THIS COLUMN WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN ADB ISSUE #477 – JUNE 2019
Just recently I did two races of the West Coast Open series for some gate drops and to get that racing practice.
The other day, the team and I drove up into the high desert to test and ride at Carson Mumford’s facility (he’s an amateur rider on the team). When we drove on up there and opened the car door we nearly lost it. Crazy how windy it was and super sketchy to ride in!
Days like that when you’re testing are difficult because it is hard to get realistic results. With the wind, your body weight and the angles of the bike aren’t the same as when there is no wind. So you have to really dissect the track to see whether you think it’s realistic and if the way the bike is handling is normal (and not being affected by the wind).
Pala has just shaped up their new nationals track and we were able to ride it on the Monday before the California Classic. It’s a big, dragged-out amateur event but again… gate drops are great.
Working with the team is amazing. The amount of stuff we test and can change on the bike is ridiculous. We can change the primary gearing to run different sprockets to help get the rear wheel as far back as possible for stability but we also have different primary gearing to move the rear wheel further forward.
All these little bits and pieces of the machine are mind boggling. It’s awesome to be a part of it all, helping develop a motorcycle is something I never dreamed about as a kid, I only ever dreamed of having the coolest sets of gear before the other kids got them.
Doing all these pre-season races with amateur kids and minibikes racing brings back good memories of when I started racing on club days at Kilcoy MX. They used to mean so much and it was as if they were a huge event and there was so many people.
Really cool to take a trip down memory lane and plant your feet back on the ground any time you can because it’s just awesome! Knowing where I came from and what you’ve gone through to get where we are now is humbling.
Another cool thing to keep an eye out for, I recently made the drive down to Carlsbad to guest on the Swapmoto Live show with Donn Maeda. We talked about who I am and what I’ve been doing, what I’ve gone through in Europe and some other stuff so it’s a pretty cool PG-rated version of everything that went on in the past few years, again driving down to north San Diego for talk shows is pretty badass….
My little man Milo (top right) is doing well. We just finished his vaccinations so he is ready to rock ’n’ roll in public! He is 9/10 going to the toilet outside now with the occasional “oops, I didn’t know you were watching me around the corner doing a sneaky poo”. He is an awesome little dude, he came to his first race this past week … not such a leash-walking good-boy. He is still new to the leash and walks with Cynthia and me for a bit but I’m not sure if he gets tired of walking or just wants to be carried but stops often for sitting breaks.
Day to day life is good. I’m working towards my goals and each day I get closer and closer to them, riding progression is going well. I am happy with where I am, building and working with the team. Can’t wait for round one at Hangtown (19 May) to get amongst it.
This sport is such a huge percentage in our lives and takes up nearly all of it. It’s awesome to have Cynthia and Milo to have that downtime from the sport and relax mode. Having them is really enjoyable and like a mini family which is really cool, My family is doing well and all healthy, Jett’s riding good and training. Tate is now addicted to Xbox. We are aware of it but he thinks it’s completely fine and under control.
Thanks again everyone for reading. Really appreciate your time and hope to have some more good stuff for you all next month! Take care and hold it wide until next time.
