Intro by Ron Cameron:
I recently spent some time with Sam Gaynor and his family and were talking about the upcoming season and the preparations that everyone starts to do to get ready. We all have routines for getting our bikes, our gear and our bodies ready. I want to take a look at what you (Sam), have done over the progression of your racing career to get your mind ready.
We spoke about how when starting as a 50cc rider, Sam said it was all fun to go to the track and play with his friends and ride his bike and never thought about anything else. Then as time went by and he started to move up in classes, things started to change. How did you folks deal with these changes?
What were some of the strategies/methods you learned that worked or did not work for you to deal with the various pressures/stresses you had from yourself, your peers, your family as well as injuries, successes and failures.
What is the importance of taking breaks during the year? Season? Week? To reset, you (Sam), took some time away from the sport and how did that go?
How does last year’s season affect you for the upcoming season? Sam mentioned how he was on the podium at the last race in Walton when he realized it was his first injury free season since 2012.
By Sam Gaynor:
Dealing with change as a young motocross racer is a different feeling. You start out going to the track and playing with your friends with toy dirt bikes or bicycles or whatever. As time goes on it slowly progresses to no playing, just riding and visiting friends, then when you get to that elite level as a pro you go to the track because it’s your job, and that’s when you have to sit back a bit and try to find the fun of why you started, so you don’t get burnt out. As a family it took several years of long conversations, long car rides, some quiet car rides, success and failure to realize; we started because it was fun, and we need to remember on the “bad” days it could always be worse. Dad being a “50 Dad” when I was young had its moments but as a team we all realized that getting angry and mad wasn’t worth it, when you scream and yell at your kids, it makes them not want to be there. Yes, you still need to have criticism but, it has to be structured for what works for your rider.
Injuries growing up were a weird thing. I never thought about them but, if I saw one happen it would psych me out. I would freak out and not ride like myself. Growing up injuries are things you don’t even think about, and as speed progresses and you mature, you realize how serious they can be. I remember sitting on the gate on my 50 and watching the ambulance roll in, I was so scared that I might as well of not raced. Through the years I’ve learned it is just an unfortunate part of the sport. I now say a prayer before every race and hope that neither me nor anyone else has to go through that, and that we can all have a clean, healthy, and fun race. Over the years I have watched some really bad stuff while riding; paralysis, death, badly broken bones, and those are the moments when it’s a really difficult sport to love but, I also have to think about the thousands of amazing people I have gotten to meet because of this beautiful sport!
Success comes in many ways. My personal success in 2023 was getting through the whole year without an injury. Success can also be winning, beating a certain rider, getting a faster lap time than your previous race. Whatever it may be, we have to cherish every single success. This sport is a grueling sport but, success is why we do it. That feeling of being on top of the world, being unstoppable is what drives us to push. As “Moto Crossers” we put the risk etc. to the side. In our mind, every time we hit the track, it’s because we want to give it our 100% to get that #1 plate. Success can be coming back from an injury. Injuries are some of the most mind grueling and difficult parts of the sport. When you’re sitting at home and no one calls or texts, and you’re there in a cast watching from the outside, it’s difficult. That’s why you have to surround yourself with good people, so that when you make that comeback, the success feels even better. Success for some families in today’s day and age is just being able to afford to make it to the track. That is a huge success in this moment of financial hardship, the whole world is in but, in those times, parents/families dig deep for the enjoyment of being at the races with their “2nd family” and getting to do a damn cool sport!
Failure also comes in a ton of different ways. More times than not, failure is “losing the race” but that’s not always true. Sometimes, especially in our sport we are very quick to jump at a situation and call it a failure because we didn’t win or whatever the case may be, instead of taking a step back and looking at what went well. This all really changed for me and my family when I had my crash at Club MX in spring 2022. Being in a life helicopter and not knowing what’s next really opened our eyes to the fact that it could always be worse. Although it may feel like a failure, just put your head down even more the next time you go out, so you get a better result etc. For me, being injured every single year from 2012-2022 was really hard. It felt like no matter what I did it was wrong. I dug deep and kept getting knocked down but that’s why getting through the entire 2023 season healthy was huge for me. In moto, with the amount of money spent by families it’s really easy to get angry and upset with how you’re riding but, you have to remember, you still get to wake up the next day, put your pants on; one leg at a time and try again. You could be leaving in a helicopter not knowing what’s next or what the extent of injuries are. As a sport we need to open our eyes to how dangerous our sport is and we need to appreciate the people we meet along the way and the great experiences we get to have!
Taking breaks throughout the season can be crucial. When I was young, we would always have a “Walton boot camp” the week before Walton and I always struggled at Walton. We figured out over the years that taking a week off before the event, actually made me way hungrier and proved better results for me. In 2018 I got to go to LORRETTA Lynn’s and I didn’t ride for almost 2 weeks before the event. I did some of my best riding and had some great results. Sometimes taking a bit of time off is a reset for a fresh beginning. That’s what I did going into the 2023 season. I mentally was worn out at the end of 2022 and said that I was done but, after some time fully away from the sport the burn came back, I really needed a solid look in the mirror during that time to figure out what I truly wanted.
This upcoming season is going to be bittersweet for me! During the off season I went and got my wrist fixed from my crash 2 years ago. I’m excited to get back out there and prove to myself and to others that I still got this, and that I’m a bad a$$!!! I truly appreciate all the people in my closest circle for supporting me day in and day out along this journey. It hasn’t been the easiest one but having great people around you sure makes it a lot easier!
