Racing dirt bikes at any level isn't easy; even when you're an amateur, a beginner, you're just starting out (like I am) and things that would be easy for a Pro can be downright intimidating for novices. It's not about getting it right the first time, it's about progressing and persevering.

Of course, it sounds so simple on paper: don't quit.

In the real world, it's not so simple.

But, in a long race it becomes harder.

Your hands grow weak, or worse yet you lose feeling in them entirely.  You're sweating out days worth of water and electrolytes. You're tired, you're hot. The ground is hard and dusty, and it just seems that every lap the trees are getting tighter and tighter together; where you had room enough for a tractor to go through on lap one, you swear a 105 would be hard pressed to fit... You start to become unfocussed and then it happens.

You crash.

We all do. It happens, but when you're tired, and it's hot, sometimes the hardest thing is getting back on the bike and getting going. The bike's heavy. You're sweating the instant the airflow from riding is cut off. Your goggles fog. You're huffing and puffing. You might be hurt; your hands and knees are especially vulnerable, as are your thighs (never under estimate the pain of a Charlie Horse).

Getting back up after you fall is the most important lesson one can learn, not just on a bike but in life itself.

"To finish first, first you must finish." And to finish, you must not give up on the race or on yourself.