Or
The Ballad of Tom Batten
Inevitable is a word we hear used in a lot of different circumstances and for a lot of different reasons. Lately some of those reasons have struck home in an entirely different way as I listen to some of our friends talking about cleaning out their parents home after they had passed on and ponder my own mothers advancing years. Like the very word itself most of the time those things have been inevitable.
I first met Tom Batten in 2004, that was Jakes first year of racing and I had been doing some lurking around the now defunct NEMX web board in preparation for the season to try and catch on. One thing I noticed right away was that there was this one guy Tom Batten who always and I mean always seemed really interested in the results.
No matter what the track or the org if Tom wasn’t at that race and even if he was; Tom was looking for results. Well I joined the board and posted sparingly, getting to know who people were a little by reading the sometimes very spirited topics. By the time Jakes first race at Winchester came around I had sort of come to know who a few people were and didn’t feel too uncomfortable about our first time.
I was setting up our pit, badly I might add, the night before the race and Jake who was 8 at the time was sort of meandering around taking it all in, slightly awestruck. We got a few things out and I was under the EZ Up When I heard a guy say “Is that your bike?” and I turned around to see this guy standing a few feet away from where Jake was leaning on his bike. Now if you were ever going to picture in your head the perfect example of the word “Grizzled” .....well that would be Tom Batten, squinting through the glasses, smoke in hand, for the life of me all I could think of was my own grandfather; the epitome of old school.
Jakes eyes lit up as he excitedly told Tom about how this was his first race and Tom just listened and talked with Jake about racing and how his son Nick raced too. I walked over and introduced myself and we chatted a bit before heading up to the sign up building.
We came to know quite a few folks that first year and the years since then, some of the people I consider family to Jake and I we met on the track. I also came to realize something else, it wasn’t just on the internet that Tom was interested in what went on at the races, he was a fixture at the fences and always had a good word for the riders coming off the track especially the little ones. Standing near the exit gate as the riders pulled off ready with a pat on the back when you did well and a word of encouragement when you didn’t. No rider knew this or felt it more I am sure than Nick, to say that Tom was 100% percent behind him is a woeful understatement. On Toms profile for the Stacy Racing web board his occupation was listed as Father and his interests Nick and MX. Rain or shine, come hell and sometimes even high water you could always count on seeing Tom there cheering Nick on, it was inevitable.
I think everybody that raced with Nick and Tom have what I like to call a “Tom Batten moment”. I know quite a few folks that will remember the NEMX monsoon day at Hemonds with racing cancelled and mud up to the ankles Tom literally got run over in the pits by a truck slipping around a turn in the muck, only to get back up and shrug it off.
Mine was at Winchester one weekend when our power washer had died and I spotted Tom walking past my perch in the announcing tower. I asked if they had a washer set up we could borrow to give Jakes bike a quick spray down as ours had expired and of course the answer was yes. Tom pointed out where they had it set up and I said I would be over to use it. Well the track need a little touching up so with a few minutes break I roll over to where I saw Nicks bikes as well as the power washer and set to spraying away on Jakes bike. I was about done when I notice a guy standing there with a Honda 450, just sort of looking at me and thinking he is probably going to use it too. I said hey in my neighborly fashion but instead of saying hi back he says “Can I use my power washer now?”
“Oh...” I said “Tom Batten said I could use it so I thought it was theirs”
At which the guy sort of broke out into a grin and said “Ahhh that explains it”.
For me that was Tom, some people say they would give you the shirt off their back...Tom really would. It was all about the family of motocross, when someone needed something if he could help them by god he would. I am sure it never occurred to him that anybody would mind doing whatever they could to help out another racer; that was Tom.
Well as the seasons rolled on into 2008 Tom started to look a little worse for the wear but just seemed to shrug it off with his characteristic dismissive wave as if it was nothing, business as usual until the day came in October when Tom finally took the checkered flag himself. True to form just a week before he passed Tom was posting on the Stacy Racing web board asking about....you guessed it......the results for the Race of Champions. When we got the news it was a shock, as Paul Buckley posted “It seemed like Tom was tough enough to beat anything”.......but I guess it really was inevitable.
