2012 Boise St Lukes Sports Medicine Trailer

2012 Thunder Mountain Motocross Series Round #3 Kimberly, ID

Well I’m pretty sure I wrote in my blog after the Rupert mud race that it was the knarliest (yes, knarliest is a word, lol) mud race I had ever ridden……. Kimberly, this weekend, topped it! In fact I vote that we change the name of the Idaho Thunder Mountain Motocross Series to the Idaho Mudcross Series. When Matt and I left on Friday morning we were bummed because it was pouring down rain here in Boise. But, as we headed east we eventually drove out of it and Friday afternoon at the track was awesome. Kimberly was not on the series schedule last year so we were really excited to ride it this time around. As Matt and I were unloading and setting up, a gentlemen came over and said, “Hey, we know who you guys are and what you do and we think it’s great, my boys would like to meet you”. So of course we welcomed them over, signed some cards and handed out some footballs. The cool thing about it is, these kids set the stage for a Smoke Free community in the future. They get it, using tobacco doesn’t make you cool and it certainly won’t help your lap times out on the track! I had others approach me over the weekend asking for info on free resources to help them quit. It’s cool to think that we might have helped make a change for the future of their great community out in Kimberly. So, as we were loaded up Friday afternoon the black clouds started to roll in. It poured down rain Friday night and most of the morning on Saturday. The track was a mess, to say the least. The track was basically unrideable. Here’s the cool thing about Motocrossers though; Motocrossers have a ton of heart and desire for their sport…. When things get tough, we toughen up! I really don’t think anyone was excited to ride but we all did it anyway. It’s kind of a bummer when you think about all of the preparation; planning and hard work and money that goes into setting up one of these events and to then have it canceled because of rain just really stinks. So, in Motocross, generally you run it and make the best of the situation. That’s what we did. It was actually kind of comical at times, we were all slip, sliding around and most were on the ground several times. No one got hurt and if a mud bath really is good for you, we all had our fair share. I ended up winning the Over 40 Class both days and posted up second and third place finishes in the Over 30’s. The only thing I can say is we got through it and they say it builds character. Congratulations to all that competed! Thank You Project Filter for the opportunity to make a difference and for your support for the Team, we are all blessed to be a part of the program. The next round is in Preston! I’m praying for Sunshine!

Boise Hawks "Fan Fest" 2012

This past Friday night Matt and I got the chance to attend the annual Boise Hawks Fan Fest. What a great event! It was an evening of fun geared towards substance abuse prevention, education and safety awareness. This event is a great opportunity to talk about tobacco prevention because it is geared towards families and the support for a Drug Free Idaho. We had several hundred people stop by our booth and it was awesome to see all of the interest in quitting. There were a lot of questions about the resources that Project Filter has to offer. I listened to several different scenarios Friday night. I had a couple, “I’ve smoked for many years and it’s time to quit”, “I know someone who I would like to help quit” and “I wish my Mom would quit”. The one that always gets me is, “I wish my Mom or Dad would quit”. It softens my heart to hear a child say that. Sometimes the parents seem a little embarrassed but I think it is great and they should be happy that their children are concerned. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, were all concerned and we have a great program right here that is ready to help when you’re ready to quit. One gentleman told me that he knows he should quit but he just isn’t ready yet. I provided him with our literature and I let him know that Project Filter will be there once he’s ready. I sure noticed a lot of people picking up the literature, so that shows that the interest in quitting is high. We’ll continue to fight the fight for a tobacco free Idaho. Thank You Project Filter for giving me this opportunity to help!

Idaho Thunder Mountain Motocross Series Round #2, OMC 6, 7, 8 April, 2012.

