Off the Cuff with Jacqueline Ross | December 2025

Check out this month’s motivational ‘Off the Cuff’ column from former Canadian WMX champion Jacqueline Ross who just raced the 2025 Mini O’s.

By Jacqueline Ross

Greetings, Humans,

Pardon my absence over the past two months. I’m back at it, my cup overflowing, and my fingers are dancing across the keyboard so fast you’d think I was composing a fresh Baroque masterpiece! Without further ado, Happy Festivus! And for those who were at Mini O’s, welcome back home. What a journey into the twilight zone that event is and I wasn’t even there for the full eleven days like most racers! Does anyone else get a little stir-crazy being in one place for too long, or is it just me?

Being submerged in a National is quite the experience. I could try to paint a picture for you, but it would only offer the faintest glimpse. To smell the colors, hear the sounds, and witness the talent in real life, the full 3D version is something entirely different. The evolution of the sport is on another level: the racers, the bikes, the support systems, the training facilities, and everything in between. As I watched races throughout the week, a question kept arising in my mind: “What makes the greats great?” Is it their background? The best equipment? Simply showing up? Gate drops? Living at training facilities? Mindset? Physical ability? Financial means? What is it?

I’m beginning to think it’s a lot like baking a cake. It’s never just one ingredient, but a combination of many. And depending on the cake you’re making, the flavor you want, those ingredients shift, evolve, and inspire new ones along the way. And then there’s the matter of layers. How many does one want? Perhaps those layers mirror the levels of greatness each person seeks for their own fulfillment. Maybe the question isn’t what makes the greats great, but rather, “Do we desire to keep becoming greater versions of ourselves and keep adding layers?”

As Karen Ravn said, “Only as high as I reach can I grow; only as far as I seek can I go; only as deep as I look can I see; only as much as I dream can I be.”

Sifting flour,
Jacqueline