So if that is where we are all going and the march gets shorter every single day there is really only one thing that we can do. Burn as brightly as you can, never miss the chance to tell your kids when they do something great and even more so when they do something less than great. Hug them or kiss them and make sure they know you love them. Touch the lives of the people around you and never miss the chance to bring a smile to your friend’s faces. Stand at the fences and shout or stand behind your loved ones at all costs but stand for something and defend what you believe in because at the end of the day that is all that really matters.
Inevitably it is about who you are to the family and friends around you.
Rest in peace Tom Batten we miss you in the pits old friend.
6/24/09
1/13/09
It’s all fun and games.....
This story was written in June of 2008, finally decided to share it.
"It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt"
How true that statement can be and although the majority of us may have heard this from our parents it never really held much weight until now for me. I don’t have to tell anyone that the world we live in is a dangerous place. Every single day people lose that roll of the dice with fate and well crap happens...to paraphrase another well known cliché.
In racing the possibility of injury is a way of life, it really isn’t a question of if but rather when and how bad. When bad things happen the family of the sport really shines through as without fail your friends and people whom you may not know any more about than the number on their jersey pitch in and help. I recently helped a young girl who was at an open practice load her boyfriend’s bike as he was being loaded up for transport. As I pushed the bike over to his truck the folks pitted around them who immediately knew something had happened, came over and like a swarm of bees had everything loaded up. I went to give her the keys but she couldn’t drive with the stick-shift so we decide that parking it by the track office would make him feel good and then she could ride with him to the ER. As we drove over she remarked that she didn’t spend much time with him at the track and was surprised at how everybody came over and was so nice to her, asking how she was and helping out. I explained to her that it was just how it was with racers and their families, we all know it sucks to crash and we also know that someday it will be our turn in the barrel. How soon I would get a chance to be right about that one, as not too long after that practice day our barrel rolled in.
It was just another typical race day for us at Winchester Speedpark as we got ready to go for round 4 of the series, it rained the night before but beautiful blue skies greeted us in the morning so it looked like practice would be muddy but the track would shape up to be mint for racing. Jake gated up for his heat race feeling good about the day, he had run a solid fourth in his first outing on the 2008 SX layout and expected to do well again. The gate dropped and he reacted well off the line coming off the start running top five, as the pack rounded turn two Jake had only a handful of guys ahead perfectly set up for the double that would separate the pack a bit allowing him to run smooth laps to work his lines and get a great gate pick for the main....except that didn’t happen.
As soon as Jake left the face of the jump I knew something was wrong because he kicked his left leg out and twisted at the top of the bike. When he came down it looked like he flat landed then bounce-rolled over the next jump off the side of the track and went down. I didn’t really think it was going to be too serious as Jake would most likely get up any time now and remount to finish his heat, pissed at himself for not doing better.....except that didn’t happen either.
As I walked to the corner of the mechanics area to get a better look I saw a track ref pulling Jake’s bike up off him and kneeling down but instead of helping Jake stand up he began vigorously waving for the EMT’s to come over and I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach. At this point everything took on that surreal quality that life sometimes has as it got real quiet for me, I couldn’t really hear the bikes still racing around the track anymore but I was suddenly aware of the wind from the trees behind me. I watched them racing to Jakes side flags waving all over the section as multiple riders had gone down. I stood tensed at the edge of the rope separating me from the track waiting to see how Jake was when I noticed the red flag was now also waving and my stomach found a new low as I knew this meant someone wasn’t getting up, turned out it was my someone.
After the track was cleared I was waved over and I sprinted across the track as fast as I could which was really no match for the way my mind was racing. It was scary to see Jake at the center of a full on exam, head and neck being supported as they prepared to put him on a back board. I knelt down and told Jake I was there for him as he occasionally cried out in pain and the medics did their job. The scariest moment for me was as they ran through the standard various questions to see if he was OK and asked “Jake can you move your foot?” and he said “No” I can’t begin to describe to you all how I felt at that point and even as I write this it is going to make me cry again, I just couldn’t believe I heard him say that.
