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/1437138
INTERVIEW I 2021 AMA ENDURO N ATION AL C HAMPION S TEWARD B AYL OR P138 Baylor also thinks living in South Carolina has had something to do with his speed. "I think the area that we lived in growing up played a huge role into that, as well. In South Car- olina, when it rains, we just drive an hour to sand. If we want to ride rocks, we're an hour from the mountains. Where we live, we have black dirt, red clay, even some rocks. I've got some pretty gnarly rocks here. We had so much opportunity. When we rode day in and day out, it was something similar to almost any racecourse. I feel like a lot of our speed came from our early training and a lot of our consistency and differ- ent terrains and being able to go just as fast across the board. It's just the area where we grew up and where we were able to ride." There's not much that's going to keep him down, either. Baylor, whose mantra is, "If I can still walk and I can still breathe I'm going to race," has ridden though injuries most of his life, injuries that would keep most anyone else on the couch. "I think a lot of my injuries come from just be- ing a bigger dude," says Baylor. "When I hit the deck, something's got to give. I don't feel like I'm an out-of-control rider, like I don't take too many risks. In the earlier parts of my career, I definitely did. A lot of my current injuries that I'm dealing with are old injuries. My hands, my shoulders, my knees—all the stuff I did when I was 15, 16, just kind of young and dumb with my riding, they still catch up with me. But you learn a lot about yourself when you're pushed into a position that you've got to make a decision. At an early age, going back to nine years old, winning my first GNCC Championship, I broke my foot. I knew I could still ride my dirt bike and I could still win this "I told myself I may never get another national championship. I may never get a shot at this again. So, I'm going to do everything I can." —BAYLOR Baylor pretty much marches to his own beat, which he attributes to a large part to his racing success.