Happy Holidays!

I know its not possible for me to send everyone a Christmas card, so for those of you I missed this was the picture on my card this year. Cheesy I know but I just couldn't resist. I just hope everyone knows it was meant as a joke, I admit to being a dork but I'm not THAT bad.
Anyways I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, I know I sure did. I just love everything about this time of year, of course it goes by way too fast! So I will leave you with 10 of my favorite things that I only have to wait 364 days for them to come again!

10. I have an excuse to go shopping!
9. It is the only time of year I like snow.
8. Christmas lights.
7. All of the yummy food and cookies!
6. Decorating the tree.
5. Getting dressed up Christmas eve to go to Church, where I always read the lessons every year.
4. Grandma's apple pie!
3. Being with my family, so many aunts, uncles and cousins I only see a few times a year.
2. Of course everyone loves getting presents, but I prefer to be the giver. I love giving presents.
1. And my favorite thing about the holiday season is the 10 pm candle light church service. Everyone holding candles and singing Silent Night brings tears to my eyes every year, without it it wouldn't be Christmas.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! PS. I am leaving the cold for sunny California on Saturday so finally I will be blogging about riding again!

The Cheboygan Tribune

I must say I love the small town I grew up in. I hope to spend at least my summer months here for the rest of my life. But there are certain things about small towns that really get to me. A couple of years ago after winning my 4th title at Loretta Lynn's my mother called the news paper in town to ask if they wanted to run a story on it. In a town of 5,000 people, one of those people winning a national title in ANYTHING is news. Well the sports editor didn't really think so and we went back and forth on the phone and email. First he said he wanted to meet in person but I was leaving the country for three weeks the next day so he wanted me to call him when I got back which I did. He replied in an email saying that even if he went through with the story he wasn't sure it would ever go to print because it was football season. My reply might have been over the top, but I was furious. It went something like..."I am aware its football season and once attending Cheboygan High myself I understand that you can't get any where in this town unless you participate in school sports. Just answer me when was the last time any of our teams made it to nationals, let alone won them?" Then I told him, "as for all the members of this community who keep asking my why I haven't been in the news paper yet I will just tell them to read my column in Racer X, or they can read about me in the Detroit Freepress or the New Jersey Star Ledger who have both done stories on me earlier this summer. Or they could even watch the Disney movie 'Moto Kids' or MTV's True Life." Needless to say this was followed by another reply from him saying I was the cockiest person he had ever met in his life and all of my success has gone to my head.

I don't think that is true, I know all I do is ride a motorcycle, its nothing to really brag about but being told there was no room in the news paper because they had to run football scores really got me going. How ever a few weeks later in the sports section there was a small article that he put together off of information he found in my bio on the WMA website. That was that and we haven't talked since. I had almost forgotten this whole incident until last weekend when I took my puppy Frankie to the book store in town to get his picture taken with Santa Claus. Being the proud mommy that I am I have to say every one loved him because he is the cutest dog out there. Great Danes aren't very popular up here, and most of the dogs in that day were little ankle bitters. Needles to say Frankie being the ham that he is made everyone fall in love (he's so good at this my DAD actually even likes him! My dad is NOT an animal person). And after getting our picture they asked me to sign a release to allow them to use the picture in the paper. I gladly signed thinking how cute he would look. But this Friday when my Father picked up the paper and there was Frankie all 5 months and 70 lbs of him on Santa's lap all I could think of was the last time I was in our news paper and the trouble I had to go through. The moral of this story? Apparently in a small town winning a national championship isn't news, but my puppy sitting on Santa's lap? Alert the press!!!!!

Snow shoeing

I must say my family is getting aggravated with all of my complaining. I came home from California three weeks ago to two feet of snow and I haven't been very happy about it! Snow may be pretty but when you grow up with an over protective father who doesn't want you to do any winter sports like snowmobiling or snowboarding because they are too dangerous, pretty is about its only quality. Just the other day my mother who has taken up snow shoeing asked me to join her. I have heard that snow shoeing is a great pass time (I got yelled at earlier for calling it "the worst sport in the world'" I guess its not a sport) and a very good work out. I must have been doing something wrong then because even though I tried making it harder by breaking my own trail and going up and down the jumps on my track I never warmed up, and didn't even come close to breaking a sweat. I must admit it was nice to do something outside, but as far as a workout goes the hardest part was when my dogs would step on my shoes and trip me. Here in this picture all three of them Frankie, Endo and our beagle Buddy are all tackling me. Yes I am actually in this picture. But I have decided from now on if I want fresh air I will just go wrestle with them without the snowshoes for them to trip me with and as for a work out I will just stick to the gym, where there is HEAT!

