Episode 3 of Following Fillmore finds us out in the California desert, as Chris takes part in a track day to benefit paralyzed road racer Rocco Horvath. Joining Fillmore at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway are some familiar AMA paddock names like Jason Pridmore, Josh Hayes, Melissa Paris, James Rispoli, and Benny Solis. If you are wondering what professional riders do in their spare time, here is your chance.

I have to say, in the three episodes we have shown so far of Following Fillmore (click to watch Episode 1 & Episode 2), this latest installment has to be a staff favorite here at A&R. Not only do we get a real human moment from Chris towards the end of the video, but we get to see his rationalization on the inevitability of crashing and possibly getting seriously hurt from the sport he loves. Something to chew on — good stuff.

Back in October 2008, one of the first stories I ever covered on Asphalt & Rubber dealt with an interesting statistic: in the prior 12 months, more Marines had died from riding their motorcycles here in the USA, than did from enemy gunfire in Iraq — worst of all, all of those 25 of those deaths were on sport bikes. The statistic wasn’t a fluke either, as in 2009, the Army National Guard announced a similar trend, where it lost 36 Guardsman to motorcycle crashes that year, compared to the 25 lost fighting in Iraq.

Evaluating the causes for these motorcycle fatalities, the Army National Guard discovered an alarming trend in the paperwork. Almost without exception, the ultimate reason given for why a Guardsman died while riding his or her motorcycle was “a loss of control due to inexperience.” These crashes were typically in the 70-100mph range, and more often than not, the crashes featured soldiers who had recently bought a new sport bike.

Part of a larger program by the US military to better train and protect our soldiers with mandatory MSF courses and minimal riding gear requirements when on-base, the Army National Guard took things a step further, and setup a free program where Guardsmen could get their hands-on advanced motorcycle training in a track environment. The man for the job was none other Jason Pridmore, whose STAR Motorcycle School now features military-only school days around the country.

It was our supreme privilege here at A&R to recently attend one of Pridmore’s STAR classes for the Army National Guardsmen, and witness first-hand what the US military is doing to protect its soldiers — not only when on the field of combat, but also when they have returned home from duty.