Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
I quit my Hare Scramble career after eight additional years due to old age/lack of motivation to train. It was Thursday after a race and I was still lame when I got up to get a cup of coffee. I said enuff.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
Anyhow, good advice from the guys above. Take it and run with it.
I started riding for fun at age 5. I grew up racing in District 5 back in Pennsylvania starting on 65's back in 2002. I got smoked by some of the fast kids back then and each year worked my way up a little bit more. In 2006 racing 85's and superminis I was finally getting respectable finishes and we were chasing points in a local series. One of the stops was at a night Arenacross race. Long story short I got a bad start in supermini and was working my way through the pack. There was a 6 pack rhythm section in the middle I was jumping, and while trying to pass a kid I entered way too fast and cased as if I were trying to triple in. I got bucked off the back, whiskey throttled through the rest of the section and ended up with a concussion and a broken collarbone. I had some bad wreaks growing up and a few injuries but this one really freaked me out mentally at the time, and I know it messed up my dad seeing me tumble like that.
My dad and I decided to take a break and I don't think I even rode the rest of the year. I guess it got to the point where I was going faster and faster at races, but didn't have enough seat time during the week and started riding over my head. A year and a half later we went to the first race in a while and it was miserable. I went from top 5's to barely cracking the top 20 (this was shortly before gates stopped being full at our local races).
We raced maybe 2 more times and it was over. It was 2007, and time to move to 125s and I had lost so much speed. 2008 came with the recession and the rest is history, I have not been on a track since. I have rode some pit bikes here and there but that is it. I picked up downhill mountain biking which is fun, but was never the same. I stopped following the sport for a while, and went to the High Point national in 2012 that got me back into it.
In the last year I graduated College and moved to Michigan for a job, I am always eyeing up two strokes and I plan to eventually get one and start riding out here some day.
Well that ended up being much longer than I thought it would, but after seeing some old pictures being posted recently of old races from home, I miss that time of my life so much. I cherish the times I had with my father and brother so much going to races when we were young and would not trade them for anything in the world.
I quit riding when I was 18 and went to college, I was still financially dependent on my parents so I couldn't bring myself to spend money on a bike and then turn around and ask them to help pay my tuition. I know my parents sacrificed to put my sister and me through school. So I kept expenses to a minimum and worked as many hours as I could handle without affecting my studies.
I got involved on campus and was an active member of a student design team, so I got to design, build, and compete with open wheel autocross cars that were funded by sponsors and the university. That kept my mind off of riding moto, for the most part. A single-speed mountain bike kept me sane. Virtually no maintenance, plenty of free trails, easier to find riding buddies. Two wheels and a set of handlebars and all seems right with the world, with or without an engine.
I finally wrapped up my degree and started my career a little over a year ago, got a cheap YZ250, and enjoy riding more than ever. I missed riding so much, but it was worth the wait to get school out of the way and settle into the working world.
A couple of years later I came back and bought the bike and everything else from him. I think that said a lot to him and he understood from then on what that moment was about. It wasn't about the money or my disinterest in XC at the time, it was about principle. He became "that dad" that he always said he would never become whenever we saw a dad yelling at his kid at the track. It was for the best. I wasn't going to go pro and we would have just kept spending money for the hell of it so I stopped on my terms and picked it back up later in life when I could once again ride on my terms.
I agree, I left some on the table, but I have no regrets. A lot of personal issues contributed to my decision. My family is much better off because of my choice. But Damn, it sure would've been fun.
Also once your 18 the free ride should be over. It is now time to get down to business and move out of your parents home!
Pit Row
When i was laying on the ground i saw my hand was looking pretty bad and i had weird feeling in my back which skared me. I promised myself that if my legs still moves, when i dare to move them, i wont ride ever again. They moved, and i try to keep my promise.
You young man can easily take few years off and do your best at the school. Buy a mountain bike, it will keep you fit and keep your feeling good on the two wheels. Your riding will come back fast, if you stay fit.
As many have said, you can quit racing but don't have to quit riding. All my friends have also given up racing, but we will still do a fun trail ride in our local mountains every so often. No waiting around for the next moto anymore, just going out at your own pace enjoying the outdoors with friends is a great way to spend the day.
I still love to ride with friends, but I haven't been on a real track in a decade or more. It's all for fun now. But, I still love the sport & it still gives me great joy to attend races whether it's a local event or a Supercross event in a city stadium.
Good luck.
Though I don't have time to race the full series-my local offroad series-(I'm not chasing points), I hit about half the races...I pick and choose my favorites (format or location). And spend the rest of my time chasing my buddies on the weekends on turn tracks we carve out in the sage brush or single track..Its not an official "race"...but we don't leave much on the table.
I'm happy with that, I find myself still getting faster (I'm a much better offroad rider than I ever was a motocross rider), and improving every time I'm on the bike. I've spent some money on riding schools and I really try to improve my technique...and just getting better is almost as fun as racing for me.
Post a reply to: When did you quit?