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Back in the days before “extreme” sports became mainstream, motocross riders were amongst the fittest athletes in the world. I was surprised that, two days after my first off-road rides in ages, I already can feel why.

Granted I’m untrained, coming out of a cold and a stress-filled week, so I wasn’t at 100%. That said, I’m feeling the effects in new and unusual places. I always take this as a good sign of refreshing a recently-unused muscular system.

Empirical observations in the days following two short rides:

Day 1

Bod felt taut, particularly in the upper chest torso area + shoulders

Day 2

A slight diminishing of upper-body tautness and a noticeable fatigue in the adductors that I haven’t felt for years. DOMS ftw

Tension in elbows and ulnar nerves, particularly the left arm (*pre-existing condition)

Day 3

Minimal adductor fatigue. Upper bod feels like it does when I take creatine. Def feel it in my lats today?!? #zoinks

I’m sure my personal stress and cold of last week contributed to some degree. But given how many different areas of my bod are feeling this mild effort, there is no doubt that trail riding can be a very effective whole-body workout.

Riding a motorcycle is in an of itself is a physical act. Riding a “regular” dirt road kicks its physicality up a notch. Add in some sand, rocks, and/or other obstacles, and so many systems are unwittingly activated that it is a very efficient mode of whole-body exercise.

Plus, it is SO much fun to do. 😀

A head and chest cold has taken me out for the last few days. Feeling a bit better and hope to be fit as a fiddle in a few days.

242lb

~29%bf

VO2 29.2

RHR 55

HRV 81-16

*catching cold and stress derailed start

Rather than focus on the myriad of things I did wrong (omg oh so many) for this Challenge, I choose to focus on what I did well.

1. I completed the challenge

2. I improved my times

3. (really #1) I loved wringing that 2-stroke out, upshifting while spinning the rear, wheelieing out of corners, waffling into them… the line is so fine that when I hit it, I’m in heaven. This is where I feel the most alive – pushing the ragged edge – and when I manage to get even part of it right, the rush is indescribably strong.

I can’t NOT lean into the turns”

Now, with incredible realism, the MotoGP^TM 21 video game allows me to push the limits of what I and the bike can do on track, with both human and AI competitors, without any catastrophic downside risk. (I had a rather severe accident back in the day.)

This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

Ever since seeing TRON, I wanted a lightcycle. I didn’t get to ride a real bike until later, with considerable restrictions, but that’s another post.

Point being, that I am now in a position to chase a dream long since given up on. No matter how good or fast I could be or have been, I’m carrying at least 50 and more like 90 additional pounds than the Fast Ones. It is so painful to connect everything well, hit all your markers, and be passed like you’re standing still.

This is where eSports thrive. Multiple generations can come together and compete as equals.”

I always wanted to race MotoGP. I was always too big to have a chance IRL, but now physical characteristics like height and weight are irrelevant. We all play the same game, on the same systems, and just as the IRL races have become, the competition is closer than ever.

Imagine how many people can now go back and recapture those abandoned aspirations.”

For me, I can now compete at the highest level against the world’s best, and see how slow I really am. I’ve usually been a middle-of-the-pack competitor, but I’m optimistic that this may be an arena I can potentially be competitive at the highest level.

Not to mention that at my advanced age, I can do without the physical or financial risk. Racing IRL is very expensive. As the old joke goes, “The best way to make a million dollars in racing? Start with two million and get out quick.”

I’ve only had three crashes in my 40 years of riding, and all three were my fault. One of them changed the course of my life.

I am grateful to now be able to compete without risk to myself or others, and I REALLY want to go fast. Let’s see how good I can get!

Part One

I was first introduced to motorcycles when I was 10 by my friend Ricky and his older brothers Ron and Scott, who all rode motocross bikes.

On our family drives, I’d gaze out the window and imagine myself riding a dirt bike alongside the van, doing wheelies, and jumping over all kinds of crossings – road, train, cattleguards, you name it.

It took me about two years of haranguing my mom to let me ride before she finally acquiesced – with the condition that I didn’t go solo and an older brother sit with/behind me. *facepalm mom* but thanks Ron!

It didn’t matter. I was 12 and had been mentally rehearsing how to shift ever since learning how the hands and feet worked from asking how it worked and watching Ricky and his brothers. Once I got on that bike, it was over.

The bike was a Honda 60, early 80s or late 70s, and with two of us on it it was not particularly quick or fast with two of us on it. That didn’t stop me from winding out every gear on their long, paved, driveway that stretched across the golden fields and over a distant hill. I got to ride up and down the driveway twice that day, and I was forever smitten.

Little did I know that I wouldn’t get the chance to ride again for five years…

#LFG

238#, ~28%BF

Alright, alright, alright… we made it through 2021, it’s Go Time!

Ideas be poppin’ like