Man Down!

Yep, I pretty much roached my wrist in Michigan. It wasn't one particular incident or a crash or anything; it's just really sore from overuse. It doesn't take a crash to get injured in this sport. Riding dirt bikes is really tough on your body and things like repetitive movements and hard impacts on the motocross track, or rocks and sticks flying at you on the trails is enough to sufficiently bang you up. So that's where I'm at right now. Michigan was the final blow. Not only do I have the wrist problem but also scrapes and bruises all over.

Above right: Me and my friend Steve Cox (a fellow journalist) taking a self-portrait in the X Games press box.

I wonder what that must look like to people in public. One time I got clothes-lined by a big branch and it scraped up my chin and left a big scrape across my neck. A few days later I was sitting at the car wash and noticed the people around me looking at me funny with sort of a worried look of pity. Then it occurred to me that I probably looked like I was choked and punched in the jaw. I could almost hear people thinking, "Leave him, honey. He's not going to change."

Even though I'll be dialing back the riding for a bit, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm slowing down (unfortunately). After the Michigan trip I took Tuesday off (even though I was supposed to go to the KX450F intro which would have been another rough day of riding in 100+ degree weather) and got some much needed rest. But then Wednesday it was off and running again.

Right: On Wednesday we got an up close and personal look at the 2011 Alpinestars product line.

Wednesday we were invited up to the Alpinestars headquarters in Long Beach for their presentation of their 2011 line of protective wear. These sorts of presentations always remind me of college classes because they go through a slide show of their new products, pointing out every last detail right down to the contour of the zipper tab. We scribble down notes and ask questions, then break for coffee. Then more product presentations then we break for lunch, then we get to shoot pictures, do interviews and tinker with the new products.

After that I headed straight up to the STAPLES Center in Downtown L.A. to pick up my media credential for the Summer X Games. I'm a total moron and actually thought we had another week before X Games started, but it sneaked up on me and on Tuesday I was saying, "Aaah! It's in two days!"

Right: The press box at the L.A. Coliseum: Not such a bad office!

ESPN is really getting in to motocross events, and every year they add more competitions to the Summer X Games. It's great for the riders ESPN is really good to its athletes. While the riders have to pay money to compete in the AMA championships, ESPN actually pays the riders just to show up. They have rich purses that pay all the way down to last place so no one leaves empty handed. They give them gift baskets and treat them like royalty so it's really great to see my friends getting treated like the athletes they are. And it's a huge amount of publicity which is a really great thing for the sport so we try to support it as much as we can.

I spent all day Thursday at the L.A. Coliseum where the Moto X Racing events were being held. All day my "office" was in the press box on a beautiful day overlooking downtown. The racing was great and the girls in particular put on a great show. I love watching the Women's Moto X because it's the first and only form of Supercross racing for girls in the world, making it the single most prestigious race for WMX riders. I also love watching the expressions on people's faces when they see how fast the girls are.

A lot of them are girly girls, too, which I love. One of the most important messages I like to give little girls is that you don't have to act like a boy to ride with the boys. You be as girly as you want to be! Not that there's anything wrong with being a tomboy... but being "in touch with your masculine side" doesn't mean abandoning your feminine side. I always see girls in the sport who feel that showing any type of femininity equates to showing weakness (I used to be one of them). But I finally realized, "You know what? I like to curl my hair and paint my nails. And yes, I may squeal at spiders and cry at weddings but that doesn't make me any less of a rider!"

Right: Reigning WMX Champion Ashley Fiolek getting ready to put the smack down at X Games!

Anyhow, enough of that tangent. So X Games was fun, as always. While I was there I got to see Doc Bodnar. He's the AMA Supercross doctor who travels with the series and they have a big rig built into a medical center that they bring to all the races. Doc Bodnar is a super cool guy and always tells me that I can come see him or call him any time if I need anything so I asked him if he could take a look at my wrist. We X-rayed it and nothing's broken or fractured; he says it just looks like tendinitis. As common sense would dictate, I just need to rest it and ice it until it heals.

So that's a drag because we have a lot of testing to do at this time of year, but oh well... a few weeks off the bike is a relief sometimes. My feminine side certainly appreciates the occasional break! :)