2011 Hillclimb Nationals

This summer has gone by even faster that last summer.  The kids started school today, so the house is pretty quiet.  Since I am able to hear myself think again, I thought I would update my blog.  This is the first summer in three years that we have not spent the first week of August at Loretta Lynn's ranch for the Amateur National Motocross Championships.  I must say that I definitely DID NOT miss the searing heat and humidity, crazy kids parading around on a multitude of mules, golf carts, etc, nearly overwhelming stress and the associated stomach distress, and the long lines for a cold, yet very refreshing shower.  The summer was not completely without racing, though.  During the second weekend in August, we attended the AMA Racing Hillclimb Grand Championships in Oregonia, Ohio. 

Devil's Staircase

Hillclimb is a completely different beast than motocross or arenacross, with different challenges involved.  Each rider only gets two runs per class, with no practice on the hill allowed.  The rider with the fastest time or best distance wins.  Pretty simple, right? 

Rope swing into the creek

This was my son's first time racing at a Hillclimb Championship.  He really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, not to mention all the boys his age to play with.  He quickly settled into a comfortable routine - make his two runs on the hill in the morning, play motorcycles with the boys all afternoon, go to the creek for fun on the rope swing, then play football with the boys in the evening.  Throw in a day at a nearby water park and you have a perfect vacation for a seven year old boy. 

Water Park!

We were happy to have a much shorter drive this summer and we were happy with our little racer's results.  He finished 10th in the nation in the Micro Mini class (50cc) and 3rd in the nation in the 65 class.  Not bad for a beginning hillclimber.  Much thanks to Grandpa for building Cael's hillclimb bike and to David, my favorite pit dad for all your hard work this summer!  Congratulations Cael!

3rd in the Nation!

High Point 2011

This past weekend, we were once again given the opportunity to set up as a vendor at the High Point Pro National Motocross race at Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.  We got to the track on Friday afternoon and were able to set up in a nice, quiet spot.  Friday evening, we took a ride around the facility and listened to Ten Man Push play a few songs before heading back to the camper for the night.  That's when all the action started.  First, a helicopter flew around the area for at least a half an hour.  Shortly after the helicopter went away, a quick storm blew in that nearly took the awning off our camper.  Luckily, the kids slept right through all the excitement, but my poor husband did not sleep much that night, as he was busy saving the awning.

Motocross fans of all ages started streaming in bright and early Saturday morning.  We were in a great spot again this year, right next to the Moto Tees trailer just behind the first turn of the track.  The weather was pretty good for a day at the races with partly cloudy skies and hot but not too hot temperatures.  And of course, it wouldn't be High Point without a quick downpour.  We hosted a few castaways seeking shelter from the rain in exchange for holding our canopy in place against the wind.  The shower only lasted about ten minutes and it was back to business as usual both on and off the track. 

We received a very welcoming response from a wide range of people.  I would like to thank all the mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers, and teachers who stopped by our booth on Saturday.  Whether you bought a book or two, picked up a business card, or just stopped to give your sincere words of encouragement, I appreciate every single one of you.  Thank you for showing your support of Moto Mom Books.  It is greatly appreciated! 

A strange but wonderful thing happened on our way home Saturday night.  We stopped at a restaurant in the Clarksburg area for a bite to eat.  We were enjoying our dinner and talking about the events of the day with our three small children when the waitress came with refills.  After filling our glasses, she mentioned that our dinner had been paid for by the couple who had sat across from us.  They had asked the waitress to not tell us until they had left the restaurant.  To the couple who paid for our dinner that night - A most sincere thank you for your unexpected kindness and generosity!  We will be paying that kindness forward to another unsuspecting family in the future!  I can't think of a better way to end a wonderful day with my family.

I would like to also extend a special thank you to Tim Cotter, Rita Coombs, Carrie Coombs and the rest of the MX Sports staff for another wonderful High Point experience.  We look forward to doing it again next year!

Dirt and joy

As the parent of a motocross rider, I spend quite a bit of my time at the track with my heart in my throat.  Sometimes, it is because my little guy has wrecked and in the two seconds in between witnessing the wreck and seeing my child moving again, the worst possible scenarios run through my head.  Thankfully, my son is pretty good about jumping right back up and getting back on the bike, therefore not prolonging my agony any further than necessary.  Sometimes, my heart travels to my throat when he is on the line with thirty or more other boys, all vying for the same spot on the track.

 A couple of weekends ago, my son just about gave me a heart attack.  In the arenacross series that we attend in the winter, my son has been trying to get a win in his class.  It is a tough class and he has been racing his little heart out to no avail.  On this particular night, my son got the holeshot and was running a great race.  My heart was pounding in my throat the whole time while my head was urging the flagman to wave the darn white flag already!  I could sense my little guy's excitement as he came around the final turn before the checkered flag waved.  He was in the lead and only one more jump stood before him and that elusive victory.  Something went wrong over that last jump and my son wrecked ten feet before the checkered flag.  My heart went into overdrive, hitting the rev limiter, as I watched in what seemed to be slow motion.  In my head I was screaming "Get up!  Get back on the bike!"  He must have heard me because he did manage to get up, get back on his bike, and take the checkered flag before the second place rider caught him!  After my heart had worked its way back down to a gentle idle again, I went to the trailer to congratulate my son on a great win.  Just the sight of him, still aglow with happiness and excitement at achieving a goal that he had set for himself, sent my heart back to my throat as I tried to choke back tears of joy.

My son didn't win an arenacross championship that day.  He didn't sign a multi-million dollar contract.  He simply set a goal for himself, worked hard, and persevered.  Sometimes, it is the simple things in life that bring us the most joy.  And move our hearts to our throats.