It’s too hot to ride. You have to sweat your way through the valley to get to the mountains where it gets a little cooler with altitude.

At least we have the mountains. How do you guys ride your bikes in Texas or Arizona? Is it even possible? I have a wet-vest that I would use if I were to be out riding. It’s like a personal A/C system for about an hour. Then you’re all dry again and have to stop and soak the vest.

But that is one pleasant hour though!

Dirt-biking isn’t even on the radar right now. Dusty and hot and no way to escape the heat in the valley where most trails are. 4-wheeling isn’t that much fun either. You have to have the top on (the jeep), all windows closed and the A/C blasting.

So today I’m staying inside with the A/C on. Thinking about that winter is on its way and how great this one will be compared to the three crappy winters we just suffered through.

Today is a good day to plan for the winter. What sled should we get my son, if his other one sells? What modifications, if any, should I do to my sled? What mountain should I conquer this winter that I haven’t conquered yet?

Stuff like this keeps me cool today.

I’ve always liked being the odd woman out. Like when I was the only female roadracer among hundreds of men. I liked that a lot.

It’s not about getting all the attention just because I’m a woman. It’s about being good at whatever I do thanks to being a woman! And then get attention for being good at it.

My strength on the racetrack was that I was smooth. While the guys wrestled their bikes around, I didn’t have the strength to do that and had to be smarter than them about my line and technique. Then again, sometimes I just had to out-brake them — they really didn’t like when I passed them bouncing on my front wheel from braking just a smither later than they did… Those were the days.

That’s probably why I’m so into snowmobiling these days. It’s mostly me and a bunch of guys. And I’m pretty good at it. And it’s the same here, I don’t have a man’s strength and weight, instead I have to manipulate the snowmobile by transferring my weight and work the throttle to get it to do what I want. Which doesn’t always work, but it’s usually pretty close 😉

If you need proof, just look at my 13-year old son. He weighs 100 lbs and his 415 lbs snowmobile doesn’t even know he’s on it. Until he starts using the throttle and body position — he can get that sled to go where and how he wants it.

To me, it’s cool to be a woman being good at what’s traditionally called “a man’s sport.” And at this day in time, most guys are OK with it and some even ask for tips when they understand I have a lot of experience.

What I DON’T have, that guys often have, is the ability to “switch off” my brains. That’s when you go crazy and are going to be first, fastest, baddest or whatever, no matter what.

That’s why there’s always guys doing these incredibly stupid “don’t try this at home” kind of stunts that you see in videos on FB. Us ladies would never even consider doing that stupid sh**.

However, I have NO PROBLEM playing the “help me, I’m a woman” card whenever I get a flat or need help turning my dirt bike right-side-up. We don’t want to break our nails, do we?

I promote enjoying your favorite horse-powered toy together with your child of any age. I did and I still do.

When my son Lukas was too young to ride by himself, he rode in-front or behind me on my snowmobile, motorcycle or ATV. I think that gave him a much better understanding of what it takes to ride safely and how to approach various obstacles.

Today, at age 12, Lukas is an awesome little rider with great throttle control and the ability to plan ahead no matter what vehicle he’s on.

My number 1 goal when riding with my son is and has always been his safety. 

Rule one: Padding, padding and more padding. A child that doesn’t get hurt when falling over will learn to enjoy his ride quicker. Lukas was wearing full motocross gear (head to toes) when we taught him how to ride a bicycle for the first time… Maybe it was overkill, but it didn’t bother him (or me) when he fell so he got up and tried again. And got really good at it. Same with the motocross bike that he got on his third birthday…

Rule two: Understand that you have a precious life in your hands so ride defensive and don’t push your limits. Understand that things can go wrong, so make sure they don’t go really wrong. Check the weather, bring snacks, food and water, carry a SPOT GPS transmitter, tell other riders to give you extra room. Be a Mama-bear. And never ride alone (without other adults).

And, my last rule: Remember you have a child when you’re out having fun without him or her! You need to come back home in one piece to be there for them!