Issue 12 October 3-November 15, 2006
Falling...into Place!
It’s coming on six weeks now since we last
reported in, and I’ll tell it seems more like six days. Time has
just disappeared recently for us. I think I had a decent finish to
the year with my results at the races, even though it may look like
they are not exactly the kind of results to be real excited about.
For me though it was more about how I rode. I was real happy about
my performance on the bike and the way I felt, but I was really
disappointed with some of the decisions I made out on the track. I
was making rookie decisions that continually got me into trouble. I
just wasn’t thinking ahead and anticipating what was going to happen
up the trail. That’s what a great racer does; he has an uncanny
knack of interpreting the situation at hand and knows what is going
to happen next before it even happens. It’s a part of what happens
when you’re in “the zone”.
So my last three Nationals netted me a 7th
(Rd. 12 GNCC), 1st (Rd. 12 Nat. H/S), and 9th
(Rd. 13 GNCC). At all three races I spent considerable time in
that “zone”. At the Hare Scramble I had a good ride there which to
me was to be expected seeing it was quite sandy conditions. If
there’s one thing that will guarantee me being at the pointy end
it’s sand. At both GNCC’s I rode really good and had some great lap
times but just didn’t pull it all together when it counted. I think
I even rode better than I did at the Rd. 10 when I finished up 4th
but unfortunately these results just don’t reflect that.
Since that last race, and now that apparently
I’m supposed to be in my “off season”, it only seems as though our
life sped up. Heaps of things have happened in the last few weeks
that has seen both Carrie and I burning the candle with only a few
hours of sleep each night.
First, we made the decision to move out of
Florida and up to Hickory, North Carolina. It’s a beautiful area up
there and we have always liked it, so now is the right time to head
in that direction. Within the last month we have been able to sell
our current house and buy new house in NC, one that luckily was
nearly exactly what we were looking for, and we were also able to
sell the motorcoach. In between, we finalized the two DVD’s and got
them on sale, Carrie got the e-store open (and we do have much more
product to load on there!) and started on doing all of the
sponsorship proposals and negotiations for the two rider team I’m
involved with for 2007. That in itself is a major task with over 50
companies on the list, and with having to continually be calling for
updates or to leave voicemails, it’s pretty taxing on the brain.
In between all of this we just had the in-laws
visit for a few days and now we’re starting on the boxing up of our
household goods for the move, but also making constant runs to the
Post Office to send out DVD shipments.
Actually now in a way we’re glad that we were
unable to travel to New Zealand for the ISDE, which is currently
being run down in the land of the great white cloud. We really
wanted to go there because I’m sure it’s going to be a magnificent
race in an absolutely magnificent country. For the best coverage of
what’s going on at the ISDE go to
www.offroadchampions.com for all of the updates. Anyway, so
maybe some other time we’ll get to NZ because right now we are just
really concentrating on getting everything in order so as we can
have a much more relaxing and “quality of life” year in 2007,
allowing me to finally give my racing 100% of the preparation it
needs.
That’s why we’re going to NC, so as to be more
centrally located to most of the races thus cutting down on our
travel time and expense of being away from home. There’s a great
bunch of guys I already know in the area and they’ve got some great
riding. In fact, the first location on the Common Ground DVD was
shot just down the rode from our new house. I totally love that
place and think it’s one of the best track’s I’ve ever ridden,
period. Then there’s Andy’s loop which is killer too. I’m really
looking forward to my time up there and spending winter getting
ready for the 2007 kick off.
So we have been tying up all of our unfinished
projects and clearing our schedule for 2007 so we aren’t overwhelmed
like we were in 2006. This is going to allow me to start conducting
some 2-day Dirt Wise Offroad Instructional riding schools, probably
starting late spring, at several locations across the country. Stay
tuned for an announcement on dates and locations.
Another great thing about the move and cutting
back on our commitments is that Carrie now has the time to start up
a business idea that she has been keeping an eye on for a while now.
I’m stoked for her seeing as she will now have the chance to fulfill
her business dreams and goals, giving her more independence and
breaking up the syndrome of having her life also revolve around
racing dirtbikes, along with mine. I can see 2007 being the best
year ever!
Things have been progressing along with the
race team. We’ve got official support from KTM for a 2 rider team,
with myself in the XC-1 class in GNCC, and a second rider in XC-2.
I’ll most likely be mounted on KTM’s 250XCF for the majority of
races but will sometimes jump to the 2 stroke depending on the
conditions. It’s been a major undertaking to get the whole show up
and running but slowly I’m pulling all of the Team sponsors
together. We’re going to have a great program and we’ve got some
excellent marketing initiatives planned for those companies that do
support us.
So, as Kurt Caselli would say, “I’m gonna wrap
it up now and call it a day” (if you watch Common Ground you’ll
understand!) because I’ve got a huge day on the horn chasing
prospective sponsors. Unfortunately it’s a task I’ve had to mostly
neglect in the last two weeks due to all of the other commotion
going on around here.
Cheers!
The Watts'
P.S The likelihood of us actually getting
another newsletter out before Thanksgiving is slim, so for all of
you American's Happy Turkey Day from the Watts'. This will be
our first time celebrating as a family because we have been in Oz
for the last 3 Thanksgivings-so no Thanksgiving celebrations take
place. Carrie is stoked that we'll be in Mesquite, NV with her
family for the holiday and can't wait for all of the good food!
________________________________________________________
Link of the Week!
People do crazy things for money, and this is a prime example!
Check out Steven Adams' website. He says that for a Million
Dollars, he'll go over Niagara Falls in a Barrel!
Check out the Donors/Quotes section to see what people who have
donated have said about this...the last one is my favorite!
Hey, it's a practical, economically beneficial way of looking at the
situation!
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My Favorite Snap...
We had a blast on Halloween! Eden totally got into it and
by the end of the night, since she couldn't say "trick-or-treat",
she started saying "candy"!
Just like a kid!!
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And the winner is…
The winner of the October Giveaway for the
Heavy Duty Tubes is...
Darren Cook from Salonika, Queensland
Australia!
Congratulations Darren, we'll be in touch!
(Note of Clarification: it seems as though
the wording might have been confusing because some people were
putting in their order for free tubes. Sorry if we confused
some, but what was meant was that one person would win the
tubes...not everyone who entered).
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Things to Look Forward To...
and then
and then
and then
and then
!!!!! |