You take the corner with all the other bikes, almost colliding but instead splattering yourself with mud. Heading over the last hill, your bike jumps 10 feet in the air and the crowd cheers (your parents too). You land, gratefully not needing the ambulance waiting on the sidelines.
Reality? For some kids, yes. They race dirt bikes, motorcycles that are specially designed to ride in dirt and absorb huge jumps.
Daniel H., 9, of Chicago rides and races his Kawasaki 65 every chance he gets. On weekends he goes with his father and younger brother, Dylan, to race at the Motosports Park in Byron, Ill., near Rockford.
“My best is second place and my worst is eighth,” Daniel says.
The sport is not for the timid or for those who mind getting muddy. Riders have to wear plenty of safety gear: helmets, chest protectors, special pants to safeguard the knees and ankles, boots to shield the toes, and gloves.
So far Daniel has had only one accident. “I went off a ramp and there was a ditch in front and the bike went flying and landed on my foot,” Daniel says. The accident cracked his visor and gave him a bloody nose.
Stephanie C., 13, of Lisle started with a go-cart and moved up to her Honda CR 125 bike because she liked going fast. Though she hasn’t raced yet, she rides three times a week and dreams of going pro someday.
The most popular form of dirt-bike racing is called motocross. It runs over an enclosed outside course and uses natural dirt and sand to form hills and turns. A variation on this is supercross, which is stadium riding, with more jumps and tighter turns but slower speeds.
Although there is no separate breakdown for kids riding dirt bikes, the number of people sanctioned for motocross racing by the American Motorcyclist Association has more than doubled over the past decade, rising nationally to 477,000 from 191,000.
At a recent race night at Joliet Motosports Park in Wilmington, most of the racers were young, with at least half of the races for preteens. “There might be 250 riders and 1,000 to 1,500 spectators,” says Norman Clausen, the Park’s property manager. As for the riders, he says the “vast majority are kids.”
One of those racers was Erika K., 10, of Naperville. But Erika prefers four-wheels, racing her Suzuki LT80, an all-terrain-vehicle quad. Think motorcycle with four wheels.
Quad racing is not as popular. And even though they can’t jump as high as the motorcycles, quads are considered more dangerous.
“I had a choice of soccer or racing. I thought racing would be more fun,” Erika says. So far she has five first-place finishes and is one of the only girls in her races. “I kind of like that,” Erika says. “It’s fun when I beat the boys.”
Spencer C., 16, of Bourbonnais also prefers quads to bikes. Last year he even sold his bike. “[Quads] are a lot easier on corners, more stable,” he says. But they are more dangerous, because they can roll over on you in a crash, he adds.
Spencer has already raced in one professional race and is ranked second in his class in Illinois.
So why do these kids like to race? It’s fun, they all say. And as for getting hurt? Anthony C., 9, of Lisle says that when he falls off, “I take a break and get back on.”
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Rules for riding
As with any sport, there are some basic safety rules for dirt biking, says Tom Lindsey of the American Motorcyclist Association.
– Get training, from a parent or from a class.
– Ride on established trails only.
– Ride with adult supervision.
– Stay within your limits. Don’t try to do something that looks cool but which you don’t yet have the skills to perform.
– Wear proper gear; it will help minimize injuries.
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Where to watch
If you want to see some exciting races, you can check out the schedules for two local tracks:
Joliet Motosports Park in Wilmington, at jolietmx.com
Motosports Park in Byron, at motobyron.com
Want more Info? Here are some other Web sites:
www.ama-cycle.org
www.dirtbikekids.com
www.motocross.com
www.atvaonline.com
