How has your winter been going?

It’s been going good. I’ve just been adapting to occupying my time between work and riding every day. It’s been a new experience but it’s been fun so far.

What kind of job are you working?

I work at an auto body shop. I’m basically the shop manager and help out where ever I’m needed.

What’s it like trying to balance the job with racing?

Well, I can’t really give a good answer yet since the season hasn’t completely started but I can say that it’s already a little bit overwhelming. I’ve been trying to combine it with working out before and after work along with riding. Once the season starts though, we’ll have daylight savings time so there will be more time to ride after work and it should make things a little easier as well.

Would a podium finish feel better now that you’re also working a regular job?

I think that almost any finish is going to feel better. If I just get 10th place, I’m still going to know that I did my best and I’ll still stand by my decision on the direction I went. Then if I win, I can be that much more proud of it but at this point I’m comfortable with the decision I made and I’m happy to stand by it. I think I’ll be pretty satisfied no matter what my results are.

What are you doing to try to stay on the same training level while still working?

I’ve been riding as much as I can. Fortunately it’s been a pretty mild winter so I have been able to ride. Although it’s not like any other year where I’ve been in Florida really training but it’s not like I’ve been up here not riding at all. I go to the gym before work every morning plus my friends and I are pretty into rock climbing so we hit the indoor climbing wall, which is a pretty good workout as well.

The rock-climbing thing is a little bit different, does that make pretty good cross-training platform?

I don’t know. It’s definitely not bad because it’s a pretty good workout and gives you a good muscle workout in places you wouldn’t think it works you out. At the same time it could also be kind of dangerous because you could tear ligaments in your fingers or catch something coming down and hurt yourself, so I try to be pretty sensible about it. It’s still a pretty good all around workout though.

How’s the new bike feeling?

The new bike is amazing. I’m unbelievably satisfied with it and it’s been a real pleasure to start riding it. I love everything about it. It’s just such a lightweight bike and the power is so usable and so fast that it’s given me more pleasure in just generally riding than I realized I had. It’s like riding a two-stroke since it’s so lightweight but it has the power of a 450. It’s great to be able to ride the bike that fast and corner it that hard. It’s got such a well-handling chassis and the lightweight is incredible. I couldn’t really be happier with it. I knew that’s the direction I wanted to go with Honda and I reached a point to where I was totally committed to going with that bike. I took the risk to wait for that opportunity to come and even went out and bought the bike before I had a contract so I could go ahead and start riding it. Now I’ve got my contract signed with them and it’s all paid off and I’m really happy with it.

How did the Honda deal come together?

I’d actually been talking to JT and Gretchen for a few years now. We’ve always kind of talked about working together and finally I reached the point of where I wanted to be on their team. I knew that their calendar year started a little bit later than everyone else’s but I wanted to ride for them enough that I was going to do that and I even turned my other opportunities down to wait for something to come with them. It worked out even better since they’re with Honda and that’s what I wanted to be on.

What was the big difference when making the switch from the KTM?

The biggest difference was the weight. The Honda is noticeably lighter. Then the more time I spent with the bike, I would notice that with one suspension setting I could ride the mountains with the rocks one day, then the next day I could do to a sand track or a motocross track and not make any changes. The bike would still work just as well and the suspension didn’t really need to be tinkered with for the track.

So the Honda is almost like a do-it-all, it’s just ready to go!

Yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with the chassis on it. Of course, I’m not an engineer, I’m not the guy that designed the bike but my opinion from riding the bike, and using a little bit of logic is a lot it revolves around that bike having a really good chassis and it’s suspension components.

You’ve got a couple of races under your belt on it so far, how did the National Hare Scramble and Enduro races go?

Well, the National Enduro didn’t really go well but the Hare Scramble was actually really fun for me because I hadn’t raced or ridden much. I basically just showed up there really excited to race but not having an idea of what to expect. I had kind of a bad start and I was kind of adjusting to the bike so it took me a while to make some passes, and well, just go fast enough to start making some passes but once I got going I just kept going and picking up more and more momentum. I ended up finishing sixth, which is actually better than it really was because some of the guys had some issues that took them out of the race. For me it was a good race no matter what the number on the result was. I learned a lot about the bike and myself and got an idea of where I stood with my fitness. So it was good, I didn’t get hurt and learned a lot. Then I went to the enduro and had kind of expected it to be one of the more open and flowing endures and it didn’t.

Yeah, the whole enduro was kind of like a learning experience then?

Yeah, I hate to say something bad about anything but I was really disappointed. It wasn’t a fun experience for me and it was basically one of those days where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. From colliding with a guy I was trying to pass and crashing, to having to wait in the trail for two guys who crashed in front of me to be able to pick their bikes up because the trail was so tight that there was no way to go around, and even at one of the checks the guy working it forgot to tell my line to go when it was time to go. It was just one of those thing that was non-stop. I can’t complain that the race was too tight because I know that those races are so tight and that if I wanted to do well there badly enough I should have taken the time to prepare for it and cut my handlebars in half. For that, I can’t complain about it but for everything else I can say it just wasn’t enjoyable for me.

What other races do you have planned before the GNCC season starts back?

I’m going to do the next National Hare Scramble in Georgia and between then and River Ranch I don’t have anything planned yet. I’m just kind of flying by the seat of my pants and kind of see where my truck takes me. It could be some FTR races, I’ll have to check the schedule, or maybe I’ll do an OMA. It could be anything. I am going to take a month off from work to go down to the National Hare Scramble then stay down south through the opening GNCC rounds so I can get a little more preparation. I’m just kind of making plans as I go so I’m not sure what races I’ll do.

How do you feel coming into 2012?

Fitness wise, I feel like I’m not quite as well off as I have been in years past but health wise I’m feeling better. Speed-wise, that’s hard to judge. I used to be optimistic with something better to gauge by but at the moment I’m feeling pretty good speed-wise.

So, what are your goals for 2012?

Of course, my goal is to win the championship but I have to be realistic. At the moment the goal is to get into the season and get good results in the beginning, just be smart and not take myself out of the championship early. Then I’ll start to set more particular goals once we get through the first few rounds. I want to get race wins and I’d like to win the championship but I know it’s kind of a long-shot for me at the moment but I wouldn’t be doing if it wasn’t possible.

Who would you like to thank?

First, I’d like to thank my friend Garcia from Massachusetts. I’d also like to thank JT and Gretchen and Honda for taking me on this year. Also, thanks to the sponsors that stuck with me, Scott, St. Lawrence Radiology, Factory Connection, Motion Pro, Leatt, FMF and Rekluse.