On Monday, April 27th, 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis, our beloved worldwide Motocross community lost an Icon of our sport along with his wife and constant companion for 44 years in a dune buggy incident in the deserts of California.
I’m referring to the tragic passing of Motocross Legend Marty Smith and his wife, Nancy Smith
The news of their passing sent shockwaves worldwide as anyone who grew up in the Golden Era of Motocross throughout the 1970s idolized the Team Honda Motocross Star MARTY SMITH.
The loss of Marty & Nancy Smith is sad to the extreme, but if it’s any consolation to us all, we can know they’ll be together in the Afterlife.
This 448 Story, however, was on my To-Do List long before this sad occurrence.
Truthfully, I had no idea that this 448 Story would turn into a Tribute to my iconic motocross hero Marty Smith.
As this story develops towards the end, you’ll see that a tribute was definitely in order.
I really had no choice in the matter.
The circumstances that occurred demanded it!
Marty, or “Martin,” as he was lovingly called by his wife Nancy, was the first true American Motocross hero whose smooth methodical riding style, coupled with blazing speed, was who I tried to emulate my entire career as a motocross racer.
My written stories presented on my Route448.ca website speak for themselves as to why I write them.
I have over 50 written Stories on www.route448.ca that you can review for yourself if your interested in investigating.
The Stories are offered to challenge your minds about the concepts I promote that we as a race of life forms on the Planet Earth are,
“All One.”
We each live our individual lives for the sole purpose, and whether we realize it or not, to learn lessons by going through all the experiences we go through each day.
To me personally, the philosophy is clear “Experience Is Life & Life is Experience.”
To convey this philosophy and to conceptualize it more clearly, I write my stories to possibly challenge your current belief systems as they relate to these three words,
“Chance, Luck & Coincidence.”
So what is this philosophy, you ask?
The concept that these three words, in my personal opinion, should not exist in any language upon Earth or anywhere throughout Creation.
Nothing Happens by Chance, Luck or Coincidence!
I ask people to think about the following,
” Consider the idea that if you believe in some form of intelligence behind all Creation, how could these words exist in the context of how we describe what these words mean?”.
Whether you choose to call that Creating Intelligence, God, Jehovah, Brahma, Allah, The Absolute, or even some say Jesus himself is GOD, I ask that you consider this point.
If you choose to accept the existence of these three words of Chance, Luck or Coincidence as being valid, you’re admitting to believing in an intelligent Creator who has…
“No Control” over “Its Creation.”
To me, this is not very Logical.
I realize it’s not my job nor right to try and convince you of this philosophy.
Still, I feel that it is my responsibility to convey this philosophy in order for you to use your own powers of discrimination to consider about whether this concept is logical to you.
Before I convey points relating to this philosophy, I would like to go on the record that I realize that MARTY & NANCY SMITH had spiritual beliefs that were very Christian orientated and not the same as mine.
That’s perfectly fine as I respect all people’s beliefs. Still, although there are many different paths available to all in our spiritual journey, in the end, I firmly believe that there will only be one simple answer.
“THE TRUTH”
It’s up to each and every one of us to use our inherent ability to discriminate and determine for ourselves what the TRUTH is.
I would like to quote this most famous statement made by my Spiritual Teacher, Dr. George King when he states
“ACCEPTED or REJECTED, TRUTH IS”
Your Acceptance of it doesn’t change it one bit, nor does your rejection of it, because TRUTH IS.
I also believe people should consider taking on the added responsibility attached to the scientific and spiritually accepted Law of Cause & Effect.
A philosophy taught to us all, regardless of our chosen religion.
The Christian Law taught by Jesus “As You Sow, So Shall You Reap.”
The Law taught by Buddha “Action and Reaction, are Opposite & Equal.”
The Hindu Law taught by Krishna referred to as “KARMA.”
The Law of Moses “An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth.”
Even if you’re an Atheist, you are aware of this Law by the concept of…
“What goes around comes around.”
Please realize that this story did not initially start out as a TRIBUTE to MARTY & NANCY SMITH. The story just evolved into something different due to the circumstances that occurred. I was planning on documenting this Story long before I heard the news of Marty & Nancy’s tragic passing.
