What riding and racing has taught me?
Pit Monkey, consider yourself lucky! Your parents are supporting your riding, and that is much more than I got ever from mine! It's not that my parents didn't care or love me (just the opposite). It's that they never or refused to understand.
When I was 12 or 13, I wanted a RM 80 so bad I could taste it. My parents, especially my dad, wouldn't have it. Wouldn't even discuss it! I was even offering to use my Summer job money to pay for it. So I waited, until I was 20, and out of college (2 yr. community college). I went down to the local shop and got me a dual sport, then got a PE (off road, early version of a RMX). And then finally I got a '86 YZ 125 that was in a box! Literally it was in pieces, in a box! All of this while I was attending trade school. My parents never paid for one bike, part or entry fee. When my dad found out that I was riding down at the local track, well lets just say it ended short of getting really nasty. It's not that my dad was being a a**hole. It's that he didn't understand why the hell I wanted to go riding, and ultimatily racing. He only saw the danger in the sport, not the benifits. My biggest example was that when all my friends were out partying, and yes I did go sometimes. I was out practicing or training or just riding trying to better myself not only on a bike, but as a person.
I guess my situation is unique, but I hope this helps in someway. In my mind, even if I was injured, it was better than falling into the trap of drugs and alcohol. And that is a trap that would of been in my very near future if I wasn't into motocross, but thats another story.
So what did it teach me? Never give up! I'm 35 now and last yr.on a 4 yr. old RM I won my first race!
Pit Monkey, keep the Faith! And don't ever, ever give up your dreams!
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