Wild Ride
SLIPPERY ROCK — Kurt Hines, having ridden motocross since he was 4 years old, is pursuing what used to be just a hobby. But this time, he's taking his rides to the professional arena.
"He will learn people skills, interacting, cooperation, mechanicals, and on the business side, self discipline," said his father, John Hines, about his son's motorcycle training.
"He has to keep himself at a certain level of representation and he must maintain that because he is being looked at and evaluated at each step he takes," he added.
Hines, who travels the eastern United States each weekend and practices the sport daily, felt he needed to quit his conventional schooling to pursue his dream of participating in motocross professionally. This semester, he is enrolled in a cyber school.
Darren Durbin, a professional motocross rider who decided two years ago to attend school online, agreed there are some lessons learned on the track that can't be learned in the classroom."You definitely learn social skills because there are a lot more people at every race than you meet in high school," said Durbin, 17, of Saxonburg. "You have to talk to people and know people to be good at it and get to the next level."Motocross requires a substantial amount of money, time and travel."He does not have the time to go through conventional school to get to where he's trying to get," John Hines said. "It's demanding, time-consuming and expensive, but it's also a goal and a dream for Kurt to set his sights on."Durbin, who was in Florida for training and competition at the time of his interview with the Eagle, also practices daily and travels frequently throughout the year to compete."I race all year round," he said. "I decided to go to school through the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School so I could travel and go to more races."
Motocross is expensive. A typical bike, which may need replaced three times a year, can cost between $5,500 and $6,500. Those who don't change bikes can be plagued by high repair costs.Besides their bikes, riders also spend money on gear, which includes a helmet, jersey, chest protector, boots, gloves and pants."The sport is grueling on your equipment," said Matt Simmons, who rode professionally for 18 years before becoming a full-time salesman at Northgate Motorcycles in Cranberry Township. "It's very expensive when you get to that professional level."Travel is also a major expense, requiring many young motocross riders to rely on adults for help. Experienced riders from this area can travel as far as Florida on weekends to compete in a ride that may not last more than an hour."I would wake up at 4:30 or 5 in the morning, drive to the track, park and unload," recalled Simmons. "By then it's 7 or 8 o'clock and timed to get warmed up. Then you have to wait for your (race) class. So you could just sit around for three to four hours before you actually get a chance to compete."Because of this downtime, many motocross participants make strong friendships."I've met a lot of friends at the track," Hines said. "We're best friends when we're not competing. It's like a family environment."It's at a level I've never experienced at a high school event where different schools have rivalries against each other. They don't like each other. With motocross, there's more competitiveness out there than you will ever witness, but yet, when we are done competing, we're best friends."When Hines decided he wanted to make his name in the professional circuit, he knew his family and motocross friends would back him up."I know my dad is behind me. The key to succeeding in this sport is having a support net behind you. Everyone who is involved with it is really pushing me," Hines saidLikewise, Durbin said he never could have made the strides he has made in the sport if not for his family."My dad used to race and he got me a bike for Christmas when I was little," he said. "I never could have done it without my dad and also without Jeff Cernic (of Cernics Racing in Duncansville)."Durbin is sponsored by American Suzuki, while Hines is sponsored by Cernics Racing.
