Personal History
My name is Craig Shaffer and I'm 30 yrs old. I live in Masontown, WV. I am 5' 8" tall and weigh 160 pounds. I'm currently in the 4th year of the United Association Plumbers and Pipefitters Apprenticeship Program. Along with completing a set amount of classroom hours, I also must complete a set amount of On-The-Job Training hours to obtain the status of Journeyman. After high school I enlisted into the United States Marine Corps in which I completed a 5 year enlistment, and received an Honorable Discharge. Following my honorable discharge from the Marines I enlisted in the WV Army National Guard and I am currently still enlisted. I am currently on my 13th in the US Military.
To stay in top physical shape I love to run, cycle, and a varying assortment of strenuous core exercises which include: sit-ups, crunches, flutter kicks, etc... Also to prepare for the race season I ride between 4 and 6 hours after I work 10 hrs a day. Along with riding that amount of time I also watch Pro and Amateur rider video where ever I can find them on the net to critic and study different styles of riding. I like to pick apart other riders to see if I can tell what makes them faster and more efficient on the track. I also study to see what causes them to have slower lap times and I use that to better my own lap times.
So in short pretty much everything that I do in my life is to either prepare me for the next race, or the next season, and that is to include my pipefitting career, because if you don't have the finances to get into the races and pay the entry fees and maintain your bike I'm not going to get any better.
Riding Goals
My goals for the upcoming year include; first and foremost completing my 4th year in the apprenticeship program with a recommendation from my instructors to move into my 5th and final year. Secondly, I am preparing myself and my bike so that we are both performing in top condition. My third goal is to obtain sponsorships so that I can lessen my financial burden as a privateer. When I do obtain sponsorships, my fourth goal will be to represent those sponsors to the best of my ability and to go above and beyond everything that they ask of me. Because I realize that sponsorships will help me to bring my racing to a whole new level, because of the help they will provide me with whether it be discounts on parts and gear or even backing me with entry fees to do what I love to do and that is to race.
Competitive Highlights
I can think of 2 competitive highlights that occured this year. Both of them were at AMA Grand National Cross County events ( The John Peyton in Millfield, OH, and The Snowshoe Mountain in Snowshoe, WV). They were two of the muddiest races this year and the highlights that are stuck in my mind are that I completed them. The reason that completion of these races are stuck in my mind is because in both races over half of the fields DNFed, which in my mind was a big accomplishment for me knowing that some of the riders were at the same or above my skills and abilities. That in itself gave me an awesome feeling and sense of pride.