I’m not really an idiot, but I can be naïve. I recently met a Canadian motocrosser who has only one full-sized arm – his right arm ends just below the elbow. We were at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA, for the weekly Saturday races. And my first thought when I saw him was that I had to write about it because I couldn’t resist the story: What courage! What hard work! I’d already started the heart-warming blog in my head.
Then I met Devin Rochon, and he didn’t seem troubled by his short arm at all. In fact, he barely seemed to notice it. He told me he was born with his arm that way, so it wasn’t hard to get used to. Though the world is generally designed for people with two long limbs, Devin can pretty much do anything – he just uses his arms as they are.Note to self: Kill your assumptions.
Here I thought he’d be telling me about struggle, defeat, or at least a little discomfort, but instead Devin talked about the same things most up-and-coming racers do: trying to find sponsorship, working out a lot, dreaming of going pro. When I asked him what the hardest thing was that he had to overcome in racing, he said it was when he blew out his right knee. Still, we’re talking about racing off-road – hard enough to do with two full-sized sticks – so what about THE ARM? I couldn’t help wondering…
So I watched him race on his ’07 YZ450F, and felt even more ridiculous for thinking of him as disabled. Devin’s fast. And if you didn’t know about it, you might not notice the difference in his arms. He tucks his short arm between the brake lever and the handlebar while he’s riding, which gives him a bit of leverage, though you can imagine how much extra work his left arm is doing. And just to hammer home the point (for me): He fell over once, in a slow-speed corner, and had the bike up and running faster than most people I’ve seen.On the left side of the bars, he’s got a nifty setup for the throttle, clutch and front brake lever. He uses a custom throttle tube with the cables reversed, and a Rekluse clutch combined with the company’s z-Start brake kit, which lets you activate the rear brake through a hand control (in Devin’s case, it activates the front brake). The bike also has a steering stabilizer, which probably helps counter the off-balance input from his arms.
Having achieved some success in the Canadian motocross series by winning races and national rounds, Devin’s looking for sponsorship to compete his way onto a U.S. factory team in the AMA outdoor season, or get onboard with a Canadian race team for the Canadian outdoor nationals. So far, he says he’s gotten a lot of support from people in both the Canadian and American moto communities. He’s especially grateful to his parents for all their support; his mechanic Denny, who’s been there for him since day one; and Leo Saul from Leo’s Outlaw Racing, who helped him get started here in the States. Also to Tom White (former owner of White Brothers and a diehard motocrosser), who is sponsoring Devin’s visitor’s visa so he can stay in the U.S. and compete.
I wanted to know what kind of music moves Devin, especially when he’s in a racing frame of mind. Turns out he’s a country guy, except when he’s about to race – then it’s Pennywise (“I always listen to ‘Affliction’, it gets me pumped before my motos”) and Fort Minor. And, lastly, I had to ask if he ever feels like he’s setting an example of some kind. I mean, Devin, you are different. He said, “I want to prove to everyone out there that nothing can stop you, no matter what your disability, in hopes to help those kids that think they can’t be a part of something because they’ve lost a limb!”
Seems like the best way to prove it is just to do it. Which, after we spoke, is exactly what Devin did.
On a final note: when I sent this blog to a friend to proofread, he told me about Mert's Hands, a new non-profit corporation founded by champion dirt-track racer Mert Lawwill. Mert's Hands makes prosthetic devices for disabled motorcyclists and bicyclists, and provides them at discounted or no cost to qualified people. They don't intend to turn a profit, so funds raised by Mert's Hands are used for operating expenses. Learn more at www.mertshands.org. JP
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