First colors

Thanks to everyone who wished me luck. As you can tell by looking at the picture I did in fact pass my belt test. I haven't been this nervous (besides before my half marathon) since I don't even know when. I know it was silly of me to be so nervous going in but you must remember my whole life has been about motorcycles. I took dance in fourth grade, and I was terrible at it. Besides that I ran track in high school but I never really competed in anything else. I have really enjoyed branching out to new things this fall, and mostly doing it with my brothers. Ben is so passionate about martial arts (he reminds me a lot of myself only with MX) that its hard not to fall in love with it too. And it has been great for Terry and I to have our very own Sensai living with us. In fact while Terry and I were being tested in Karate Ben sat up front with professor Gary and every thing we did wrong he would tell Ben "you need to work on Sarah, she is dropping her arms." as if it were Ben's fault. Of course it goes both ways too, he also complimented Ben that some of my kicks are at a black belt level, and I look just like him when I kick. Ben was glad to take credit for this. Which he deserves because while I have only been training for my belt since this summer, Ben has been showing me kicks and punches
for years now.

So even though in the world of martial arts I have only just won my first race in the C class, and it really isn't anything to brag about, I'm happy with my accomplishments so far. My training will obviously dwindle this winter when I am in California riding, but I still have a month of training and bonding at home with my brothers. Nothing brings you closer together than a kick to the face and a bloody mouth.

(I think Ben is trying to point out where he has hit me with about 40 hook kicks, I need to learn how to dodge better!)

Ben

There really is no point of this blog other than I have this really funny picture of my brother who came home from working in the woods and passed out on the couch with our dog Endo, still wearing his snow suite! This is for all those hook kicks to the side of my head you gave me!

Sparring with my brothers

When I woke up this morning I laid in bed for a moment and as I have done after many a crash made a mental check of everything that hurt. Starting with my feet, the knuckle under my big toe is swollen and bruised. I have several lumps and bruises on my left shin, and skin scraped off of my knees. Not to mention the size 12 foot print on my butt! I cant even touch the right side of my rib cage it is so sore. Then again I can barely touch the keys right now to type this because my fingers are bruised. To top it all off I have a head ache.

But whats that you ask? How did I crash when I am at home in Michigan in the snow? Although I feel like I did three cart wheels followed by getting planted by my bike I haven't ridden since last week. I did however get the crap beaten out of me by my brothers. Now before all of you guys out there freak out on my brothers for hitting a girl let me explain that I asked for it, well kind of. Five years ago my younger (no longer little) brother Ben who long ago gave up racing after he had to learn how to shift a 60, found his calling in martial arts. He is now a black belt in 2 different forms of Karate, Arnis (stick fighting) and going for his black belt in Japanese Ju Jitsu in February. He is pretty much a bad ass. A couple of years ago my older brother Terry started training with him as well. This spring and summer I started going to the gym with them to work out and some how found myself in the dojo along side of them.

With the way the world is today I believe every girl should take some sort of self defense classes. I am still just starting out but with as much as I travel alone I feel better about myself already. In Ju Jitsu I learn all about defending myself from attacks and escaping from different grabs, all of these moves end with them on the ground and me stomping on their face and groin before running away. This isn't for messing around, and hopefully I never have to use it. In Karate I learn about striking, how to kick and punch properly. I have been told my punches are coming along pretty good after my guy friends make remarks about women belonging in the kitchen and not the track.

I have my very first belt test on Monday and I am getting pretty nervous. Luckily for me I have two brothers to get me ready for it so this last week we have been working extra hard. Last night however to break up the monotony of punching and kicking at a bag we decided to play a game of round robin. Most of the time when we spar we bring out the mats and ground spar, more like wrestling except instead of pinning each other you have to submit them with an arm or leg bar, choke, or something else of that matter. As much as I enjoy that I prefer when we stand up spar. I mean my entire childhood there have been times I have wanted to punch my brothers as hard as I can in the face, and now they let me do it. In fact if I really get them good they smile and tell me good job! Just imagine if my parents would have given us boxing gloves when we were little and told us to go at it we probably would have gotten along a lot better.

So last night after about a minute into my first round with Terry when he punched me straight in the eye (unfortunately it wasn't black this morning) I decided to put on some head gear. The rules: no kicking between the legs or the inside of the thigh, sometimes after making contact your foot will slide up the leg to the groin, ending the round fast. No take downs since we were fighting on a wood floor, and of course we weren't going all out to try and kill each other. But that didn't mean we didn't get a few good hits in.

