Just Released - "Riley's Birthday Surprise"

Moto Mom Books is proud to announce the release of "Riley's Birthday Surprise".  It is the second book in the Riley Motocross Series.  Riley continues his adventures in motocross with a wonderful birthday surprise!  This book contains 20 colorfully-illustrated, motocross inspired pages.  It is appropriate for children ages two to eight years old, but makes a wonderful gift for anyone who loves motocross.  For more information, visit Motomombooks.com.  Buy both "Riley Goes to The Races" and "Riley's Birthday Surprise" for the special discount price of $16.  Happy Holidays!

This past weekend did not start on a very good note.  It all began with three small, but dreaded words from the mouth of my son - "My belly hurts."  Not the words any parent wants to hear, especially right before going on a two hour car ride.  I had hoped that the belly ache was just a result of the school bus being too hot.  For some unknown reason, the bus driver insists on keeping all the windows shut and the heat on, even on eighty degree days.  Just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt.  Unfortunately, about halfway through our drive to the arenacross race, my son lost his lunch all over the truck.  He did literally lose his lunch.  On the menu for Friday was chicken and noodles.  And by the looks of it, my son cleaned his tray that day.  Lucky us.  Thankfully, my daughters are not the queasy type who feel the need to vomit when they see someone else vomit.  In fact, Kallie, who was sitting next to Cael (poor child), barely glanced at her puking brother before gleefully returning to eating her second Arby's roast beef sandwich.  Cael felt much better after emptying the entire contents of his stomach and we continued on our way.

Compared to the beginning of our trip, the rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful.  Cael felt well enough to race on Saturday.  He raced pretty well and didn't have any major crashes.  However, one of his motorcycles did not cooperate and decided that one race was enough for it.  Of course, it would have to be an expensive part that needs replaced.  Why is it never a ten dollar cable that causes the problem?  It has to be a $200 part that breaks this close to Christmas.  Thanks a lot Murphy and your stupid "law"!  Oh well.  No one ever said that motocross was a cheap sport to get into.  It's a good thing it is so much fun!  Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Beating the winter blues...

Once again, the time has come to put the motorcycles away for the winter and go into hibernation mode.  Yeah, right!  It's time for arenacross, baby!  My husband spent his day off cleaning out the trailer and getting the motorcycles race ready.  I have some work to do before Friday rolls around, but we will be ready.

Cael racing arenacross at Hot Rod's.  Photo by Mike Davis.

 I never feel quite ready to go back to racing in the cold after sweating my butt off at Loretta's.  The first race is usually quite pleasant though, as far as the weather goes.  The forecast for Saturday is sunny and 65 degrees.  Great racing weather!  I must say that I am looking forward to hearing the roar of the engines vibrate off the walls of the arena, seeing some good racing, and having something to do on the weekends.  It sure beats the usual conversation my husband and I have on non-race weekends - "What do you want to do this weekend?  I don't know.  What do you want to do?"

Photo by Mike Davis

With my son moving up to the ultra-competitive 50cc 7-8 class, it should be an interesting winter.  But with the Hot Rod's Racing crew, it is always an interesting winter!  Keep an eye out for pictures and videos from the arenacross series.  I hope to see you there, but you better bundle up!