This story’s original purpose was to document the extraordinary circumstances of how my numbers so associated with me 448 & 844 revealed themselves on this bizarre journey that lead to the addition of an iconic motorcycle to my Vintage Motorcycle Collection.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, I had taken delivery of the 1979 HONDA CR250 dubbed the Red Rocket on the very day,
April 27th,2020, that Marty & Nancy Smith passed away.
Although I do not know the actual recorded time of their passing, from some of the rumours I’ve heard, it was very close to the time of their tragic accident. Remember, though, “I didn’t know this had happened until much later the following day.
CHANCE, LUCK, COINCIDENCE?
I’ll leave that question for you to decide.
The story regarding this bike’s acquisition began way back on February 15th, 2020, while searching for FaceBook groups dedicated to Vintage Motocross bikes.
I had come across a 1979 CR250 Honda Elsinore that caught my eye, and my first thought was, “Really! Another Bike!”
Could I seriously be inspired to get another Honda Elsinore?
It had only been two weeks earlier that I bought and was awaiting delivery for a 1976 CR125 FMF MODIFIED HONDA.
Marty Smith was not even in my thoughts at this time, even though I was well aware that this year of 1976, MARTY SMITH was the AMA NATIONAL 125 CHAMPION and voted by Motocross Action Magazine as the RIDER of the YEAR.
Initially, I bought this bike as this model was the exact bike I had raced in my first year as a PRO Motocross racer back in 1976.
Here’s a picture I took on March 29th, 2020, of the 1976 CR125 after being delivered from Winnipeg, Manitoba, by a delivery man named Henry.
This delivery turned out to be a story in itself as I was shocked again by one of my other numbers that give signals in my life: the number 748.
I should explain why this number is significant to me and how you’ll see 748 shows up in my other written stories.
First of all, let’s get this key point across that relates to all my stories and why I dedicate them all to my Spiritual Teacher, a Western Yoga Master known by Dr. George King, who educated me on the concept that in life…
“Nothing Happens by Chance, Luck or Coincidence!”
You can read for yourself on www.route448.ca under the header section..
“WHATS 448.”
There you’ll find the whole history and reasoning as to how and why I had purposely chosen this number way back in 1972 when I was just 16 years old.
By the time I had discovered my Yoga Teacher, Dr. King, when I was 18 years old and joined his organization at the age of 22, I was already well known for the weird ways my racing number 448 would show itself in my everyday life.
Please bear in mind as well that since the age of 24, I have been for 40 years now the official Canadian media & publicity officer for Dr. King’s organization, The Aetherius Society, since 1981.
Imagine my shock at the age of 40 that on the morning of July 12th, 1997, I should receive a phone call informing me that our Spiritual Yoga Teacher had passed away in Santa Barbara, California.
Shockingly to me personally, at the officially documented time of 4.48 am, the phone call came while I was at my parent’s cottage on vacation.
The person, who made the call to inform me of the sad news, knew the significance of this number to me, as did many other friends and family.
That’s why the caller advised me to sit down before conveying the disturbing news to me from an official faxed document.
“It is our sad duty to inform you that our beloved Master and Founder/President Dr. George King passed from this physical realm on July 12th, 1997 at 4.48 am PDT in his residence in Santa Barbara.”
As these words penetrated my ears, a wave of shock, sadness and a strange intuitive feeling swept over me that was as if a message had been conveyed from the Master himself,
“Don’t forget me, I’ve got your number!”
This recorded time meant 7.48 am Canadian EST that my Teacher and Spiritual Yoga Master passed away.
I was also equally shocked to realize that my already strange relationship with this number 448 was now in print on this official document, recorded for posterity going forward into the future.
Circumstances changed for me after this event.
The numbers of 448, its mirror image 844, plus the number 748 became more prevalent than ever in how these numbers would appear during significant events in my life.
These number occurrences that I would document became the fuel for my written stories.
The purpose I believe of these numbers showing up in my life is to ignite or instigate the opportunity for me to spread my Teachers profound wisdom which anyone can investigate freely for themselves @ www.aetherius.org
Now you may better understand why the number 748 has significance to me as well.
Below you can see pictures of Henry’s truck, and the license plate with 748 that delivered my 1976 CR125 FMF HONDA.
