutely. Just say yes, and then find out what it is.

[00:15:37.020] - Big Rich Klein

And you were racing against the men at this point, correct?

[00:15:40.230] - Mary McGee

Oh, yes. There were no ladies raced at this time. Okay. And so we did go over to, moved over to California. Out of school, my husband went first, took the We had a truck, and I got a little C110 Honda to ride around Phoenix then while he was looking for a place to live and work in California. I was working for Flint British Motors then. Believe it or not, I was the parts manager.

[00:16:20.070] - Big Rich Klein

Nice.

[00:16:21.300] - Mary McGee

I know it. Here's an interesting thing. It took two people to replace me, two guys.

[00:16:28.300] - Big Rich Klein

That doesn't surprise That doesn't surprise me. Just knowing what you've told me already, that doesn't surprise me.

[00:16:38.360] - Mary McGee

Well, thank you very much. Now it's my turn. My husband came in with the pickup truck and got me in my little C110 and went to California. He had found a place for us in Hermosa Beach, which is next door to Manhattan Beach and Vashek. Let's see, he found a job, and he needed the C110 Honda because to go to work, it was a whole lot of construction. He rode the little Honda Well, with construction, he rode the little Honda, it was construction. He could save himself a half an hour of driving time.

[00:17:20.280] - Big Rich Klein

There you go.

[00:17:21.590] - Mary McGee

So that worked out perfectly. Then Then I started driving for Vashek. He had a couple of women who owned Porsche spiders, who brought them to him for work. They brought them from him and brought them to him for work. He said, I can't let you. I can't have you race one of my cars because they bought their cars and they pay me money to work on them. I said, That's fine. But then they quit racing. So then I got to start racing Porsche spiders for Vashek.

[00:18:07.270] - Big Rich Klein

Okay, so they bought cars to race. Yes. And he couldn't have the factory team against his customers. I understand that. Okay.

[00:18:17.130] - Mary McGee

Yeah. He just couldn't have somebody who wasn't paying him any money to work on their car, which would have been me, just some strange person from Hermosa Beach. We went to the races, and lo and behold, I did quite well. Santa Barbara, Riverside, Miramar. I can't even think of all the races tracks now. There were everywhere, and there were constantly new tracks coming up. So we got the race all over. Furthest race was Reno, Nevada. Vashek wanted to go to... Oh, first of all, let me start. I was now also racing, and it's because of Vashek, a motorcycle road racing a motorcycle. Vashek, at the time, at the races, road racing, motor cycles and sports cars raced at the same track the same weekend.

[00:19:28.460] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, wow.

[00:19:29.980] - Mary McGee

Yeah. One Saturday or Sunday, Vashek and my husband were down at one of the corners, and Vashek used to be a road racing champion in Czechoslovakia pre-WW2. They were down watching the motorcycles, and Vashak said to Dan, Mary, the Mary, she should road race the motorcycles, make even smoother in the car. Well, they came back to the pits and gave me this great idea. I said, No way. I'm not racing a motorcycle. What are you, nuts?

[00:20:05.350] - Big Rich Klein

The only time you said no?

[00:20:07.620] - Mary McGee

The only time I said no. Then my husband said, I could get you a motorcycle. I forgot he worked for a Honda motor company. Then I relented and said, Okay. That's when that started. He got a CB92 This was a long time ago, as you recall. A guy could show up at Tech with his leathers, his helmet, and his motorcycle, and he could race if he passed tech. I had to call West Cooley Senior, Head of AFM, American Federation of Motorcycles, and see about how I could race. And Wes said, Well, we've never had a woman race before. Let me call some of the guys, and I'll get back to you. Okay. A couple of hours later, he called me back because I'd gone home to call him. He said, Okay, we can have a tryout at Willow Springs. They want to see how you do, what you do, and so on and so forth. I said, Okay. The first time I got to ride this CB92 was there at Willow Springs at the tryout.

[00:21:40.040] - Big Rich Klein

First time.

[00:21:41.670] - Mary McGee

First time? But I didn't see C110, for goodness' sakes. I love that little 50 cc C110. It never used gas. I swear to God, it never used gas. I don't remember putting gas in there. Anyway, we did go to Willow Springs. There was five or six of the AFM guys there on their big bikes, Norton Manx, Drianf. There were three Norton Manx's there, 500 CC Norton Manx. One was the great John McGloughlin and Don Desco. We just went around and around. I was sitting in the pits, and here West Coolie comes walking down. I said, So West, is there going to be a race or something I have to do? He said, No, they just wanted to go around and around with you to see how you would act, how you would act in the turns when they came by you. What they wanted to know was to make sure when somebody was going to pass me because they had big bikes, that I wasn't going to turn into them or change the line. They wanted to make sure I was going to keep the line going in through the curve and going out. That was what they wanted to know.

[00:23:13.610] - Mary McGee

And of course, I did know I did not know any of this. I didn't know anything about it, but it just happened magically anyway. I think it was from sports car racing. I think that just traveled right over.

[00:23:29.150] - Big Rich Klein

You understood the approach, the apex, and the exit.

[00:23:33.630] - Mary McGee

Right, because the cars. I didn't move around in a turn on the motorcycle, even though you could. It's so light. He said, No, I can race the next Race. The next Race was Santa Barbara, and that was my first Race, 1960. There I was. Oh, my gosh, did I get the stairs? It was It was scary. I got a lot of remarks, of course. A couple of good ones, but lots of bad ones.

[00:24:09.780] - Big Rich Klein

Hope you beat all those bad ones.

