I’m having a hard time getting my brain to work today. Obviously, my brain is a kick-starter and I just don’t have the energy to kick it over…

That reminds me of a ride a few years ago in Texas Canyon (which is in California, go figure). We were putting out our second or third issue of the magazine, and a bunch of Quad staffers went out to shoot some photos and get a little riding done between shots.

You may have noticed that I’m the only girl on staff, and believe it or not, I’m the weakest one too (though that could be debated…I’ve seen Enrico taken down by a four-year-old girl). We took Dave Cordon, our art director, with us so that he could get outside and away from his computer for a while. Since he was a new rider he rode the only automatic utility quad in our arsenal, and all the other guys on staff had their rides picked out already, so I was left with a Honda TRX450R. I had never ridden one before and I was excited and a little hesitant. A 450 sport quad was more power than I’m used to, plus it had a kick start. Being the resourceful girl I am, I had one of the guys fire it up for me and then I hopped aboard and set out for some fun.

I don’t feel the need to compete or be faster than my coworkers. The same cannot be said for my coworkers, though. Every time we go for a ride, they take off like they have ticked-off hornets in their pants and I’m usually chewing their dust. And I’m alright with that. I’ve gotten pretty darn good at following dust clouds and hearing over-revving engines in the distance. But on this ride, I had a little bit of a problem. I killed the Honda about 10 minutes into the ride. Thankfully I was heading down a slope and was able to pop the clutch and get the engine working again. Awesome! But about a half an hour later, as my coworkers were within sight but out of earshot, I killed the engine AGAIN and there were no hills around. I pulled out the kick-start lever and stood on it with both feet and jumped on it…many…many…many times. I could not get that thing kicked over for the life of me.

And that’s how I feel today. My brain is a 450R and I am a weakling. I’ll be on the side of the trail if you need me…