I immediately had to start by asking Henry if I could take some pictures to document it.
Henry was a little bewildered, but I quickly informed him of my philosophies, and he seemed to understand my point that these concepts would be tough to bring up under normal circumstances.
This is one of my main points is that the number’s appearance is the trigger and sparks the conversation for the message to be given.
For example this particular Story “A Tribute by The Numbers” story allows me to bring a Spiritual & Scientific message out into the open to many others who, without this trigger, may not otherwise have ever been exposed to these concepts expressed in my written 448/844 stories.
About an hour later Henry left my home with some of my Route448 website stickers and a whole lot more to think about for his long drive back to Calgary.
Even at this point, on March 29th,2020, the significance of the developing connections was still not on my mind.
Interestingly, in the context of this overall story, MARTY SMITH was the 1976 AMA NATIONAL #1 125 CHAMPION supported by American Honda and FMF (Flying Machine Factory), and this was the bike that represented that era.
Initially, I was motivated to obtain this 1976 CR125 FMF HONDA as this was the exact bike model that represented a highlight period in my Motocross career.
My first year as a PRO was when I was supported by HONDA & FMF as well.
In those days, my riding style and my dress code were very purposeful, emulating my hero MARTY SMITH.
It was in 1976 on an FMF CR125 HONDA, I campaigned my first year in the EXPERT (PRO) class, finishing top Canadian in the prestigious ONTARIO MOLSONS SERIES.
A handful of imported Factory Riders dominated this Championship Series.
Names like Masura Ikeda (SUZUKI), Nicky Kinoshita (YAMAHA), both from Japan, Jan Eric Sallquist (KAWASAKI) from Sweden, and Jim Turner (SUZUKI) from California were some of the Stars of the day racing here in Canada.
I was so pumped in 1976 to do as well as I did for my first year Pro.
Much of this success I experienced in 1976 was developed over the previous race years, including three consecutive winters training in Southern California. I lived in a rented Newport beachfront property, training and practicing every day at the famous Saddleback Park. At the weekly Saturday Saddleback race days, I witnessed the amazing MARTY SMITH as he would decimate his competition in the PRO CLASS on his Factory CR125 FMF Hondas.
Enough about my racing career, and back to the story!
The circumstances that led to the 1979 CR250 HONDA ELSINORE are now what is to follow.
As I mentioned earlier, it was on February 15th that I saw the initial post on Facebook of what I thought was a very nicely restored 79 CR250 and I was motivated to call the seller.
Much to my disappointment, the seller told me that the bike in question had sold just a couple of hours earlier.
Dean, could sense the disappointment in my voice and went on to explain to me that he was near completion of another 79 CR250 HONDA project and that, in his opinion, this one was even nicer!
Tell me more, I asked enthusiastically!
Dean described the bike that was held up by a handmade Custom JEMCO Exhaust pipe that had yet to be built. I asked if he could email some pictures, and Dean said he would sometime later in the day.
You can see one of the emails I received below.
I could tell this project was a quality job, so I called to negotiate a deal, but I unfortunately only got voicemail, so I left a message for Dean to contact me. The call finally came back around 5.30 pm while I was driving back from running errands in town.
I knew this would be an important call, so I immediately pulled over to the side of the road and began the negotiation. That negotiation didn’t get very far as I could immediately tell that Dean was a no-nonsense seller and knew what he wanted price-wise. It was a lot more money than the earlier model I had missed, and I couldn’t get him to budge a nickel.
I told Dean I would have to think about it and asked if I could call back later that evening.
Dean said no problem as he was going out to dinner with his wife.
Just at that moment, as I said goodbye and the cell call disconnected, a car went whizzing by my van, and somehow, my mind was guided to catch a glimpse of the license plate, and I swore I had just seen a 448!
I wasn’t 100% sure it was a 448, but I was 100% sure I needed to know if it was. So off I sped, trying to catch up to the car.
As I drove into my village of Belfountain, I was able to confirm it was indeed 448.
My intuition didn’t even have to be sharp to get this message!
ANRR 448
Allan’s New Red Rocket 448
I didn’t need to see any more as I knew this was
“The 448 Sign”
I was back in my driveway within two minutes and called Dean back!
