Slaw Dog
Loretta’s is a dang pressure cooker. Of course its hot as absolute F all down in TN, but for other reasons as well. This week is THE week for amateur motocross athletes. No, its not EVERYTHING, but it can certainly help make or break the future of young riders from across the country and even the world.
Success here means a TON.
Adam Cianciarulo was one of the most successful riders ever at the Ranch, racking up 11 titles without ever racing a big bike. Of course AC has gone on to a great pro career as well, but his racing at LL was stuff of legends.
AC, one of the most thoughtful riders in the sport, offered up some great advice to young riders this week and its worth reading.
“Growing up, Loretta’s wasn’t just a place I spent a week at every summer. It was the one to win. The place I could show out in front of my heroes, Ricky Carmichael, Mitch Payton, James Stewart, and many others. It was stressful, too. If I failed, what would they think of me? Would I get another ride? Could I still be a pro? It’s funny how much pressure I put on myself. However unnecessary then, I see now how much it prepared me for some of the things I’ve overcome. Not just in the sport, but in life too. Now and again, a father and son will come up and ask me for advice, and I give them the same answer.. have fun. I see the kid look at me and roll his eyes. “Have fun? For real? This is too big of a deal for that.” I smile because I know I was him 20 years ago, and I wouldn’t listen to a damn word I said, either! Perspective is great, but sometimes it doesn’t serve you. Sometimes you need to feel the pressure, dig in, and make it happen. But know, one day, you’ll look back and realize how much fun it was. (Ps, the other guy in this photo went on to be pretty good.. you may have heard of him.) Get after it, groms!”
AC had a great rivalry with Cooper Webb, with AC taking the majority of the wins. Well, Coop commented on the post and its great.
“Great insight dude. I look at this photo/post and think of all those times thinking will I ever beat this guy or will I ever be good enough and now I look back an cherish all those weeks at the ranch. A lot of fun times but even more lessons learned and the pressure of “making it “ there is no doubt all our battles helped shaped me. There’s very few LL classes that can say a few made it all on factory teams. Even less that can say they have made a career out of it. And a very small fracture that can say they are champions in the pro ranks. Nothing but respect champ 👊🏼 some of the funniest weeks of my life at that place but was quite opposite feeling at the time. Perspective is key.”
What is the point of this post? Go have fun this week kids. Its not live or die. Enjoy the ride.