[00:24:14.220] - Mary McGee

I was never the best. I was never the fastest. But by golly, I was there.

[00:24:21.410] - Big Rich Klein

Yes. When no other females were.

[00:24:25.360] - Mary McGee

No, there were no other females yet.

[00:24:27.560] - Big Rich Klein

It's interesting that they made you basically take a riding test, even though you didn't know that you were being tested at that point, so that you could race where a guy could just buy a bike, buy leathers, and come out and race.

[00:24:45.480] - Mary McGee

Exactly so. Show up at tech and then go race. But the way it was for women then, I didn't even think anything about it. Women couldn't have credit card in their name. They couldn't have anything in their own name. It had to be in husband's, father, or lawyer. Many people forget that at the time. What do you mean we couldn't have a credit card in our name?

[00:25:12.040] - Big Rich Klein

I didn't know that.

[00:25:13.750] - Mary McGee

That's right. No, We couldn't have anything in our name, not even a damn credit card. I tell you what, the first outfit to give me a credit card was Chevron. Now, I no longer have that credit card But I tell you what, I remain true to Chevron just because of that in my heart. I'd go to a Chevron station for gas.

[00:25:40.580] - Big Rich Klein

Well, I don't blame you for that for a number of reasons. First of all, I think they have the best fuel or the most consistent from station to station. I never seem to get any contaminants in Chevron gas.

[00:25:56.430] - Mary McGee

Oh, cool.

[00:25:57.240] - Big Rich Klein

Can I get better gas mileage with Chevron than I do with anything I can understand that. But being true to them for giving you that credit card, I can understand that.

[00:26:08.680] - Mary McGee

Yeah, that's why I did it. I go to Carson City to get Chevron because there's no Chevron station here in Gardenville anymore. If I go to Carson City, I feel up in Carson City. There is a Chevron station.

[00:26:28.540] - Big Rich Klein

Perfect.

[00:26:29.950] - Mary McGee

Yeah, that's what I say. Not perfect, but that's just the way it was.

[00:26:34.580] - Big Rich Klein

Close enough, yes.

[00:26:36.120] - Mary McGee

Yeah. Women didn't complain about any of that yet. There was no women's movement, no marching, no thinking about women being equal to men.

[00:26:51.090] - Big Rich Klein

Right. That didn't start until the mid '60s.

[00:26:54.670] - Mary McGee

Mid '60s, it started very slowly. I was In my lifetime, I was one of the marchers for women's rights. Definitely, definitely, definitely.

[00:27:08.080] - Big Rich Klein

Well, that's good.

[00:27:09.700] - Mary McGee

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure.

[00:27:13.190] - Big Rich Klein

I always tease my mom about being a bra burner.

[00:27:18.480] - Mary McGee

Oh, good for her.

[00:27:19.800] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, she was, too. She was in the San Francisco Bay Area. She wasn't a racer or anything, but with her employment and that stuff, she was always out front.

[00:27:33.090] - Mary McGee

Good. Good for her. There were many of us, but not enough to really make a difference for a long time. I mean, we We made handmade signs, stood on street corners, busy intersections, and waved our cardboard signs that we made for women's rights. Anyway, it did happen, and I'm happy to have been a little bit of a part of it.

[00:28:08.390] - Big Rich Klein

That's great.

[00:28:09.990] - Mary McGee

That's great.

[00:28:10.860] - Big Rich Klein

In those early years of road racing, whether it was motor cycles or cars, what was your favorite track?

[00:28:21.900] - Mary McGee

Probably Riverside.

[00:28:24.790] - Big Rich Klein

What made Riverside special?

[00:28:28.640] - Mary McGee

Well, It had the S's. You started out, there was the start-finish line, turn one, and then you got to go through the S's up to turn six. Then you had to make sure you actually made it through turn six. Otherwise, you could get stuck under the guardrail. Then seven and eight, and then nine was very spooky. You could be going too fast and not make it all the way around turn nine because of diminishing returns. But I think that was probably my favorite Also, you got to go out there and watch the Grand Prix, the Formula cars and the big cars. It was pretty cool seeing all the cars and the drivers.

[00:29:29.880] - Big Rich Klein

Was Monterey around at that point?

[00:29:34.350] - Mary McGee

Okay, I do have a story about Monterey. Okay. You're talking about Laguna Seca, right?

[00:29:40.160] - Big Rich Klein

Yes, Laguna Seca.

[00:29:41.640] - Mary McGee

Okay. I hadn't been at Laguna Seca, had not raced there. In 1962, my husband and I decided to go to Laguna Seca, to the races, up to Monterey. Got a room. Saturday morning, we went to Uncle John's Pancake House in Monterey. The mayor D came He asked us if we were motorcycle people, and we said yes because it was just doing the bike. He said, You have to leave. We thought he was kidding. We had to leave because we were motorcycle people. He did not want any We didn't look for motorcycle people. We just had regular clothes on. We had to leave. Honest to Pete, we thought he was kidding, and he wasn't. We actually had to leave Uncle John's Pancake House in Monterey. That Saturday morning. Okay, so anyway, I loved that track. Oh, that was a great track. And that was the early track. It's not like it is now. Then they hadn't cut down any of the trees. You just whistled, and where the start-finish line was entirely different. So they hadn't cut any of the trees. So when you went, I think it was turn five to turn six, it was up high.

[00:31:19.600] - Mary McGee

You got to just wind your way through the trees. Then you had to pay attention to the limbs of the trees to know when to, Oh, my God, I got to go down.

