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I wrote:
Shoulda stayed on the Zook, no matter the loss.
Lost Sharkie and became a dad in a matter of a few weeks. Shit changes. He's still an awesome racer in my eyes. Time to go to the next thing.
You wrote:
I just really don't get this kind of post. The guy gets 2nd at Vegas, won the hangtown opener , got 2nd place in the last moto I saw , was on the podium in that race overall and sits 2nd in points with a #1 plate on his bike and you think he should move on? If he was barely hanging in the top 5 on good days maybe I'd agree. The guys still a beast. He's just had an injury and head shit fck with him a little this year. What's crazier is you had someone agree with your post and 1000's more just like that guy that haven't commented that agree to. Sorry but to me that's utterly asinine. (That's being nice.)
WTF so should everyone from 2nd place on just go home? What's funny is you start out by saying his best friend died and he had a baby as two good reasons. What? That's makes no sense.
I'll be the first to agree shit just hasn't been right with Reedy mentally this year but should he quit, hell no. I for one hope he gets all his head stuff square and comes out swinging.
Again, not much of a stretch but I did take a small offense to your reply to me but decided to let it go at the time. This refreshed it.
People everyday get up and go to work and deal with pain, injury and possible death. It's called life. When you understand why guys like Ricky James, Doug Henry, Josh Morros and Chris Ridgeway etc... get on motorcycles and go at as hard as they can then maybe you'll understand what a gift getting up in the morning is regardless of what pain or despair you may think you're dealing with. They are looking forward, without regrets, living the life they have.
If it's all this too much for Chad then its really too bad because the guy is one best riders to have ever swung a leg over a bike. If leaving the sport is a matter of no one will pay him to do it or he's moving to better things or get paid more to do something else that would be one thing and a whole lot different situation than leaving because "He's got nothing to prove" or "he's over it".
Reed has been racing at this level for a decade, won more than most, and done it virtually injury free; if he now decides to hang up the boots then it's only OK for certain reasons and not others???
Everyone has a point at which the reward is not worth the risk. Where's yours? I'd be willing to bet that you'd have more wins/championships if you took a bit more risk and pushed a bit harder. Why didn't you?
In Reed's case he's walking away from at least 5 million and maybe as much 20 million dollars over the next 2 to 5 years. I think its funny how everyone makes it out that MX is more dangerous than virtually anything you can do for a living and so its understandable how Reed can just walk away with no regrets.
The rub is there is no guarantee that he'll live happily ever after and risk free. i.e. If Reed goes on to cars he'll racing at a fraction of his current pay and still be exposed to tremendous risks. So why take those risks for singles when there are millions on the table?
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He's a guy that races for titles, and he's already won just about everything. If I had to guess, the reward side of the equation for Reed would be another SX title - which would put him on three and part of a very small group - MC, RC, Stanton and Hannah - who have won three or more SX titles, and/or another ten main event wins to equal RC as second on the all time win list (obviously another outdoor title would be good as well!)
My feeling is that if Reed doesn't see himself a good chance of any of those then he isn't going to hang around.
And no I don't think that motocross is one of the more dangerous professions, which is also why I think claims that riders are underpaid because of the "danger" factor are pure BS. However the human mind puts stronger emphasis on events that are closer, both physically and timewise, so it's reasonable to assume that with the recent death of a friend he's not seeing the risk worth the reward.
Of course there are no guarantees in life, but that's a poor philosophy on which to make life and career decisions.
You're the first to bring this up. I have been living with some disc issues in my neck and it sucks, bad! It's not worth it for me to have surgery so for now I live with it. Perhaps the decision that is being contemplated is neck surgery. Is it worth it at this stage in his career to have surgery to get back in the game quicker? Just pure speculation on my part, but just as likely as a retirement.
At a certain point, other priorities and options take precedence. While Chad could ride into the sunset ala K-Dub, his auto racing interest, coupled with a desire to return to Australia, may outweigh the demands placed on him when riding SX/MX.
Plus his accountant has probably laid out a retirement plan that does not include more time in the saddle. And that plan can be implemented today.
I agree either way. I'd like to see him keep racing but he has to make descisions that are best for him and his family. If he feels like he should quit then he should. If he feels he should keep racing he should.
I agree either way. I'd like to see him keep racing but he has to make descisions that are best for him and his family. If he feels like he should quit then he should. If he feels he should keep racing he should.
Look at RC, he had his family and got out before disaster struck.
He can always come out and ride a race or two to satisfy the itch.
I can't see Chad going the team manager route.
A. He already has the $$$.
B. Probably wants to spend the time with the family, not go and hit the road for 50 weeks a year.
C. He has his SX series to promote.
I think it would be very cool to see him as some sort of rider ( organization? ) rep though. He has already shown he's not shy about telling the AMA and promoters when there is a problem.
Aside from the neck injury, I wouldn't write him off so fast. He is a competitor and wants to beat those guys. I am wondering about the green bike though. They started off looking good at Hangtown but since then very inconsistent ... especially for one of the most consistent finishers out there.
Pit Row
Done any pro level racing with a neck injury lately?
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