The Fool I Was
by Robert Beaupre

Apparently I’ve been deluding myself all along.

I’ve raced motocross for 18 years--since I was a mere five years old--and throughout the whole time, I’ve managed to avoid the painfully common Achilles heel that plagues so many riders--knee problems. That is, I had avoided knee problems. Until yesterday.

I was doing nothing out of the ordinary, just putting in some laps at a practice spot in Carson City. It had begun to drizzle a bit as I rode, and maybe the raindrops on my goggles reduced my vision a bit as I approached a tricky natural-whoop section that winds around a bend. Whatever the case, I hit an unexpected bump and swapped out. As I struggled to my feet, a frightening question hung heavy in my mind: Is that my knee?

You see, I’ve always smugly thought that my superb bike control had prevented me from knee problems all these years. But all my self-congratulation fell to the floor as I hobbled back to pick up my bike. Determined to convince myself that I was OK, I finished my laps and even threw in some starts for good measure. But when I woke up this morning with a very stiff right knee, I decided I better schedule a doctor’s appointment.

Reflecting on everything today, I realize that it would have been wise to take the preventative course and invest in a pair of knee braces long before this. But delusion is a powerful drug, and it gave me a twisted sense of amusement to see how long I could go without breaking myself. In any case, I think I’ll now go for a set of braces, regardless of what my doctor tells me tomorrow. If you’re like I was before yesterday, full of illusions and false prowess, I strongly urge that you do the same. I haven’t even received a diagnosis yet and I’m full of fears that I’ll miss the summer’s racing. Worse yet, if anything’s wrong, I’ll still have to come to the races to watch everyone else ride, because of this damned website! Could I not have foreseen this?

But anxieties aside, my rational mind knows that even knee surgery is no obstacle to a dedicated rider. If Ricky Carmichael can come back to win a national championship following ACL surgery, then I can certainly get back in the mix, regardless of what this injury turns out to be. After all, Ricky took a perfect season and looked stronger than ever just after his operation in 2004. And now he just added the supercross title too. So I guess this will all be worth it if I can return to take two major titles next year.

As I said, delusion is a powerful drug.


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