[00:31:34.790] - Big Rich Klein

Did they have the corkscrew then?

[00:31:36.950] - Mary McGee

Of course. That's what I was just talking about. Okay. Yeah, because you just had to have a leap of faith. There were no turns, there were no turn offs, run in, turn in, run offs. So you just had to look for this tree branch. It was a certain tree branch. You can ask the early If you're talking to any really early road racers that raced there, you can ask them about that. There was a certain tree branch, and when you saw that tree branch, you just had to take a leap of faith and turn left and go down the corkscrew. And that's just the way it was.

[00:32:21.750] - Big Rich Klein

I think the corkscrew is one of the most exciting turns in in motorsports, whether it's motorcycles or cars.

[00:32:30.570] - Mary McGee

Well, I've only been on it on motor cycles, and it was 1962, and the trees were still there up high. They hadn't turned them out. They hadn't cut them down yet. They had to cut all them down for NASCAR guys first, and then motorcycle guys, the big fast bikes, they said, No, we have too many trades. We can't race here. So they I cut them down. So it changed everything. You used to get to wind through the trees up there. There's no trees now.

[00:33:10.700] - Big Rich Klein

That'd be exciting unless you'd left the track surface.

[00:33:15.080] - Mary McGee

Pretty exciting, all right. It was a little scary at first, I got to tell you. My friend John McGloughlin, I don't know, you might know his son, Steve McGloughlin?

[00:33:27.450] - Big Rich Klein

I don't.

[00:33:28.820] - Mary McGee

Okay. Anyway, Anyway, so it was John Nondesco, who I was talking to, who gave me the clue of how to get down it.

[00:33:43.820] - Big Rich Klein

He told you to look for that tree and then turn left.

[00:33:48.760] - Mary McGee

Yeah, just jump left. You just had to jump down. Not turn left, you just had to jump down. I mean, it was different. Right. There were no run offs or any of that stuff. It was just that narrow little track, and it hadn't been resurface, probably ever.

[00:34:13.210] - Big Rich Klein

Then you You're road racing, and then you get into- How I got into dirt?

[00:34:24.860] - Mary McGee

Yes. Well, my friend from road racing cars, my friend Steve McQueen.

[00:34:35.120] - Big Rich Klein

Nice friend. Said to me….

[00:34:36.740] - Mary McGee

Yeah, we've been friends for years. Said to me, Mary McGee, you have got to get off that Pansy road racing bike and come out to the desert. I, of course, said, and get dirty? But again, my husband said, I can get you a bike. He was still with Honda.

[00:35:00.040] - Big Rich Klein

Perfect.

[00:35:02.170] - Mary McGee

He got a CL72. That's how I got up to the desert. Then met some friends of Steve's, and they put me in one of their Enduro spots. My first race was a Jawbone Canyon, and it was an Enduro. The downhill scared crap out of me.

[00:35:31.340] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, I can understand that. Jawbone's for real.

[00:35:35.410] - Mary McGee

It is. And it wasn't worn down yet. As a matter of fact, I was stopped up on the top because I looked down and couldn't see the bottom. I was just sitting there on the bike, and Dave Eekins came up to me, and he said, Mary, did we forget I have to teach you how to go, tell you how to go downhill? And I nodded my head, yes. He said, Okay, here's what you do. Really simple. Put it in third gear and just go. You're going to fall. It's not going to hurt. It's just soft dirt. You're going to make... It's going to be fine. So that's what I did, put it in third gear, fell a couple of times, and he was right. It was just soft dirt. I maybe only fell once. I don't remember, but I did fall and made it to the bottom and said, whew. I had some actually wonderful experiences on my first ride. It's you make it through them and continue on, or are you, wuss out and quit?

[00:36:49.140] - Big Rich Klein

And you're not a quitter.

[00:36:52.090] - Mary McGee

I guess not. Well, I like these motorcycles. I didn't want to quit the motorcycles or the cars. I did they quit cars in '63? Because that's when the car thing changed to the big Can-Am cars, and Porsche factory wanted some big, fancy, expensive male drivers.

[00:37:13.940] - Big Rich Klein

That's too bad.

[00:37:16.550] - Mary McGee

It's all right. I enjoyed the motorcycles. I enjoyed being out in the dirt the best. Then when motocross came along, I was in the very first motocross race. Again, it was West Cooley Senior who put on the first motocross race, the first week in December of 1965. There were 42 of us on the starting line. That's it. You I can't imagine a motocross starting line with 42 people.

[00:37:49.640] - Big Rich Klein

Wow.

[00:37:51.070] - Mary McGee

Yeah. Well, it turns out… I rode my husband's 500cc Triumph.

[00:37:59.810] - Big Rich Klein

That's big bike.

[00:38:01.680] - Mary McGee

Well, it didn't seem like it because the bike I had been riding, that CL72 Honda, that 250 Honda, that was a big monster and heavy and ill handling. So the Triumph wasn't much different. So the first three races, I rode my husband's 500cc Triumph. But I tell you what, did I love motocross? You weren't stuck out there in the desert. There's your pit. You go around this track, and then you come back into the pits. If you do break down, you just push your bike into the pits. I thought motocross was catching me out.

[00:38:43.850] - Big Rich Klein

You got to race, and you were close to the pits.

[00:38:48.160] - Mary McGee

Yeah, that's what I thought.

[00:38:53.110] - Big Rich Klein

How long did you race motocross for?