Though Terry wasn't going all out a kick from him (all 240 lbs) would send me flying across the room. He also learned that kicking me in the liver will send me to my knees gasping for air. Another lesson? Don't taunt me repeatedly then leave your face wide open. Ben is the reason for my bruises though it was mostly my fault. First I went to do a leg kick only I'm still bad with my aim and he saw it coming and bent his leg, toes straight to his knee cap hurt me way more than it did him. Then I went to grab one of his kicks only with my fingers out and watched as they bent backwards. Ben also followed Terry's lead knowing my ribs were sore and gave me a few good punches. He just wanted to show my that I left them open, as terry would hit me on the head of I didn't protect that. I know this may sound weird to many of you, what kind of girl likes
getting punched and kicked by her brothers? The same type of girl that at three years old didn't like sitting and watching her father and older brother ride motorcycles. I cant stand not joining in on the fun, and growing up with only boys I wasn't allowed to be a wimp. I still have along ways to go when it comes to fighting, but fortunately I have some good teachers who aren't afraid to let me know when I let my guard down. As with riding you only get faster if you train with faster people. So I figure taking a beating from them will only make me better, and besides when they do let me get a good hit in there's no better feeling. OK well its time to train again, wish me luck for my test on Monday:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope every one had a happy Thanksgiving. I know I did even though I wasn't able to make it home my roommates and I made the best of it. Kelly and I mashed an entire bag of potatoes, had stuffing, gravy, carrots, green bean casserole, the juiciest turkey I have ever had (wasn't burnt or dry I was shocked!) and pictured here is my baby...apple pie! I started peeling the apples at 9:00 am and then started prepping the turkey right after. It was an all day affair (I'm not sure how Grandma's and mothers do it?) but it was completely worth it. I was surprised that something I cooked could actually taste so good. Though no one went up for seconds, because we all filled our plates so full on the first trip we couldn't move. All in all it was a great Thanksgiving. Just don't tell anyone I can cook now, I don't want any one to get any ideas that I'm going to start doing this all the time. The saddest thing is right now I am sitting in the airport on my way home and I wont be able to eat the left overs...However I already talked to my Grandma and she saved some of hers for me. The other downfall to the week is though I am glad to be going home to see my family I should be in Texas right now for the WMA cup. But with just picking my new Suzuki up last week there was just no time to get it ready for this weekend. Its a bummer I wont be able to go down, the Cycle Ranch track is great. So good luck Lauren, April, Ashley and everyone else. I will see you next time.

HELP!

I am not going to be able to make it home for Thanksgiving, which means I am going to have to try and cook myself! As I just said the kitchen is the last place I belong besides a garage and I have been looking online for easy recipes, if anyone knows of any I would be very grateful...so would my roommates:)

Bike work SUCKS!

Its true that when it comes to some things like never having to work on my bike I am very spoiled. My father being a mechanic, and a little shall we say "old fashioned" never made me work on my bikes growing up. My job was always to buy the groceries and get the motor home ready while him and my brother got the bikes and trailer ready. When I was about 13 once I washed my own bike but forgot to get under the fenders and did such a poor job my dad had to redo it. I haven't had to wash my bike since.

Now being spoiled is fun while it lasts but lets face it my dad cant be every where with me and its not always possible to sucker other guys into doing bike work. When I used to stay in Georgia I would bake brownies and cookies in exchange for an air filter (the worst job on earth!). But this morning I had to take my suspension off to take to Enzo and there wasn't any body around to bake for. Now suspension is a pretty easy job. I have actually taken off a few sets in my day, but today was just not going my way. First I found out that the head of Suzuki bolts are more shallow than on a Yamaha's. My favorite tool in the world is a T-handle because its about the only one I know how to use. But every time I would try to use one it would fall off threatening to strip the bolt. Not to mention I think whoever put my bike together used a gallon of lock tight and a torque wrench on every bolt. I had to use a wrench and hit it with a hammer to get every last one loose. Its funny I have so much patience for certain things and usually keep my cool very well. But bike work is not one of those things. I would rather pick up a pitch fork and shovel out my horse barns than pick up a tool. It took me nearly two hours today just to take my suspension off, and I never would have finished if I hadn't of asked my next door neighbor who was just standing outside in his yard smoking a cigarette. I actually didn't even expect him to help me considering my roommate shot his kids pet bunny with her bow and arrow. That's how desperate I was! Luckily he agreed and after struggling for almost five minutes he finally got it loose. At least I never have to worry about losing a bolt on this bike!

I know I sound ridiculous right now, I always say that girls can do anything boys can do. And its still true, I bet there are tons of girls who make awesome mechanics, I am just not one of them. A garage to me is just like a kitchen I just don't belong there, no matter what David Knight tells me. He joked this weekend saying I should enter the last man standing, and the only way I would finish is if they put a sink at the end of each lap so I could be the first one back to do the dishes! Too bad if I do too many dishes it softens up my callouses. I guess I'm just going to have to stick the one place I do belong, the track. Now I just need to find a man who doesn't mind cooking and working on bikes...

Endurocross

This past Saturday my roommates and I made the trip from Southern California to Las Vegas to check out the Endurocross. It was my first time attending and all I have to say is who ever came up with the idea has got to be the coolest person on earth. Just imagine how exciting supercrosses would be if they threw in a couple of rock corners and log or tire jumps? To see my long time favorite John Dowd struggle and not even qualify just astonished me. If he has trouble making it around how in the world would I even make it a lap? But that's the thing, while it doesn't look the least bit easy, it looks extremely fun. And next year my goal is to make it a lap around. If any one wants to help me train for it just let me know, I'm going to need all the help I can get!