http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/30/ashley.jpg"Hello, my name is Ashley Fiolek. I'm 16 years old, I am profoundly deaf, and I race motocross."
Motocross is a loud sport, and racers depend on sound for cues. The buzz of the engine tells them when to shift. Sound also warns that another rider is approaching, indicating when it would be best to move out of the way. Fiolek knows when to shift by sensing vibrations, feeling the bike as it groans and memorizing every bump of the course.
After two years of dominating amateur races on her 85cc, Fiolek made her 125cc debut against the best women in the world in November, winning the women's supercross title. She also qualified for a boys' race at Loretta Lynn's last summer. Out of 42 riders?41 male?she finished 11th. She'll turn pro in August, midway through the six-event Hitachi WMA National Championship series, the pinnacle of women's pro motocross.