what's the thing that held ya back but you still kept moving forward?

supermoto, motards, converted dirty bikes. Those things.

my phone hates motorcycle terms and “helps” spell things all sorts of f@cked up ways.

 

After a few years of self reflection: It turns out I am always "on guard" due to cptsd. Im only really at peace in my head when im doing things that require 100% focus, like racing, TO and landing airplanes, RC helicopters, etc. My drive wasnt one of competition, but rather one of escape. On my bicycle, putting in miles brought no satisfaction. Twisty single track puts a smile on my face. Focus equals happiness for me. A wandering mind for me can be hell at times.

I finally podiumed an expert race! Unfortunately that was probably my last race with a week in the hospital. My son worries about me so I need to stop.

 

At first, I figured that was what you meant. But then I thought that surely you knew that those things are awfully similar to motorcycles, so you had to mean something else I'm not familiar with.

 

I figured he could do minis or even 250s but it’s broome and he couldn’t help but go nuts.

karts are not great for the back and neck.

I don’t know, maybe he should try that fake ass e racing crap.

 

Karts? Broome?

 

for me is the focus...and road racing so

 

definitely understand landing a plane can't imagine !! went to a tecch school..but because lost half class within a week they shut it down for learning to fly

 

would sooooo... love a shifter kart.. Wayne rainey amazing...wish had my tz back.....would make great Kart motor..

 

it's all something we love and have been apart of ......it Is amazing regardless what life has,brought us we all still enjoy...and or proceed..yall are awesome!!! I seriously wish I knew yall....besides a post or a screen..... definitely in person...great people. for sure!!

 

I get it. I have trouble concentrating on things and feel scattered a lot of the time, but when I tried corner working I found out something interesting. When there is a bad crash I have to deal with and there's a lot going on, I'm suddenly in my element. It's like everything slows down around me and I feel calm and focused and I can see what to do with no hesitation. I'm 100% present in the moment. The more chaotic the situation is, the more focused I feel, it's a really enjoyable feeling when it is happening.
Unfortunately, my own health issues mean those days are over. Great memories though.

 

Once when trying to explain this to people who don’t ride motorcycles I coined the term “forced meditation”

 

I know exactly what you are talking about. That is one of the things that makes me so good at my job. When things are apeshit, I am in my zone. I not only don't mind, I WANT to take over the situation. I can think more clearly and logically in those times, than I can otherwise. In those types of situations, I trust myself and my judgement above anyone else's.

 

I finally saw a few shifter karts in action a few months ago. Those things are manic.

 

My God you guys are depressing.

 

What holds me back (besides mediocre talent) boils down to fear, essentially. I'm not really afraid of crashing, and I don't think about it during the course of a weekend, but afterwards, the fears creep in on you. Ken Hill had one line in one of his podcasts- Ride with a technical focus- that helps to separate the essential from the bullshit and has helped me to focus and improve.

The strange part is, in an airplane I'm totally relaxed. And I think that gets harder as you get more experience, get older, and see how many things can go bad, and how many accidents have happened to guys that were good at their job and were being diligent. When shit goes to hell in the cockpit, I'm very calm, just like others have said. And I'm not talking about the simulator, either.

I have been racing for over 20 years continuously. During that time, I've gotten to know alot of people and it's very interesting to see the differences in personalities of the truly fast people, and everyone else. There's alot of similarities there and when it comes to winning and taking risks, the fast guys are willing to go a just a little farther. Wether it's confidence in their talents, ignorance of the consequences, or some brand of crazy, is different for every person.

What drives me forward is the desire to improve. I have never gone to the track and not given a shit if I went faster. I work on it constantly. My process is very different, for the above reasons- or maybe not that different, but just more measured or incremental. I tend to chip away at a lap, one corner at a time, whereas I've noticed the fast guys will fix something the next lap, it might take me till the next session to execute a change. It works for me, and I'm going faster now than I ever have, and I feel like there's more speed out there that I'm capable of accessing.

One thing I love about racing, is that it tends to keep things in perspective- especially in today's chickenshit world where people are being trained to be afraid to breathe. My family are a bunch of old Italians, always wringing their hands with worry about something. At least when I'm racing, I'm not worried about car accidents, BB guns randomly going off and shooting your eye out, coconuts falling on your head, or any of the other random things my family is always fretting about. I swear they see danger around every corner. I hate that attitude and I don't ever want to live like that.

I don't know that I'll ever quit, maybe someday, but I can't see life without racing something. Everyday life just seems so lame when compared to a good hard lap. And I have a damn good life!

 

Resistance

Inertia

 

When I first started racing, I realized I had the straights dialed and should probably work on the corners.

 

In life? A serious injury on my way home from a training ride on my bicycle- I raced Bikes and did triathlon. I was 25.
Glascow coma scale #3- barely alive for 10 days. It was a difficult and challenging road to recovery. That was 1986.
Since then I made a complete recovery- took a long time.
This keeps me going and improving.
After that accident- I got my 3rd College degree that I use today in my profession- Physician Associate.

I've always been drawn to motorcycles. Started very young on Mini bikes, road MotoX, always had motorcycles.

I'm now 61. This last year I did my first 'Track Days' with STT.
I'm getting a Track only bike this season and riding with MotoVid this season, maybe STT too.

That had me down, and keeps me going.

I have a great life, beautiful wife, 2 great kids now 18 and 21, I can't/don't complain, but sometimes I still do LOL

 

I used to worry about all kinds of stuff and then one day my therapist said to me "If you're worried that something bad is going to happen, let me reassure you, something bad will happen. Now stop worrying about it".

 

Thats similar to what I tell the wife. I tell her “Shit is going to happen, worrying about it won’t prevent it or fix it. Just carry on and when shit happens, we will deal with it”.

She also tends to care too much about what people think and worry about pleasing everyone, and that causes her (unnecessary) stress.

I try to tell her that life is so much easier and simple when you truly don’t give a fuck what people think.

I don’t mean how some people will say “Eh I don’t care” but it’s really eating on them.

I mean you have to genuinely not give a shit about what people think, or care about pleasing people.

Granted, that can likely end up with someone being like me, having no good friends IRL, not knowing the neighbors, etc. Hell there are blood relatives I haven’t spoken to since I was in high school.

But fuck it. I can honestly say my life is drama free. Anyone that repeatedly caused drama is removed from my life, permanently, without hesitation or remorse. I would rather not talk to anyone than deal with drama and bullshit.

If the biggest drama I have to deal with is deciding the color of my next vehicle, I’m doing alright.