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MOTOGIRL

FAST THOUGHTS FROM JESSICA LEE

Monday October 4th, 2010
Racing and Life- Not So Different
I have to say, Oh what a whirlwind of uncertainty my life has been over the last few months. In my last post, I talked about how I would be attempting a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats for this really awesome team, but unfortunately things didn’t work out as we thought they would. Just short of a month before the event I was told that what I had been so ecstatic about since February would not be happening because of “confusion” in communication. I had put off many other projects including filming a very cool TV show just to get ready for the Salt Flats. At this point, I had a practice bike, brand new custom leathers, hotel reservations, time off from work and an attitude of a racer who is ready for anything. With all this going on, the only thing I could think of was - it’s racing, anything can happen.

Having to deal with let downs and losses in racing is something you learn to cope with although - yes it can be very hard. Racing is a true passion, so when it doesn’t work out it often leaves you feeling like you have a broken heart. I’m not trying to be dramatic but if you are an avid racer, you understand where I am coming from. When this kind of thing happens you have to thank the people who gave you the offer in the first place and realize that sometimes it just doesn’t work out. As for me, I am ready for my next opportunity; The Maxton Mile.

Since we already have the bike, my father (crew chief, mechanic, biggest fan etc.) came up with the idea to try our hand at an east coast land speed title and then from there head on out to Bonneville. So, the last couple of months we have been preparing the bike for the Maxton Mile at the end of this month in North Carolina. The Maxton Mile is an old air force air strip that was resurfaced and transformed into a perfect place to race. If any of you are near North Carolina I encourage you to come out on race weekend and show your support! We would be thrilled since it has been a tough few months. I’ve got some great friends and sponsors that are lending a hand to make this happen which I could not be more thankful for. This month, I hope to write about my experiences training for a land speed record and of course my time out at the mile so check back often!

As most of you know, I am a full time college student as well and recently switched into the pre-med program. I obviously am now so busy that its hard to keep up with everything but am also very proud of myself. Once I finish pre-med/med school I hope to work for either the Asterisk Medical Team or work for Dr. Costa’s crew on the MotoGP Circuit. Medicine has started to become another passion of mine (maybe its because I’ve been hurt so much from racing?).

Whether it be loosing a ride or failing an exam in college one thing I do know is that as long as you have the confidence to pick yourself back up and go for it again, you can accomplish anything. Just remember life is like racing- anything can happen!



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Friday June 18th, 2010
Keep Believing In Yourself
I once had an acting coach who told to me to read a book by Rhonda Bryne called the
“Secret” that teaches the most powerful law in the universe- The Law of Attraction. She had everyone of her students read this book cover to cover to learn how every action and thought you make affect the outcome of each situation. I learned that when I think about something happening it most of the time will, good or bad. The book helped me realize that a positive attitude towards life and a good heart will help your dreams fall into place. It’s all about believing in yourself. Without this I don’t think that my racing and journalism career would be at where it is today.

Everyone goes through a time in your life when you feel that you just don’t know where your life will go. I’ve always had a dream of becoming a championship racer and one day using my racing knowledge to report from the pits but after I had accomplished this, I wasn’t sure what my next step would be. I got accepted into the college of my dreams- Rollins College and was ready to work towards my degree in media studies but still needed to do more. As I am still not completely healed from a bad concussion and trying to avoid surgery on a dislocated shoulder I was so upset that I would not be able to race a full season (again) this year so I focused my time on rehabilitating and working on other projects like MTV Cribs. Although I felt down about not being able to race full time, I still kept my goals insight.

My first semester at Rollins was a little bit tough. I wasn’t exactly used to professors and a classroom atmosphere again since I had been privately tutored throughout high school but after a few weeks I got the hang of things. College can be very intimidating but I learned to not let any professor knock me down and still stand up for what I believe in. I even surprised myself by achieving a better grade than I had thought in my Ethics class. Trying to practice, go to rehab for my shoulder, work on TV projects and travel was very difficult to do because some professors can not stand it if you miss just one class even if you keep up with the work. One of my professors would even make a few smart comments to me during class about staying so busy; I made him realize that the reason why I was accepted to the college was because of my career and that wasn’t going to go away.

Now that I am on break, my Dad and I are getting everything prepared for my attempt at breaking a world land speed record on an Aprilia RS50 at the Bonneville Speedweek in August. Back in February I was approached by Paul Livingston of Spider Grips and Faulkner/ Livingston Racing about riding for their team at the salt flats, of course I couldn’t deny this offer! Since it will be my first time out there I’m a little bit nervous but mostly just excited because this is something I have wanted to do forever. I could not be more thankful for this opportunity.

Before I head out to Bonneville, I am hosting an episode of Dean’s List on MTVU (MTV’s College channel) which is a top 10 music video countdown. Of course my countdown is mostly country but I’m sure you all will enjoy it. Each song has helped me get through a race. I’m not sure of the exact air date but I will let you all know as soon as possible!

All of these awesome opportunities that have arose made me realize just how lucky I am and how believing in yourself can absolutely affect your dreams. I have overcome a lot of personal speed bumps in life to continue a flourishing career and would encourage anyone to do what makes you happy. My advice for anyone is to take a breather when you feel stressed but use this time step away and look at your achievements. This should inspire anyone to keep pushing on harder! Wish me luck at Bonneville!

Here is a snapshot of the style of my Dean's List Countdown!


