Amanda Jo, a passionate motorcycle enthusiast, shares an exciting video of her riding through a speed course in a motorcycle skills competition. Reflecting on her journey, she reveals, "My first time on a motorcycle was in 2018, but I began riding in the competition style in 2020, and my first competition was in February of 2021." Determined to make an impact, Amanda Jo and her father, both competitors, formed a team called Cajun Thunder Motorsports.

Describing the different events at competitions, Amanda Jo explains, "The main events include the speed run, where the goal is to navigate the course quickly and accurately, avoiding penalties such as hitting cones or riding out of pattern." She continues, "Another main event is the slow ride, testing riders' ability to maintain balance and control without touching the ground. Lastly, the challenge ride presents riders with a surprise course featuring obstacles and brakeless sections, allowing only one attempt."

Initially designed as training seminars for motorcycle police officers, these competitions have evolved into highly competitive events that now include civilian-only and law enforcement-only categories. Amanda Jo emphasizes, "Our mission as Cajun Thunder Motorsports is to bring enough recognition and interest to this sport that there will be a desire to turn it into a sanctioned sport nationwide." She adds, "We aim to generate widespread interest in these competitions, as they enhance motorcyclists' skills and promote safer riding practices, ultimately reducing motorcycle fatalities."

With their unwavering dedication to the sport and a commitment to rider safety, Cajun Thunder Motorsports seeks to make a lasting impact, transforming motorcycle skills competitions into a recognized and respected sport across the nation.

So, this is a video of me, Amanda Jo, riding through a motorcycle skills competition speed course. My first time on a motorcycle was in 2018, but I began riding in the competition style in 2020 and my first competition was in February of 2021. I then helped form a team of civilians with my dad who is also a competitor, and our team is called Cajun Thunder Motorsports.
At a competition you will see that there are a few main events and a few extra events. The main events include the speed run that you see happening in this video, the goal is to make it through the course as quickly as possible with the least mistakes and a mistake would be rubbing or hitting a cone, putting a foot down, or riding out of pattern. The next main event is the slow ride which is how slow can you go in a pattern from point A to point B without putting your foot down. The final main event is the challenge ride which is a course that is set up moments before you ride it and you don't get any practice before you ride it. It's also a one and done course, you only get one chance and usually the challenge rides will include various obstacles such as riding over speed bumps, picking up a tennis ball and placing it somewhere else, and most of the time these courses have brakeless portions. The main events are scored together, all the times for the courses and all penalties are added together for a final score for each competitor.
These competitions originally began as training seminar for moto cops and then eventually turned competitive. It's only been in the recent few years that civilians began competing and now there are civilian only competitions, law enforcement only competitions, and some that include both classes.
Our mission as Cajun Thunder Motorsports is to bring enough recognition and interest to this sport that there will be the want and need to turn it into a sanctioned sport nationwide. Most importantly, we would like to generate a large interest in these competitions because in the end they make motorcyclists better and safer riders through extensive training and we would like the number of motorcycle fatalities reduced as much as possible.