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!