There comes a point in every motocross rider’s life where common sense taps you on the shoulder and says…
“Today’s not your day lad. Just pack up and go home.”
Round 4 of the UK Evo Series was one of those days…..Unfortunately for common sense, us motocross riders don’t tend to listen.
The day started brilliantly. By brilliantly, I mean it lasted one lap of practice before my gear lever shaft snapped clean off….Fuming!
After a quick inspection, I was left with a bike stuck in second gear and a growing feeling that my day was over before it had even started. Now, normal sensible people would probably accept defeat at this point. They’d get cleaned up, load the bike up, grab a coffee, and head home.
But i couldn’t help thinking, I’ve paid the entry fee, I’ve lugged everything over here, And for what? Just to load up and drive home in silence with a face on. Nope! Wasn’t fancying that, don’t think the missus fancied that either. So that was that, If I had to ride the old girl around in 2nd gear all day that’s just what I was going to do.
Luckily though, my dad was on hand. And after some intense negotiations, I convinced him that if we could somehow get the bike into third gear, I could probably survive the day. I knew the starts would be horrendous and I certainly wasn’t expecting any amazing results, but it still sounded miles better than admitting defeat and spending the rest of the afternoon sulking.
With a few bits stripped off, the clutch casing removed, some extra hands from friends, a strip of batten and a couple of screw drivers Dad had her into third and ready to get through the day….pukkah!
The first race was interesting. Starting a motocross race in third gear was new to me, I’d never done it before. The only way I could see I was going to make it work was by a sneaky rolling start. I sort of knew it’d either be a perfectly timed jump or I was going to relieve the organizers of one of their start gates. There wasn’t much middle ground but luckily for me I timed it pretty well, not a holeshot, or even close, but it wasn’t the worst start I’d ever had.
As the day went on i started adapting and none of the races were all that bad.
Instead of fighting the problem, I learnt to ride around it. Corners became all about roll speed and momentum (which has never been my forte). Line choice suddenly mattered way more. Mistakes became expensive because there wasn’t a lower gear to bail me out.
Somehow, what had started as a complete disaster slowly turned into a good cornering drill. And I was actually enjoying it!
By the end of the day, against all expectations, I’d managed to salvage 7th overall, even with a couple of silly tip overs in the last race.
No trophies, no heroics and I definitely didn’t set the world alight. But the result felt strangely satisfying considering the circumstances. More importantly, I still got to spend the day racing two strokes with my mates, laughing at the situation, and making memories.
Looking back, that’s probably one of the reasons motocross riders struggle to give in.
No matter how badly the day starts, no matter how much money the sport drains from your bank, and no matter how many mechanical disasters get thrown your way, there’s always that little voice saying:
“Let’s just have a go, it might work!”
Sometimes it doesn’t.
But sometimes you end up racing an entire meeting in third gear and going home with a smile on your face.
And honestly, that’s motocross pretty much summed up.
Site Tite 
Leave a comment