The Trials and Tribulations of a Moto Mom

Well, we’re another week closer to spring! If you pretend the snow’s not there it looks like a beautiful day today. I just can’t wait to be able to go for walks and bike rides with the kids. While I’m dreaming of spring, my husband is trying to figure out our race schedule.

How do you decide what races to attend? We’ve found the easiest way for us is to sit down with all the schedules and compile our own. We choose which races are beneficial for Preston to attend. It can be overwhelming at first. Last year my husband handed me his schedule and we only had one weekend off between April and November. We pretty much stuck to that the whole year and then added more. This year we are trying to plan more wisely, keeping a budget in mind. Gas is our biggest expense, especially when we start driving the motorhome and trailer. There are a few races we would love to go to in the next few weeks but with Vegas coming up soon, we’ve realized that we can’t do it all.

Racing motocross is very expensive. Between the bikes, parts, gear, trailer, motorhome, gas and time off work it soon adds up. Take advantage of all the help you can. If companies give you a discount on gear or parts, take advantage of it. Every dollar saved helps. Make a resume that you can hand out to sponsors and businesses. We’ve found building a website is most effective for us. That way it’s easy to keep it up to date and sponsors can see everything at once; resume, pictures, videos etc. When you are out there looking for sponsors it doesn’t have to be motocross related. We have an accounting firm that helps us out, a window tinting business as well as all the MX related sponsors. Last year when we found out Preston got into the arenacross finals in Las Vegas my photographer friend did a photo shoot fundraiser for him. We were so grateful as it helped ship his bike across the country. Motocross definitely takes hard work, time, money and dedication from the whole family.

In motocross, kids learn at an early age how to represent themselves. In January Preston along with a few other young riders set up displays at a Motorcycle Show to show off their sponsors.

 I’m sure a lot of you watched the specials ‘Behind the Dream’. If you didn’t, you should. Whether you are into motocross or not it relates to anyone out there who is chasing their dream. It shows the hardships that families go through on their journey. Even though we are still at the very early stages of this sport, I can totally relate. We sacrifice every day, such as time together through the week so we can race on the weekends. My husband works so hard in order to pay for this sport. When he’s not working he’s outside working on the bikes or at the track while Preston practices. Quite honestly, I don’t know how he does it. We sacrifice doing things that other families do for fun; going to the movies, eating out, amusement parks and vacations so that we have the money for racing. Preston’s very lucky to have such a devoted dad who is in this just as much as he is. I definitely play my part and help out as much as I can, but Preston wouldn’t be where he is without his dad. The sad part in ‘Behind the Dream’ was that as most amateurs turn pro, the relationships they had with their dads/families turn sour. I couldn’t begin to imagine how that feels. Wherever Preston’s journey takes him I hope that he always remembers and appreciates all that we have done. We do everything because we love him and will continue to support him as long as he wants to do this.

While we do sacrifice and try our hardest to keep Preston on the bike as much as possible, we can’t ever forget that we have a sweet little girl that deserves the world as well. Whether she decides to ride or do something else, we will completely support that.  She does gymnastics at the moment. I hate the thought of the day when our family has to split up on weekends because of activities or competitions. If that day comes we will do whatever it takes and sacrifice a little more so that she can chase her dream. Right now she is quite happy being his little cheerleader and playing with all her friends at the track.

Thank you to everyone who continues to read and follow our story, and to MXP. Have a great weekend!

To motocross families everywhere, tracks like Walton Raceway are where we sometimes spend our vacations.