Personal History
I have loved motocross for as long as I can remember. I don't know when I fell in love with moto, it just seems like something that has always been my passion. Before I was born, my dad, who sadly passed away this summer, raced motocross in the early to Mid 70's. He raced the open class and did pretty well. Had stopped racing before I was born, so I don't have any experience or memories of him racing or even riding moto.
My parents got my older, and more fearless, brother started riding early. He got his first bike, a Yamaha GT80, for his 4th birthday and was learning to ride it immediately, even before he learned to ride a bicycle. My sister and myself are several years younger. I didn't/don't have the fearlessness of my brother, so needless to say I was not riding at such a young age. My first attempt at riding was when I was probably 7 or 8 on that same GT80. I didn't last long before getting stuck in the mud and I didn't get another chance to ride for years. My dad had been laid off from his job and a motorcycle was not going to be part of growing up for me and my sister, as it was for our brother.
Several years later, my brother had got a bike and was going to start racing. At the time, one of his friends was selling a YZ80 that needed work and my dad bought it for my sister and I. It was exciting that we were finally getting a bike to ride. However, my dad was man of many projects and some of them took a long time to complete or didn't get completed at all. After waiting for probably a year, I decided to take matters into my own hands and get the bike running myself. Unfortunately, my lack of knowledge and/or clear instructions in the manual caused me to crack the engine cases when trying to assemble them. Because of this, it would be several more years before I would finally get to ride.
At the age of 17 my parents helped me with purchasing my first bike and a month after I got my bike I was racing. I wanted to start immediately, but my parents wanted to know I was ready. I cannot say I was a natural, like my brother, but I did ok for such little riding experience. I crashed frequently when I first started racing, and usually in the corners as it was the one place I didn't worry about the consequences for going too fast or not fast enough. I was a mid-pack 'C' rider for my first 2 years because of my crashing issues and riding style, but I did show glimpses of speed. Those glimpses tended to happen when I rode my brother's bike a 92 YZ250. My bike was a 90 Cr125 and it was a good bike, but I eventually learned that the 125 did not suit my riding style very well. The first evidence of this was when I got the Holeshot on the 250 and was running 3rd until the last lap of the race, when I stalled the bike.
My third year of racing is when I got my first trophy and my first new bike. My first trophy was a decent ride for me on a track I really liked, Denmark's Sports and Competition. I was just happy to have a trophy for once. I had better starts than normal, which was a huge help. My bike was a 96 yz125 and it was great, except when the gears went out, which was an issue that year. The first time it happened in practice and the second time happened at the biggest race of the year for me. The Midwest Championship race at Denmark's Sports and Competition. It was the last race of the year and it started off pretty good for me. I had a top 5 start for the first time on a 125 and I had worked my way to 3 and finished there with no pressure from anyone behind me. The second moto was started better than the first and I was in 2nd place and closing in on 1st place, when I landed from a jump and my gears got jacked up and I was stuck in 2nd gear for the remainder of the race. I finished 4 on the moto and got 3rd overall, but was extremely disappointed for what should have been my first moto and overall win. I moved to 'B' class the following year where I typically finished around mid-pack.
I switch to a 250 in 99 and riding that bike made me confident and I was running in the top 5 and competing for wins in the first few races. Then I broke my leg and foot, without even crashing and I needed to have surgery to repair it. I was out from May to October and I raced one race at the end of the year and finished in 10th. That was all I needed and decided it was time to step up to 'A' Class and I did ok my first year in 'A' class, finishing in the top 5 a few times and even on the podium. However, I broke my foot again without crashing, and decided my riding style was probably to on the edge for a 250 and went back to racing 125's the following year. I get my one and only 125 'A' class win that year, but I blew up my bike so many times that I traded it for a 400, which I ended up hating. I then missed all of 2002 because I was in school and unemployed.
I returned to racing in 2003 dropping back to 250B because of my missed time. I was riding a RM250 and I had some great rides that year in 'B'. I was very consistent, rarely out of the top 5 and typically running second or third.. One race stands out to me though, it was the race at Dyracuse in 250B. The first moto started well, but on the second lap after I moved into 3, I hit a false neutral over a jump and went cart wheeling through the air. It took me a while to collect myself after that crash, but I eventually got going and came from last place to 12. The second moto started much better, I got the Holeshot and was pulling away when my bike swapped going up the hill and sent me into the woods and stopping all momentum. I went from 1st to outside the top 10. When I got back on track I was on a mission. By the end of the second lap, I had moved to 3rd and had passed for second less than a lap later. First place, who was a very fast friend of mine, was not even in sight when I took over second, but by 1/2 through the last lap I was all over him trying to make the pass. At the finish we were within a bikes length of each other, but it wasn't enough, I needed another lap.
I know I replayed a lot of my races, but it is a big part of my personal history and it is one of the most important parts of my life. I love to ride and race, I in fact need to ride and race.
From 2007 to 2018 I had to make tuff choices and I had little time on a bike during those years. I was not truly happy because of it. My life is empty without motocross. It is who I am. I expect to be riding and racing regularly until the day I die. My family is moto family, my best friends are moto friends. Moto is also the one thing that helped me to make better choices. Before I rode I did dumb teenage things, but once I had a bike, my choices mostly revolved around riding, leaving no room for wasting money and my life on other foolish things. I am a motocrosser for life and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Riding Goals
My goals for 2021 and beyond
- Qualify for the Lorretta Lynn's Amateur National
- Win races in +40A and +30A class
- Win a GP race in A class
- Improve my riding skills-Throttle position, weighting outside pegs more, more neutral riding position,
- Improve my riding confidence and comfort with jumping
- To get back to up to competitive 450(open) and 250 'A' class speeds for 2022 and beyond
- To win a 250 A or 450(open) 'A' class race in 2022 or following years
Competitive Highlights
Highlights
- 2001 won 125 A class at Byron
- 2003 District 16 Motocross Series 250B class Champion after returning to riding after 1.5 years way from school
- 2003 District 16 Motocross Series +25(Masters) class 5th place
- 2003 Northern Cup Series 250B class 5th place-despite missing 3 races for D-16 events
- 2003 Northern Cup Series +25(Masters) class 4th place-despite missing 3 races for D-16 events
- 2006 Northern Cup Series 250A class 5th place
- 2020 District 16 GP at Dyracuse 3rd place in A class