HEUVELTON, NY - When you first pull into Route 68 Sales and Service you may see it as just another small North Country Bike and ATV shop. The building has a dirt drive, a humble front door, and you’ll often find a couple of friendly dogs roaming around the property. If you pay close attention, though, you might start to notice that a few things are different. The first thing you’d notice is that across the road there’s an RV branded with the likeness of a Route 68 road sign, the painted logo declaring the RV the carriage of "Team Route 68." Open the door, enter the building and what would immediately catch your eye would be your own wide-eyed reflection gawking back at you from chrome and polished paint jobs, sporty helmet visors and the lenses of riding goggles.

If you take the time to pull your eyes away from all the shine, rubber and power, you just might find yourself looking at the kindly bearded face of Ken Hill. The owner of Route 68 Sales and service has thoughtful eyes, a sharp hooked nose and a scattering of gray poking out from underneath a battered Suzuki Racing ball cap and peppering the red whiskers of his winter beard.

"Ken Hill," he says, and gives you a humble, yet firm, handshake. You might not take the time to see more, you might just assume that this persona and shop are all there is to see here. If you take the time to pull your eyes from the motorcycles and accessories, or from Ken’s engaging conversation, you’ll notice that his name is the most recent on the plaque of a trophy bearing “True Grit and Determination” along its base, which isn’t a title lightly given. More of that later, though. Turn around and you’ll see a windowsill holding two battered helmets and a few wrecked leather gloves surrounded by photos, score sheets, season statistics and standings with Hill’s name highlighted among the other racers.

Ken Hill isn’t just a purveyor of cylinders and spark plugs, he’s also the driver of a 1991 Suzuki Foreigner Bandit, the wheels of which have been expected to put down their share of rubber at Shannonville Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada. Shannonville sports six courses on its track, each of which with its own personality, arrangement of turns, grades and straightaways. At this track Ken and the other drivers might reach top speeds of about 100 to 115 miles per hour on the backstretch. On some hairpin turns, Ken says, "you practically have to stop to get the bike around.” This is part of what makes the style of racing he does special. Knowing exactly when to brake, how to approach the turns, negotiate the accelerator off the corners and shift with your body just inches from the ground, pulse pounding as you grip the handle bars and try to keep the competition behind you. It’s all part of a very specific and well-organized plan of attack, an orchestrated symphony of pumping cylinders, grinding gears, stubborn asphalt, precision braking and a heavy dash of intestinal fortitude.

Ken Hill shares his racing experience with his family, his wife Lori accompanying him to Shannonville with their two daughters coming along as Mr. Hill’s pit crew, and his friends. He races with his friends Chris Larivee from Madrid, Dan Willard from Canada, and Jim Parry from Morristown. Ken credits Chris Larivee with encouraging him to act on their mutual passion for motorcycle racing and accompany Mr. Larivee to Shannonville. However, it was the death of a childhood friend that really spoke to Mr. Hill, telling him that if he “wanted to do something [he] should do it, you can go at anytime.” Already having a bike and qualified to operate it, Ken “took the plunge” and decided to pursue road racing. Having been a fan of it his entire life, and the experience he’d amassed in the years owning his business, the transition wasn’t too difficult.

Mr. Hill has been racing for the last three seasons at Shannonville, earning several top five finishes in points standings and his place at the podium in several second and third place finishes. He has also raced at Mosport, another track in the Vintage B RACE (Racing Association Canada Events) series, when he could. In his first season he crashed once during practice, and during the third season he crashed again in wet conditions. These crashes only scraped up his leathers and his bike, fortunately, but last July during a qualifying round at Shannonville, prior to going to Mosport, Ken "hit a guy... misjudged and hit him." Recalling the actual crash is hard for Ken, as he was knocked unconscious immediately after colliding with the other driver. "I was in and out of consciousness three, four times, I don't remember anything. My wife and kids were there, they talked to me in the ambulance. I don't remember any of that. Broke my collarbone, fractured my shoulderblade and broke something else."

With a plate on his collarbone and his arm in a sling, Ken had to sit some races out. It was his return to Shannonville that season that earned him the True Grit and Determination award, but the accident cost him his run at Mosport last season. Despite the crash Ken managed to end up fifth overall in the 2008 B Vintage Point Standings. "A lot of times you bounce up, you're not even hurt." Ken says. What seems to be the most important about crashing in motorcycle racing is not to hit anything, to tip or slide. At around one hundred miles an hour, that still doesn't seems like too much of a reassurance. Ken assured that "the bigger bikes... might be hitting 150-160. The new modern 1000's, they can't begin to unleash them. At Mosport those bikes will reach 190."

The newer bikes refer to those outside of the Vintage series. Now, don't let the name fool you, the Vintage series is merely determined by how old the bikes are today. After all, Mr. Hill's bike is a 1991. In terms of history of the sport, Vintage seems to be in constant flux with the times, determined more by the advances in more modern motorcycles. The class offers weekend drivers the opportunity to race, as modifications are more difficult with less parts to find and thus one can often only go so far before simply maintaining older model motorcycles. This allows those with a limited budget the opportunity to race and keep up with the competition.

"Knock on wood, my bike seems to crash well," says Ken. "The first year, getting the bike ready... I think I spent about five thousand or so. Last year I think we spent about half of that [on] tires and expenses for the weekend." This creates an allure for drivers with other priorities, like family or work, that still possess a passion for racing. Ken's racing career, while thus far short, is proof positive that you don't have to be an 18 year old kid with a seemingly unlimited budget to get out on the track and have fun.

For more information about Ken Hill and his business, Route 68 Sales and Service, stop by the shop on Route 68 between Canton and Ogdensburg near Flackville, or visit their website at http://www.rt68salesandservice.com. From this website you can also find your way to http://www.shannonville.com, the Shannonville Motorsport Park website, where you can find official schedules, images, results and standings for RACE motorcycle and other motorsport events.