However, this time, I got no response as Dean must have already moved on to preparing for the dinner date with his wife.
I was a little anxious but calmed by the fact that I had told Dean I would call back later that evening after the Saturday Night AMA SUPERCROSS.
Once again, I got no response.
I slept restlessly that night as my mind still was in amazement over the ANRR 448 plate, and I just knew I had to make this deal happen.
I tried calling again on Sunday morning still no response!
I tried the call again Sunday afternoon, again no response!
I tried texting, and still no reply!
Had Dean possibly changed his mind?
Why was he not responding?
Late that same Saturday evening of February 15th, I had decided to call my good buddy Dan just to catch up, and that’s when I got another surprise.
Dan had been trying to get hold of Dean as well that day, responding to the same Facebook posting trying to buy the 79 CR250 HONDA that I now knew was already sold.
Dan did not know about the supposedly even better 2nd 1979 CR250 model I was now trying to buy.
I also thought how crazy it was that Dan was trying to buy the same bike that I was! That made me feel even more so that I was on the right path!
On this late Saturday night call, I updated Dan about my contact with Dean that Saturday morning and the eventual return phone call around dinnertime explaining my fruitless negotiations.
Only to then have the car’s immediate showing with the license plate ANRR 448 just as I was hanging up.
Dan wasn’t surprised at all!
Dan knew very well about my 448 anomalies and agreed with me 100% that I needed to get this bike.
All I could wish was for Dean to answer my phone call
That wish never came true, though, but an email response eventually did, but not without some more added stress.
The next day I got a call back from my friend Dan just after dinner time on Sunday evening.
Dan went on to report he had just viewed on a Vintage Dirt Bike Facebook site that Dean had minutes before posted a 1980 Honda CR250 for sale, that I also had been told by Dean was available, but I just didn’t have any interest in that particular year model.
However, I wondered how Dean had time for Facebook posts but couldn’t return my multiple phone calls and texts.
Now out of desperation, I thought ok, I’ll respond to the Photo emails that Dean’s wife had sent me earlier on Saturday afternoon and hoped for a response to this method of communication.
BINGO, it worked!
Just over an hour later, I got the reply I was looking for, and you can see for yourself in the pic below that Dean had got my request to buy and was planning on calling me on Monday.
Dean had delayed the response as he thought he should first get an idea from the JEMCO manufacturer of when the custom-made exhaust pipe would be completed.
This was the only item that was holding up the completion of the project. Now here’s the next exciting occurrence regarding my numbers.
Without ever looking at the timelines on any of these emails, I was so excited to see Dean’s response that he was accepting my offer to buy that I just fired off a “SOUNDS GOOD” answer, only to then realize the registered time on the email happened to be 8.44 pm.
The Ying & Yang of it All!
448 to Buy & 844 to Confirm!
The number signals were all lining up!
Maybe I should mention here without a lot of explanation that my Teacher Dr. George King also taught that TRUTH is Dual Poled as are all things in Creation needing to have both Negative and Positive poles.
You can listen to a very inspiring talk that my Teacher gave on this very subject about TRUTH and the dual polarity of all things.
Hence, the mirror image of my number 448 is 844, in all my stories, these two numbers seem to always show at the most critical times concerning the Story that is developing
(see the picture posted below that shows the 8.44 pm time that I unknowingly sent my response to Dean.)
Once the direct call occurred with Dean the following Monday, the deal was done, and now the ball was in my court to transfer the payment and begin the process of arranging the shipping logistics.
A lot of waiting was to be my fortune as the payment and shipping arrangements were all made by February 29th.
It would end up taking nearly two months further before the bike would finally arrive.
Reason: What else but COVID-19.
The Year 2020 will go down in history as being the year everything was delayed, postponed or outright cancelled!
Without going into all the details, after two different trucks were commissioned to pick this bike up, it would end up being a work associate Anthony who I knew lived in Texas, that would come to my rescue.
My friend Anthony solved the whole issue in a 15minute cell call when he googled Dean’s address and shocked me when he said he was only a 30minute drive away from Dean’s location and stated that he would try contacting Dean and drive over to get the bike asap.
Two hours later, the job was done!
It really is a small world!
