'Motorcycles saved my life': Here's why a Navy vet turned pro racer is walking from Michigan to Elkhart Lake to compete
Tony Blackall’s relationship with motorcycle racing is complex.
He loved it.
He hated it.
Then it saved his life.
This week, the 36-year-old from Pierson, Michigan, is rolling together two of his passions for a 120-mile hike — broken up by a ferry ride across Lake Michigan — to Elkhart Lake.
Along his trip and at his destination, Blackall hopes to help military veterans such as himself who have struggled with reassimilating into civilian life, as well as the loved ones in position to support them. And then he’ll get to race again in the MotoAmerica doubleheader weekend at Road America.
“My biggest thing is when my wife got me to talk about it, we were at events, when I actually sat down and talked to people and we got into the nitty-gritty, the way I would end the conversation is if my story can at least save one life or make someone think different about a bad day, that’s my absolute goal,” Blackall said.
“I want anybody out there that’s having a bad day to think before it gets any worse or reach out to someone that may be able to comprehend the conversation that they’re not getting elsewhere. Just talking out loud makes a world of difference. Even if you’ve got to say it multiple times.
“Getting it off your shoulders is the biggest thing, and hopefully moving on, because once the story is out there you and whoever you’re talking with can grow together and keep moving forward.”
Blackall raced as a young man, but what had been fun began to feel like a job. He retired in 2013.
When Blackall joined the Navy two years later, service became his passion, but a serious leg injury while training with the Naval Special Warfare Command took that away from him. Blackall was given a medical honorable discharge in 2017, but the person who came home was not the same man who had enlisted.
“At that point in time, I’m pretty angry about a rainbow or a sunny sky,” Blackall said.
“It was hard to grasp. I put everything into it, didn’t want to come home, felt like a failure. I wanted to do this, set out to do this and it was going good and then it wasn’t, it just automatically stopped and I wasn’t ready to stop.”
The injury itself wasn’t the issue. His brothers — that’s how Blackall thought of them — were training for some of the most difficult missions the U.S. military undertakes, and he wasn’t there to support them, to protect them. The corporate world was no substitute.
Although Blackall didn’t recognize at the time how the darkness was enveloping him, his wife noticed. Janet had been in the Marine Corps, and this wasn’t the first time she’d seen a veteran struggle post-service.
An old friend from his local racetrack helped, too, convincing Blackall to get back on a bike six years after he’d retired.
“From there it was like starting all over again,” said Blackall, who felt the camaraderie and adrenaline rush. “My mind was working correctly. I was becoming a better person. Now, I didn’t really notice this (how bad things were), but she did and then later on when we talked about it, we found out what the big deal was.
“I can honestly say now, motorcycles saved my life. I don’t think I would be here today if I wouldn’t have started riding them again.”
The Blackalls launched their team during the 2019 MotoAmerica season with a three-race schedule that began at Road America. That also was the first pro race for Janet, who serves as team manager. They raced the full series in the Supersport class in 2020 and ’21.
Light on sponsorship for the 2022 season, Blackall Racing committed to just two rounds — Road America and Pittsburgh International Raceway in August — and then were able to add Road Atlanta in April.
More: What you need to know about the MotoAmerica Superbike doubleheader weekend at Road America
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Although Blackall failed to finish either race at Road Atlanta, he believes a top-10 is within reach if all goes well. But results aren’t the only objective. Time at the track is also therapy for Blackall and those with like experiences.
“We’ve had a few instances that I get in trouble because the conversations go on a little too long and I might be getting around a little too late for races or practicing or qualifying,” Blackall said.
“That’s when I know that I’m having fun too, is that I’m talking and I’m not in a corner or in a dark room. I’m out, I’m available, we’re having good laughs, we’re meeting people and we’re telling stories.”
Blackall’s Navy injury can cause some discomfort when he races, the occasional jolt of pain and some knee swelling. The walk — which began Sunday — will take its toll too, particularly the hills he’ll encounter as he approaches the racetrack.
But Blackall has endured far worse in life and he knows others have too.
“It’s all about having that momentum to go forward and change and adapt,” he said. “Just not giving up.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Navy veteran, motorcycle racer Tony Blackall walking to Road America