The joys and perils of parenting

We turned a corner this weekend that I never even thought was on the map.  Kallie, the littlest and youngest child of ours by a mere one minute, rode a PW by herself.  Her twin sister, Katie, had already had her first two PW rides under her belt.  And, by the way, her first (of many, I am sure) big wrecks.  But Kallie had other things she wanted to do on those days.  Namely, drawing in her notebook and playing with her baby doll.  On Saturday, our baby decided it was time.  Time to get off the pit bike which was safely steered by Dad and try this riding thing on her own.  Now, I am not a nervous, queasy mother.  Any nervousness I had was cured by our son's daring antics from birth.  When Cael was one, he decided to climb up on the bedside table and wrestle the lamp.  He lost.  When he was three, he learned to ride his bike without training wheels and pop wheelies.  We taught him early to always wear a helmet!  Now, he is seven and he loves to jump off of things with his skateboard.  That still makes me a little nervous.  But when our four year old little girl got geared up and threw her leg over that motorcycle, I wanted to put her back into a playpen and never let her grow up.  In fact, I was so dazed by the thought of my youngest riding a motorcycle, that I did not take a single picture.  But Kallie is tougher than she looks in those princess dresses she wears sometimes.  She is also possibly the most stubborn child we have, although that is a toss up.  She bravely tried again and again, even after she wrecked hard a few times because she couldn't remember which way to turn the throttle to let off the gas.  I must say my husband also showed an amazing amount of bravery and patience that day.  He was teaching not one four year old to ride safely, but two!  He continued to teach even after taking a rear wheel to the shin, compliments of Kallie!  I had to laugh at the character of our youngest daughter - after she wrecked, she would jump to her feet, and say "It's ok, Daddy.  I'll pick it up" as she tried to pick the bike back up!  I don't know if our girls will ever race like their brother and frankly, I don't know if my heart could take it!  But I do know that children learn a lot about themselves by doing things that scare them.  Whether that means climbing to the next branch in a tree, reading in front of a roomful of classmates, or riding a motorcycle for the first time.  Our job as parents is to catch them when they fall and give them high fives when they succeed.  Being a Moto Mom of three kids , I have the opportunity to do a lot of catching AND high fiving! 

Fun and family at Loretta's

The MotoMomBooks.com Race Team recently returned from the Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.  It was a very challenging week, with a new heat index record being set for the area - 115 degrees on Wednesday, August 4th.  One of our riders, Cael McCutcheon, had a very good week.  After a mediocre first moto in the 50cc 4-6 Stock Shaft Drive class, Cael came alive with some inspired riding to finish 13th in the second moto and 7th in the third moto.  His late charge was enough to give him a tenth overall.  We couldn't be prouder of our little rider!  He showed some real heart and determination. 

The funny thing is he probably won't remember much about riding to a tenth place finish in the nation when he is older.  He will remember the things that matter most to a six year old - swimming in the pool with his family and friends, doing a front flip from twenty feet up in a tree into the creek (after his last moto, of course!), eating a celebratory ice cream cone, playing corn hole at our camp site, holding up the pit board for his cousin Austin Coon and friend Jon Rudolph, riding around in the mule to find Motopoly cards, and playing video games with the big boys in Austin's camper. 

Having your six year old son place tenth in the nation at Loretta's is an awesome feeling.  It makes all the driving, all the preparation, all the time, effort, and money seem worth while.  But is it the most important thing to take away from Loretta's?  No.  We took our family on a vacation they won't forget for a long time.  We enjoyed each other's company and made the best of a very hot and somewhat stressful week. We supported each other through thick and thin, through wrecks and bad motos. We made memories that will last a lot longer than a ten dollar plaque.  That is what racing is for us -   fun and most importantly, family.

Riley makes it into Racer X Illustrated!

Hey!  Great news, everyone!  My first children's book, "Riley goes to the Races", was reviewed in Racer X Illustrated!  The book was reviewed by Vance Coombs.  Vance is the son of Davey Coombs, the founder and editor of Racer X Illustrated magazine.  For those of you who don't know, Racer X Illustrated is one of, if not the, biggest motocross magazines in the world.  It is an honor to be included in such a fine publication.   Click here for the link to Racer X Illustrated's digital edition.  The review is on page 224 and our ad is on page 235.  Thank you for your support!

High Point - in my career!

Moto Mom Books was given a wonderful opportunity last weekend.  We set up as a vendor at the High Point Pro National in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.  Rita Coombs, Carrie Russell, and Tim Cotter from MX Sports were gracious and very accommodating throughout the weekend.  This was the first time we sold books at such a big venue, and we were well received.  Track announcer, Rodney, did an excellent job promoting our books, especially on Friday.  Our location could not have been better, as we were very close to the entrance to the pro pits, as well as being between Risk Racing and the Legends and Heroes Tour.  We were happy to meet so many families from so many different backgrounds. 