Then he said “Something is under it.” One of the medical bags had been put down just below his boot and his foot ended up resting against it. At which point the EMT said “Just wiggle your toes, can you wiggle your toes?” And he said “Yes” I almost laughed in relief at that point as that is just so Jake, no matter what he has to give the correct answers to the exact question. Well they back-boarded Jake and we headed for the ambulance as they got me up to speed on what was going to happen, we would be going to the local ER and from there would decide what Jake needed. Once Jake was secured I took off to get the truck to follow behind the ambulance at no point during any of this did I see Jakes bike or any of the gear they took off him but as I ran back to the pits our family descended. “We’ll take care of your stuff just go” and go I did without a second thought knowing Jake and I would be well taken care of in the hands of our extended family and that the folks who loved the sport we loved would be thinking about us and feeling our pain.
As we sped along the highway my eyes grimly focused on the twin back windows of the ambulance in front of me, pulsing lights almost hypnotic after a few miles and I began to play the blame game in my head.
“I shouldn’t have told him to be aggressive on that jump, he could have waited a lap....it’s all my fault.”
What if he has permanent damage? What if he needs surgery?....it’s all my fault”
“What the hell was I thinking even getting him into this.....it’s all my fault”
Sing along with me if you know the words.
At that point I had what some folks describe as a moment of clarity and a line from some old western movie whose name escapes me just popped into my head pushing all of the other scattered worries away.
”Sometimes you just have to roll with what life throws you”
So I just sort of told myself to stop and began to focus on the things that I knew lay ahead now that life had thrown us this little curve. Thankfully I can say that everything ended pretty well for Jake that day after a full round of testing, pokes, prods and scans he was determined to have fractured his L-1 vertebrae but there was no nerve damage or complications. It was definitely going to hurt for a bit but he would recover and be back to race another day.
Am I scared about what will happen?
Hell yeah; but that is a part of life and no matter what we do there is no way to keep the bad things in life at bay. When you grab hold of life and shake it for all it is worth sometimes things happen that you don’t expect. I believe it really is the testing of our mettle that shows us how strong we are, even when we would rather not see it.
After all is said and done it isn’t about how hard you fall but how hard you try to get back up that matters the most.
And so the games begin again......
"It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt"
How true that statement can be and although the majority of us may have heard this from our parents it never really held much weight until now for me. I don’t have to tell anyone that the world we live in is a dangerous place. Every single day people lose that roll of the dice with fate and well crap happens...to paraphrase another well known cliché.
In racing the possibility of injury is a way of life, it really isn’t a question of if but rather when and how bad. When bad things happen the family of the sport really shines through as without fail your friends and people whom you may not know any more about than the number on their jersey pitch in and help. I recently helped a young girl who was at an open practice load her boyfriend’s bike as he was being loaded up for transport. As I pushed the bike over to his truck the folks pitted around them who immediately knew something had happened, came over and like a swarm of bees had everything loaded up. I went to give her the keys but she couldn’t drive with the stick-shift so we decide that parking it by the track office would make him feel good and then she could ride with him to the ER. As we drove over she remarked that she didn’t spend much time with him at the track and was surprised at how everybody came over and was so nice to her, asking how she was and helping out. I explained to her that it was just how it was with racers and their families, we all know it sucks to crash and we also know that someday it will be our turn in the barrel. How soon I would get a chance to be right about that one, as not too long after that practice day our barrel rolled in.
It was just another typical race day for us at Winchester Speedpark as we got ready to go for round 4 of the series, it rained the night before but beautiful blue skies greeted us in the morning so it looked like practice would be muddy but the track would shape up to be mint for racing. Jake gated up for his heat race feeling good about the day, he had run a solid fourth in his first outing on the 2008 SX layout and expected to do well again. The gate dropped and he reacted well off the line coming off the start running top five, as the pack rounded turn two Jake had only a handful of guys ahead perfectly set up for the double that would separate the pack a bit allowing him to run smooth laps to work his lines and get a great gate pick for the main....except that didn’t happen.
