Picto Diary - 19 to 30 September 2026 - Roy is 14

Above: 1861 Oak Lane, Provo, Utah. Circa 1968. A nostalgia picture.

This is where I lived in 1968 and 1969. The house was built in 1966–67 while I was serving an LDS mission in France. That is Dad in the southwest quadrant of the image. He died in 2000; Mom died in 2010. The house was demolished around 2015. It was the fulfillment of Dad’s dream to live “on the hill” in Bonneville Development (Oak Hills), the subdivision in which he had become a partner in the 1950s. Mom always pined for the old Dutch Modern house she had to leave on Provo Center Street. She loved that central city neighborhood and the members of the 8th LDS Ward who lived there. Even so, she took charge of the Oak Hills building project and made it a lovely home — one that always drew compliments from anyone who visited.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans - 18 June 1966

My tickets are booked for the 2026 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, 19–21 November 2026. All eyes will be on the duel between Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Thinking about Las Vegas brought back a memory of another road race I attended just over sixty years ago: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1966 — the famous Ford-versus-Ferrari duel. I was there. What follows are a couple of photographs I took at the 24 House of Le Mans, with some commentary.

Above: Ford GT40 Mk II. Le Mans, France. 18 June 1966.

Sixty years later, the memory still holds. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was already one of the great tests in world road racing. In 1966 it became something more: the first win by an American manufacturer, and the race that finally broke Ferrari’s long hold on the event.

Ford would win again in 1967. 1966 was the breakthrough. And I was there.

I took the photograph above while walking the pits. I no longer remember the camera I was using. Ford’s No. 8 that year was a GT40 Mk II entered by Alan Mann Racing and driven by Sir John Whitmore and Frank Gardner. It qualified third overall, then retired with clutch trouble after an earlier stop for a broken brake pipe.

The three Ford GT40 Mk IIs that finished 1-2-3 were:1st — No. 2, Bruce McLaren / Chris Amon (Shelby American)
2nd — No. 1, Ken Miles / Denny Hulme (Shelby American)
3rd — No. 5, Ronnie Bucknum / Dick Hutcherson (Holman & Moody)

I was in Le Mans with my LDS missionary companion, Selden Daniels, of Salt Lake City. Selden’s father, Manny, owned a chain of eponymous bars in Salt Lake. We had taken the train from La Rochelle, where we lived, the day before the race. A world-famous road race was not the obvious errand of an LDS missionary. I cannot remember whether we slipped the traces or whether this was a sanctioned exception to our proselyting charge.

Most missionaries I knew were solid in executing their proselyting duties. Others were solid while taking detours. Elder Boschard, of Laguna Beach, California, took the occasional detour. He had been a surfing champion before his mission. He kept two boards cached along the French Atlantic — one on the Île de Ré near La Rochelle, the other on a beach north of Biarritz. Surfer Magazine even wrote him up for riding those French beaches. He was thoroughly likable. He was also responsible for more than twenty baptisms in a single year — the high-water mark in a mission where a missionary was lucky to get one baptism in two and a half years. I wonder if there is any difference in God's eyes between skipping work to go to a road race or surfing?

Above: 24 Hour Le Mans Road race. 18 June 1966. Image captured by me while walking the pits pre-race.

The man in the dark suit is Henry Ford II (often called “the Deuce”), chairman of Ford Motor Company and the driving force behind Ford’s Le Mans program. He served as honorary starter for the 1966 race and was present throughout the weekend.

The woman in the yellow-and-orange dress standing next to him is his second wife, Maria Cristina Vettore Austin Ford (commonly known as Cristina Ford). They had married in 1965; she accompanied him to Le Mans that year and was frequently photographed at his side. (She famously bet on Ferrari to win, joking that she was Italian.)

Aside: I'm not really a serious motor race aficionado. I like to attend races from time to time if for no other reason than be part of the spectacle. I've had other close-up celebrity sightings at motor races. I saw close up walking in the pits Valentino Rossi (The Doctor) at a MotoGP race circa 2010 at Laguna Seca raceway near Monterey, CA. Circa 2014 my host at Nascar in Homestead, Florida, Randy Lawrence, introduced me to Roger Penske. We attended the drivers meeting and sat near Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick and Kenny Hamlin.

Back to Le Mans. Circuit de la Sarthe is the semi-permanent racecourse outside Le Mans, France, and the home of the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1923. It is one of the longest circuits in world motorsport: the current 24-hour layout is 13.626 km / 8.467 miles.

It is not a fully purpose-built track. The full endurance course mixes the permanent Bugatti Circuit and pit complex with public roads that are closed only for race week — especially the run toward Mulsanne and Arnage. That mix is the whole point: high speed, night racing, changing surface, and a century of endurance history on one lap.

Henry Ford II had tried to buy Ferrari in 1963. When Enzo Ferrari walked away from the deal, Ford poured enormous resources into building a car that could beat the Italians on their own ground. After two years of humiliating retirements, the 7-litre Ford GT40 Mk II arrived at Le Mans in 1966 ready to settle the score. Eight Fords lined up against a much smaller Ferrari factory effort. By Sunday afternoon the Ferraris were gone and three GT40s crossed the line together in a 1-2-3 finish. The official winners were Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon; Ken Miles and Denny Hulme were classified second after a controversial formation-finish decision.

