I have been riding and racing dirt bikes since the age of 5. My uncle got me started in his back yard. Once I got the hang of it, I began racing. My first race was in Carson City. The name of the track was called T-CAR Speedway and I have been hooked ever since.
Most of my family raced motocross and desert back in the day as they would call it. My dad and uncle raced against Steve McQueen down at a place called Indian Dunes in California and Dad beat him a few times. As for my mother, she raced motocross and went on to race in the 125 Women's Grand National Championship with great women riders such as Sue Fish.
I have had a great time racing motocross throughout my life and wanted to give back to the sport that has kept me on the straight and narrow. About three years ago, I started pursuing a place where family and friends can gather in a controlled environment and ride their dirt bikes.
Carson Valley has riding areas where locals gather. They are very dangerous unsupervised, and people frequent these places only to find it quite frankly suicidal to ride.
We at Nevada Motocross Park give our dirt bike community a controlled one-direction watered track to ride on. The riders get to ride in their own skill level groups and it is a huge family sport where moms, dads, grandpas and grandmas come out and cheer for their family members.
Also it has pumped a lot of money into our local economy. Since the beginning of summer people have come here to race. They stay in our hotels, buy groceries, gas, eat at our restaurants, and support our town's small businesses.
It is my dream, but there are lots of people who made this happen. Volunteers, who simply love this sport and to watch the smiles of these people young and old when they come off the track, put in countless hours to make it possible. They are the ones who will allow this riding park to continue for years to come.
I want to personally thank Harvie and Amanda Keith - your countless hours are beyond words - John McQueary, Ed Alexander, Kyle Calhoun and the Nevada Motocross Park staff.
To read more about the track, go to nevadamotocrosspark.com.