Why I Ride Dirt Bikes?

So this is a question that I have been asked a few times over the years. More so as I am dad in my 30s.  Why most people choose to do anything is much of a personal decision based on their own experiences throughout life and most often focused simply on what makes them happy and as I sit in this colder season it gives me a great chance to reflect on why I ride! So enjoy this little peak into my personal feelings on the matter and spoiler alert a little about me as a 90s dirt bike loving kid!

Learning to Ride

I can remember exactly how old I was when I began my life on two wheels, but I was probably around 9 or 10 years old.  I can still remember the experience vividly.  It was a warm summer day in Northern Maine and at the time I already knew how to ride an ATV. I was riding with one of my best friends who was riding a 70’s or 80’s Honda CT 70.  Those familiar with this bike will probably know that it is an excellent beginner’s bike with a very retro look!  He asked if I wanted to try it and I of course being nervous reluctantly accepted.  I was instantly hooked on the feeling a motorized bike gave me mixed feelings of pride, adrenaline and, fun and I was immediately hooked and didn’t want to stop.  At some point I got snarled in an invisible rut and put the bike down and my shin met the all steel foot peg, I think I still have a scar from that but I was having too much fun to care.

A Bike of My Own

Fast forward a couple years and my parents bought me my very own bike, a 95’ Honda XR100 (See pic below).  It’s funny as aside from graduating college, my wedding day and the day each of my boys were born this is one of the best days of my life as I can remember it.  It took me a couple weeks to grasp the concept of using a clutch but as I practiced it became so natural, I didn’t even think about it.  I am honestly surprised that bike lasted as it did. It is a real testament to those smaller Honda bikes as I really didn’t maintain it as well as I should have and abused it.  I rode many different off-road vehicles from then through high school.  I had bike and ATV’s to boot and rode a lot of my friends machines as well.

Over the years especially during and after I attended college I did ride much.  I was able to get out a couple times in college with a friend but that was it.  I had motorcycles after college and to be honest they were fun but still not as fulfilling as riding off-road for me although the Suzuki was close. My first son at a really young age was obsessed with the neighborhood kids riding their dirt bikes up and down our road (we live on a dirt road) I got the dirt bike itch again.  I convinced my wife that I too needed a bike to be prepared to teach Oliver to ride, a bit of a stretch and after a last minute discussion I had a new to me KTM 250 sitting in my garage.  Fast forward a couple years and now I have two bikes and Oliver has his own Honda CRF50.

Why I Ride

The point I am trying to relay here is that this sport was ingrained in me at young age as I am sure it is with many other riders.  It has both kept me out of trouble and gotten me into it at the same time.  It has hurt me but put a smile on my face at the same time and has instilled confidence and cut me down as well. I don’t know about you but there are not a lot of other things in life like this. Dirt biking is a skill that you will not forget how to do either, kinda like driving a stick shift.  It difficult to explain the feeling of riding to someone that has never tried it. I think this is why a lot of people will say negative things about the sport or the riders.  What I will tell all those people is “yes I still do feel like I am a teenager” and damnit I am proud of it.  We should all try to be a bit “younger at heart” sometimes.  Riding for me is something in my life that I have complete control of. Life can often feel out of out control but riding a bike for me blocks out all else. If you have never experienced riding a dirt bike then “get young again” and give it a try you will  love it and if you are still young keep practicing and keep riding alive with the next generations to come!