As soon as Jake left the face of the jump I knew something was wrong because he kicked his left leg out and twisted at the top of the bike. When he came down it looked like he flat landed then bounce-rolled over the next jump off the side of the track and went down. I didn’t really think it was going to be too serious as Jake would most likely get up any time now and remount to finish his heat, pissed at himself for not doing better.....except that didn’t happen either.
As I walked to the corner of the mechanics area to get a better look I saw a track ref pulling Jake’s bike up off him and kneeling down but instead of helping Jake stand up he began vigorously waving for the EMT’s to come over and I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach. At this point everything took on that surreal quality that life sometimes has as it got real quiet for me, I couldn’t really hear the bikes still racing around the track anymore but I was suddenly aware of the wind from the trees behind me. I watched them racing to Jakes side flags waving all over the section as multiple riders had gone down. I stood tensed at the edge of the rope separating me from the track waiting to see how Jake was when I noticed the red flag was now also waving and my stomach found a new low as I knew this meant someone wasn’t getting up, turned out it was my someone.
After the track was cleared I was waved over and I sprinted across the track as fast as I could which was really no match for the way my mind was racing. It was scary to see Jake at the center of a full on exam, head and neck being supported as they prepared to put him on a back board. I knelt down and told Jake I was there for him as he occasionally cried out in pain and the medics did their job. The scariest moment for me was as they ran through the standard various questions to see if he was OK and asked “Jake can you move your foot?” and he said “No” I can’t begin to describe to you all how I felt at that point and even as I write this it is going to make me cry again, I just couldn’t believe I heard him say that.
Then he said “Something is under it.” One of the medical bags had been put down just below his boot and his foot ended up resting against it. At which point the EMT said “Just wiggle your toes, can you wiggle your toes?” And he said “Yes” I almost laughed in relief at that point as that is just so Jake, no matter what he has to give the correct answers to the exact question. Well they back-boarded Jake and we headed for the ambulance as they got me up to speed on what was going to happen, we would be going to the local ER and from there would decide what Jake needed. Once Jake was secured I took off to get the truck to follow behind the ambulance at no point during any of this did I see Jakes bike or any of the gear they took off him but as I ran back to the pits our family descended. “We’ll take care of your stuff just go” and go I did without a second thought knowing Jake and I would be well taken care of in the hands of our extended family and that the folks who loved the sport we loved would be thinking about us and feeling our pain.
As we sped along the highway my eyes grimly focused on the twin back windows of the ambulance in front of me, pulsing lights almost hypnotic after a few miles and I began to play the blame game in my head.
“I shouldn’t have told him to be aggressive on that jump, he could have waited a lap....it’s all my fault.”
What if he has permanent damage? What if he needs surgery?....it’s all my fault”
“What the hell was I thinking even getting him into this.....it’s all my fault”
Sing along with me if you know the words.
At that point I had what some folks describe as a moment of clarity and a line from some old western movie whose name escapes me just popped into my head pushing all of the other scattered worries away.
”Sometimes you just have to roll with what life throws you”
So I just sort of told myself to stop and began to focus on the things that I knew lay ahead now that life had thrown us this little curve. Thankfully I can say that everything ended pretty well for Jake that day after a full round of testing, pokes, prods and scans he was determined to have fractured his L-1 vertebrae but there was no nerve damage or complications. It was definitely going to hurt for a bit but he would recover and be back to race another day.
Am I scared about what will happen?
Hell yeah; but that is a part of life and no matter what we do there is no way to keep the bad things in life at bay. When you grab hold of life and shake it for all it is worth sometimes things happen that you don’t expect. I believe it really is the testing of our mettle that shows us how strong we are, even when we would rather not see it.
After all is said and done it isn’t about how hard you fall but how hard you try to get back up that matters the most.
And so the games begin again......
