He has vomited in between vaults off bone-jarring jumps on his Suzuki. He has suffered stomach cramps that have crippled his stamina, and his rides admittedly “haven’t been very stellar.”
Chad Reed is leading the points standings at the season’s midpoint in motocross’ premier series, but 2009 hasn’t been an easy ride.
“Somehow I’ve been able to win and put consistent runs together, but it’s had its challenges,” Reed says. “And none of the challenges were what I was expecting.”
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Nothing has been predictable this season in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, which has some drama after several seasons of dominance by Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart.
Reed, a two-time Supercross champion, hadn’t raced an outdoor season since 2006 but decided to return to the series (which he calls “my weakest link”) a week before the season began two months ago.
He won the first 450 event of his career at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Pa., last month, but the success has been accompanied by lingering sickness.
Reed has had trouble keeping food down since February. He still nearly won the Supercross title, losing by four points to Stewart.
“I was a little too conservative,” says Reed, 27. “Toward the end, I was feeling pretty ... good and thinking, ‘OK, now I can go,’ but it was too late.”
“I don’t feel I’ve ridden to my fullest potential yet. You want to go as fast as you can, and I haven’t been able to do that all year.”
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