Honda Canada Racing Presents the Monday Gate Drop

Good day and welcome to the first Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop of the fall of 2017. Yes, even though that in the eastern half of the Canada summer appears to still be here, the official fall season is now upon us. The good thing is that we still have at least another month of good riding ahead of us and Honda Canada is leading the way with a complete line of motorcycles for all ages and abilities. As everyone knows Honda Canada Racing’s top rider Colton Facciotti is now over in England making his final preparations for this weekend’s 2017 MXON. Facciotti and his Team Canada teammates are ready to take on the world and we want to wish them the best of luck. Go Canada Go!

Colton Facciotti’s helmet is painted and ready to go for this weekend.

Yes, as I mentioned above, the riders and their mechanics have now arrived in England to begin what is hopefully one of the most successful week’s of their lives. Last week in my Style Check story I wrote about what Team Canada’s schedule will entail this week as they prepare for this weekend. Testing, sightseeing, relaxing and bonding as a team will pretty much be taking up almost all of their time this week. Also, I’m sure that Team Manager Kourtney Lloyd will be doing a little preying to the weather gods to keep the rain away from the Matterley Basin track. Even though all three of our boys are proven wet weather riders, so are pretty much every other rider in the field so no one wants it to rain. Every fan wants to see a fair fight on a perfect track on Sunday. Two other riders that are also en route with their families to England are Ontario Intermediate rider Jake Tricco and BC Intermediate rider Jacob Piccolo. These two fast amateur riders are representing Canada this week as our Youth Ambassadors so that is also very exciting. All week they will be hanging out with Team Canada and getting the experience of learning what it’s like to perhaps be a part of this event in the near future. I’m sure everyone involved will have an exciting week as they prepare for this awesome event. Judging by the photos and videos of the Matterley Basin track, our riders better get ready to jump! Please stay right here all week as I will have Team Canada updates all week.

Today was bike build time in England for Team Canada. Photo courtesy of Team Canada

Moving on from the upcoming MXON’s to this past weekend in Ontario and the final AMO/MMRS event of the 2017 season. Just as it did last year, their combined season wrapped up at Moto Park on Saturday with a great day of racing and then a cool dinner and banquet in the evening. I really like doing a year end celebration in this manner as everyone is there, everyone is still in motocross mode, and everyone is ready to party. With free food and a limited amount of free booze (well nothing is free as the members have paid to race all season long) but nonetheless there was no charge and that always makes an event more enjoyable. After everyone filled their stomachs with food and drinks, awards were given out and then of course it was time for the endless bench racing. During the next few weeks all of the sanctioning bodies right across Canada will no doubt be holding their final events and their banquets to thank their members for a great season. Congratulations to everyone who had the courage to throw their leg over a dirt bike this season Canada and lined up behind a starting gate. It’s the toughest sport on the planet and you are all awesome!

For me, this past weekend at Moto Park ended up being more than just a motocross race as it presented a very unique parenting moment. This coming Thursday will mark the day that I’ve been a parent for exactly one decade as my son turns ten on September 28. Like every parent, I remember that day like it was yesterday and as you can all attest to, the time has flown by. Over the past ten years there has been many milestones and numerous times that I have had to go into ‘Dad’ mode and reassure Ayrton that his next step will not be his last (so to speak). His first real steps, the first time he stepped onto the ice, his first dirt bike (although I was almost proven wrong on this one), his first day of school and the first time he wanted to jumped something on either his dirt bike or BMX, all of these and a few more come to mind. However, on Saturday afternoon I had to make a quick parenting decision that I had not had to make before, and within those moments I knew what my dad meant when he used to tell me to always listen to my little voice.

Ironically this photo of Ayrton and I on the starting line for his first ever race in 2012 somehow appeared on the MX Fails social media channels. This is pretty much how we must have looked on Saturday as we chatted prior to his final moto at Moto Park.

