GETTING THROUGH THE RUTS
As the man on the microphone called “297,” I pushed my bike down the line and picked out a gate. This was my gate pick for the start of my first motocross race. I have always wanted to race. My dad was a semi-pro, an A class racer, back in his early years. I told myself I could do the same. I had a goal. When the red light came on—start your bikes—I looked at bikes on either side of me. Forty bikes were lined up on the gate—all racing into one 180-degree corner. Then I looked back up at the light and it had turned yellow—time to shift into gear. I could hear my heart pounding, and I felt sick. I was so nervous. Finally the light was green, and I had one to three seconds until my life would change. At that moment, my mind silenced the revving of the bikes, and my eyes focused on the first corner. I was ready to race. Then it happened.
The gate dropped. I let the clutch out and moved off the gate, racing side by side with the others toward the corner with room for only one racer.
As I moved closer and closer to the corner, I began to see the ruts in the dirt. As I kept my eyes on the inside rut, it seemed as if I got pushed back a little in the pack. I was so focused; all I could think about was getting to the front. Then, something I will always remember happened. I fell.
Those who were racing into the corner behind me didn’t stop; they kept racing. I was in the worst place a motocross racer could be—down in the first corner. My dad had always told me, “Keep your elbows up and block.” At that moment I realized why you keep your elbows up!
After nearly every racerbehind me managed to run over me, a flagman moved my bike to the side of the track. My body ached and I didn’t want to get back on and ride. As I picked myself up and got on my feet, I figured nothing is going to be easy, andthis is what I wanted to do. I started my bike and slowly got back on the track. I finished dead last.
I told myself I would never do that again. Before my next race, I would practice during the week, run in the mornings, and take advice from fellow racers. I would be prepared for the next race.
From my racing experience, I learned that if you want to succeed in anything in life it takes practice, skill, dedication, and most importantly, effort. After falling in that race, I was in pain and I was embarrassed to finish in last place. But falling in that race was the best thing that could have happened to me. It changed my life. When I look at something for the first time, I think about how much time, practice, and dedication it will take. Then I put together a plan to succeed. I learned that sometimes you have to fail to succeed. Falling in the first corner of my first race made me fail, but I learned from that experience that when I am prepared, I can get through the ruts and succeed.