Don't call me that
It probably happens to you sometimes, too: you find something in the world that irritates you and, all of a sudden, that thing is everywhere you look.
This happens to me often, and the most recent offender is the term "weekend warrior." I've always disliked this term--to me, it's always seemed to have a subtly mocking undertone--but it's bugged me even more lately, especially when I hear it directed at racers.
To call a motocross racer, particularly one who takes riding seriously, a "weekend warrior" is a grave offense for a few reasons. Firstly, it's often used by non-riding types who equate all athletic endeavors (especially motorsports) with a sort of caveman simplicity. And these people do it because it reduces motocross (or whatever sport is in question) to a silly sort of "warrior" thing, an absurd activity out of our medieval past. Are these the same people who've never been good at sports themselves and thus resent your interest in them? I'll leave you to make that call.
Secondly, many people paint the weekend-warrior category too broadly, and in the process wedge thrill-seeker types in with serious athletes. There are few similarities between a dedicated motocross racer and the guy who drinks beer on his big block-powered speed boat on Sundays, yet to the careless observer they are both deserving of this unfortunate phrase. To use the same label for both of them exposes a considerable depth of ignorance (not that I have anything against beer or boats, of course.)
Lastly, the term itself could not be more inaccurate when it's applied to racers. Anyone who cares about their racing spends far more than their weekend hours plying their trade: the weekday nights spent preparing the bikes in the garage, the practice sessions sneaked in between work hours, the times spent lying awake in bed when one examines and re-examines everything about the coming race. To many of us, riding and racing is a lifestyle that shapes and influences the rest of our lives, and to cast it as a frivolous thing--which I believe the weekend-warrior tag does--could not be more misguided.
Admittedly, though, I myself am no longer a hardcore racer. The demands of a family have inched me away from the racing life, but I still can't stand being called a weekend warrior. Sure, the weekends are when I'm most able to ride, and my lifestyle isn't exactly in sync with that of a dedicated racer. But when I do get to ride, I still do it the same old way: I practice motos, sections, starts--just as I used to do when I was a racer.
This is because that routine reminds me of what I love best about motocross: it's the pursuit of mastery in a very, very difficult discipline. It is more about satisfaction than it is about adrenaline, and it is definitely more than a weekend thing.