Cael was one happy camper since he got to meet some of his motocross idols, including Justin Barcia, Ryan Dungey, Chad Reed, Josh Grant, Nick Wey, and Will Hahn.   The kids had a great time cruising the pro pits and seeing what the pro riders and mechanics do off the track.  Some guys had a remote control car they were having fun with and when that got too boring they built a quick ramp to jump the car from.  A few riders were helping their mechanics with bike set-up.  Most riders were very gracious and more than willing to take the time to give an autograph for their young fans.  Overall, we had a great time and hope to be back next year with the second book of the Riley series and possibly the third book.

I would to thank my husband, David, who put a lot of time and effort into making this weekend a success.  Also, thanks to Rita Coombs, Carrie Russell, and Tim Cotter for the wonderful opportunity they afforded us, and the guys at Risk Racing who were very hospitable neighbors and who helped us when the wind almost took our canopy back to West Virginia for us!  Thanks to all the parents, grandparents, and families who stopped by our booth to chat, pick up a business card, purchase a book, or just to say “That’s a great idea!”

As a special post-High Point offer, the first person who orders a book and sends me an e-mail mentioning the code “holeshot”, gets a free t-shirt!  Have a great week!

Mud and snow cones make for happy children

Ahhh!  Finally, some time to sit down and relax!  The past two weeks have been very busy for us.  Two week ago, we traveled to Livingston, Tennessee for the Loretta Lynn’s Mideast Regional.  The supposed 8-hour trip quickly turned into a 12-hour trip when we hit construction traffic in Tennessee, not once but twice.   We finally arrived at Thunder Valley MX at about 8pm and settled into a shady, but hilly spot.  After spending about an hour getting the camper level, we finally cranked up the generator and the air conditioning and hit the sack.

 The track was in good condition for Friday’s practice.  Cael didn’t have any bad wrecks and we didn’t experience any bike problems, thank goodness.  We were happy to retire to the cool camper after a long day in the hot Tennessee sun. 

We woke Saturday morning (at about 6am, thanks to Central Time) to hot, humid conditions.  We were hoping for some early motos, but unfortunately, we were not granted that wish.  After waiting around for a lot of the day, Cael had a great first moto in the 50cc 4 -6 AMA stock 1 class.  He had a good start and had a smooth, consistent race with no wrecks to finish 12th.  The stock shaft drive class was next for us.  This class was stacked with some very fast and talented riders, such as Gage Linville, Austin Johnson, and Dawson Simms.  Cael had another good start and a consistent race.  He was in fifth place until the last lap, when he was passed a few corners before the checkered flag.  Still, he was very pleased with a sixth place finish.  The second moto of the 4-6 class did not go as well as the first.  After having a pretty good start, Cael went down in a rut on the first lap.  He had to pick the bike up and start it himself.  By the time he took off again, he was almost in last place.  But being the tough kid that he is, Cael managed to fight back to 22nd place.  We decided not to run the last moto of the 4-6 AMA stock 1 class.

Sunday morning was very overcast, but it was much cooler!    Cael finished fourth in the second moto of the stock shaft drive class.  The real drama, though, came in the third moto of the stock shaft drive class.  Thirty minutes before our moto, the rains came.  It rained hard for twenty minutes before slacking off and finally stopping while Cael was on the line.  Unfortunately, the damage was already done.  PW’s don’t handle mud too well, but when you add in a hilly track, that makes for some interesting racing!  Once again, Cael had a good start.  But he wrecked in a rut shortly after the first turn and was then hit from behind by another rider.  When he got back on the bike and started moving again, he was in next to last place.  Fortunately for us, the mud proved to be tough on everyone else, too.  Several bikes quit and wouldn’t start again.  Kids were wrecking everywhere in the mud.  Most kids couldn’t make it up the steep hills without the help of an adult.  Most of the parents should be applauded, as they helped not only their own children, but also all the children they could feasibly get to.  The checkered flag flew three very long laps later, with Cael in fourth place.  He had a great time in the mud and ended up second place overall!  Look out, Loretta!  We will be making our way back to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee for the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.  But for now, we get to unload the camper for a couple of months.  Now, who wants a snow cone?!?!

Austin Coon takes TWO National Titles!

