In any discipline, the ones who put their all into it wind up failing. Not every time, mind you, but they fail enough to learn lessons on what to change and what not to do so that the next time they attempt the same thing, they approach whatever the goal is in a different manner for a better result. “Try, try and try again,” as you were told growing up as a kid. Sometimes things happen, some days just aren’t for you. Had a bad day in the shop? Walk away and come back with a clearer head later. Spun out on the track? Figure out how to approach that corner so you don’t lose the tail next time. You can always review and reassess, right?

Well…in the world of rockbouncer racing, that’s not 100% accurate. You can learn technique, you can determine how your buggy behaves, how far you can provoke it before things go bad, but after that, you are into the unknown. The hills change, the course changes. Nature has a way of evening out the playing field between rounds at certain ORV parks. There might be more dirt, or more slippery rock. There might be a steeper incline. The guy in front of you might have carved in some nice, deep ruts that will screw you up if you hit them. And, of course, there’s that small but present chance that all your preparation, planning and courage was all for nothing…the ground you banked on gave way at the last second, you hit the throttle too much and backflipped, and the next noise you hear will be the sound of rollcage bouncing off of the nearest tree. Those are the breaks, I’m afraid! But have no fear…they will dust themselves off, rebuild and return, and that’s true sportsmanship.