No time to celebrate though, I had very quick words with the team before taking a military style shower and I was outta there! Right about the time Reed was walking off the podium I was in a van hitting the road off to my next race. I ate dinner on the drive, chicken breast and steamed potato's prepared by truck driver Big B. A short commuter plane to Chicago and I was ready for my 4 hour flight to Portland. Everything was going exactly to plan at this point till my flight was delayed 1 hour 30 minutes. I had some time to kill so I talked with my trainer Ryan Hughes about how my moto's went and how everything was going. He was happy to hear how the day went and gave me advice on my upcoming race. About 10:30pm my plane finally arrived and I was off to Portland. Greeting me in Portland at 12:30 at night was my boss Jason Smigel, my mechanic Tanner Harding and Team Green tech Jeff Decker. On the drive up I was hungry again so we stopped at a local Shari's Restaurant for a quick snack. And finally at 2:00am I turned the lights off in my hotel to go to bed for the night. What a day!
That next morning I had every intention of sleeping in till about 9:00am, but for some reason I was up at 6:30am again for the 3rd day in a row! And this is without even setting my alarm! (laughs) So I toss around for a while till I finally get up and get dressed. I meet the team outside who are all very surprised to see me up and awake. I was not tired at all so I went to the track early with the team. Getting to the track early was actually a good thing though and gave me some time to check out some sections. Shortly before the race started I had a lot of family and friends come to this race so it was nice to chat with them and see some old friends. But I was here to race not to socialize so I headed into the semi to get dressed and get my game face on!
12:00pm noon the gate drops for the Riverdale Raceway round 6 of the WORCS series. After avoiding tangling with my teammate Destry Abbott down the start straight, I managed to get a descent start. I only knew about the first 5 turns of the racetrack and after that it was all new to me. Everyone I was racing against had an entire hour of practice on the course I was seeing for the first time. My lack of knowing the track played against me and I was loosing positions on the first lap. Then it got even worse when I came up to a trench crossing and went into it crashing instead of jumping across. I collected myself and finished the first lap well outside the top 10. I had my work cut out for me once again! I put my head down and charged hard. About half way through the race I was riding really well and Bobby Bonds was in my sights. I had finally caught up to the lead pack when I had a horrible crash hitting my head in the process. I got up slow and was having trouble seeing out of my left eye. Women's WORCS champion and good friend Maria Forsberg was first on the spot to see if I was ok. I was slow and sluggish getting back on my bike but I knew what I had to do. I needed to finish the race the best I could and get as many points as possible. The last thing I wanted to do at that moment was keep riding but I got back on my bike and kept going. After my crash I was off my rhythm and continued to crash another 3 times. All minor crashes I never hurt myself again but it did make me mad and I was upset with how the race was going. But once again just like moto 1 at High Point I was able to overcome my funk and get back into my grove. I made one of my best late charges again and was able to make it up to 7th. And surprising myself on the way with how good I felt. If I hadn't told anyone about racing High Point the day before, I don't think anyone would have known by how well I rode Sunday at the WORCS race. I pulled off the track fired up and ready for more. I was upset with my 7th place finish but at the same time I can't remember the last time I had a bad crash during a race. Crashing happens it's just a part of the sport we love but it did come at a bad time!
So now it is 7:00pm at the Portland airport and I am getting on my plane to go home. Jason, Tanner, Jeff and I all get on the same plane to head back to John Wayne airport where my weekend started. I make it to bed about 11:00pm Sunday night. 2 races and 2100 miles of traveling has taken it out of me and I go straight to bed that night. The trip was a great success! I got top ten at High Point and top 10 at WORCS. Though I would have rather been on the podium at WORCS, I still pulled off both races with respectable scores in each. I am very happy to have gotten this opportunity and can't thank everyone at Monster Energy Kawasaki enough for coming together and letting me do such an extraordinary weekend of racing! Racing opportunities like this are rare, but these are the weekends I embrace and live for as a racer. It's been a fun journey and hopefully I will get to do it again someday! Till next time, see you at the races, RD