During the holidays, most 5-year-old boys receive toy soldiers or footballs.  However, junior Casey Hynes was given a 50cc dirt bike with training wheels attached to the frame, and he has not stopped motocrossing since.  For the past 12 years, Hynes has spent countless hours at the racetrack, improving as a rider and forgetting his troubles.

Hynes’s father, a professional motocross rider, influenced Hynes to begin biking.  Since then, his father has supported him and taught him everything from decreasing lap times to taking apart a motor and reassembling it on the racetrack. Motocross has taught Hynes that he has to give his all in everything he does and not let fear prevent him from pursuing his dreams.

“Riding has influenced me to try my hardest at anything and everything I do,” said Hynes.  “It has made me realize that in life you have to get out and do one thing a day that scares you because it makes you feel alive and free.”

Hynes started riding in the deserts of California City and now spends his weekends practicing in Gorman, Calif. at the Quail Canyon MX track.  The training is strenuous, especially in the summer when the weather often exceeds 100 degrees, but Hynes has never once thought about setting aside his riding boots.

“I’ll ride from the moment I arrive at the track to the second I leave,” said Hynes.  “When it’s hard I just remember why I ride—for the freedom and to live life to the fullest.”

Since Hynes’s first amateur race, he knew that he wanted motocross to play a major role in his life.  He has competed in numerous prospector races and hopes to continue rising through the ranks in order to pursue his dream of professional racing.  Hynes does not plan on retiring his dirt bike and helmet anytime in the near future; the adrenaline rush and feeling of competitiveness he experiences on the racetrack had him hooked from the start.