Dealing with risk

Every year when I need to write this column in February and March, my instinct is always to talk about the winter and why we’re sick of it, and how we should get away to somewhere warm and ride or just embrace the season. After all, we are Canadian. But I’m tired of writing about it and want to talk about something that I’m increasingly thinking about.

My children are still young but getting older and I’ve come to question whether I should push them towards motorcycles or steer them towards more conventional sports instead. On one hand, I want them to experience the joy, rush, fitness, progression and camaraderie of motorcycle riding and racing but on the other hand, I’d hate to admit, I’m worried about them getting seriously hurt, which is unfortunately very common and probable in our sport. Many ex-racers I have met feel the same way and struggle with pushing their children into the sport we love. I have already seen my kids get hurt mountain biking multiple times and I cringe reliving those memories. Even though I don’t like seeing it happen, I’ve come to realize that it’s a fine balance of letting them learn from their mistakes and pushing/encouraging them when their skill level has not kept up to their ambition just yet.

Saying that, I had to reflect on the benefits of high-risk sports like motorcycle racing that led me to the obsession about anything two-wheeled. Extra bonus if there was a motor involved as well. As most of you know, when consequences increase, focus becomes sharper, judgement is heightened and adrenaline kicks in making you hyper aware of your surroundings. But these feelings and wisdom come with age and experience. When taught early in development, those are life skills as well and translate well into adulthood whether it’s dealing with adversity, stress, physical injury or just plain perseverance. However, my children don’t know the consequences of doing dangerous activities just yet and it is still the responsibility of us parents to set a foundation of skills and techniques and teach them about the possible outcomes. But once kids get old enough and capable of making their own risk-assessing decisions, at what point do I let go? When they learn that crashing is part of learning and their skills eventually surpass mine, who am I to deny my kids experiencing these feelings that shaped me into the person I am today?

I’ve reached the conclusion that, for the kids and our benefit as parents, it’s key to invest in proper education and training. This can be us, teaching them early on and then handing over the reigns to professional coaches and instructors. As an example, I recently signed my kids up for their first introduction to motorized sports, an eBike test ride for GasGas’ kids lineup organized by Shane Cuthbertson and his www.rad20.

ca team. My older seven-year-old is pretty timid and she takes a little while to warm up to new things. My almost five-year-old son was gung-ho from the get-go, as long as his sister was doing it too. I could not wipe the smile off his face once he started putting the motocross gear on. Fully kitted up in pants, jersey, helmet and gloves while sporting his shy smile made me proud.

Learning the basics early on, under certified coaches’ supervision, can help children avoid bad technique habits and also teach safe ways of operating the machines. It is no different than any other sport whether it is hockey, skiing, soccer or gymnastics. Setting a foundation that focuses on fun and safety while building necessary motor skills is paramount in early development of learning. Children learn extremely fast due to their body producing insane amounts of myelin. Myelin sheath coats nerves and neurons in the brain allowing for fast and efficient transmission of electrical impulses. Repeated practice of new skills builds these fast super-highways of electrical signals. Having my kids exposed to new sports, like motorcycling which takes a great amount of focus as well as hand, foot and eye coordination can do wonders for their life foundation, way beyond just riding a bike.

So, what have we decided as parents?

I am okay with exposing my children to as many sports and activities as we can manage, even if they are risky and dangerous. I believe the rewards are worth it and if they decide to pursue one of those activities further, we will support them but not necessarily push them into it. Parenting is like politics and religion talk: everyone has an opinion, so this is just my take. If you are interested in some good winter reading about performance and what makes people excel in certain fields and countries, I highly recommend The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. Even if you don’t have kids or they’re already grown up, having a read while sipping on some Scotch by a cozy fire might be right up your alley. Cheers. IM