[00:38:56.340] - Mary McGee

I raced motocross My last... When and how long did I race motocross? For a long time. I forget the year, but for a long time. I raced all the hot tracks. There was a track opening every week, it seemed.

[00:39:21.500] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, that first race got 43 people to show up.

[00:39:25.180] - Mary McGee

42 people.

[00:39:26.350] - Big Rich Klein

42. Then that's a good number.

[00:39:30.560] - Mary McGee

Yeah. That was at Castaic Junction. Then they later dropped the junction part, just Castaic. That was the racetrack. Then the next race was at Forest Ranch, and then the third race was back at a steak. And then, I don't know, it just jumped. There was a racetrack opening, it seemed like, every week for motocross. And anytime there was a motocross race, my and I went. He didn't race, but he liked me racing. I don't know why. And then he was a mechanic, so he took care of the bikes.

[00:40:11.700] - Big Rich Klein

Best of both worlds. He liked watching you race. He liked working on the bikes, and you liked riding the bikes.

[00:40:19.620] - Mary McGee

Absolutely. It was great. Then in two… When did I… I'm trying to think. We moved to Idaho, and I was racing motorcross up there in the Pacific Northwest. I left Idaho. Things changed in our world, so I left Idaho in '75, and my son and I moved back down to Southern California. That's about my last time I got to go motocross riding. I did do some road racing, however. Where in Idaho did you live? Ketchum.

[00:41:15.330] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[00:41:16.950] - Mary McGee

Got some Idaho. I raced all the motocross races up there in the Pacific Northwest, even more Shugle.

[00:41:24.560] - Big Rich Klein

Nice.

[00:41:25.660] - Mary McGee

Over in Washington. Then Let's see.

[00:41:32.960] - Big Rich Klein

Seventy-five left Idaho?

[00:41:35.390] - Mary McGee

'75 left Idaho. Went back to California and did some road racing. I worked for a Nicholas, and Brad Zimmerman, Rich Cox, the road racing guy. There was a road racing guy who had retired, not retired, he'd gotten injured, and he wasn't doing much road racing. I can't come up with his name right now. Jody Nicholas. We did 24 hours in Las Vegas, changing riders every hour, except when it got dark, Jody couldn't race anymore because of that accident he'd had. So it was just the three of us. And then we ran out of tires about one o'clock in the morning. So that was the end of our 24 6-hour racing. Then we used to race in Ontario. The six-hour race is in Ontario. It was Brad Zimmerman, Rich Cox, and myself. Again, we changed off every hour. That was fun.

[00:42:47.750] - Big Rich Klein

Brought more tires?

[00:42:53.340] - Mary McGee

Yes, it was Ontario. It was a better surface. It wasn't an old, rotten surface like they had at Las Vegas.

[00:43:03.010] - Big Rich Klein

When you moved back to California, did you move back down to Southern California then?

[00:43:10.110] - Mary McGee

Oh, yeah. Okay. Back to Hermosa Beach. Okay. I love Hermosa Beach, and it was affordable. Of course, now you can't even buy a sandwich in Hermosa Beach. It's so expensive.

[00:43:26.370] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, so true. Isn't it? It is. Everywhere in California, it's becoming that way. It's crazy. Yeah.

[00:43:35.490] - Mary McGee

I read about that, and I think, How can that possibly be? How can it be that much money?

[00:43:42.320] - Big Rich Klein

I don't understand how people can go and buy new houses nowadays.

[00:43:46.820] - Mary McGee

How do they do that? How do they make that much money? Who pays them that much money to buy a new house?

[00:43:54.170] - Big Rich Klein

I have no idea. I don't know if everybody's just so upside down. They're never going to get out from it or what. It's crazy.

[00:44:03.400] - Mary McGee

Well, of course, I'm thinking about how much money I would have made back then, which could barely buy a sandwich now. Right. Anyway, I'm glad for them and I'm happy for them, and I hope it turns out well.

[00:44:17.790] - Big Rich Klein

Yes.

[00:44:19.140] - Mary McGee

But back to racing. Yes. I hadn't thought about any of this stuff. You're catching me unawares.

[00:44:29.390] - Big Rich Klein

That's okay. That's okay. It's good to try to reach back and get to all that stuff.

[00:44:37.070] - Mary McGee

Well, I'm glad I can come up with some stuff.

[00:44:39.580] - Big Rich Klein

That's perfect.

[00:44:41.450] - Mary McGee

Yeah.

[00:44:42.180] - Big Rich Klein

So then you're racing road bikes again, and you were working for the magazine?

[00:44:50.210] - Mary McGee

.

[00:44:51.490] - Big Rich Klein

And you were a tech writer or something?

[00:44:55.100] - Mary McGee

No, no. They didn't let me have a pencil in my hand.

[00:44:58.370] - Big Rich Klein

Oh.

[00:44:59.820] - Mary McGee

I I got to go on some rides when the editors were going to evaluate some bikes for the magazine. I got to go and ride a bike. I could not say a word about that bike. I certainly couldn't write anything about that bike because I was not an editor. But come along with us because you know how to ride.

[00:45:25.310] - Big Rich Klein

So they would watch you and then write about the bike?

[00:45:30.030] - Mary McGee

I doubt that. I think they just wanted somebody there that knew how to ride well. I think they had maybe too many bikes and not enough riders. I don't know. Because I didn't get to ride the same bike all the time. I got to ride all the bikes, but I never got to say anything about my impression. I never, ever, ever.

[00:45:53.470] - Big Rich Klein

That's too bad. They missed a great segment back there.