It was an exciting weekend for the Hot Rod's Racing team.  More than 30 people made the trip to Las Vegas to watch Austin Coon compete in the Amateur National Arenacross Championship on May 9.  After winning every class in which he entered at 4 different events in the East and North Regions, Austin was extended an invitation to compete in the Amateur National Arenacross Championship at Sam Boyd Stadium.  Going into the Championship as the favorite to win added to the pressure on this young man's shoulders.  He did not disappoint.  Austin rose to the occasion and will be coming home with two National titles for his efforts.  As an added bonus, another Hot Rod's rider made it to the podium in the AX Lites Novice class.  Jon Rudolph battled for a third place finish to the delight of the Hot Rod's fan club in attendance.  Congratulations boys, on a job well done!

What a week!

The past week was a week of firsts for the McCutcheon family.  On Tuesday, we experienced the first broken bone by one of our children.  Suprisingly, the broken bone came not in our dare-devil, jump motorcycles, pop wheelies, three sport, climb what you can child.  The broken bone came not in our slightly clumsy, walk into walls, trip over her own feet child.  It was our baby, the littlest McCutcheon, Kallie, who broke her arm.  She broke it while jumping on the trampoline.  She was not doing any crazy tricks or flips like her brother.  Kallie was simply doing a "butt drop" and landed on her arm wrong.  Needless to say, Mommy, who by the way has training in the medical field, panicked and whisked her baby off to the local emergency room.  After having Kallie's obviously broken arm splinted and x-rayed, we waited and waited before being told that the hospital does not set bones and apply casts.  Huh.  Good to know.  My poor husband had to drive little Kallie to a doctor in a city an hour and a half away.  Luckily, Kallie is one tough cookie and was quite excited to get her pink cast put on.  She did not want a shot, so my little girl had her bone set with no pain medication whatsoever.  Good thing my husband took her because I would have fainted on the spot.  Kallie was not too happy with the doctor after he duped her with conversation about the Easter bunny and then pulled her arm to set the bone.  She wouldn't so much as look at him again.  Can't say I blame her.  She is doing well and has adapted to using her left hand for everything quite nicely.  And if anyone messes with her, she socks them with her cast.

The next first for the McCutcheon family was on a much happier note.  At the Loretta Lynn's Area Qualifier at Ballance MX in Kentucky, Cael earned his first outdoor victory.  And I must say, it was in very exciting fashion.  After almost getting the holeshot in the first moto, Cael managed to take the lead in the 50cc Stock Shaft-drive class.  The lead didn't last long though, as Cael's bike quit going into a turn.  By the time he got the bike re-started, he was in next to last place.  Cael fought back to finish second in the first moto.  When it came time for the second moto, Cael was pumped.  He bounced on his seat waiting for the one-two card to go up.  When the gate dropped, Cael got the holeshot and took a commanding lead.  His lead increased slightly when the boy in second place wrecked in a rut.  Being the good sport that he is, my husband happened to be in that turn and helped the boy get back on his bike.  The race was going great for Cael until he failed to slow down for some breaking bumps. Did I mention it was the last lap!?!  He hit the breaking bumps going full speed, downhill no less.  Cael was launched off his bike, did a front flip in the air, and landed on his chest.  How he didn't break his visor for the fifth time, I don't know.  Luckily, Cael was unhurt and the bike was fine also.  By the time Cael got back on the bike and got going again, the second place boy was even with him.  That boy passed him and lead until the last turn.  Cael railed the turn but the boy caught him on the face of the next jump.  It was neck and neck until the final jump.  Cael barely squeaked out the win by a front wheel.  It was the most exciting race I have ever seen!  But I might be slightly biased.  I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  My heart was pounding.  You would have thought he was racing for the win at Loretta's.  We are so proud of him!  

We have qualified in two areas so we are taking this weekend off.  As always, my book "Riley goes to the Races" is available for purchase on my website, motomombooks.com.  To everyone who is going racing this weekend, good luck and stay safe!

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Well, I am happy to say we survived our first outdoor race of the season with no mud and no injuries. That alone is enough to call the weekend a success. However, Cael also managed to qualify for regionals, despite a timid first moto, in the 50cc Stock Shaft Drive class and the 50cc (4-6)AMA 1 Stock class. We also officially released my first children's book, "Riley goes to the Races", at the Doublin Gap Area Qualifier. My first customer was a little girl named Mia. Thank you, Mia! I hope you enjoy the book! Be sure to check out my website, motomombooks.com, for news and information about upcoming Riley books.

