While many athletes compete for school teams, there are some adventurous students who participate in dirt biking, a sport that extends far beyond school walls.
“I like the ability to hit a trail and ride terrain that my car can’t go on,” junior Greg Andert said. “It”s fun to race people, and try to max out my motorcycle.”
Andert first got his start with dirt biking at a camp, which included a farm with a built-in track and grass to fall on.
“It came pretty natural to me because I could ride a bike pretty well,” Andert said.
At 11 years old, Andert was taught the basics of dirt biking by the father of his friend, sophomore Nathan Burlis.
“Mr. Burlis taught me almost everything I know,” Andert said. “He taught by example and isn’t afraid to scream at me on a narrow trail to hint to me that I am going too slow.”
Andert typically rides in large group of other friends who are experienced and able to give him advice as he progresses.
“Usually after a crash, I get a 30-second lesson from a friend on why I shouldn’t have hit that tree,” Andert said.
Crashing into trees and rocks is not unusual while dirt biking. Andert said he has returned home from a day on the trails with scrapes, bruises, burns and headaches. Once he even smashed his shin into a footpeg.
“But other than that, no injuries to report,” Andert said.
Despite the crashes, Andert is content with the improvements he has made. When he first started, he could only keep up with the others for 5 feet, but since then he has increased this distance to 100 feet.
“I like the freedom of being able to learn and go at my own pace,” Andert said.
Andert typically rides six times a year at St. Joseph’s state park, Lets Go Nuts or at a private track about an hour away from his house.
While he has been dirt biking for five years, Burlis has been dirt biking for 12.
“I was a little more of a cautious rider in harder parts of the course at first,” Burlis said.
By riding together, Andert and Burlis learn from each other both through giving advice and competing.
“If you are behind them, you can watch their techniques,” Burlis said “If you are racing, you push each other to ride faster.”
Burlis’s dirt biking experiences include many crashes, including one that sent him to the emergency room after crashing into a barbed wire fence. This left Burlis with scars on his neck and chin where the fence caught him.
“Now I get nervous on big jumps when the injuries could be very severe if I crash,” Burlis said.
Missouri is not the only place students go dirt biking. Sophomore Aiden Reinhold takes his riding to Indiana at least three times a year. There, he fuels up and rides for about five hours a day.
“I love the adrenaline that comes with it,” Reinhold said.
Never taking a lesson, Reinhold taught himself how to ride a dirt bike seven years ago. Since then he has improved in areas such as not stalling the bike.
Reinhold has also experienced his fair share of crashes, including a time his bike landed on him after riding up a tree.
“I try not to focus on the bad parts of it because that’s usually when I mess up,” Reinhold said.
The riders all agree that crashing is a part of dirt biking and will happen less with improvement. For this purpose it is essential that the riders remain confident while on the bikes and to trust those around them.
“I don’t usually get nervous because I know that I am good enough to get out of many life threatening situations like puddles and small gullies,” Andert said. “I know that my friend Nathan will never leave me behind, and the people on the trail will always be ready to help. It’s hard to be nervous when you’re having fun.”