[00:45:57.670] - Mary McGee

No, it's all right because they were They were the editors. They were getting paid for doing this stuff. I was a sales rep. I was selling space in the magazine. That's all I was good for.

[00:46:12.730] - Big Rich Klein

I doubt that. They just didn't explore the opportunities.

[00:46:18.210] - Mary McGee

It's all right. Okay. The late Brad Zimmerman, he stayed a friend for a long time. He was a good guy. He was an editor. Okay, let me see. Then some things happened that I don't want to talk about. Oh, I have one fun thing to say. Okay. I just remembered this the other day. The magazine people were going to Scandia to have lunch because I think Bobby Pete, Bob Peterson, had just bought the restaurant. Everybody was going up there to eat lunch. I was training a young man to be a sales rep, and he was right behind me. We were the last to go into the restaurant As I was walking by, Carroll Shelby said, Mary, hi. I said, Hi, Carol. How are you? This young boy I was training about fell over.

[00:47:28.920] - Big Rich Klein

Right.

[00:47:31.600] - Mary McGee

That's Carroll Shelby. He said, Mary. Anyway, that was fun.

[00:47:38.530] - Big Rich Klein

Steve McQueen, Carroll Shelby. Wow.

[00:47:42.190] - Mary McGee

Well, we were all on the racing thing. You had lots of guys. They made a movie about somebody. The stupidest movie I've ever seen was Ford versus Ferrari.

[00:48:00.280] - Big Rich Klein

I love that movie, but I didn't know the insides.

[00:48:05.070] - Mary McGee

Oh, well, first of all, Carroll Shelby was a huge guy. Secondly, Ken Miles was an Englishman. Those two guys were not a big or not English. They could have done such a better job.

[00:48:22.360] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, at least of casting. Okay. Yeah.

[00:48:25.750] - Mary McGee

Oh, yeah. At least the casting. Ken did He had a great shop, and he invented a lot of things. Let's see. Now, where are we?

[00:48:39.920] - Big Rich Klein

Working for the magazine.

[00:48:42.190] - Mary McGee

Okay, yeah. Then I went to another magazine and just had a better time just selling space and just living my life. No racing, no more racing. I didn't start racing again until I took up Vintage racing, Vintage motorcross. That was a long time ago, but I can't think of when it was. I took up Vintage motocross, and I don't know how I got into that. Somebody got me into that, and I got a 250, 74 Husky, just like I'd raced in Baja. An early Husky, no suspension. And I started racing Vintage, and I loved it. People are so nice, and it's so easy compared to when it was real motocross. It was just the tracks were nice. Kind of missed. We did get to see... We did get to go in vintage. We did get to go some of the big and acts like Sand Hill and Hollister and so forth. But mostly they were built for vintage bikes, and it was great fun, just great fun. I raced in it for many years. I see. I'm trying to think of when I stopped. I think it was 2012 or 2013.

[00:50:25.550] - Big Rich Klein

Wow.

[00:50:27.030] - Mary McGee

Yeah. Because I had to take my bike into the shop, it was finally done. He had to take it apart and the gear box apart, and this apart. It takes months. I never got back to racing. If he had finished the bike, I probably would have gone to the next race, finish race. So it all works out okay.

[00:50:51.590] - Big Rich Klein

Let's talk about Baja. Oh, yeah, Baja. Getting the chance to race down there and your impressions of racing in the wilds of Baja.

[00:51:02.160] - Mary McGee

Oh, I love Baja. Let's see, Baja. Paul Collins, the late Paul Collins, a friend of mine, he called me up and said, You want to race a Datsun in the Baja? Once again, I always say, Yes. Yes. Well, so it was a 500 cc Datsun, just that little Datsun, and different tires and shocks and a roll bar. Let me think. It started in Encinada, started in Tijuana, and it was a timed run down to Encinada. That was part of the race. Then it started the next day out of Encinada. Now, during the pre-run, during the practice, Toyota lent a… Because Datsun never made convertibles, and Toyota didn't make… Datsun didn't make four-wheel drive, and Toyota didn't make convertibles. It was a Toyota Van Cruiser that we pre-ran in. Out of San Ignacio, down the road from San Ignacio, on the way on the trail, we ran into Berquist and Preston, Larry Berquist, Gary Preston. They were going to turn right and go this way, which would have put them into the area that everybody goes to watch whales.

[00:53:10.280] - Big Rich Klein

Okay. I don't remember the name myself. Unfortunately. I know.

[00:53:17.950] - Mary McGee

I get that. I said, No, it's this way. No, they insisted this way. I said, We better follow those motorcycles because if they They get caught in the swamp land, they can't get out. So pretty soon they stopped. This doesn't seem to be the right way. No, it's this way, I said. So we went back Then the reason they didn't want us to go out of San Ignacio was because of the water. You couldn't cross. There There were two big trucks there. They couldn't get across either. There was too much water. The two motorcyclists, I suggested that each two guys carry one motorcycle and walk through the water and get it over to the other side, start it and dry it out, and come back and get the other motorcycle. So that's what happened. They came back and got the other motorcycle, got that handle, came back to help us get the car across, the land cruiser. Well, that was a horse of a different color, but Dale pushed, I drove. That's better. They're pushing in the water, honest to God. So we did make it. Climbed up that muddy hill, we got there. So then continuing on via and on and on and on, get to the pavement, and get down to La Paz.

