Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126823
l.r.l 00 O"l ....... "I consider running as part of my race preparation,., running needs to be intense." How To: Be a Motocross Star! By David Bailey with Thomas Scott . Part Two: How to cope with life on the road .12 In th e firs t part of my series I discussed how to start pla nning you r career, and now I'd lik e to tell you how to approach life r;1nth e road once you start fo llowing a race circuit full-tim e, lik e I do. a ll morn in g search ing for a pl ace, I spend ove r 50%of m y ti me o n th e a nd wh en yo u get th ere, 50 trail riders ro ad . It 's good if you can fin d so mea re a ll o ver the p lace goi ng in two one of yo u r ridin g ca liber a nd physidifferent direct ions. ca l co ndi tion to travel wi th . II mak es ' Sta y tuned a nd a sk a lot o f questh in gs a wh ol e bunch more fu n. Sometimes wh en yo u' re trav el in g tions wh en yo u tra vel. I£ yo u try to do eve ry th ing you rse lf, it ' ll be a lot a lo ne a nd dri vin g long d ista nces it's tougher. easy to ge t d epressed , and to put o ff riding a nd tra ining. Wh en you have Once yo u get p ast th e privat eer a good tra veling partner , yo u can stage a nd land a factory rid e, th in g s sta rt to cha nge. I th ou ght I'd wa lk keep eac h o ther in a good mood. I had so me lu cky break s when I yo u th rough o ne o f my trips to a first went o n the roa d, lik e whe n I supercross race, so you can see how I coordi nate a ll th e important factors race d th e Flori da Winter-AMA Series. My dad (Gary Bail ey) kn ew th e int o a smooth opera tion. Fra nces a t Da ytona Speedway, and , Honda sends me a sheet that tell s we got to stay at the track wh ile we me wh ere we're supposed to be a nd were down th ere. I slep t in m y van , wh at mot el to stay a t. It 's my job to find th e n earest ai rport to fly into, but I had a shower th ere to clea n up. T here was a lso a p racti ce area a bo u t a nd to boo k my fligh ts a nd reserve a rental car. I have a travel agent wh o two mil es awa y, so I'd gas up in the books th at stu ff, a nd m y morn (Darmornin g , ride by bik e 'acro ss th e leen Bailey) usu all y foll ow s up on it highway, a nd practi ce. Other g uys for me . I fly coac h, because th at 's were stayi n g in hotels, whi ch cost wh at H onda pay s for. I co u ld £I y fir st . more, a nd th ey'd have to load everyclass, but I'd have to mak e up th e thing up to go practi cing. diff eren ce in price. II's a go od idea to build up a net work of people around th e co u ntry H onda gi ves me a certa in a mou nt where yo u can sta y a nd ride. I kn ow o f money for eac h day I'm o n th e Hannah has friends a ll over th e co u nroad. II's a fix ed rate th at we go by th e try wh ere he stays, and wh ere h e can whole year. I try to save as much ride wh en ever he wants. If yo u have m oney a s p ossible; wh en I'm in Calito go out an d search for a place to fornia I u sually s tay a t J ohnn y ride, it ca n be a drag. You ma y spend O'Mara's house. That's still th e name of th e gam e, to make as much money as you ca n. On a s u percross week I'll fI y in on Wednesday night or Thursday morning, so th at I ca n do press day (a t th e stadi u m o n Thursda y). One o f my H onda teammat es will usu ally be th ere, a nd th en we'll ge t togeth er to go riding o f play so me golf. II's ';l lways a go od idea to get so me riding m , a nd so meone always seems to know where a good pract ice tra ck is. As far as m y rental car. I don 't ca re wha t I get. T hey ' re a ll p retty well abused ; m ost of those I get ea t gas, steer rhemsel f, and a rc slo wer tha n a bicycle. I just ge t a mid-sized a nd go. Lech ien lik es to rent a Ca maro Z-28, but he's you nger. I used to do tha t, too . One th ing I a lways do is to ge t th e extra insura nce th at goes with th e car, You never kn ow wh en so meone lik e Barnett wi ll ru n into th e back end and yo ur car's sudde n ly two feet shorter, a nd th at 's ha rd to exp la in to ~·I ert z . Th e ins u ra nce is a good m vestment. I like o u t-o f-rhe-wav mot el s. I ca n gct in volved a nd talk ro~cver at the race headquarters motel , and end up sta yin g up too lat e. I get too nerv ous and lose sleep; girls ar e usuall y running a ro u nd trying to find Bob H annah , a nd th ey'r e kn ocking o n m y door as ki ng wh ere he's a t. You ca n stay a way from th at and find a qui et mot el , go out by th e pool, a nd relax. I lik e a ni ce co m fortable ro om wi th restaurants an d stores nearby, because so me times I lik e to walk righ t from my room to th e store. I lik e to stoc k up my room