After telling the trucking company the bike was now easily retrievable, another subsequent delay was soon to occur.
A truck had been assigned to go to Anthony’s house but another shipment unrelated to mine resulted in a locked container due to a Customs request and the pickup of the Honda 250 had to be canceled for another week!
Fortunately, Anthony had no issues with holding on to the bike.
After a pretty uneventful week passed again, a new truck had been dispatched, and on April 23rd, the pickup finally occurred!
Upon receiving the picture from Anthony of the bike in his truck, I began thanking Anthony profusely via Facebook messenger.
I really wanted to compensate Anthony with a financial gift for his efforts to help me out!
Anthony suggested I give whatever I was comfortable with, and my first offer was accepted enthusiastically as being quite generous.
I felt it was the least I could do.
When I sent my final message at 6.23 pm on April 23rd, it was the reply that blew me away.
Anthony will not even know this following fact until he reads this story. I felt at the time this observation was, for the time being, best kept to myself as I wasn’t sure if Anthony knew anything at all about my 448/844 stories or had ever even seen my website
If you look closely at the screen grab below of Anthony’s response to my message, you’ll see what I was so surprised to see.
The trail of my unique numbers 448 & 844 had once again presented itself at this significant point in the story, and it wouldn’t be the end!
The screen grab points out the received time of APRIL 23rd @ 8.44pm.
So now the wait begins as Allan’s New Red Rocket 448 was now on route to Canada!
Now comes the fateful day of
April 27th, 2020.
A message had now been received from the local shipping company KURTZ TRUCKING that the bike had arrived and was ready for pickup.
It was a typical workday for me, but unbeknownst to me in the GLAMIS DUNES of California, Marty Smith and his wife Nancy were preparing for another day of driving around in their Dune Buggy with their two close friends.
I left my house in the morning to do my usual work at my large retail account Royal Distributing in Guelph, and upon completion of my work, I drove the 10 minutes to the KURTZ Trucking Depot to get my bike.
Personally, it was a thrilling experience to view this bike in person the first time as it was strapped to its skid. After squaring up the shipping bill, I took some quick photos and soon, this gorgeous bike was secured into my Ford Transit Van.
I then made my way home which is about a 40minute drive to arrive in Belfountain.
As I was nearing my village, I passed by the very spot on the road where I had initially discussed with Dean the purchase of this bike, and that’s when I had another revelation occur.
I realized that it looked like I’d be arriving at my home at approximately 4:48 pm based on the time it was.
I called my wife Anne to ask if she could meet me in the driveway and prepare to take pictures of the RED ROCKETS arrival.
It was an intuition that proved to be inspired!
Although Anne had a very sore foot at the time due to an injury that she had been recently struggling with, she was in the driveway awaiting my arrival.
I always say to people who know about my number 448 / 844 anomaly that you should never make them happen by design, but in this case, it was clear something was going to be significant about me just happening to arrive home.
Here is the result and significance of the time, 4:48 pm on April 27th, 2020.
The rear tire touches our Belfountain, Ontario driveway at 4.48pm!!!
Right at this moment somewhere in the GLAMIS DUNE’s of Southern California, I wonder to this day, what events were unfolding in the lives of MARTY and NANCY SMITH and their friends.
It’s sad for me to even think about it.
I spent over an hour reviewing this gorgeous bike examining every detail.
I knew it was now time for me to prepare to leave for my 35-minute drive to Mississauga for my regular Aetherius Society 12 Blessings Prayer Group session that I lead each week and was due to start at 8.00 pm.
When I got home by my usual 10 pm, I was all wound up as usual, but I knew what I was planning on doing without any question!
The mandatory session of sitting in my Man Cave to spend time staring at the beauty of this immaculately restored RED ROCKET, created by the master craftsman Dean Amason of Houston Texas, who specializes in the restoring of these classic Hondas.
The session went longer than expected, and as I was gazing at this beauty, I was making various comments to myself that this bike was indeed questionable as to whether it should even be ridden.
It was just that perfect!
With a DECEMBER 1977 copy of MOTOCROSS ACTION magazine in my hand from my Vintage Library, I found an article about MARTY SMITH winning the 1977 500cc AMA Motocross Nationals.
The pictures I viewed in this article are what started it all.