The Project Filter Motocross Team was in full force this weekend at Owyhee Motocross Club for Round #2 of the Thunder Mountain Motocross Series. What a Great Weekend of racing! I have always been impressed at how Motocross is a family sport and it really showed this weekend. This wasn’t my first Easter weekend spent at a Motocross track but I will say that it was the best one I’ve had. We had the entire Team together which includes Me, Matt, Danielle, Zach and Cole Siebler. The camaraderie of the Team coupled with, family and our extended motocross families made for a great weekend. Angie, the Thunder Mountain Series Manager planned a couple fun activities to celebrate the holiday, which included an Easter egg hunt, Motocross Style. Each rider had a helmeted passenger and the object was to make your way around the motocross track and pick up as many hidden Easter eggs as possible. Matt and Zach represented Project Filter in the competition. There was also a closest to the pin golfing contest. Each participant hit two balls off of the starting line to see who could come closest to the tire which was 100 yards out. Matt was the leader for most of the competition but eventually got edged out by Nate Taylor and another contestant. My two shots reminded me why I ride motorcycles instead of playing golf, they weren’t good. Thank You Angie for making it a fun day! I’m not sure if it was the Easter Spirit that was in the air or just the fact we finally had some great weather but the competition and the racing was awesome too. Saturday, I won my first moto, finished second in my second moto and was battling for a win in the third when I had a little bad luck. I landed off a jump and heard this huge crack, my bike locked up and nearly sent me over the bars. A sprocket bolt had backed out during the moto and got caught up in the swingarm. It locked up the rear wheel, ripped my sprocket off and broke the hub. Not Good! I am thankful that it didn’t lock up while I was in the air. So, needless to say, I didn’t finish the moto and when I got back to the pits I discovered that the swing arm was cracked as well. Luckily I had an extra hub and rim ready to roll and a friend at the track volunteered to weld my swingarm, so by Sunday morning I was back in business and ready to do battle again. Sunday was another great day of racing. I ended up winning both motos in the Over 40 Class and finished second in both motos of the Over 30. As the day winded down on Sunday I sat back and reflected a bit on the weekend. I thought about all of the great things that happened over the three days spent at the race track. Number one, families were together sharing the experience. In motocross we all spend many weekends at the track and it seems like we all sort of become an extended family too. When my bike broke, I had several people around making sure I was ok and encouraging me to get it fixed so that I could continue to moto. Sunday afternoon my wife Ann brought all of the kids up to share an Easter lunch with me and the rest of the PF crew. We got to talk with a lot of people who came by to turn in a Motocross/Tobacco Prevention trivia sheet that we had available. The sheet accomplished exactly what it was meant to do, it got people engaged in thinking and talking about tobacco prevention, the ill effects of tobacco and the help that is available by using Project Filter. It was an event filled awesome day! Round three is in Kimberly over Memorial Weekend. I can’t wait and I hope to see ya all there!

2012 Idaho State Thunder Mountain Motocross Series, Rnd #1, Rupert, ID (16, 17, 18 March, 2012)

We kicked the Idaho State Thunder Mountain Series season off this past weekend in Rupert, ID. All I have to say is, “You gotta Love Idaho weather!”

The Project Filter Motocross Team arrived in Rupert on Friday the 16th for the practice, test and tune day. We found out that the weather in Rupert had been fairly mild; the track was in excellent condition and it made for a great day of riding for the nearly 350 riders in attendance for the weekend. The first race of the season is always fun because it gives us a chance to get back together as a race team and the interest in Project Filter is always at an all time high. People are curious to hear what we’re all about and it gives us a chance to get out and talk about tobacco prevention with racers and race fans.

As we were loading up at the end of the day Friday the black clouds were rolling in, little did we know at the time this would change the entire weekend. It started raining Friday evening; it rained, snowed and the wind blew off and on until we left late Sunday afternoon. This was the wettest, muddiest race I have ever ridden in. We all tried to make the best of it by keeping positive attitudes as we huddled in the enclosed trailer, hovered over the heater, to keep warm.

For me it was one of those situations where honestly I didn’t want to ride, I was cold, wet, muddy and very uncomfortable slip sliding around on my 450 that weighed 20 pounds more from the caked mud. But what happened is, it made me dig deep down and even though it was difficult, I rode every moto, I stuck it out and completed what I went to Rupert to do. Honestly at the end of the weekend I felt good about making it and I was proud of my team mates for doing the same. I thought about it all in relation to kicking the tobacco habit. It’s difficult, it’s uncomfortable at times but the payoff at the end is worth the fight. Plain and simple, you’ll feel good about your accomplishment and you’ll feel better physically. It’s a win, win situation. Project Filter… “You Tell Us When and We’ll Show You How”.

On a lighter note, my co-workers did say that my skin looks better from the mud bath that I was in all weekend. Lol….

Well that puts round #1 in the record books. I am looking forward to round #2 which is being held at Owyhee Motorcycle Club (OMC) right here in Boise, over Easter weekend. Thank you all for your support for Project Filter and I hope to see ya at the next round.

"A Commitment To Excellence"

“A Commitment to Excellence”

Hey this is Ed Barnowski #34; I am a sponsored Motocross Rider for “Project Filter”, Idaho’s Tobacco Prevention Program. Now is the time of the year that I am methodically preparing for the 2012 racing season that will officially kick off in March. The holidays were great; they gave me some much needed family time, a little relaxation and time to refocus on some priorities.

