It's usually dusty, steaming hot, and the competition is fierce, but there's something about the dirt trails of the small southern Alberta town of Raymond that gets Jesse Pettis excited.
His track record of winning motocross races there has a lot to do with it.
That started in 2006, when he went to Raymond as a nine-year-old and came home from the CMRC Western Canadian championships with the 50cc 7-11-year-old title.
Last year he went there as a sponsored Kawasaki rider and came back with two big trophies, taking first place in the 65cc and 85cc classes in dominant fashion. He won six of six motos on the 65cc and took five of six on his 85cc bike.
But that was just a foreshadowing of great things to come in 2009 for Pettis in 2009. All tolled, he won six championships last year. In addition to the two national titles, he won the CMRC provincial points championships in 65cc and 85cc, and captured the B.C. arenacross titles in 85cc and supermini.
What makes those accomplishments even more impressive was he managed to win season-long points titles despite a broken ankle and a serious shoulder injury. The break happened in Williams Lake in mid-July when he landed sideways off a jump, and that kept him out of the CMRC Eastern Canadian championships in Walton, Ont. The shoulder injury happened in August in a practice run in Fraser Lake.
Pettis proved he's fully recovered from his aches and pains a month ago when he went to Washuga, Wash., for a U.S. national event. On a rainy track he racked up two top-10 finishes, placing fourth in super mini and sixth in the 85cc modified class.
"There was lots of competition down there and that was good," Pettis said. "It's a lot better to ride with people who are faster than you. That's how you get faster."
See Friday's Citizen for more.