[00:55:04.060] - Mary McGee

It was beautiful down there then. At the hotel, it was real silver. And the silverware? Wow. It was real silver. I can't believe it. Anyway, loved it. The weather, of course, was perfect. I don't remember how or why, really, got back to California. Was there a plane? Or somebody picked me up? I don't remember that. I don't remember how I got back. As strange as that may sound, I do not remember.

[00:55:46.010] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[00:55:48.360] - Mary McGee

Then the next, the race. Let's see. The race was the 510 Jatsun, but it didn't make it. It only made it to El Arco. I don't remember what happened, but I can tell you what El Arco was like. It was freezing. They were burning rubber tires and people standing around all these rubber tires from every big truck that had ever been through El Arco lost a tire, and they were burning it. It was really, really cold. I was standing at the fire just turning around and around, trying to stay warm, looking around. Then I spotted two guys in all the cardboard had already been taken from the little village store. I spotted two guys in leathers. I think they were leathers, it might have just been motorcycle gear, on cardboard, back back, sound asleep. Well, I went around and around that fire and got myself so nice and hot. I went right over there to those guys, and I slithered right in between them. They never knew They never knew I was there. The next morning, it was Don Buchana, a desert racer, who said, I slept with Mary McGee. That woke everybody up.

[00:57:29.580] - Big Rich Klein

But he didn't know it. Until he woke up. That's funny.

[00:57:37.160] - Mary McGee

No, they didn't feel a thing. I was nice and hot, and they were in some motorcycle gear. It was either leathers or riding gear. I don't remember now. I just knew they were motorcycle riders, and they were on cardboard, and I could get warm and slither right in there. That's what happened. But he woke up really early, I'm sorry to say. At that time, that's when the car broke down. I got a ride out. The guy had flown in and picked up four people. Well, he'd been hired to do that ahead of time. So he said, I'll be back. I'll take the seats out, and I can take more of you. And that's what he did. He came back. It was a push me, pull you airplane, engine in the front and a little engine in the back. I don't remember the name of it, but I called it a push me, pull you. And he came back He had the seats out. There was a bunch of us that could get in there and sit down. Then he was showing off his airplane. Scared me to death.

[00:58:57.940] - Big Rich Klein

Especially if you're not in seats.

[00:59:01.040] - Mary McGee

Yeah. I'll just turn off the big motor and we'll just do the back motor, and you'll see, I'm yelling. I'm not that fond of airplanes. It was scary. Anyway, he got us down there and it was all safe. Now, I do not remember how I got back. Somebody must have brought me back. I don't remember. But anyway, I got back Then I got somehow, what was the next race I did in Baja?

[00:59:40.950] - Big Rich Klein

Did you race motorcycles in Baja?

[00:59:43.710] - Mary McGee

Oh, yes. Okay. That took a couple of years. I was racing motocross, remember. Right. Ralph De Bling called me up. You know who Ralph De Bling is?

[01:00:02.400] - Big Rich Klein

Heard the name, yes.

[01:00:03.860] - Mary McGee

In the world of motocross. He was a world champion for a couple of three, four years. He worked for Husky West down in San Diego area. He called up and he said, Mary. Anyway, I was to raise a 250 Husky in the 500. Okay, sounds good. The bike be in Encinada. I just had to get to Encinada. This is a long time ago. I'm having trouble remembering all the little tiny things I want to remember.

[01:00:43.520] - Big Rich Klein

Just take your time.

[01:00:44.820] - Mary McGee

I am. I am, thank you. Got down there. And of course, first thing you have to do is go to Who Songs.

[01:00:54.140] - Big Rich Klein

Right. Of course.

[01:00:59.460] - Mary McGee

Then take a practice run on the bike, come back, and get ready for the next day, which is the race, the start of the race. It was the 500-mile race, and it went up through near Mexcali.

[01:01:23.630] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[01:01:24.430] - Mary McGee

Up through the trees.

[01:01:26.220] - Big Rich Klein

The Pine Forest in Tecate and out that way.

[01:01:29.120] - Mary McGee

Yes, Pine Forest. Thank you. I knew there was a name. And back to Enzanada. I made it. No great shakes, but I made it, and everybody's happy to see me. Then comes the 1,000, and Husky didn't have enough bikes. So Can-Am said they were going to send a bike. Okay. So Can-Am sent a 175 down. My husband did the initial check over and make sure everything worked and da da da da da da da da. I co-rode with Ben Wilson and Steve Bridges. They're desert riders. So Did I start the race? I must have started. Yes, I started the race. On the way to San Felipe, the bike just stopped. It just stopped. The only thing I know to do is check, is the fuel going through? Is there a spark? That's the limit of my mechanical knowledge. Then I look, my barber jacket is off, the helmet is off because it's frigging hot. Here's two guys coming up the motorcycle trail. I let them come up the rest of the way, and they said, We saw you back there. We're down here and we're waiting for Parnella Jones to come through and crash. I said, Okay.

[01:03:33.010] - Mary McGee

They got the bike, and they pushed it down to their pit where they were watching the races, and both of their wives were there. They just sat there and looked at that bike, check the fuel, check the spark, did this and that and the other thing because one guy was retired from Harley-Davidson, so he did no motor cycles. Their wife gave me half a sandwich and a Pepsi. I was grateful. Pretty soon, that guy that used to work for Harley said, You know, right away when somebody says, You know.

[01:04:18.930] - Big Rich Klein

Uh-oh.

