Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to the final Honda Canada Racing Gate Drop of 2018. I cannot believe that we’re on the eve of yet another new year. Before I go any further I would really like to say thank-you to Honda Canada for their continued support of this weekly column and I look forward to working with them again next year.
As I mentioned above, we’re just hours away from bringing in a brand new year right across this great country of ours. As you read this, countries on the other side of the world have already begun to celebrate as 2019 has already arrived. The start of a new year always brings with it such hope and promise in all parts of our lives. If the past year has gone well then we want to continue to build on that success. If the past year has been dismal, then the moment the clock strikes midnight tonight there is a renewed sense of hope that the new year will be much better than the last. Regardless of what kind of year 2018 was for you and your family, my hope is that 2019 is the best year ever.
Test riding the new 2019 KX450F at Fox Raceway this past summer was definitely a highlight of 2018.
They say that at the end of the day life is really just made up of moments, and when you look back at each year, as long as the good moments outweigh the bad ones, then your year has to be considered a success. For the most part I would agree with this, unless your few bad moments were life altering. Under this umbrella of thinking, my 2018 was a big success and I hope that the new year brings much of the same. Other than perhaps a couple of things, I don’t think I would change too much as I look back at this past year.
Other than creating content from the sport that I love and that has been a part of my life now for four decades, the coolest part of my job is without doubt the travel. I hear and see so many people on Social Media talk about what a drag the travel can be as they go from event to event. I get it, driving to the airport, going through security and putting yourself through the process that is travelling can be a drag sometimes. All you want to do is get from point A to point B as fast as you can without any hassle. And yes, there are even times when I feel like just staying home and not having to deal with the travelling public. However, 99% of the time I absolutely love travelling and seeing new places. As one wise person once said, “It’s not what you know, it’s where you go.”
Watching Chad Reed and Jimmy Decotis ride last week at the JGR Suzuki test track was an awesome one in an lifetime experience.
This past year my travels took me to some very cool places and left me with some lasting memories. In June I got to visit Fox Raceway in California for the 2019 KX450F Media Launch. Not only was I able to spend the day riding the new Kawasaki 450, but it also gave me the unforgettable opportunity to ride with Jeremy McGrath. I did get to race with Jeremy a few times in the 1990’s, but I only saw him briefly on the starting line or when he was lapping me. This time we were not too far off each other in speed and smoothness and I loved every moment of it. By the way, the new 2019 KX450F is an amazing bike with all of the new features it has.
One week after being in California and after a short trip to Prince George, BC for Round 3 of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour, I found myself in hot and humid Florida for the 2019 Husqvarna off-road Media Launch. The awesome people from Husqvarna North America not only put us up at one of the coolest hotels in the Orlando area, but we also got to ride at one of the most sought after riding facilities on the planet, The Baker’s Factory. To see this incredible training facility and then to be able to spend the day riding there was truly amazing. It was definitely a hot and challenging day of riding, and I think I sweat off about 20 pounds, but it was so much fun at the same time.
Riding the 2019 Husqvarna’s at the Baker’s Factory in Florida was a day I will never forget.
From there, I made my way to all of the remaining MXTour events, as well as the ECAN in Quebec and the Walton TransCan. Both amateur events faced some adverse weather conditions that caused the tracks to go away for a bit. I will never forget standing on the starting line with my son when the first massive rain storms hit Deschambault and Walton. To see both tracks go from pristine to quagmire status in a matter of minutes was pretty unbelievable. Thankfully, we were prepared with umbrellas and lots of tear-offs. The conditions were almost unrideable, especially at Walton with the heavy mud, but I will say that it made my son a better rider for having to race in those conditions.
Not was only was the 2019 RM-Z250 brand new, but so was visiting Japan and experiencing all it has to offer.
After the summer of 2018 came to an end I then embarked on one of the most interesting trips of my life when I jetted 13 hours across the Pacific Ocean to Japan for the 2019 RM-Z250 Media Launch. I had never been to Japan before so each step I took was new to me. The scenery, the culture, the food, and even the 2019 RM-Z250 were all new. From the cool track we rode to the storytelling with my fellow motocross journalists, my trip to Japan is still something I think of regularly. With the long flights and the multiple hours spent in airports, it definitely tested my pure and unadulterated love of travelling.
So that brings us to now as we all get ready to welcome in another glorious year. A year that I believe will be one of, if not the most important in Canadian motocross history. I hope that my 2019 is another happy and healthy one and I hope the same for my family, as well as all of you. Let’s all be safe and let’s all try to be a little better than we were in 2018. And then let’s all meet here in 365 days to talk about what an incredible year we had. Happy New Year everyone and thanks for reading! See you in 2019!
Hanging out with Mike Brown and Kris Keefer at the FXR Snowbike Ride day in Minnesota was also one of my great moments from 2018. Happy New Year everyone!
