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2022 was full of ups and downs. My 3 main goals were to win the #1 plates in the Washington State Championship and Northwest Gold Cup Championship and to podium in main event at the USABMX Nationals we attended. I also started racing the cruiser class this season helping me get more track time at the races. I trained hard and was able to win most the local races I entered. I reached my goal in the Washington series earning the #1 plate in both the expert class & cruiser class. Unfortunately after leading in points both classes all season in the Gold Cup series I had a rough couple days at the finals and ended the season with Gold Cup #3 plates in both classes. Still proud of the season overall in those series, but will focus on reaching #1 in both for 2023. Happy with the final district standings for the year too. I was able to earn a Dist #2 plate in 20" expert class and a Dist #6 plate in the cruiser class.
The National season proved to be more of a challenge like I knew it would. We attended 4 nationals in 2022. The NW Nats, Lumberjack Nats, Vegas Nats and Fall Nats. We also made the last minute decision to head up to the Canadian Grand Nationals. But I'll cover that in a second.
The Northwest Nationals was a rough start to the year for my 1st national in Redmond Oregon. I was hit with a competitors bike when he looped out during the 1st race of the weekend causing me to go down hard into the face of one of the double jumps. It was my 1st time having to race injured as I ended up with a deep hip/thigh bruise, sprained wrist & a lot of road rash. I was able to podium in the main event in my cruiser class but did not make the main in 20" expert class.
The Lumberjack Nationals Started out good when I won the 1st round qualifier in my cruiser class. Unfortunately the rest of the weekend went alot like the NW Nats as I ended up getting tangled up and going down twice when other riders crashed causing me to miss out in qualifying for the mains. Of coarse I'm not looking to make excuses, if I had been out front in the lead I would not of been caught up in those crashes. I need to do better.
Vegas Nationals were tough. Alot more riders then the nationals I've been to before. I raced hard, but my consentration was a mess and I failed to qualify for the mains.
Fall Nationals in Bakersfield California were also very tough. Still learning to control my focus and consentration better at the big races. But again I was able to podium in my cruiser class winning 1st place on day two. Although I qualified for the main in my 20' expert class I did not make the podium ending with a 6th place overall.
The Canadian Grands were great to go to for more high level competition. I was able to win 1st place in both cruiser and class on day one. But had another hard crash on day two when I was hit from behind while leading in round one of my 20" expert class. Unfortunatley the crash effected the rest of my weekend and I was unable to make the podium on day two and three.
Still waiting for USABMX to finalize the point standings for the National series, but I will update this blog when the final standings are posted.
So overall happy with the season. Still learning, training hard and trying to get better at staying forcused and not letting my head get in the way like I have in the past. I have been training hard during the off season and working with USABMX Pro rider Trenton Moore to continue getting better in all areas of racing. We've been talking alot about positive mental focus, racing forward and keeping a clear head when the gate drops. Looking forward to the 2023 season, again I'll be working to reach the same goals in the State and Gold cup series. But my number #1 goal this year will be to qualify for the main event at every national we go to and reach the podium at least 50% of the time. I hope for more, but want to keep a realistic goal that is possible to reach. After all, not even the top pro's win everytime they race. So now we are all caught up and its time to get back to training. Let the Mayhem begin!!!