[01:04:20.340] - Mary McGee

Exactly. Those Harley Davidsons would never run with a fuel filter. I said, Well, take it off, yank it off. He said, Okay, let me measure, make sure the fuel lines are long enough if I do that. He cut the fuel filter out. There was enough fuel line. If he took out the fuel filter, it would all connect up. What do you think? It started right up.

[01:04:52.070] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, clogged filter.

[01:04:54.770] - Mary McGee

A fuel filter. Those Harleys would never run with a fuel filter. Took that off, and that Can-Am ran. 175 Can-Am. So I finally got it. Oh, and the Can-Am also came with these huge, huge non-linkproof, non No rock can penetrate this entire Bridgestone. So I get up to the Three Sisters. I'm up to the Three Sisters, Bebop on the Long, and it's Have you ever been across the Three Sisters years ago?

[01:05:32.770] - Big Rich Klein

Yes.

[01:05:34.410] - Mary McGee

Okay, well, years ago when they were brand new, those puppies were sharp. Now it's like a freeway. Smooth. It was smooth as glass, but it used to be rough and tough. I got a flat rear tire. Well, there's no way I can change a tire. I just kept riding with a flat rear tire until I got down to the pit. And it was the Husky pits. They were pitting. So they took the tire out, put a new tire, took the tube out, put a new tube in, pinched it, took it out, repaired the tube that they took out, put that back in, it worked, and off I went.

[01:06:27.700] - Big Rich Klein

Got to finish the race?

[01:06:29.760] - Mary McGee

I Got it down to the next rider. My husband was sitting and waiting. It was Steve Bridges, and my husband was waiting with him, and he said, I don't think she's coming. We better just leave because they were in the middle of nowhere. We did it by mileage, just mileage for the three riders. My husband said, She's going to be here. Just wait. Steve remembered saying, I don't think so. My I was going to say, Oh, yeah, she's going to be here. And there I show off. That was pretty interesting, I thought.

[01:07:09.620] - Big Rich Klein

Absolutely.

[01:07:11.160] - Mary McGee

Then they got down to civilization Steve got down to Civilization, and then Lynn Wilson was there, so she took it in to finish.

[01:07:24.030] - Big Rich Klein

Very good.

[01:07:25.190] - Mary McGee

Yeah. I loved riding I like the Husky the best. It was Ralph who called me and told me that I was going to ride the 500 solo.

[01:07:41.970] - Big Rich Klein

Okay. What did you think of that?

[01:07:44.830] - Mary McGee

I said, I can't do that. He said, Yeah, Mary, you can do this. You're going to do this. You're going to ride the 250 solo in the 500. I said, Okay. Again, okay, instead of saying, I can't do this. I did. They wereternut Shox. I'll never forget this. One of them broke before I ever got to the first road crossing and sent me into a cactus. Yeah. Exactly. Thank you. My husband was at the road crossing, but he didn't have Shox or sprockets or wheels and tires. He just had tires. He had wheels and tires. That's it. He gave me a Pepsi. He said, You got to go down to the to Camaloo. That's where the first pit stop was. Claus Nielsen was there. I got on the bike, It fell a couple more times when the shock just went… And into cactus. Thank you. Thank you to your cactus for stopping me. And got down to Camaloo, and they couldn't understand what I'd done with their rear wheel. So they replaced the sprocket, the wheel, the chain, just everything. Again, I had a Pepsi and half sandwich and got on my way. And that started my solo run.

[01:09:37.680] - Big Rich Klein

Nice way to start. Nice and smooth.

[01:09:41.120] - Mary McGee

Wasn't it? Nice and smooth.

[01:09:43.850] - Big Rich Klein

Exactly. But you didn't quit.

[01:09:47.120] - Mary McGee

No, you don't quit. You just never quit. I don't know how I ever learned that lesson, but you just don't ever quit. I think it must have been from my mother and the relatives. Things were not easy, but they never quit. You just keep going.

[01:10:08.890] - Big Rich Klein

It's not that way nowadays.

[01:10:11.960] - Mary McGee

I noticed that. People give up too easy.

[01:10:16.430] - Big Rich Klein

I think so. If they don't feel they can win, it's not about finish. If they can't win, then they quit.

[01:10:24.110] - Mary McGee

Do you know who just quit the presidential race? Desantis.

[01:10:27.610] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, did he?

[01:10:28.550] - Mary McGee

Quit because he said, I can see that Trump is going to win, so I'm quitting.

[01:10:33.640] - Big Rich Klein

Wow.

[01:10:34.250] - Mary McGee

The same thing, same thing. Once you start something, you should see it through to the end, however it goes.

[01:10:44.950] - Big Rich Klein

Right. Make your mark as best you can.

[01:10:48.750] - Mary McGee

Yeah, exactly. I never had to push a bike in. I had to push it for a few miles or a few feet or whatever, but never I always just got to ride in. I never quit. You never quit. Honest to people, people have asked me, Well, did you quit? Well, of course not. Why would you? I'm very proud of the fact that I rode that 500-mile race on a solo. I was the first person to do that. Not just first woman, but first person.

[01:11:27.470] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, I didn't realize it was first person. Excellent.

[01:11:29.830] - Mary McGee

I was the first person. Yeah, not just the first woman. I was the first person. Then guys started doing this because I had done it.

[01:11:41.950] - Big Rich Klein

Right. They had to prove that they could.

[01:11:45.420] - Mary McGee

I guess so. Oh, oh. Well, she can do it. I can do it because she's just this tall, skinny thing.

[01:11:55.540] - Big Rich Klein

So in 2018, you were inducted to the AMA Hall of Fame?

