For weeks now, I’ve been telling myself that I needed to find the time to sit down and write this column. Unfortunately, something always came up and I never took the time, before now. Now, I realize that this might’ve been because I would need this platform to write something much different.
Let’s start with my season prep. I ended school the first week of May and went straight into training. Unfortunately, it’s been raining quite a bit in Quebec so it’s been hard to maximize my time on the bike as much as I would’ve liked. Throughout that time, we also did the team photoshoot with KTM and I rode with my new teammates whenever we got a chance!
Everything was going well and I was slowly but surely getting ready for the season. All of that came to a sudden stop when life showed us just how quickly and unexpectedly things can change. On May 16th, my better half had an accident while riding his bicycle on the bicycle path with his friend and took a big hit to his face and his back. After multiple surgeries to fix his fractured cheekbone, upper jaw and vertebrae, he is now feeling much better overall, but his spinal cord was compressed in the accident, and he remains paralyzed below the waist at the moment.
We are taking it day by day and hoping for recovery, knowing that we have a long road ahead of us. With that being said, Marco and I discussed quite a bit and decided that it would be best for all of us if I continued on with the plan we had for this summer, at least for the west coast and then we can reevaluate! So, I’ll be in Calgary this weekend, racing for the both of us.
I don’t have much else to say at the moment, because we are still in the unknown about most of this situation, but I do want to take a minute to talk a bit about the next few weeks of racing!As we move into round 1, I just want to ask that you be mindful of when you approach me on the subject. It’ll be my pleasure to tell you more about the situation and brag about how strong my better half is, but not if I’m in my moto gear or getting ready for my motos on race days. I want to prioritize my mental and physical health by focusing on my races, but any other time you can come and chat!
Take care everyone, see you this weekend.