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Thursday October 1st, 2009
What We Do During The Hot Summer Offtime
When it’s ninety degrees and super humid, getting on your motocross bike to ride is the last thing on your mind. Although training down here in the Florida heat can make you an overall stronger rider, we all know very well the risk involved with getting too hot. During the long summer days when it feels like an oven outside and it rains every evening, us motocross riders take a break from the whoops and switch to the wake.

Wakeboarding has become an international phenomenon in the water-sports world and is beginning to take over the racing world as many of today’s top riders wakeboard during the offseason. Wakeboarding takes incredible both upper and lower body strength which ties right in with motocross. As you probably have realized by now, once you become a member of the extreme sports world you get hooked, so many companies like Red Bull, Rockstar and Mastercraft Boats are sponsoring riders from both sports because they too realize that the two fit right along together.

I am lucky enough to live on a beautiful lake in one of the top wakeboard areas. During the super exhausting summer days, we all leave the bikes in the garage and head down to the boat. During the month I got a chance to head out to the Surf Expo and the 2009 Wake Worlds Tournament. The Surf Expo is just like the motorcycle industries' Dealer Show in Indy but for the water sports world. I found myself in paradise because I was surrounded by beach inspired art, newest surfboards/wakeboards, clothing, ocean jewelry, skateboards and some very awesome people; all of which, were huge fans of motocross.

The weekend after that, was the Wake Worlds which was the final championship stop for the pro wakeboard tour. All of the best riders were in town including Andrew Adkison, Rusty Mallinsoki, Harley Clifford and Shane Bonifay. Not competing but there to cheer on his brother was also Parks Bonifay who had his own special event put on by Red Bull to premier “Parks Bonifay, the Documentary” the weekend of the Surf Expo. These riders and more competed for the coveted “King Of Wake” title. Also competing during the weekend were a very impressive group of women competing for the “Queen Of Wake” title. It was so great to see women heavily competing in wakeboarding because just like motocross it is an extreme sport lead by men.

The always gutsy, men did an outstanding job at showing off brand new tricks and showcasing their competitive sides but the women who competed really impressed me. I know how hard it is to try to compete in a dangerous sport full of men and how nerve racking it is to actually get out there and show what you’ve got. All of these women and girls got out there like it was natural to them. Almost every rider I talked to including Zane Schwenk said that at some point in their lives they raced motocross!

If you race motocross, I know you will love wakeboarding if you don’t already! If you don’t have a boat, there are water sports parks all over the country that use a cable system to pull boarders or skiers around the water. I guarantee you will have fun, so check it out!






Posted by Jessica @ 9:48PM  -  Permalink  -  0 Comments
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Thursday July 9th, 2009
MTV Teen Cribs Video
I told you all I would post the link to my Teen Cribs episode and here you go!


http://www.mtv.com/videos/teen-cribs-season-1-ep-7-jessica-and-erics-cribs/1613722/playlist.jhtml


I hope you guys like it!

Let me know!

Thanks,
Jess

Posted by Jessica @ 12:03PM  -  Permalink  -  2 Comments
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Saturday May 30th, 2009
A Little Bit Of News On My Crazy Life
Hey guys, I know I haven’t written in a while but thats only because I have been incredibly busy!

Just last weekend I graduated from highschool! I was actually very surprised to learn that I would be graduating as the salutatorian of my graduating class with a 4.5 GPA. Walking up on stage to get my diploma as the salutatorian felt very good. On top of all of that I graduated a whole year early! It was a lot of hard work but it all paid off. Now I can get back into the normal groove of things like racing more often! Although I have been out of highschool for a short time, I have kind of thought about the good things I’ve done and the mistakes I’ve made. Looking back, I think I would have focused a little bit more on getting my work done instead of making sure I trained like a maniac. I was no doubt a procrastinator most of the time because the only thing in the back of my mind was something with two wheels. Yes, racing kept me a little bit pre-occupied but like I have said before, it has kept me out of trouble. Riding my dirtbike was one of the only escapes for me and still is. I have never had the urge to drink or do any type of drug. In my eyes, they will only put a handicap on my riding capabilities so why in the world would I want to deal with that? At times, I may not have had a bus load of friends because I didn’t go with the flow but I am way better off now!

Besides highschool, something even cooler that happened recently was my house on MTV Teen Cribs! It aired for the first time back on April 22nd and has been re-airing almost every week. MTV shot the house for their new spin off of the original Cribs called Teen Cribs. It was so much fun to do a tour of the house and to have MTV at my place. Hopefully you all watched it or are going to watch it. Soon I will post the video or a link to it.

You might be asking so Jessica since you’re out of school, what are your next plans? Well for now, I am trying to get into Rollins College down here in Florida. I want to major in journalism and TV broadcasting. I was also offered an internship with Research Media Group out of Alexandria, VA to cover political news. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the group, they are the watchdog for the media and help keep the politicians in line. The internship would give me the opportunity to cover news on Capital Hill, the pentagon, the White House and any other major political spot. It will be a very educational and amazing opportunity.

I just saw that Jorge Lorenzo took the pole position today at Mugello; very surprising to me! tomorrow's race should be more than exciting!

Posted by Jessica @ 8:48PM  -  Permalink  -  1 Comments
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THE AUTHOR


Jessica "Motogirl" Lee is a 34 year old motocross racer and journalist. Born into a family of motorcycle enthusiasts and industry insiders, she has been riding and nurturing a passion for motorcycles from the age of four.

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