1/3/09
Fire in the Game.
Well here we are on the verge of the 2009 Supercross season and there is a little fire in the game again this year. Chad Reed has the number one plate to defend and although he looks fit and happy on the yellow bike he also has a lot of weight to carry. The always outspoken Aussie has continued to have a prickly relationship with a portion of the US SX fan base and will need to lay down some wins this year to solidify his position as one of the sports elite. Personally I like the guy from what I see and read from him, he is a straight shooter that will tell you what he is thinking. Sometimes it is exactly that candidly, passionate stance which has raised the ire of the fans but I think that’s unfair to count that as a negative. If training and riding with Rockstar/Makita Suzuki teammate RC has had any effect on Reed’s confidence then we may see a very dangerous guy under the 22’s helmet because if history has proven one thing it is that James Stewart’s only weakness was Carmichael’s ability to put him under pressure.
So what will we see out of James this year? Everybody seems ready to give him the championship before the gate has even dropped once and I have to say that seems like a smart bet. Stewart looked smooth and unstoppable at Bercy but only took the win at the US Open after Reed bobbled on night two. There is no question that giving James an open track is a recipe for a blow out so look for Reed to take a page from RC and apply constant steady pressure. If Reed can run James’ pace early and often without it putting him on the ground then we have got a game my friends.
Kevin Windham is returning after possibly his strongest season in SX since his days on a two-stroke 125 and if he is in his groove again look for K-Dub to take a win again this year and be a player on the podium more than that. Honda teammates Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short will also be fighting for a spot on those crowded 3 steps and both can be counted as possible contenders for a win depending on how the game goes up front. Millsaps needs to bring the fire he brought to take the win at Atlanta and Short needs to start out this year fighting as hard for a win as he finished it last season. Villopoto makes his move to the 450 class this year to high expectations and some large boots to fill. So far he has been playing it very low key and putting in massive amounts of time on the test track prepping. I think this kid is going to ride smart start taking some podium spots in the Supercross class towards the end of the season and indeed may even be the spoiler for the championship race.
Team Yamaha has some rebuilding going on with Broc Hepler and Josh Hill both looking to put in strong rides, hopefully Hepler can make it through the season without injury as that has really been the only thing keeping him down. Joe Gibb’s will also be flying the colors for big blue and with Cody Cooper and a very motivated Josh Grant they should be not just a very viable team to look for on the podium but an indication of the future of racing.
Now on to the Lites;
The Lites class has been the place to find the fighting and scrapping for the past couple years and this season looks to be a repeat of that trend. The West Coast field is about as stacked as it can be so I am just going to talk about the obvious.
My pick for the West Coast title battle is going to be Ryan Dungey versus Trey Canard with Jason Lawrence throwing in the unknown element that is his calling card. Dungey let himself be beat last year by his own mistakes more than anything else.
Did J-Law get in Dungey’s head?
Absolutely yes but don’t look for that to happen this year and I also don’t expect that Ryan will make the same rookie mistakes that cost him the title last year. That brings us to the other guy on the line running a number one plate Geico Powersport/Factory Connection’s affable and determined returning East Coast champ Trey Canard. Look for this kid to be the one who can run Dungey hard, be patient when he needs to and take some wins when it counts. Trey is who I want to pick to win it but I think Dungey has got the fire this year and has something to prove before he leaves the Lites class.
All of which brings us to Lawrence, the guy with a question mark running just under that number one on his plate.
What can we expect from Jason? Well who the heck knows….
The kid has got some talent but the struggles with “outside influence” kept him from really showing his ability. If Jason has been working hard he can definitely get it done but the long run hasn’t proven to be his strong suit and I don’t expect that if Dungey has consistency issues it will be Jason who is there to take advantage, the field is too strong this year.
Austin Stroupe will be the banner rider for Mitch Payton this year so he has got a fair degree of pressure on his shoulders to bring something to the table. Brett Metcalfe made a surprising jump from under the Pro Circuit Kawasaki tent to run with the other powerhouse for the Lites class at Geico/FC Honda along with Dan Reardon who I think will run strong through the series. Martin Davalos has put in some solid rides over the past couple seasons but has yet to have that break out ride to take him to the next level time will tell if that is going to change this year.