[01:12:02.270] - Mary McGee

Yes, I was.

[01:12:03.860] - Big Rich Klein

How was that?

[01:12:05.380] - Mary McGee

Oh, it was marvelous. I had a great reception. People liked my talk. I think it's on, I think It's on- YouTube? Yeah, one of those TV things.

[01:12:22.120] - Big Rich Klein

I'll have to look up YouTube. I'm sure it's YouTube.

[01:12:25.650] - Mary McGee

If YouTubers are Not Google or something.

[01:12:34.490] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[01:12:35.910] - Mary McGee

Yeah, because Google has this big thing on me. I don't know why.

[01:12:42.530] - Big Rich Klein

Because you're a pioneer.

[01:12:45.560] - Mary McGee

Pioneer. I got to get used to that. Everybody loved it, said it was the best talk anybody had ever given at an AMA awards banquet. That felt good. I was jammed when it coming off the stage, I couldn't even go to the bathroom.

[01:13:10.820] - Big Rich Klein

Everybody wanted to say congratulations.

[01:13:14.260] - Mary McGee

Yeah, talk to me. It was wonderful. I loved it. It was great. The food was great.

[01:13:24.410] - Big Rich Klein

Where was that held? Was that in Vegas as well?

[01:13:27.230] - Mary McGee

Oh, no, it was back in Columbus, Ohio. Ama is in Thickerington, and Columbus is the biggest big city.

[01:13:39.250] - Big Rich Klein

Then this last year, you were inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.

[01:13:45.960] - Mary McGee

Yes, that was in Las Vegas. Yes. Yeah, that was gang. I had no idea. I had so many followers.

[01:13:56.220] - Big Rich Klein

Did you enjoy that gala?

[01:13:59.150] - Mary McGee

Oh, I loved it. Except they hauled me off the stage just when I was getting started.

[01:14:05.010] - Big Rich Klein

I know. We were all disappointed in that. We wanted to give you... I mean, we all wanted to hear the story, and it was It was sad that we had to stay on schedule so that you couldn't continue talking. But that's what this podcast is going to help with. So we get to hear your story.

[01:14:29.690] - Mary McGee

I I might have been sharper when I was in Las Vegas. I don't know.

[01:14:33.460] - Big Rich Klein

It's quite all right. You're sharp enough, Mary. That's for sure.

[01:14:38.650] - Mary McGee

Well, not bad for 87, huh?

[01:14:41.260] - Big Rich Klein

Right? Yeah. I'm very impressed. Your career was phenomenal. You got to do things that opened the door for many others to come along.

[01:14:56.850] - Mary McGee

Well, I hope so. I hope that women We're paying attention. Look at, I'm riding, you can ride, and you can do this, you can do that. You just pay attention. You don't be scared. Never be scared. If you're out there riding, all you do is you pay attention.

[01:15:22.930] - Big Rich Klein

Just put it in third gear and go.

[01:15:25.520] - Mary McGee

Put it in third gear and go. And you just pay attention. You never When you get scared. You pay attention to what I did on those long, long rides. When I'd get bushy-eyed, I would go over my seating position. How are my shoulders? How are my hands? How are my arms? How's my butt? How are my feet? Then I'd get my position the way I like to ride, loose, feet on the pigs. Don't grip the bars, now they're going to die. Right.

[01:16:06.690] - Big Rich Klein

Feel the bike.

[01:16:09.170] - Mary McGee

Be the bike. Yeah. That's right. You got it. It's been a wonderful life. I've enjoyed every minute of it. I think I've been probably the luckiest woman ever to have gotten to do all this racing. I mean, imagine, cars, bikes, Ferraris, Husqvarna, jeepers, creepers.

[01:16:38.660] - Big Rich Klein

You didn't set out to do that. It just came.

[01:16:45.400] - Mary McGee

It just came to me. No, I didn't even know what a motorcycle was when I was a kid until Vashik and my husband said, he needs to road race.

[01:16:55.720] - Big Rich Klein

There you go. That's awesome.

[01:16:59.980] - Mary McGee

I truly am lucky. I'm lucky it all happened. I'm grateful it all happened. I am grateful. I'm grateful for every moment on a race course, whatever the vehicle was.

[01:17:18.010] - Big Rich Klein

I'm grateful that you were able to spend the time with us to share your story. I really appreciate that. Thank you.

[01:17:27.000] - Mary McGee

You're entirely welcome. Thank you for calling.

[01:17:29.930] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, and I will let you know when this is going to air. Okay. And I want to say, Mary, thank you so much. And I hope I get to see you at this year's gala, if you're able to make it and enjoy the next group going into the Hall of Fame. And I hope to get to meet you in person.

[01:17:52.640] - Mary McGee

Well, thank you very much. I hope so, too.

[01:17:55.570] - Big Rich Klein

You take care. All right, Mary. You, too. And have a great day.

[01:17:59.590] - Mary McGee

Thank you very much. Okay. Bye-bye. Thanks again.

[01:18:01.820] - Big Rich Klein

All right. Bye-bye. Well, that's another episode of Conversations with Big Rich. I'd like to thank you all for listening. If you could do us a favor and leave us a review on any podcast service that you happen to be listening on, or send us an email or a text message or a Facebook message, and let me know any ideas that you have, or if there's anybody that you have that you think would be a great guest, please forward the contact information to me so that we can try to get them on. And always remember, live life to the fullest. Enjoying life is a must. Follow your dreams and live life with all the gusto you can. Thank you.