Before I get into what exactly happened I first must give you the short back story. I’m really not exaggerating when I say that in his past five races Ayrton has probably crashed in 90% of them. Most have been small and not very harmful, but a few have been painful and he currently has about ten different bruises all over his body. Of these crashes, a few have come during practice, however, most have been during races. As a parent, it’s easy to sit on the sidelines, and as long as they’re not injured, it’s easy to shake your head and wonder how he or she could make such a foolish mistake. We’ve all been there just as I’m sure my parents were there when I was racing. But at the same time it’s hard to fault your kid for crashing as it’s just part of the sport, every rider has done it and they will continue to do it. I believe that one of the most important life lessons our young riders need to learn is how to lose and make the most of it. Making mistakes and facing adversity is a good thing for a young kid and they will no doubt be better off for it in the future. I’ve seen and I continue to see today a few of our young riders who have success almost every single weekend. So much so that they begin to believe that this is how racing and life works. As an adult and a long time racer, I know this isn’t the case, and that it why I feel that a little adversity (to a certain level) is good for every kid. So after numerous confidence denting crashes this summer, I was hoping that this past weekend at Moto Park would be the end of the season race that my son was looking for.

Well, after three solid motos on Sunday that saw Ayrton not only not crash, but also finish second overall in one of his classes, we prepared for his final moto of the day and most likely the 2017 season. I know it’s only the end of September and there are a few races remaining. But this is the tough time of year as many of you multi-sport parents know when our kids sports begin to overlap. For instance, last week, Ayrton has 2018 baseball tryouts on Wednesday, a hockey practice another night and a game on Friday night, combine that with an evening of motocross practice and that makes for a pretty busy week. So as we headed down to the starting line for his final moto on Saturday, our ten year old was looking like a haggered mess. He rode his KTM65 down to staging first and then I followed a short time later. When I got down he was sitting in shade staring out to the track. I sensed something was afoot as his body language wasn’t that of a rider ready to go and race. So I sat down and asked him if everything was okay? He said that he wasn’t feeling to good and when I looked at his eyes I knew something was way off. My son’s beautiful eyes were blood shot and tired looking. With staging for his final moto all ready to take place, I turned away from him and began to think about what we were going to do and what advice I could give him. As motocross parents we are trained to make our kids push through the pain and give it their all, regardless of how they feel. This sport usually eats the weak for breakfast and rewards only the bravest young riders, all of these thoughts along with all of my experiences as a young rider years ago raced through my mind in those short moments. I thought about not just the risk versus the reward, but also what my ten year old had been through during his summer of racing, the numerous crashes, the pressure to jump big jumps that perhaps he didn’t feel ready to jump. This all went through my mind in about 30 seconds as I was staring out at a track that I raced on when I was his age. Here is what I came up with.

If you don’t believe me, take it from the Most Interesting Man in the World.

I thought to hell with the old school parenting concept of not being a wimp and getting out there regardless of how you feel. I thought that with his solid finish (on a track that much of his competition practised on all summer long) already in the books, why not call it a day and let his second place be the result that sits with him all winter long. I looked back at him finally and told him that if he didn’t feel completely up to racing his moto than I was okay with just heading back to the pits. I reminded him that his goal coming into the weekend was not crashing and having one good final result that he could be proud of. At that point he has accomplished both so what was left to prove? After giving it some thought for about twenty seconds, he looked at me with his exhausted eyes and said “lets go back to the pits”.

That was it and that was our season. Who knows how that moto would’ve went? Maybe it would’ve went even better than the one before, we’ll never know. What I do know is that on Thursday I will have a ten year old who is healthy and feeling good about his final race of 2017, and if I could in anyway have helped him to be in that position, then I did my part as his parent. Yes, I think part of being a young athlete is being tough and pushing beyond your limits. But, I think it’s also about making smart decisions and trying to limit the risks as you develop your skill set. Of course I wanted Ayrton to race that final moto and do well, but when I saw his eyes and I thought about the heat of the day, and also what he had done all week, I knew he was done and that if he did race, who knows what might’ve happened? As Kenny Rodgers once sang, “You’ve got know when to hold them, and know when fold them”. With ten years down I cannot wait to see what the next decade of parenting entails.

Friends and family of The 15 Practice Track, on Sunday October 1st we are having a fundraiser for our friend Jeff Hauck. Come join us for a Ride/BBQ all proceeds will be donated. If there’s anyone who would like to donate food/drinks for the BBQ or some goodies for the draws please contact us. Rain date will be Sunday October 22nd. More details to follow. Thank you

I hope everyone has a great first week of fall and a safe week of riding. Also, good luck to Team Canada as they prepare for the biggest race of the year. I’m predicting great things from Team Canada on Sunday as they take on the best riders on the planet. Finally, if you live in Ontario or close to it, don’t forget about the charity ride day this Sunday at Track 15 for Jeff Hauck and his family. It will be a great day of riding and all of the proceeds raised with go to help Jeff with his long recovery. Have a great week everyone!