A kids gotta race

On our Facebook page I like to find out what the moms, and dads, want to know.  Tonight one of the answers was "Where to find races" and "national caliber" races specifically.  

We are in Texas, and I have just started traveling with Dirt Bike Mom and MX Outfitter to races, so I am constantly researching where to go. And I'll be honest, finding races is easy.  Finding races of national caliber, such as Loretta Lynn's, is not so easy.  Loretta's is kind of the pinnacle for the young racer, and from what I can tell (and I am certainly no expert) you kind of work your way back from there.

Let's took at it like this, AMA  is kind of like the NASCAR of the motocross racing community.  As far as I can tell, AMA is in every state sponsoring races.  Here we have other groups/series, but AMA is everywhere.  Loretta Lynn's is the National event.  To get to Tennessee, you need to win the Regional, to get to the Regional you need to win the Area.  To win the Area, you just need to be experienced enough at winning to win.  This is the  2013 LL Area Qualifier & Regional list.

AMA also sponsors State Championships.  To get to the State level, you go through your districts.  The districts are drawn by AMA.  And, again, to win the district, you just need to be experienced enough at winning to win.

I have found a great resource has been the track owners and/or managers.  They know all things racing if they have been around for a few years.  They want to get the big races at their tracks and they can give you some direction.  It is also a big feather in their cap to be able to say that " ___  is the home track of  ____ who won ____."  And lets be honest, we don't mind letting our kids train where champions also train!

Finally, there are the local races.  Again, Texas is really all I know, but we have a good community of tracks that, for example, are currently having an AMA Texas Winter Series that consists of 5 races at 4 different tracks.  This is great experience for your rider and is base level.  I have bookmarked a long list of tracks and sit down every month on a specific day and go to their calendars and make my list of who is doing what.  To make my list of tracks I used DirtWerkz state directory and went from there.  Once you get to looking at track schedules, you will find a series that will lead you to another track, and next thing you know, your calendar is full!

Blessings!




 

When in doubt

This week on our Facebook page the question was asked "how do you  responded when family does not agree with your decision to let your kids ride motorcycles?"

And the responses were all worded very differently, but were unanimously in agreement, that
1) this is valuable family time
2) this sport is dangerous, but so is anything else kids do
3) its better than too much TV time or getting in trouble time unsupervised
4) we give them all the safety equipment available and trust God to do the rest.

Personally, agree with all of these, but probably most with the last one.  I know firsthand how tragedy can strike.  I have also experienced extreme loss when everyone was doing everything right.  On the other side of that coin, I have seen miracles happen before my eyes.  Things, protection, that only a power greater than mere humans could provide.  Things that could have only come from God. 

So, if you are ever doubting your decision to let your kids ride, ask yourself if they do it for you or if they truly enjoy it.  If they are having fun, then put them in the best gear you can afford, say a prayer over them, and put 'em on a bike.  God has it planned out.  It doesn't matter what we do, what we say, where we live, or how much money we have.  God has a plan, and trusting him with our children is the best thing we can do.

Blessings!