After a weekend of racing I was emailing back and forth my mentor K.C. and during the exchange he asked me: “Why do you race?” Surprisingly, I couldn’t just spit out the answer- it took some time to internalize the question and get to the core nugget of truth:

“Honestly that’s a hard question for me to answer in words. Usually I’m pretty analytical about things and can logically explain things. Motorcycles and racing in particular isn’t at all like that for me.

At first I started racing because I wanted to be faster. No visions of glory, winning championships or grand goals really- they all seemed impossible at the time when I was struggling to do a 2:20 on my 748 at Thill. Hell, for a long time my only goal was “don’t finish last”. I’m not racing for bragging rights or trophies to collect dust in a cabinet although those things are fun and I enjoy them as much as anyone else I suppose.

The closest I can come up with why do I race now is, because that’s who I am. If I didn’t race a part of me would die along with it. I have plenty of hobbies- guns, photography, etc, but I don’t identify myself as a hunter, photographer, etc. I’m a motorcycle racer. Now I’d just like to be a better one.”