Supermoto, from the Perspective of a Dad
by Jeff Weaver

I am a dad whose has a son that races motorcycles. My son races a 2004 Honda CRF 250R. The motorcycle is a dirt bike that has been equipped with 17" road race tires, a bigger and upgraded front brake. The racing is called super-moto. It is raced on the street with a small portion of dirt. It is  usually 80% street and 20% dirt. The dirt section usually has jumps, and turns like a motocross track only a smaller portion of the track.
What I would like to convey in this little article is the value of this sport.

This form of racing is wonderful at demonstrating so much in life. You start  on the street and race on the asphalt, taking corners and leaning which forces you to trust your equipment. If you go into a corner to fast you either brake too hard and lose your momentum and get passed or you try to hang on and usually lose the front end and crash. If you take the corner too slow you get passed. The object is to go fast enough to hug the corner and not let anyone pass you, but not overshoot it and crash. Then as you get comfortable with going into corners you then have to go into the dirt with race slicks on. Now you are slipping and sliding, you have to learn to have throttle control, just enough speed to have traction and not too much to lose the rear end and crash. Now you also have to judge the speed for the jumps. If you give to much gas you can overshoot your landing and crash. Not enough gas come up short on the landing and crash, or worse have someone else land on you because you are in the way going to slow. Once you are out of the dirt and back on the street you have to go into corners and since you were in the dirt the race slicks are not sticky any more. You then need to either ride the bike slower or adapt to lack of control and ride it until the dirt has been worn of the tires.         

CJ's main sponsor is Lifetime Foundation, which provides educational opportunities for those choosing adoption.

I believe this sport is important in so many ways, which may not be politically correct but from a dad’s perspective extremely valuable. First is it is competitive, I believe life is competitive, no matter what you do in life people are either trying to out do you or keeping track of who is doing what. Now that may not seem fair but life has never been fair so I believe that teaching my son the value of being competitive is important. We talk of being the best he can be and giving it his all, making sure that he never loses the perspective of winning, but never winning at the cost of dishonoring your competitors or losing respect for the rules. We strive to give every ounce of our being to be the best, yet we make sure that the love of Jesus Christ is shown. We get to show the other racers and families that we work hard on racing and yet show how much fun it is.

The more that my son works at his racing, the better he gets. He is learning that hard work pays off. He has also realized that sacrifice is needed to achieve his dreams. He does cardio and lifts weights on his off days. He knows that the guys up front will do what it takes on and off the track to get better. He goes to motocross tracks and practices with his slicks on his bike, instead of changing to motocross tires like the others at the motocross track. He gets weird looks and comments but knows this is what he wants. He also has sacrificed on personal relationships, because he knows he can not put the time into one when he has practice, and training to do. He knows it is not fair to the young lady.

We do this as a family because we feel that if can do this together, it will only make him better. My daughter is a wonderful photographer and she can practice and develop her skills there. Mom is there to make sure that he is well protected with his gear, she prepares the food to make sure he has the proper nutrients to keep him at his best. I work on the bike, we talk about his time on the track, we break things down and see if things can change for the better. I have taught him to visualize everything on the track in his head, to build confidence. My son’s number is 413. He chose that number from a bible verse, and it expresses this families belief not only in racing but in life. The verse is Philippians 4:13 which says "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me."

Racing is dangerous, however if you learn trust, control, patience, consistency, proper speed, overcoming your fears and comfort zone it can be so much more. It can teach discipline, respect, determination, desire and perseverance. It is a wonderful sport.