with G a iorade a nd so me bread, so I ca n munch a nd have a drink . Most o f th e ti me I'm not too exci ted a bo u t drinking motel wa ter, so Ilike to dilute m y G at orade a bi t and sip o n it wh en I walk by. II's good to have arou nd, especia lly if it 's goi ng to be a hot weekend. I a lways like to ea t lIal ian food wh i le I'm o n th e road . II d igests qu ickl y, while a stea k will stay with me a nd mak e me sluggish. Light foods make yo u feel more sp u n ky and ready for th e race . Ea t wh at you eat regularly, don 't cha nge yo ur diet o n race night because you read th at some certa in food is goo d for you . Stay co ns istent with your di et. When I ha ve free time on th e road, shop p ing centers are a good time. I find little ga dge ts that keep me occupied, or I'll have an O range Julius an d walk a ro u nd. There' s usually a h ealth food store wh ere yo u ca n ge t energy wafers or protein bars for ra ce day, or you can ca tch a movie th e night before a ra ce. I really lik e movies. II relaxes you, and I get locked into it until it's over. I forget wh ere I am and what I'm in town for while I'm at the movies. and that 's good. There's no need to sit the whole night before th e race and think abo u t ra cing. If you've been preparing properly a ll week for th e ra ce, ' things will corne naturally on race day co ns ta nt ly th inking abo u t the ra ce the ni ght before will only make yo u more nervous. Many tim es we'll go find a racquetball co u rt and play a game or two. It's fun , it doesn't tak e a lot out of you . it 's good for th e circulation, and it keeps yo u loos e. O'Mara and I like to find drivin g ra n ges and golf co u rses to pass tim e quite o ften , Whell'l run , I a lways end up raeirig. I try to put some distance on the guy I'm with, a nd I co nside r running as part of my race preparation , I don 't find it that relaxing, If you 're too relaxed, I don 't think that's a good idea. Running needs to be intense, unless it's o n a Monday and you're running to smooth out a couple of sore spots. I check in a t home regul arly when I'm on the road. I'll call my mom and talk. or my girlfriend Gina if she's not with m e. I'll be in my motel a nd th en- won 't be an yth ing o n TV, so I'll call home a n d see wh at ma il came, a nd .see if H onda sent me rnonev. Now th at I ow n Lak e SugarTree MX Park . I lik e to check o n th at , and I lik e to see if m v soccer team won or lost (I sponsor gra de-sc hool team in Virginia ). I also lik e to check o n my little broth er Mitch - he's been in a few break -danci ng co ntests a nd Il ike to kn ow how he did. As fa r as th e people a nd fans a t the races, there are certa in people Hike to stay away from . T here was one guy at Hang rown who got on everybody's nerves. So me peop le co me up to yo u a nd don 't kno w wh a t to say; it 's like if I ra n int o Steven Sp ielberg. I'm a n a th lete a nd have a job to do, a n d p eople co me up to m e a nd say, " Are yo u racing Sunday?" They don 't kn ow how to mak e co n versa tio n , but I don 't answer back in a sarca stic way . I real ize th e g uy is nervous, and he thinks I a m a sta r, even though wh at I do seems natural to me. Some people, how ever, really get on m y nerves. T he y get real personal and ask me how much money I m ake or things on th at order. Then I know it's time to sp lit from th e guy and mak e a beeline a way everytime I see him, There are other people I enjoy talkin g to . You jus t ca n' t get too locked in . I used to stay o u t lat e and talk. a nd I found I en ded up not having eno ugh time to my elf. I lik e to ta lk to fans a fter th e races, unless I hav e something really important to get home for . o r if I've had a totall y lousy night , Sometimes I do terrible. and fans will co me up a nd tell yo u" You were gr eat !" Somet imes I just ca n' t deal wi th th at. Part o f life on th e ro ad is talking to th e fans; th at 's part o f m y jo b. It's good to sit arou n d a nd sign a u tographs. The fan s o n ly ge t to see you with a ll yo u r gea r on, and th ey like to co me by a fte r th e race to see what you look lik e, tak e pi ctures, an d ask questions. II's good to have a strong relationship with the spec ta tors. I hope you now have a pretty good id ea of what it 's lik e to bean th e road. Other riders may budget their time differently, but this is th e system that works best for me. In th e next part of m y series I'll be talking about mental a ttitude. If I don 't hav e my head right it 's a lm ost impossible to win races, and I'll give you a few pointers on how I work towards a winning attitude." • a