Mind games

By TMX Archives on 9th Feb 04

Motocross

ROGER DECOSTER truly believes that his team has the best bikes, the best trainers and some of the most talented riders on the circuit. ROGER DECOSTER truly believes that his team has the best bikes, the best trainers and some of the most talented riders on the circuit. Yet after Anaheim 1, Team Suzuki was searching for answers.One of the team coaches, Rick Johnson (who also happens to be one of the sport's all-time greats), headed a meeting that was held on Tuesday after the first round. Under the pretence of a motivational/sports psychology lecture, the head of the Los Angeles SWAT team, a cage fighter, a top triathlete and a samurai were called in to talk with the riders.At first I didn't see the relevance of what these guys had to say but it would soon make sense. The first to speak was the cage fighter and after watching a video of him popping some guy's elbow and shoulder out of socket, then breaking his wrists while pulverising yet another guy, it would be safe to say that the speakers had the full attention of everyone in the room. Besides the video, what Chris told us about his mental preparation crossed over greatly into our sport.Next to speak was Todd. He was my trainer last year and placed among the elite in more than 10 consecutive Ironman events. I know from experience that he has the mental strength to deal with pain and suffering with an almost eerie delight. When Todd spoke about pushing his body until he swore it couldn't go any further after swimming for an hour at an all-out pace, only to know he still had another 100 miles on a bicycle and 26 more to run in the heat of the day, it really makes you feel like a wimp thinking that an 18-minute SX race in cool temperatures is so gruelling.The guy in charge of the Los Angeles SWAT team switched it up a little bit by emphasising the importance of keeping a strong presence of mind to continually make good decisions. He encouraged everyone on the team to participate in actual SWAT team practices with 'less lethal' bullets and real guns. I don't know how safe this sounds or how much benefit it will be but I signed up anyway for a try next Tuesday!The samurai was last and, to be totally honest, I thought Rick might have gone overboard with his final choice. But just as I began thinking this, he started beating the crap out of the legendary Johnson without making it look like he was even trying. Now, I don't know if you ever watched a special on Bruce Lee where he figured out how to literally knock a guy off his feet without ever bending his arm or swinging his shoulder but, yeah, it was kind of like that. Every time RJ tried to bump into this guy, he would use Johnson's own energy to knock him on his butt. If this samurai guy knew how to ride, there wouldn't be any possible way to knock him down.Once he shook the cobwebs out, Rick used the samurai's actions as a lead-in for not taking crap from anyone. At the first round, a lot of the Suzuki riders were pushed around and used for berms. In Rick's mind, this is something that should never happen. As far as he's concerned, you don't have to be the fastest guy or have the best equipment if you're tougher than everyone else when the gate drops.One example of this would be Rick Johnson's Make-More-Room-on-the-Start technique. In theory, everyone's front wheels are either off the ground or very close to it as they go down the start straight, so most everyone is steering by leaning right or left. If you have your feet out to the side just slightly, anyone close enough to touch can be pushed or leaned away from you. With little effort on your part, you clear a three-foot gap on either side going into the first turn. With this you help eliminate your chances of a first-turn pile-up and better your chances of finding a hole to slip through in turn one.I'm one who believes what goes around comes around but Rick and everyone involved with the meeting definitely inspired confidence in all of us. I hope to start training with Davi Milsaps in Georgia when I begin riding in February. Until then, I will be either in Vermont doing some snow testing for my first rally car event or out in California testing a pro truck.The Desert Truck Series doesn't have a very full schedule and I should be able to hit a few events, including the Baja 1000. It's been a blast so far (even though I've had limited time in the truck). The trucks fly way better than the rally cars but rally seems to be a lot more technical and you can be more aggressive with shorter stages. My first rally event is in Michigan and the US national series doesn't allow studs in the tyres so it should be a very interesting experience.So wish me luck in the cars and trucks and look for me on the starting line at St. Louis. In the meantime, keep your elbows out and keep looking for three feet of daylight.By Travis Pastrana, courtesy RacerX

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