As I prepare for the 2012 Racing Season I have to think about all of the things that come along with it, the commitment, the incentive, the end result and what I am focusing on to achieve. Being a part of the Project Filter program has given me the opportunity to take a seat in the front row, in the fight for a tobacco free Idaho. It is a privilege to represent Project Filter and help to educate the public about the resources available to help individuals quit using tobacco.

Project Filter chooses sponsorships to target sporting events where the tobacco industry heavily promotes their messages and people would most likely use tobacco. Project Filter has assembled a Team of role models that are professional, inspirational and talented in their respected sports. The Project Filter Team reaches fans spread throughout Idaho; these are the same people that are marketed so heavily by the big tobacco companies. Each member of Project Filters Team brings a unique message about the importance of quitting or remaining tobacco free. This endeavor helps to change the belief that tobacco use is normal, “cool” or acceptable behavior at sporting events. Project Filters commitment is, “You Decide When. We’ll Show You How”! How cool is that!

A big part of this commitment to excellence is my commitment to the support of this program, for the education of the negative effects of tobacco and the commitment to excellence in health. In Idaho, smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. More than 15,000 Idahoans die from smoking related diseases annually and at an average of four people per day. If you were to search, it is pretty hard to find a person that has not experienced a special someone, a family member or a friend that has not suffered through the negative effects of tobacco use.

Tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally. Tobacco use leads most commonly to diseases affecting the heart and lungs, with smoking being a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cancers of the lungs and mouth and pancreatic cancer.
Tobacco is devastating to the performance of athletes. One of the main impacts of smoking on athletic performance is a decrease in lung function. For athletes this means a decrease in stamina and performance because muscles that get inadequate oxygen become fatigued more quickly. Smokers also tend to suffer from shortness of breath because their muscles and heart demand more oxygen than their lungs are able to supply. Another impact that smoking has on athletes is its affect on heart and circulatory health. Smoking causes the blood vessels to constrict and become blocked with plaque and can also increase blood pressure. Constricted blood vessels reduce blood flow to the muscles, further limiting the amount of oxygen the muscles receive. Loss of blood flow can significantly reduce muscular endurance, while the heart itself may also tire more quickly, as it works harder than it should to pump blood through clogged vessels.

Another disadvantage of smoking for athletes is that it can lead to greater chance of injury. Oxygen restriction to the muscles, heart and brain cause mental and physical sharpness to drop. This can cause athletes to make poor decisions and become dizzy or faint while engaged in physical activity. Smoking also reduces the strength of bones and inhibits the body’s ability to heal, skin, ligaments and tendons.

There are No advantages to using tobacco either as an athlete or as an individual. How could I compete at the top of my game in Motocross with a decrease in lung function or constricted and clogged blood vessels that are going to affect my stamina, performance and endurance? In Motocross I need my mind to be sharp and I ultimately need stamina and endurance to battle through the conditions that I encounter. I know I don’t want my heart to have to work harder by having to pump blood through clogged vessels. And if by chance I get hurt, which happens often in this demanding sport, I don’t want to have to sit on the bench for a longer period of time because my body won’t heal. Nor do I want to be more susceptible to injury because my bones have been weakened from the use of tobacco.

For me, it’s all about choices; it’s a choice of be committed to a healthier lifestyle, a choice of being committed to a cause and the choice to take a stand for something that I believe in and am in full support of. I invite you to Fight the Fight with me. If you are currently a tobacco user, just tell us when you’re ready to quit and we’ll show you how. Project Filter knows quitting isn’t easy. Studies show that nicotine replacement therapies (NRT’s) increase the success of quitting by 50 – 70 %. You can get help by contacting www.idaho.quitnet.com or by calling 1-800-Quit- Now (1-800-784-8669). A free Quit Coach will help you sign up for your free Nicotine Replacement Therapies in the form of patches, gum or lozenges. Remember, ending your tobacco addiction is one of the most important health decisions you can make. If you just want to help Fight the Fight you can join the Tobacco Free Idaho Alliance (TFIA) in support of tobacco free statewide prevention, reduction and cessation efforts.

I am excited for this 2012 season and my focus in this commitment is to be an active contributor to the reduction of tobacco use in our great state. I am focusing to educate the public in support of a healthier lifestyle for all. A Win in the reduction of tobacco use is equally as satisfying to a Win on the Motocross Track. Check out Project Filter at www.projectfilter.org , be a part of the Team and join me in this “Commitment to Excellence”.

Ed Barnowski

references; www.projectfilter.org; How Does Smoking Affect Athletes? By Gregory Hamel