After driving in the rain for six hours on Thursday evening, to say that my outlook for the weekend was dismal would be an understatement. I fully expected to get our camper stuck in the mud, our rider stuck in the ruts, and my mood stuck in the dumps. But, when we arrived at the track on Friday morning, it was only slightly damp! I am not sure what happened to all the water. Maybe the track owners have installed some kind of crazy drainage system. Maybe the motocross gods were just smiling on us that day. I don't know but it made me very happy. We easily found a fairly level place to park and we didn't even have to break out the gum boots. Now, it was cold and very windy so it wasn't the perfect race weekend, but it was nice. The sun was shining (at least on Saturday), the track was dry, and we didn't break anything (bones or bikes). Not bad for a March weekend in central Pennsylvania.

Friday's practice went fairly well, with the exception of one of our Hot Rod's Racing riders taking a bad spill. The track was long for a 50cc rider but Cael faired well. We woke up to sunshine on Saturday but it was still pretty chilly. Luckily, I had packed winter coats in the camper. Moto moms are always prepared! Our first moto was not so great, but we bounced back in the second moto to finish 4th and 6th overall. This was our first trip to the Doublin Gap track and we enjoyed it. The kids had a good time on the playground and the "spectator platforms" were awesome. Our next race will be the Area Qualifier at Ballance MX in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Last year at that race, it was a horribly muddy track and we had a tornado warning. We are hoping for better weather this year. We will be selling books at this event so look for us. We hope to see you there! Good luck!

Drop the gate already!

Spring is upon us! The grass is getting greener. The birds are singing. Flowers are beginning to warily poke out of the ground. And you know what that means...outdoor racing season! Time to clean out the camper, tune up the motorcycles, and get out the mud boots. We will be heading to our first Loretta Lynn's area qualifier very soon. While we always hope for the best possible weather, we prepare for the worst and try to make the best of it. Last year, we endured not one but two tornado warnings on race weekends. One race was so muddy that in one class, we only raced to the first corner! To make matters worse, it snowed the next day. To quote a line from my girls' favorite book "Pinkalicious" - "You get what you get and you don't get upset."

Racing with three small children is not always easy, as any of you with children already know. First, there is the seemingly endless packing. If I had a dollar for every time my husband said, "We are only going for one night. Why do we need all this stuff?!", I could buy all three kids a new motorcycle. It is amazing how much stuff you "need" to bring for one night. Then, of course, trying to keep kids entertained for a 5 hour car ride is always a challenge. By the way, that 5 hours should only take about 3 and a half, but by the time we stop for 6 potty breaks (some of which are for me!) and two eating breaks, our poor GPS has re-calculated our trip so many times, it is starting to smoke. The race itself is sometimes difficult. My husband is the ultimate Pit Dad. He is mechanic, motivator, driver, and so much more all rolled into one man. He gets my son to the line and fixes anything that breaks in between motos. I keep track of our twin girls, keep everyone fed and (somewhat) dry, and try to take some good pictures. I usually miss a moto when the girls are taking their nap, but that's ok. Some of my son's biggest wrecks have been in the second moto. I am happy to miss seeing those bike-flipping, visor-breaking, rim-bending moments. It's part of the reason why I can still support my son in this endeavor without biting my nails down to nothing and developing stress-induced tremors. Sure, it would be much easier (and cheaper) to stay home and let the kids play in the sandbox while I read a magazine. But what fun would that be?!?! Pack the camper, load the bikes, and drop the gate already!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Moto Mom Books blog! This blog will feature news from motomombooks.com as well as entries from my personal experiences as being a Moto Mom. My son races in a couple of 50cc classes and he loves what he does! We don't win every race we enter but that isn't our goal. Our goal as parents is to enjoy quality time with our three young children doing something we all love - going to the races! If we can teach a few lessons along the way, that's great! If not, well then, at least we had a fun weekend together. I hope you enjoy following our adventures and I welcome any comments or stories you may have to share. Until then, remember - a bad day at the races is better than a good day at work!