Dirt Biking Daredevil

Dirt biking is an extreme sport only attempted by the greatest adrenaline-seekers. Among us, there is a man brave enough to defy fear and throw his life into the hands, or rather the seat, of his dirt bike. His name is Andrew Sparks, and he is a junior here at Albany High. Sparks has been biking for five years, since he was 12 years old.

“My dad has always driven motorcycles, so I guess he influenced me,” said Sparks. “He got me a Honda XR80, which is a learning bike. I liked it and started going [dirt biking] as much as I could, which was about every other week.”

So what exactly is dirt biking?

“Dirt biking is a sport where you can go on tracks or jumps and ride on trails. A lot of times, the races are hill climbs where the riders climb up really steep hills and the first one to the top wins. They also race motocross around a track,” explained Sparks.

To learn the basics of biking, you must learn first how to stay on the bike, which, according to Sparks, is the hardest part. “If it’s muddy, it’s hard to keep steady, and if it’s dusty, the traction is bad.” To practice these skills, Sparks usually goes with a few friends and his dad to off-road locations such as Carnegie in Livermore or Hollister, which is south of San Jose.

“You can choose to be competitive. My dad is part of a competitive club that puts on races. I have never competed officially, but I have worked at checkpoints in races,” said Sparks.

So what is the grand appeal of dirt biking?

“I like to go really fast,” said Sparks with an eager smile. “I like the rush of going down really vertical, slippery hills and going off jumps.”

Are there any drawbacks?

“The worst part has been spraining my neck and hitting rocks,” he admitted. But according to this daredevil, the fun is worth the pain. Sparks even admitted that he is “pretty good.”

“But not as good as my dad,” he clarified. If you want to learn more about dirt biking you can ask Sparks, or visit the California State Park website for Off-Highway Vehicles at http://www.ohv.parks.ca.gov/ for great dirt biking locations around the state.

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