| January 2002 “The Prospect” By: Travis Pastrana Taking a month off from racing is more painful for me than the injuries that got me here. I don't know how families live without motocross. The weekends are relegated to yard work and monotonous family gatherings. To think that people actually look forward to weekends when racing isn't involved is beyond my grasp. While I was hurt I went to my first (and sure to be my last) school dance with my friend Nicole. She was great company, but … "Long live motorcycles!" and "Hi, is the supercross season not here yet?" is about all I have to say about school dances. Bolting away from my house to the nearest supercross track (halfway across the country in Oklahoma City), I started riding again about three weeks before the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. I hired one of my childhood heroes, Guy "Airtime" Cooper, to build tracks for me this winter. Cooperland, which is right outside of Sillwater, is back in full swing with a five-minute-long tabletop track, a SX track, a corner track, a trials course, mountain bike trails and a few hare scrambles courses, not to mention Cooperland Raceway and a MX Park called "The 500," which are both within a 10-minute drive. Robbie Reynard lives 45 minutes down the road, and he has a great supercross and outdoor track, not to mention mountain bike trails and challenging road biking areas. For any of you who are wondering if Coop still goes big, fear not – he puts me and all of the locals (Kenny Bartram, Chase Reed, Robbie Reynard) to shame by jumping everything first and throwing Carmichael-like whips off jumps that scare the heck out of even me. In the two weeks I stayed at Cooper's I went through more than 35 gallons of race fuel and felt confident coming into the U.S. Open. My US Open Objectives: 1. Get at least one holeshot. 2. Finish both nights without crashing. I failed both of my goals. In typical form, I crashed myself out while running in fourth on Friday and second on Saturday. So what did I learn from the race? Carmichael, Windham and McGrath were faster than I was, Ferry was more consistent, and LaRocco was in better shape. Morale in the Suzuki pits was low after that second night in Vegas, but now I have a starting point. By the Daytona SX this year I want to be a threat to win some 250cc main events. Testing has gone phenomenally, and Kevin Windham has been an amazing asset in helping me get my bike set up well for next year. Right now I am on a flight home from Australia, where I again crashed myself out of a win, this time in Sydney. Tomorrow I start sky-dive training for the opening of a motocross film called Global Addiction, backed by Ogio. It has the highest budget and sickest stunts ever attempted. I am going to hit a ramp at the edge of a 2,000-foot deep canyon. The goal will be to pull as many flips as possible before bailing out. The Ogio company has five sand rails that go from 0-60 faster than a Dodge Viper, and we get to ride them on the dunes. We're also putting a ramp in the middle of a lake that we have to hydroplane across before hitting the ramp and flipping into the water. I can't wait! My pace does slow down slightly as I return home (for the first time since mid-September) for five days. Cramming for a college final (which I have to take a month early) and eating turkey for Thanksgiving will fill these days. The day after Thanksgiving I'm off again. Alpinestars has given me the opportunity to drive a world cup rally car in Europe. The entire month of December is dedicating to training with my coach Gary Bailey and teammate Branden Jesseman. Until then I am going to try not to give Roger DeCoster or Mel Harris a heart attack! God Bless America! |