From the Editor
12 The Long Road
to Glory
14 RTM 1 Glen
Helen
22 RTM 2 Comp
Edge
34 Double D 33
38 RTM 3 Porterville
46 There Can Be
Just One
48 When he was 12:
Mumford 122
52 RTM 4 Oatfield
63 Best of
#RoadtoMammoth
64 Friends & Rivals
69 Next Issue...
Editor-in-Chief Rachel Witt
Creative Director Micah Robles
Smoke & Fire Jason Witt
Digital Imaging Ben La-Haise
For ad sales contact Jason Witt,
[email protected]
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10
theROOTSMX • ISSUE 1 2014
MAY 2014 / THE ROOTS MX
T
oo many success stories are told
after they’ve happened. We hear
about the outcomes, the fame
and financial success, and we feel
awe, maybe even a little envy. But the
long road to glory is paved by failure.
So often we don’t hear those stories, or
if we do, they’re easily forgotten, because we are always pressing forward.
By the time motocross athletes make
it to the pros, they’ve endured much,
failed much. For every kid who fulfills his
childhood dream of making it to A1, or
taking the gate at a Redbud National,
there are thousands behind him who
have had to relinquish that dream.
But The Roots MX isn’t so much about
the destination, as it is about the journey. And motocross is quite a journey.
My husband Jason and I have an expression that comes out a lot, ever
since we started driving around the
country following motocross a couple
years ago: ‘The Highs and the Lows.’
We say this, not just in reference to
the wins and losses that we witness on
the track, but about the lifestyle of this
traveling circus, about the whole collective experience that makes the MX
community somewhat like a family.
The best laid plans oft go astray. A kid
might lead the race up until the last
turn, only to make some silly mistake
that costs him the win. A promoter
When we wake from a weary slump to
the howling cheers from a proud parent, or the beaming smile of accomplishment as a rider takes the podium,
we shake our heads and marvel at the
journey, at ‘The Highs and the Lows,’
and we know, we wouldn’t have it any
other way.
In this inaugural issue of The Roots MX,
we take a closer look at the amateur
motocross scene in the west, starting
with the Monster Energy Road to Mammoth Series. This road connects our
present with our past, bringing today’s
fastest amateur riders to Mammoth, a
motocross event that has hosted all
But The Roots MX isn’t so much
about the destination, as it is
about the journey. And motocross
is quite a journey.
might plan a race for months, only to
watch his groomed track turned into
a sloppy mess by rain. A family might
sacrifice time and money to get their
child to the track every wee