So I’ve seriously neglected my blogging duties lately, and for that I apologize. I went through a crazy spree of work as soon as I got home and things have slowed down now. The day I flew home, I got picked up at the airport, dropped my bags at home and went straight to work. I worked the next few days, and my gearbag went straight into the trailer, it didn’t even get unpacked and we headed out to gopher for a provincial race on the Sunday. After that, I’ve just been working and trying to ride wherever possible.
Last weekend was the third round of the women’s nationals at gopher dunes. I decided not to ride on the Saturday after having some bike issues that needed to be worked on. My good friend Cale came down and helped me out with getting my valves all back in shape and working on some bearing issues and such. He also helped me switch over my wheels so I could run a sick set of black sand wheels. I also was able to get a brand new set of plastics and graphics courtesy of IMX. The bike looked really sick and I was stoked to go. I was also really happy to finally be on my own bike for a national, have my dad by my side after being out west for the first two rounds without him. I did have my brother in Calgary which helped out huge, but my dad is definitely my backbone in racing. It’s hard without him. Having my own trailer and my dad by my side I was prepared to have a better finish this round. Practise went well, I ran about ¾ of it and decided to pull off and save my energy. I know gopher so well, It’s the closest track to my house I didn’t need to waste energy practising.
First moto I had a pretty good start and was running in around 9th or 10th when I crashed in the bowl corner by the front. The bike was on a funny angle and was tough to get it up, and then by the time I got going I had already lost a few positions. Then as I was trying to get myself turned around in the deep sand, I fell over again, the weight of the bike on the downward angle just pulled me right over. I got up again, and by this time I was completely exhausted. My heart rate went through the roof and my goggles fogged all up. I wanted to rip them off, but gopher is definitely not a fun track to ride getting roosted full of sand with no goggles on. It took me over a lap of riding slow to get my heart rate down and get back in the groove. I was able to work myself back into 14th place. I was happy with that as my goal coming in was to finish with a top 15. Last year I certainly would not have been happy with a 14th, but the competition this year has stepped it up huge, and my conditioning and riding is not nearly where it was last year. It’s disappointing because this year I actually have the opportunity to do these nationals, and I’m not in the shape I need to be for them.
Second moto I had another decent start, and was able to stay up, finishing in 12th. It was probably the longest race I’ve ever done. After the races when I picked up my transponder times, I found out we ran 29 minute motos. Crazy long. I had only recently started working on 20 minute + 2 lap motos in practise. I think a lot of people struggled with the long motos, even Jocelyn who is queen of the sand appeared to be getting tired.
Overall I finished 14th, and was pretty happy with that. It doesn’t sound great saying I got 14th, but considering the stakes I’m up against I think it’s pretty amazing. I have no dealership sponsoring me, I don’t even have a place to get parts for my bike. I’m racing against women who are pitting out of factory rigs and have personal trainers and people backing them up. I pretty much am doing this year on my own, with the help of IMX of course.
After the races, I was able to spend the evening hanging out with my good friend Missy Hackett from BC. We cruised around on the CMRC quad, as missy attempted to learn to drive it, nearly throwing me off the back every time she shifted. We went out for dinner with the track crew, and went back to the track to hang out around the fire. It was a pretty good time!
Coming into Gopher I had a big decision to make, whether I was going to continue following the series east, or call it off. I told myself If I was in the top 15 in the series standings after gopher, I would go, if not, I wouldn’t.
Sure enough, after gopher dunes I find myself in 15th in the Women’s Canadian National Motocross Series, with two rounds to go. I’m working on plans to head East to Moncton New Brunswick this weekend, and Ottawa Ontario the next. Following Ottawa I have to go straight to Trans Can for a week. August is gonna be crazy but I’m really excited for it. I can’t believe the year I’ve been so lucky to have. I’m going to hit both coasts of the country in one summer, doing what I love to do.
My brother flies home Wednesday from his own amazing adventure across Alberta and British Columbia. I am picking him up at the airport Wednesday night and he is going to be home for the night, and we are leaving for New Brunswick Thursday morning. He will hit both coasts of the country, and travel through at least 4 time zones in less than 48 hours! It’s going to be very cool!
You’ve read my Western Adventure Blog, now Stay tuned for the Eastern chapter!!
*Cas*
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