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I just pulled out a bottle and poured a toast to a good friend and mentor. I am living in Ga now, and didn't hear about Jack's passing until tonite. I'll miss that guy. Miss his humor. Miss his fast riding. Miss his always trying to help others. Miss him riding around on his bikes with a little collapsable fishing pole and a pan to fry up whatever he caught.

Here are some Fast Jack Bailey quotes as best as I remember them:

After I asked him if a steering stabilizer was worth buying: "Well, here's how it is. When you hit that tree with your barkbuster at 30 mph without a stabilizer, you're gonna crash. With a stabilizer, you might not".

After I commented on his new front tire and worn out back tire: "Yeah, I hate it. I can race with worn tires if I'm used to it, or new tires if I'm used to it, but when I put on new tires and been used to worn tires, it messes me up. Too much traction I guess".

Jack once said, after I lost my rear brakes in a race and lost position: "I can ride without rear brakes, I can always stomp it down a couple of gears, but I ain't got time to shove a stick in the front spokes if I lose front brakes".

Not a quote, but a fond memory: At a Harescramble sometime in the early 90s, Jack hit a full grown cow at high speed. I think it was a Darrel Judy's place in Arkansas. He was in the overall lead I as I remember, battling with Jeff Fisher who was fast as heck. Jack sailed through the atmosphere until he didn't, got back on the bike, and still finished in the top 5. He still beat me, and I didn't hit a cow. Or anything else. I heard that the cow had to be butchered from internal injuries. Who hits a cow with a dirt bike and beats the cow? Jack.

At the start of a race in Arkansas a few years ago which was delayed because a kid got lost on short course and had to be found before long course could start, Jack blurted out so everyone could hear him: "I'm not complaining, but I sure with ya'll would hurry up, my buzz is wearing off"! His buzz might have worn off, but it was another 20-30 minutes until the race started and he still overalled 1st place.

Riding some gnarly Dual Sport in Arkansas with Jack a couple of years ago, another guy had a flat. He had no spare tube, tools, or air scource. Jack found a big flat rock, tossed the bike up on it and used his own spare tube and tools to fix the flat in about 10 minutes, and jokingly lectured the guy on what to carry next ride. The guy felt bad that as a newbie DS rider he didn't have the proper tools and spare parts, and asked if he should ride carefully so as not to get another flat. Jack then felt sorry for the guy and said: Heck no, Brother! Ride it like you stole it! If you flat it again, I'll fix it again! Jack just wanted everyone to have fun.

On a website which Jack used to use on occasion, which is known for being a bit politically correct, which Jack sure wasn't, Jack said something like: "You boys here need to lighten up. I ride dirt bikes to have fun. I go on bike websites to have fun, learn something, or let someone else in on something that I know. If you can't take a joke, take a toke and relax. Its just words on a computer, people"!

One of the things that I wanted to make happen before I died was get Jack and Red Vanzant around a campfire drinking Moonshine and smoking ****. I don't know which one of those characters was funnier, or faster but I'll never forget either one. If God doesn't love Jack and find him funny as heck sitting around the campfire in heaven he has no sense of humor. Jack, I'll always remember you buddy.

God Bless, Fast Jack. Ride on Brother. You will never be forgotten.

Jeff Gaston.

I gotta remember this one....

"I can ride without rear brakes, I can always stomp it down a couple of gears, but I ain't got time to shove a stick in the front spokes if I lose front brakes".

BAAWAAAHAAA.......