Best quote to sum it up so far comes from Kevin Windham;
“Reality is there’s going to be a lot of guys hunting for three spots and the podium isn’t getting any bigger.”
Now let’s drop the gate and see who comes out on top.
So what will we see out of James this year? Everybody seems ready to give him the championship before the gate has even dropped once and I have to say that seems like a smart bet. Stewart looked smooth and unstoppable at Bercy but only took the win at the US Open after Reed bobbled on night two. There is no question that giving James an open track is a recipe for a blow out so look for Reed to take a page from RC and apply constant steady pressure. If Reed can run James’ pace early and often without it putting him on the ground then we have got a game my friends.
Kevin Windham is returning after possibly his strongest season in SX since his days on a two-stroke 125 and if he is in his groove again look for K-Dub to take a win again this year and be a player on the podium more than that. Honda teammates Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short will also be fighting for a spot on those crowded 3 steps and both can be counted as possible contenders for a win depending on how the game goes up front. Millsaps needs to bring the fire he brought to take the win at Atlanta and Short needs to start out this year fighting as hard for a win as he finished it last season. Villopoto makes his move to the 450 class this year to high expectations and some large boots to fill. So far he has been playing it very low key and putting in massive amounts of time on the test track prepping. I think this kid is going to ride smart start taking some podium spots in the Supercross class towards the end of the season and indeed may even be the spoiler for the championship race.
Team Yamaha has some rebuilding going on with Broc Hepler and Josh Hill both looking to put in strong rides, hopefully Hepler can make it through the season without injury as that has really been the only thing keeping him down. Joe Gibb’s will also be flying the colors for big blue and with Cody Cooper and a very motivated Josh Grant they should be not just a very viable team to look for on the podium but an indication of the future of racing.
Now on to the Lites;
The Lites class has been the place to find the fighting and scrapping for the past couple years and this season looks to be a repeat of that trend. The West Coast field is about as stacked as it can be so I am just going to talk about the obvious.
My pick for the West Coast title battle is going to be Ryan Dungey versus Trey Canard with Jason Lawrence throwing in the unknown element that is his calling card. Dungey let himself be beat last year by his own mistakes more than anything else.
Did J-Law get in Dungey’s head?
Absolutely yes but don’t look for that to happen this year and I also don’t expect that Ryan will make the same rookie mistakes that cost him the title last year. That brings us to the other guy on the line running a number one plate Geico Powersport/Factory Connection’s affable and determined returning East Coast champ Trey Canard. Look for this kid to be the one who can run Dungey hard, be patient when he needs to and take some wins when it counts. Trey is who I want to pick to win it but I think Dungey has got the fire this year and has something to prove before he leaves the Lites class.
All of which brings us to Lawrence, the guy with a question mark running just under that number one on his plate.
What can we expect from Jason? Well who the heck knows….
The kid has got some talent but the struggles with “outside influence” kept him from really showing his ability. If Jason has been working hard he can definitely get it done but the long run hasn’t proven to be his strong suit and I don’t expect that if Dungey has consistency issues it will be Jason who is there to take advantage, the field is too strong this year.
Austin Stroupe will be the banner rider for Mitch Payton this year so he has got a fair degree of pressure on his shoulders to bring something to the table. Brett Metcalfe made a surprising jump from under the Pro Circuit Kawasaki tent to run with the other powerhouse for the Lites class at Geico/FC Honda along with Dan Reardon who I think will run strong through the series. Martin Davalos has put in some solid rides over the past couple seasons but has yet to have that break out ride to take him to the next level time will tell if that is going to change this year.
Best quote to sum it up so far comes from Kevin Windham;
“Reality is there’s going to be a lot of guys hunting for three spots and the podium isn’t getting any bigger.”
Now let’s drop the gate and see who comes out on top.
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