Racing away to new tracks; BMX cycles its way into student life

     BMX stands for bicycle motocross, a sport some students at North Harford take part in. Biking takes skill and effort, which makes it a sport with big risks involved according to Team USA. 

     Freshmen Nick and Dyllan Crouse have been biking for about 12 years with their dad. They say they have electric dirt bikes they like to ride for training and competitions. 

     The Crouses say they “used to go every weekend to the track,” but have stopped recently due to their dad’s shoulder injury. A big part in them riding was their dad. Dyllan mentions his “dad was the reason [he] started riding.” He mentions having support from home could be helpful with transportation and financial help. 

       For Nick, a good memory he has from his time of riding was “hitting this big jump in the highest gear [he] could go.” As for Dyllan, he mentions “there’s more bad than good memories.” 

     Junior Aiden Freeland also does motocross and has a lot of memories from the past years. Freeland has been “riding since [he] was 7 years old, and started riding because [he] was attracted to the adrenaline.” He has been riding ever since mainly in the summer because of the weather being too cold at other times of the year.

     Typically, in the summer Freeland used to train “around 3 days a week on the track. Different racers train for longer or shorter depending on what they’re riding for.” He says some people just do it for fun, while other go to competitions for trophies or even money. 

     As far as competitions, Freeland explains “it depends on the track but usually you’re on the track for about less than a minute.”  He also says there are different types of competitions that take longer, but usually riders aren’t physically on the track for much time.

       There are some risks that come along with doing such a dangerous sport. For Freeland, he was “riding then the bike went over [his] foot and blew it open wide apart.” As a rider, you have to be aware of the possibility that there could be injuries caused by riding.

      Unlike Freeland and the Crouse’s, freshman Chris Hall rides a mechanical bike. He first started riding to “get away from everything.” He also saw it all over social media which got him “more interested in learning about the sport.”

     Hall has been riding since he was 7 years old and has had “support from [his] parents throughout the whole time [he’s] been riding.” This sport is expensive so for some, its helpful having emotional and financial support from home. 

     Racer Hall usually does “7 hours of training throughout the whole day.” Instead of having to go to an indoor/outdoor track, he has a track in his backyard he uses to train on. This makes it easier to train having it right in your back yard. 

     Like Hall, freshman Kylee Neiderberger rides a mechanical bike and has been for the past 9 years. She started biking because of the “rush of adrenaline which makes the sport so exciting.” 

     Neiderberger trains “every single day, multiple times a day.” She trains for small competitions every weekend and bigger ones once or twice a month.

     She plans on riding “probably through college maybe professionally.” This is a sport she “enjoys” and is a good way to take up time.