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/917325
CYCLE NEWS RIDER OF THE YEAR AND AMERICAN FLAT TRACK TWINS CHAMPION P110 INTERVIEW ably the greatest sport out there because there's no excuse." If his nickname "The Jammer" didn't already give it away, Mees is a fierce competitor on the racetrack. Mees puts everything out there between the green and checkered flags, whether it's bar-to-bar racing like the Atlanta Short Track or a thrilling come-from-behind victory on a big track, like at the OKC Mile. But it's not just on track. That competitive drive is a part of Mees' ethos off the track too, whether it's training or the busi- ness side of things, Mees puts in 100% effort to be the best there is. "I think you can probably reach out to all my competitor buddies, even Bryan Smith, and ask, 'is Jared Mees a competi- tive person outside of racing?' I think they would all say, 'dude, he's so competitive that it's an- noying.' "I don't do Strava, to tell you the truth, but I look to kind of see where I stack up against other athletes. I'll see stuff that Chad Reed posts with skiing or a row machine or something like that and I'm like, 'man, I'm not that far off. I'm going to try to go beat that.' Some of the Olympic rowers, I see they post some stuff on that, so I try to go beat the 5000-meter row. And when we go bicycling. I try to hammer hard with my big group." Although the competition is extra motivation, he also enjoys the training side of the job. "That's what kind of keeps me motivated to train is trying to hit numbers and do the best I can in that respect. But I do enjoy it. It's part of my life. I've trained so much over the years that it's kind of just a way of living right now. I enjoy being healthy and enjoy being fit and enjoy pushing that extra level." TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK At the end of the day, racing is still a team sport and your relationship with your crew chief—or in the case of flat track, your tuner—is key to winning championships. For the past five seasons, Mees and tuner Kenny Tolbert have had their fair share of them—a total of four Grand National Championships. "We're all competitive [Mees' team], and that's why we get along so well. I think that he [Tolbert] knows that I'm putting in 110%, and I know he's put- ting in 110%. It's not a 40-hour workweek for any of us. It's how many hours do we have between this time and that time, and that's what we're going to use. That's what so awesome about Kenny— he never stops." Mees also points out that in spite of 11 Grand Nationals Cham- pionships to Tolbert's resume, his world-famous tuner doesn't have a big ego. If the Texan needs help, Tolbert's not afraid to ask for it. With all of its dominance, it's also easy to forget that the Indian Scout FTR750 was in its debut season. The reality is, there's always a learning curve with a new machine, and for Tol- bert going from years of experi- ence with the XR to the modern liquid-cooled FTR, he could rest. "I didn't expect him to get this FTR Indian Scout and just magi- cally know everything about it from the front to the back of it," Mees says. "Yeah, it's an engine. Yeah, it's a motorcycle. But still to this day, you have questions on things when something's dealt to you that's so new. He adapted to it very, very well, but we had some people that helped us—the guys at S&S—and they deserve a big thank you, as well." "We had our very first child and we named her Hayden after Nicky Hayden." PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG