Tyler Medaglia Diary From Sand Del Lee

Travelling with infants will be a part of my life for the next few years. I hate flying; it’s extremely uncomfortable for me. I think too much and cannot seem to wrap my narrow mind around how massive planes work. Add in the fact you have no control whatsoever and the extremely high possibility of an agitated baby crying, squirming, shitting and/or disturbing the fifteen or so radius of people around you equals zero comfort. Luckily the flight from Halifax to Ottawa is short and T-man was ready for a nap right around the time of departure.

Coming back to Ottawa is always a treat. I get to spend time with my family and close friends, have home cooked meals, sleep in my old faithful bed and be 25 minutes from Sand Del Lee. Now that Talon is almost two, he is at a very fun age and it’s nice to introduce him to my family and friends who have not seem him in quite some time. This year we had a get-together at my aunt and uncle’s pool on Friday with the family, Dylan Kaelin, Laura Montgomery and my best friend Nick May (former racer turned inventor/businessman who just finished filming and will be featured on the TV show “Dragons Den”!). Following the swim we got our Friday night carb load on with some Mountain Station pizza, which has turned into somewhat of a tradition in the last few years. I wish I could mail out samples to all the readers as this pizza is the bees knees.

In 2000 I did a race in Hurst, Ontario, way up north, when I was still on 80s and ended up winning $1200. With that money I bought a brand new 1999 Honda Z50 (the last year they were made). At Walton that same year I hit a triangle stand and put a hole in the cases. The bike has been sitting at my parents’ place ever since (somewhere in between then and now Nick and I attempted to epoxy the hole but it didn’t work). This year my Dad helped me put it back together. We were up late Friday night but got the job done and the thing is still in mint condition!

Given the lack of time in my home town, I spent next to no time at the track on Saturday, got the goggles built up, signed in and hit the road. Once Nick and I got back from lunch, we all just kicked back at my parents’ place (got another old Honda 50 running) so we all were taking turns on four different pit bikes until my Mom called us in to watch the AMA race (Washougal)…which brings me to my next point that there might be another contender to hit our races for the rest of the season, more on that later.

Race day is great at Sand Del Lee. The track is prepped properly, there are tons of spectators and most of the people that have been any part of my whole life show up to watch. It really makes a person feel good when you go through two stacks of posters and have a sore voice from talking to friends and fans all day long. Another unique part about this race is the memories. The front table top jump has been there before I was born. I have a picture of my dad hitting it on a XR200 when he was in his teens and we have a picture of me hitting it in 1995 on a KX60 wearing the big #7 (My 60 had #77 but my 50 was #7). Eighteen years later I’m hitting the same jump wearing the same number. The race itself went well aside from a bogus referee call. The second moto charge back from last to 4th was one of my finer races. Hoping to carry the momentum into next weekend at Deschambault! Wish me luck! Hope you enjoyed this entry!

-TDags