The atmosphere of the race was electric. Henry Ford II himself dropped the starting flag. Crowds of well over 200,000 packed the circuit. The sight of the big American V8s hammering down the Mulsanne Straight at more than 200 mph, exhausts glowing, felt like a statement: Detroit muscle had arrived in the most European of races. When the three Fords appeared together at the finish, the pits and grandstands erupted. It was revenge, national pride, and raw spectacle all at once. Elder Daniels and I left the race as it started to rain around 10:00 PM. We left the next day before the finish. But... was there!

The significance of 1966 went far beyond one trophy. Ferrari had won six of the previous seven Le Mans races. Ford’s clean sweep proved that a huge industrial program, applied with enough money and engineering talent, could beat even the most storied specialist. The GT40 became an icon, Ford’s image among younger buyers improved, and the company went on to win the next three Le Mans as well (1967 with Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt in the new Mk IV, then two more with privateer GT40s). The 1966 result is still regarded as one of the most important single days in motorsport history—the moment American manufacturers announced they belonged at the very top of endurance racing. And I was there.

Above: Granny, Roy, and Bishop. Salt Lake City, UT. 27 September 2026.

Happy fourteenth Birthday, Roy! (Time flies, to coin a phrase).

Eatin' good in hood. Portland had prepared an excellent sausage and potato soup. Cake and ice cream to follow!

TIMDT turned 80 on 25 September 2026. An image appeared in the previous diary when we had an early birthday dinner for TIMDT when family could be present.

Above: Salt Lake City, UT. 29 September 2026

Image taken from consultation room of University of Utah Sugar House Health Center. Image looks NNE. The main buildings of the University of Utah health complex are on the mountainside beyond the Wendys sign. Fall is in the air. Temps here are in the mid 70's... 10:00 AM.

The purpose of the visit was TIMDT’s regularly scheduled checkup with her pulmonologist, Dr. Scholand. Her interstitial lung disease appears to have plateaued for a time — a good sign — though the medications slowing down the progress of the disease, Ofev and Esbriet, cause occasional nausea.

At rest in Salt Lake City, seated, TIMDT's oxygen saturation hovers around 90% on pulse oximetry, the usual threshold below which supplemental oxygen is considered. When she moves or walks in Salt Lake City (about 4,200 feet), she needs supplemental oxygen. In Park City (about 7,200 feet), she needs it at varying flow rates all the time. In Ivins (about 3,000 feet), she needs correspondingly less. Margaret uses a combination of home-based concentrators, portable concentrators, and O2 canisters to deliver supplemental oxygen. TIMDT is a doer, making the best of her situation. She works out assisted by her trainer (on I-phone, usually) three times a week. We're out and about most days... taking Freddie to the park or enjoying a burger at Shake Shack. She's been busy lately organizing a Christmas cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Above: Park City, UT. Quinn's Junction Dog Park. 29 September 2026.

Freddie and friends! Now thas' beaucoup dogs!

Addendum:

We all demand that you pen an autobiographical novel! 🙂❤️ You could sprinkle with fiction too!

DrummerJ
Lehi, UT

Steve: I know I am probably not the first to say this, but you should consider putting the best of your "motorcycle diaries" together in a book. I am sure you would have a big audience of readers. The writing is strong and vivid and engaging.

Best, Pax Jr.
Montreal, Quebec

Terrific. 🥰 plus we have another 25 Plus years of stories on the bikes in different parts of the world.😊👀Big Fun 🤩
Thanks,
Mr. Z3,
Las Vegas, NV

Love learning about your life and feeling it through your writing. Inspired.

Tony,
Park City, UT

Good description of your travels which I enjoyed. I am sending this to my son Matthew who once owned a motorcycle
Joe,
Gosford, NSW

Great memories—glad you are writing them down
Harry,
Marina del Rey, CA

 

Great write-up re: your "Wing." Unbeknownst to you, I too have a Wing - a 1981, low mileage, one owner, stocker (no fairing/bags). Paid $750 on a sidewalk sale 4-5 years ago, could not pass on the price of "the deal" (an old motorhead sickness) when I saw it and the For Sale sign, plus just happened to have $1,000 cash in my pocket readying for a trip overseas. I didn't want it, didn't need it, but knew what it was and it's value as a clean, running special deal - former owner was too old to manage it.

Had to dig for the photos here - event should be added to your list of Ten Motorcycle Memories with Mark (Mr. Z3): It was taken in July, 2018 at the world's oldest and continuous motorcycle racing event, The Billings Hill Climb, Billings, Montana. You and Mr. Z3 were members of my "Boom Boom Indian Racing" team/pit crew - I was campaigning my last motorcycle race with my 1936 Indian Sport Scout (now in Australia being raced by a new owner). Mr. Z3 memorialized the day/race time when Divine Intervention stepped in and hammered the racing hill (in photo in the back) and us with marble size hail and rain. While you and I waited it out in my truck, Mr. Z3 made himself infamous by ducking into a Porta-Potty to sit out the deluge.

Third person in the photo is "Deadhorse," (Rodger Black), a former hill climb winner and now residing in South Carolina. He flew in and rented a car to attend, you and Mr. Z3 motorcycled to it from Salt Lake City.

Regards,

"Dr. G," moto-journalist/author (see Amazon for Gregory Frazier books) and general motorcycle wastrel, now collecting memories and 65 years of motorcycle global road tales in my winter home of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Fabulous post! And yes. Unforgettable motorcycle memory with Mr. Z3. And so many incredible Big Dog experiences on Rocky Mountain passes with Dr. G