VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P61
It's just all these things [in
off-road that kept me inter-
ested and learning something
new. Then a few years ago, I
started trying the [AMA Hare
& Hound National Champion-
ship Series] after doing the
NGPC series for a few years
prior. It's one of those things
where it has to keep me inter
-
ested to keep trying. That's
where I was able to go into
different disciplines and learn
new things.
"Being with Johnny and
the race team helped a lot
and kept it fun, and they're so
knowledgeable that every
-
thing was almost easy to do
what I needed to do because
the bike was ready for what
-
ever I was wanting to do.
"It's been fun hitting all
these different things. You
kind of live in the moment so
you don't think about it but
looking back there's definitely
a lot of milestones that would
take years to remember!"
Asked to single out a spe
-
cific memory, Gieger paused
before replying: "I think most
recently what I put the most
work into was Six Days and
being able to win in Portugal
[in 2019] with the team. That
was super-fun! I wish my per
-
formance was better, but that
was kind of the cards I was
dealt. But I was able to help
the team out, and we were
able to win, so that was super-
cool after trying for a couple
years on a personal level.
"I wish I had more time to
get better at it, though, but
that's all right."
Regarding Six Days, it
demands the successful
competitor to be well-rounded
and not just a speedy racer. In
addition to the riding compo
-
nent, there's the self-sufficient
mechanical aspect demanded
of the rider who must perform
practically all maintenance
on the bike with no outside
assistance aside from verbal
coaching.
Yet, Gieger claimed, "Well,
that was easy because I was
always hands-on, working on
my own bikes. My dad raced
when I raced until I turned
professional in motocross
then he put his racing off to
the side to help me full time.
Doing EnduroCross, that was
all on my own when I was on a
KTM. Even when I got back on
Hondas, Johnny was helping
me, but I was still on my own
program doing all the work.
And I always worked on my
own practice bikes.
"Going to Six Days, that was
one of the things that gave me
confidence that I could do it
because I understand it, and
I've done it all, and I'm pretty
calm and able to work quickly
under pressure."
On the topic of her backflip,
she laughs and remembers,
"I think I was 18 or something
and met Travis Pastrana, and
he invited me out to his place
with Sarah Whitmore. We had
a little competition to see who
could do a backflip first.
"It was on little bikes; I tried
it on the big bike, but I couldn't
do it, so I just did it on the
little bike. I always had the
