My name is Steve and this is my blog. I'm a 23 year old mechanical engineer living in Rossland, British Columbia. My passion is riding and racing my dirt bike. I've started this blog as a way to keep people posted on my adventures as I ride, race and train in my little slice of paradise.
So, before I delve into what I'm currently doing, I guess I'll give you a little background info. My dad has had a motorcycle my entire life. For most of my life, the bike (a 1978 Honda XL250S) has tucked away in the corner of the garage but my dad did take me for a ride up the nearby railgrade back in the day. My first real foray into dirt biking was in September 1999. I was dropping off my friend after a camping trip. His sisters were out riding an old Honda CT90 around their yard and offered to let me try. I jumped at the chance, promptly crashed off a retaining wall and was hooked. I spent all winter saving my pennies and in June of 2000 (age 14) became the proud owner of a 1985 XR100R. I learned to ride it on the powerline behind my parents' house, then progressed on to the various old logging roads and trails around Trail and Rossland. That fall the cam chain let go, trashing the top end in the bike. Riding came to a brupt halt, but over the winter I helped my dad rebuild the engine and get it ready to rip! The following year I rode the bike all over the place. Then, in November of 2001 on my last ride of the season I crashed and broke my hand. Ouch.
At age 16, the XR100R was too small. In March of 2002 I (with the help of my parents) bought a 1999 Honda XR200R. It was a bit of step up from the old 100 but I had a lot of fun. That May, I entered my first race - the 2002 Ogopogo Cross-country in Kelowna, BC. The Ogopogo was quite the eye opener. There was over 250 entries that year and the whole thing was a completely new experience. I ended up crashing lots but eventually finished 15th out of 20. Not exactly setting the race world on fire, but I was hooked.
In 2003 I managed to get 3 races in but in the fall I moved to Edmonton to start university. Over the next few years I didn't get much racing in and it took me a long time to progress my riding. In 2005 I bought a 2001 GasGas EC200. That year I finished 3rd in the Junior class at our local harescramble and started gaining some confidence. In 2006 I managed to fit in 4 or 5 races and moved up to the Intermediate class. I also started riding with the local fast guys who raced in the A and AA classes. One of them, Trent Burgiss, even attended the 2006 International Six Day Enduro (ISDE) in New Zealand. He finished with a silver medal.
While I was in my 4th (and final) year of my mechanical engineering degree, I heard that Trent had finished the six days with a silver medal. That lit a fire inside of me. I was thinking about moving up to the Expert (A) class for 2007, so I decided to go for broke and sent in an application to race the 2007 ISDE in Chile. I moved back home to BC at the end of April and immediately started riding and training as much as possible while working full time. In late June I got confirmation that I was going to Chile and kicked my training into high gear. The local media ran a couple stories on me and with the help of some sponsors and a line of credit, I managed to scrape together the funds to head to Chile.
Even the best intentions can be thwarted by something simple. After 10 months of training, I finally arrived in Chile. Bike impound went smooth and when day 1 started, I felt great. I rode well and stayed on my minute all day long. Then, disaster struck. After spending close to 7 hours on the bike, the top end seized less than 7km from impound while cruising up the beach. So that ended my first attempt at the International Six Days Enduro.
The 2008 season started with a splat that was the Spring Mud Fling in Spokane, WA. After 3 hours of battling ice, snow and mud I came home with a big first place trophy. After such a disappointment in Chile, it felt great to start off 2008 with a win. I had again put in an application to race the ISDE, though this year it was in Greece. Luckily, I was accepted on a club team along with Craig Murray and Regis Plante. After a frustrating summer full of bike problems, injuries and just plain bad luck I headed off to Greece for redemption. Day 1 again proved to be a challenge - this time my tire balls all went flat in the front tire before the half way point. I was unprepared for this and was forced to ride the rest of the day on a front flat. The rocks hammered me and the bike but luckily the front wheel stayed together. I lost 23 minutes that day but fortunately the bike held together. After 6 days of some of the rockiest terrain imaginable, I overcame a nasty flu and a broken foot to earn a bronze medal. It wasn't the colour I hoped for, but at least I had finished.
Here is a two page spread of me that appeared in the December 2008 issue of Inside Motorcycles. There was also a multiple page article on Team Canada's experience at the 2008 ISDE.
Here is a two page spread of me that appeared in the December 2008 issue of Inside Motorcycles. There was also a multiple page article on Team Canada's experience at the 2008 ISDE.
That pretty much sums up my racing career to this point. I've had a great time racing so far and am really looking forward to many more races in the future. For 2009, my race schedule will keep me planted on the North American continent. I really want to give the six days another shot but unfortunately I have loans to pay off and the ISDE won't fit into my budget this year. In 2010 the six days is in Mexico so that one I will probably do. I will be contesting the new Canadian Enduro Championship, select PNWMA events plus various other races around the pacific northwest on my GasGas EC250. I will be racing in the A/Expert class for 2009 then moving up to Pro/Masters/AA for 2010.
I'd like to thank my 2009 sponsors: GasGas Pacific and Fasst Company. I will also add that I'm always looking for more support in my racing career and if you'd like to sponsor me, please contact me.
There's a video from last Sunday attached below. This was taken at a local riding area near Trail, BC, Canada. I hope you enjoy my adventures and thanks for reading!
Steve Shannon
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