Why Ride a Dirt Bike?

Hopefully that’s a moot question! Something got your attention, maybe the bug has already bitten with a first ride, or the draw came from watching others ride, or more likely, listening to them talk about it afterward. Regardless, there are plenty of great reasons to ride besides that urge that won’t let go.

A group of ladies pause before heading out for a long loop at China Hat.

Whether it’s for the thrill, the exercise, the adventure, the challenge, the camaraderie, the freedom, to compete, getting away from it all or the family-oriented benefits, dirt biking offers them all, in whatever combinations and ratios you desire every time you ride!

The actual act of riding a dirt bike requires input from every part of you. Few other sports or activities simultaneously need all your strength, your most delicate touch, your instant animal-based reactions and your most acute thinking and decision making. Not only is your entire being involved, as you move across varied off-road terrain, it all must stay engaged in a constant flow.

Dirt biking can satisfy a thirst for exploration, a competitive drive and provide real stress relief from the intensity of modern life. On a bike, a rider, even one not able to hike well, can get deep into back country for the views, to commune with nature, to replenish the spirit. What might take a week on foot, time not available to most, a rider can cover in a day. It also seems that many dirt bike riders are naturally competitive and over the decades every form of racing or demonstration of skill has evolved and been perfected into events and series.

You’ll soon find that most dirt bike riders think that their fellow riders are the best people on earth. They are self-sufficient, can-do, make-it-happen people. They would never abandon a fellow rider and will help a perfect stranger get back to camp or safety, even if it sidetracks their plans.

Absolutely! You’ll be amazed by the benefits, many of which are true for any activity you all participate in. The difference may be how avidly a family is involved. Sure, dad’s a coach and mom’s a team manager and Jimmy and Suzy play soccer on the team, but the dirt bike riding family is out doing it together. The anticipation, preparation, travel and final readiness are all shared. Challenges, thrills, views, nature exploration, competition by class, tip sharing, pushing each other - the dirt biking family experiences these together.

I know just how much it has meant to my family. Each of us set our own goals in this sport and we all support each other’s pursuit of them. We watched our children learn the importance of maintenance and mechanical know how and experience motor vehicle judgment and see the safe driving records they have on the streets since. Perhaps most importantly, we saw them learn to never give up, to compete fairly but intensely, to be a good sport and to leave the race at the track. Yes, the sport has also exposed this family to dozens and dozens of other families that are just the sort of folks you’d want to have your family around. The ensuing friendships are lifelong.

No argument, the scene is very similar. Indeed, while my new book is about dirt biking, much of the material transfers directly to the four-wheeled, single-person all-terrain vehicle world.

One of the core themes within this sport is taking responsibility. Only you can be sure that your machine is in good operating condition. Only you can be sure you have gas in the tank, oil in the engine and air in the tires. Only you can know if any nuts and bolts need to be tightened, if the chain needs to be adjusted or that the air cleaner is not clogged.

It goes beyond taking responsibility for the bike. Only you can make sure to wear all of your safety equipment every time you ride. Only you can decide how far to twist the throttle, when to shift or how much brake to apply. Only you can choose to attempt to climb that hill or start over that steep drop. Only you can decide whether to attempt that big jump or to slam through the whoops.

Dirt bike riders rarely if ever are part of the sue-happy, litigious portion of the general public. We choose to ride, we choose when and where to ride, we choose what to ride and we don’t blame anyone but ourselves when something goes wrong. We know that we can hurt ourselves riding, but we wear the safety gear, keep our bike in great shape and use our head. We know that only our actions are keeping our dirt bike from tipping over and we know that we will crash, eventually. We know that even though we have been clearing that 45’ double effortlessly all day that all it takes is a tiny error and we won’t clear it, with painful and/or expensive results.

We take responsibility for riding a dirt bike. We don’t blame others for what might go wrong. Even when we race, especially when we race, we know that we can run into each other or roost each other, knock each other down, or simply perform a pirouetting lipskid all by ourselves.

Sure, you can think of scenarios where someone else’s negligence or intent causes you to crash and injure yourself. But in reality, you are still responsible. You went riding or racing in the first place and only you can decide if the conditions and the scene are right for you.

Being fully responsible for yourself and your actions and any outcome that may occur is at the core of what makes riding a dirt bike one of the finest activities you can choose to participate in on the face of the planet. Being absolutely, completely, 100% responsible for yourself is the definition of freedom. Ask any dirt biker why they ride and they’ll get to that free feeling right away, even if he/she can’t quite put it into words. The real connection is the total freedom of being completely responsible for yourself.

Oh, and part of being responsible for yourself is not denying that you could get hurt, maybe a tiny bit, maybe a lot. If you get hurt, can you pay your medical bill? Do you have insurance instead? Are you prepared to miss some work if your injury forces that? Taking responsibility means taking this into consideration as you choose what, where, when and how to ride your dirt bike.

Finally, you can become permanently injured or crippled. Few riders ever die at this sport; it is probably more dangerous to fly a kite. I have never known a dirt biker to be bitter about blowing out a knee or ending up in a wheelchair. To every one, young or old, there is an easily expressed remembrance of what it is like to be truly alive - to be free.

I rode with a Vietnam Vet once. He had been a rising star in Southern California motocross before getting drafted. A land mine took his right foot, part of his left and all the fingers on his right hand except stumps where his thumb and forefinger had been. He knew what could make him truly happy in spite of his loss, figured out how to get the brake lever and throttle over to the left side of the bars, stuffed the missing space in his boot and went riding every chance he could get. A lot of riders would be very surprised to discover just how much he had overcome to keep riding - if they weren’t also embarrassed at not being able to keep up with him.

You choose to ride, or do anything else in this life you’ve been given to live, so follow through and take responsibility for your choices. You’ll realize soon enough that all dirt bike riders seem to live by this simple creed. Maybe that’s why you’ll also soon be saying that dirt bike riders are the finest people on earth; the kind of people you want to hang with, that you want your children to have as examples and that you would want to have around in an emergency.