hahaha makes me feel like I was right there at everyone of em..... The newbie DS ride was me!lol We had easily changed the front tire in 5! and I didnt trust those little CO2 cartriges or the stock feeling tube. Just before that, we made M. Gap for our first time. We were 50 miles from the truck as a crow flies, Brian, jack, jeff, devro, and me all of us needed gas, then we rode down an ole 4 wheeler trail and sitting behind a tree was a 5gal jug FULL in the middle of what was no where! We all gassed up rode another 20 miles looking for the next fishing hole. Then we found this crik. Everybody thats somebody knows what we do at criks then. We stopped, took a look around and Devro and Jeff kept going up the hill in front of the creek. We had to take our moment of silence there until we heard someone coming. We put it away because theres a little boy on that 4 wewer.... somebodies riding him tho. hurry it up! It was a US Marshall for petes sake!(we could tell by his jacket) Im had too smoke a cig dang!!!!!! We bs'ed w the man and he talked about his neat job of being US marshall taking a little time off with his kid. Devro and Jeff came back and found us and we told them he coulda had us hung out there in the middle of no where. It really scared me poopless as this was my first DS ride! But Oh what a ride it was. we were all on 450s, 520s, and 400s doing what a DS should be. Sure nuf we were able to ride it like you stole it that day but had it been stolen, US Marshalls wouldoff gotten us!

Jeff, Im right there with you man, I wanted to introduce Jack to lots of my riding buddies around the southern parts and many of places I have. I had no idea you and him went so far back! I really wanted to be there at the campfire with Red and Jack. Ive met Red once and he was hilarious and awesomely fast. I wished I was on the trail to follow the both of them too! I think they wouldve been running their mouths too each other the whole way!lol

Thanks for sharing!

Jack started riding Arkansas Harescrambles races because they were gnarly back in the early 90s thru the late 90s. Some AHSCS races would be harder than many Enduros. Then some races would be extremely fast and open too. They had great variety. Jack rode a CR 500 back then, and he was a wildman. He'd just pin it and hang on. I remember Jeff Fisher saying that Jack was one of the hardest guys to pass he'd ever ridden against. Jack hated to give up. The harder you pushed him, the harder he rode, and if he crashed he just didn't care.

Back then I could kind of keep up with those fast guys until late in the races, when they would turn up the speed and I just didn't have any left. I'd be going 100% and Bailey and the other real AA guys would have another speed to go to. Jack always had something funny to say after a race, or some encouragement for me. I really looked up to him and liked racing with him. I had even more fun Dualsporting with him. The laid back nature of a DS ride and the chance to listen to Jack expound on whatever the current subject was was priceless. No matter who said something funny, Jack would come up with something funnier. Our dirtbike world won't be the same now without ol Jack.

RE: Not a quote, but a fond memory: At a Harescramble sometime in the early 90s, Jack hit a full grown cow at high speed. I think it was a Darrel Judy's place in Arkansas. He was in the overall lead I as I remember, battling with Jeff Fisher who was fast as heck. Jack sailed through the atmosphere until he didn't, got back on the bike, and still finished in the top 5. He still beat me, and I didn't hit a cow. Or anything else. I heard that the cow had to be butchered from internal injuries. Who hits a cow with a dirt bike and beats the cow? Jack.

The experience that Jack got hitting a cow in Baja must have paid off!

Well ladies and gentelman;
It has been 2 months since OUR GREAT FRIEND JACK BAILEY passed away and I still can not believe that he is GONE!
Thursday January /22/ 2010
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His wife Laurie came over to my house last week and brought over the twins,Ian and Mckensie.
Laurie said, "Jack usually checks the air in my tires but he is not here anymore,can you check them for me.
I wanted to CRY//////// I still want to CRY////// My buddies is GONE and I miss him!!!
His children look just like him and I want to cry for them and his wife Laurie and Jack's mother Mary.
Ladies and Gentelmen we take this great life for granted.
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So LETS RIDE and Ride and Ride
Thank the LORD for another GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!

RealDeal

Amen brother

I hear you, I think about him a lot when I ride and I could hear him at the race last week. "Keep your feet on the pegs", "Breath in through your nose" "after this race you'll just have 90 more races until you're ready"...

I have never met the man and that makes me want to cry.

Yeah, Jack was the man!

While at the visitation I was standing beside Jack's body, just in a dumb stupor, wondering how in the world this could be. Phil Sheffield was standing there with me, and we looked at each other, and at the same time, shook our heads, and Phil said, " What do you say?"...I could not respond, because I was about to break down at that point.....then the girls walked up, and they look just like Jack, and then I really lost it....Jack's death should be a clear warning that it could be any one of us, at any time, on any day. We should all be ready to die, every time we walk out of the door.....and that is a humbling thought.....
Mike