joey450

Member
Jul 14, 2007
59
0
iam in my 30s married with a 9year old son. i have had dirt bikes all my life. got my first one at age 5 . also bought my son his first bike at age 5.i have raced for about 6 years for fun.after i bought my son his bike i started taking him to the track with me, he showed a great intrest in the sport and has done very well. his mother has never liked him racing she says it is to dangerous . it is a very dangerous sport about a year ago i moved him up to a 65 2 stroke from his honda 70 , he was racing the trail bike class on the pewee tracks. now he races on the big track in the 65 class and has done very well. about 3 weeks ago at one of our local races a 10 year old in my sons race took a bad fall over a jump he went over the bars and broke his neck. dont know if he will walk again .we all know this is a very dangerous sport .now racing is a very bad subject in my house with my wife,she knows i wont stop.but he is her son also ,he has and wears all the protective gear just bought him the leatt neck brace a month ago.his mother wants him to stop racing all togther. this is a sport that he greatly enjoys i dont think i can go to the track and tell him he can no longer go if it comes to that
 

2-Strokes 4-ever

~SPONSOR~
Feb 9, 2005
1,842
4
Missouri
I think that is in the back of all our minds. My wife has endured many broken bones/ surgerys with my 2 sons and I. I use to push my older son hard in MX.........he WAS our district;s MX champ, blew out a knee, has had 2 surgerys, needs a third. The pain, recovery, long term discomfort he will face has made us all refocus. We still ride, for fun.........the trophys are plastic. Been there, done that.
 

oldguy

Always Broken
Dec 26, 1999
9,419
0
2 seasons ago we had a similar story in our household except I was the one that wanted the racing to stop. My son suffered 4 concussions in a short time and had many more serious get offs as he moved his speed up several notches. This made me actually get to the point I couldn't watch him on the track. If you knew me you would realize this was an extreme re-action from me as far as MX but it hit me hard when on the 4th one I got to him and he was not moving at all and barely breathing. Luckily he had no lasting effects. Later that day I tried talking him into quitting. His answer was absolutely not he loves the sport. It took me almost the remainder of the season before I could watch a race and no way I could watch a start without almost becoming physically ill.
Through it all my wife supported him and tried reassuring me that we were doing everything we could to protect him but whether he was on the track, his bicycle, in his car, or just walking down the street there were dangers and we had to trust him along with a higher being that he will enjoy life to it's fullest and hopefully walk it safely.
Your wife has valid concerns and there is no way you will change her mind overnight. What helped me recover was going back to basics. As part of his re entry to racing we went to fewer races for a while and we agreed that if something didn't feel right we would go home with no hard feelings. I once again gained confidence in his judgment on the track and he realized my emotions I was trying to contain about his safety.
Recently he was snowboarding in Colorado with friends when we got the call that he was in the ER and going in for surgery to repair a severe broken arm. when we finally talked to him his reaction was "I can't just stay home and hide. If I don't face challenges I won't be alive."

Don't try to force racing on your wife for the near future, do some fun non competitive riding for awhile and be sure you provide the best protective gear you can reasonably afford. Hopefully your wife after a cooling down period will relent as she sees your son has a passion for the sport , is reasonable in how he rides, and that you are taking every precaution you can to protect him.
Good luck
 

KXRacer469

Member
Aug 4, 2007
24
0
This is what makes this sport second guessable to me. My buddies cousin recently got into an accident on his fathers 250f (which he had NO reason to ride) he is only 9 years old. He had fallen off at a local riding area and was put into a coma around early spring. Just now he is able to go back to school but I am told he cannot go to recess or run or jump (practically have fun) and he will never ride a bike again. I think this sport was created in mind of having fun, not racing eachother. I think fun is what it should stick to for now in your case if that is what your family feels is nessecary. Competition can come in time.
 

joey450

Member
Jul 14, 2007
59
0
My son has not raced since the accident involving the 10 year old who broke his neck , (he is expected to recover from what i have heard) :) although we have been to the tracks for pratice every weekend since then just about . My son seems to be ok with this for now (not racing )as long as he still gets to be at the track riding. He under stands that mom is still scared of the racing aspect of it after she witnessed the bad crash involving the 10 year old.
 

Chili

Lifetime Sponsor - Photog Moderator
Apr 9, 2002
8,062
15
I offered to buy my kid a car after his third broken leg, he declined and kept racing, I offered again after he broke his collarbone first race back from the last broken leg. He still races and bought his own truck :bang:
 

Moparman1539

Member
Sep 9, 2006
804
0
My mom says if i seriousley hurt myself the dirtbike goes.. My dad and stepdad and uncle are all up for it.. and thinks its cool that i ride and come over and take my bike for a spin...

I love to do this.. i tell my parents that.. And living right next to a dirtbike track doesnt help when the ambulace leave the bark at 120mph with its lights on... Someone just got KILLED a 45(give or take a few years) year old man having fun with his son (or sons or kids) ran into a tree and died.. Its in the back of everyones mind that this is a dangrious sport.. When i open the throttle i have a nerve on me that tells me when i have reached my limits.. And i dont go crazy, and my parents see that, thats why i am still able to ride...

Luckley i have never broke anything.. but you have to be aware of your surroundings and dont be crazy or show off..

My $0.02
 

whenfoxforks-ruled

Old MX Racer
~SPONSOR~
Oct 19, 2006
8,129
2
Merrillville,Indiana
Any recreational activity that we get involved in,with the same passion,can be deadly! So I can sit on the porch all day,or get involved in the best kept secret there is,dirt bikes are fun! And its the cheapest form of motor racing! I have not had as many accidents as my son,hasty decisions in emergency rooms was plentiful, My wife has the most concerns,and she knows the addiction! I have walked away a few times over the years,mostly money and that blows! We can not go trail riding without making it a race,or shopping for that matter! This is how it was in the beginning,and this is how it will end,hopefully in the dirt! My oldest son and I race,my younger son has issues but wants to race,my daughter wants to go to Millsaps for the winter,the wife watches. Everybody knows their role! 17 er visits for Ryan is a bit much,when he was 6 and pending 6 weeks of traction and 6 in a body cast was no worse than earlier this years multi fracture! About 5 were not due to mx,didn't stop those activities either! MX is what we prefer,,,
 
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