Well, with a national happening not too far away it was thin picking at the track this weekend. I was not going to race, but the TO begged me to sign up so there would be another older rider and would keep moto maker from ripping apart the younger classes. I did, and I was the only expert rider in the class! It was me, a 17 year old I`ve been helping, and a guy I used to race in Intermediate. In the first round I snapped out of the gate and had a 3 bike lead by the first jump. I fell back to 3rd and coached the kid on choosing lines with a rider in front of him (he`s a novice). 2 round I snapped a little less hard and illustrated some lines by example and won that moto. I was going to run with it in the main and take the overall, but winning against these guys would have meant a lot less than a little on-track instruction, so I just stayed between them and coached, taking 2nd.



I can`t call it sandbagging because, well, I race expert,  another win is only points! It also made it worth their money and maybe gave them a little boost in morale. I felt a lot better about helping out than just obliterating people I knew I could beat, ya` know?

OK, so the other day i wrote about being a good representative as a sponsored athlete. Today, I`ve got something else on my mind.



What makes a good sponsor? The discounts? The cool gear? Their name on your moto sheet? Sure, those are all cool, but none of that makes a good sponsor. Sponsorship is support. If you`re out there breaking your neck for a company you believe in, shouldn`t they believe in you, too?



If someone comes to YOU, and solicits YOU to use their product, is it not fair to expect that they will stand by their commitment? Id it not fair that when it comes time to deliver on THEIR end of the deal, that they do it without a whimper? And if you solicit a deal with a company, and they accept, should they not recognize your commitment and deliver without question to the deal at hand? I know of a few companies who just don`t take care of their riders when the chips are down, and that just sucks.



Granted yes, we as riders have our responsibilities to out sponsors, but by sponsoring an athlete a company is saying to them "we think you stand out enough to care about you and your success, and we can help you help us." We as riders can`t expect free product just because we ride, but sometimes a need comes up that a rider just can`t overcome on his own, and tha`ts where TRUE sponsor support should come through.



And lastly, before I quit for today, my final thought: Any sponsor, or representative of a sponsor that makes a deal with any rider should honor that deal. No questions. If a company offers a rider something outside the definitions of their contract, it should be as serious as if it were written in blood. It sets an expectation and mkaes a rider feel like someone has a personal belief in them. Breaking that deal, or forgetting about it takes a serious toll on a riders` confidence in the company, and how is a rider expected to believe in a company when they`ve been let down?



Take care of your riders, and don`t blow smoke up their ass. The first time you let them down you damage your own credibility with the riders that support you.

I asked myself this question, and the answer was a lot longer than I figured it would be. I see a lot of really fast riders without any real support, and a lot of mid-pack, yet very personable riders get some really good representation. Not that it`s rocket science, but some riders think that being fast is enough to land the big support deals. IT`S NOT. Sure, winning a high profile event against some well known riders can get you some attention, but if you`re an ass when people want to stop and ask for a moment of your time no one is going to want their company associated with that. I may not be the fastest guy at the track, but I do have my days. I like to think that I make a good representative for any company who`s products I use, not just because I`m a pretty heavy guy (210 lbs) and give my gear a real workout, but more importantly is that I recognize the importance of making sure I carry an image that not only I want people to have of me, but that my sponsors want associated with them.



I thank all of my sponsors for everything they do, and continually try to represent them both on the track and off.



Peace for now,

JB

Well, I had fun this weekend! It was a state qualifier at my home track, and I was pretty excited. I was supposed to have been on the bench for a couple more weeks with the shoulder and all, but I decided to race anyway. First round we all snapped together. Seriously, not one rider had a significant holeshot. I was in lane 4, so I had good positioning for the first turn. Heading to the first jump I se the guy to my left trying to come over to the inside. Nope, not gonna happen. But he`s on my bad shoulder side so I can`t fight him off too hard so I look to move inside as well. Dang! The guy on my inside is swerving into me too! WTF!? Over the first jump we`re literally locking elbows. I bumped the guy on my inside with my hip to get him off of me and start to slide a little. I admit I panicked a little and didn`t want to crash on an injured shoulder so I just backed off the rest of the day. I was surprised at how much I did get in the mix even with the injury, so I know I won`t be gunshy once it`s healed, and in a couple of weeks I`ll start racing multiple times a week again. Waiting to see what track gets the June RCQ since thunderhill closed down. If it`s San Antonio or Lufkin it`s ON!

Well, I`m showing signs of my old self! I had all the power I could use when I came back to BMX. I needed the skills, and the confidence that comes with them to be competitive again. Riding with guys like Chris Ham, Denzel Stein, Sergio Pena, Jason Egbert, and Justin Dodson (just to name a few) helped me learn the more modern skills in a relatively short time. I could manual with some confidence after 6 months or so, but my one treasured ability wasn`t returning. And I was starting to worry. I just didn`t have the...stuff...to jump like I used to. Jumping was the core of my love for BMX, and it seemed so foreign when I returned.



But not anymore! I don`t know what it was, but something clicked. I got fed up with not jumping so I just pulled my pants up and heaved over a set of doubles at the track like a man, and something started to stir. I was remembering how it felt to have no fear. I went home and decided to build a small set of doubles at my house the following day. My son and I built them, then stared at our creation. After eyeballing the jump I went for it and cleared it without a hitch. GOD it felt god! A few more attempts and my son was almost giddy. He had only heard stories of my jumping ability, now he was witnessing his dear ol` dad catching twice the air he was, getting nearly head high off a small jump! I started whipping off some style and I knew I had started something.



Last night at the track I was a different person. Most of the more experienced young riders use the 3rd straight to play on, and here I was jumping right with the rest of them! We started a session of sorts, convincing some of the less experienced riders to step up and start jumping...which they did!! My example was the precedent for a 2 hour jump fest, and it felt they way BMX is supposed to feel. It was a bunch of friends supporting and encouraging each other to progress in a very real, tangible way.



I have gottten fast, now it`s time to do something with it. As I recover from an injury I will be racing regularly again, now with more confidence and my sights set on a bigger goal...a NAG plate. But that`s only the start. Before I race my last race I WILL represent in Vet Pro. I WILL line up with the best of the best and hold my own. I will prove that belief in myself will get me where I want to be, and I will prove that the faith my sponsors have in me is most certainly warranted.