I then began to look around the Man Cave at all my other bikes in my collection. First, I looked to the 1976 CR125 HONDA with the bold #1, then I looked to my left on the podium stand at the 1974 CR125 Honda with the Mannequin dressed in the Honda apparel, and that’s when it hit me… I have all the ingredients to create a MARTY SMITH Tribute display just using these three bikes!
Little did I know at this time that within another couple of weeks, I would have a perfect 1975 CR125 fall into my possession, purchased from a builder named Craig Borders in Florida.
I realized, though, that it was my original intent to apply my custom ROUTE 448 stickers on the number plates, and obviously, I couldn’t do that if they were to represent MARTY SMITH. After rationalizing to myself that all these bikes were so pristine that I shouldn’t ride them, at least for now, the decision was made.
I’m creating a MARTY SMITH Tribute Bike Display!
It was now a few minutes to midnight, and it was time to go to bed.
The following day, I had to go to my Royal Distributing account to pick up some products from their main shipping warehouse and that I did.
After loading my product, I went to hop back in the van at approximately 12.30 pm, and my cell phone rang, and it was my sister Lisa.
Lisa’s first words were, “Did you see the post on Facebook by Rick Sheren?”
I said, “no, what’s up?”
She went on to say,
“Rick had posted that MARTY SMITH had died along with his wife NANCY in a Dune Buggy accident yesterday in California!”
I was in shock and immediately blurted out, “NO, this can’t be true!”
But unfortunately, it was.
That’s when it dawned on me like a ton of bricks, the decision I had made just before midnight the night before, on April 27th, 2020.
Nothing Happens by Chance, Luck or Coincidence.
It was this thought that raced through my mind.
My MARTY SMITH TRIBUTE BIKE DISPLAY was possibly meant to be, and that the 448 STORY I was planning to write just became a whole lot more meaningful.
My God, how is this all possible, I thought.
This news saddened me immensely as MARTY SMITH was my boyhood hero, and now he was gone.
The more I thought about it, the more I thought this is just too incredible the timing.
To have made this decision just 12 hours before and contrary to all my previous plans, I was going to create a Bike Display Tribute to the living MARTY SMITH.
To have to make this into a Tribute to the Memory of Marty & Nancy Smith who were both “Now in Spirit”, was hard to believe.
…it was just So Sad and, at the same time, so ironic.
Without explaining the concept behind this whole story or the philosophy, I’ve presented about Chance, Luck & Coincidence; I’ll leave you to think about it all on your own.
I believe it’s not even by Chance, Luck or Coincidence, that I’ve spent this Easter Weekend completing this story on this Easter Monday.
Easter Monday is the day that celebrates the Ascension and Return of the Master Jesus after his dreadful Crucifixion.
I believe this Ascension was a demonstration by the great Master Jesus to prove to all humanity that when your Karma is perfectly balanced in this kindergarten classroom called Earth.
You, too, will rise again and enjoy everlasting life.
John 11: 25-26
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
Marty & Nancy Smith are great wholesome examples of people who lived their lives to the best of their abilities according to this advice. I also believe both Marty & Nancy through further experience will be well on their way to achieving this ultimate goal. The ultimate goal of being able to perfectly balance ones own Karmic pattern, so that in the end just like Jesus promises us ALL, that those that follow his “Way” will eventually attain Everlasting Life.
Hopefully, my Marty Smith Tribute Display can keep this beloved couple in our hearts & minds well into the future and remind us all that, LIFE is experience, and ALL experience is essential.
Experience is without a doubt the greatest teacher in all our lives, some experiences being pleasant and some regarded as painful, as in this particular case.
Even in the worst of times, GOOD will always prevail.
This experience of their loss has been challenging for all who knew them personally and even to those like myself who just admired and respected MARTY & NANCY SMITH.
Let’s hope that through this emotionally challenging experience, we all learn that even in times of grief & sadness there is always an opportunity to discover a silver lining within every dark cloud and have faith in the logic I’ve respectfully expressed.
Nothing Happens by Chance, Luck or Coincidence.
This Story and Bike Display Tribute is dedicated to the Lives of Marty & Nancy Smith and to my Spiritual Teacher, Dr. George King.
