What Racing Means to Me By Ethan W. Greve
October 31, 2016

can’t remember the first time I moved...or the second, or third time. Somewhere around age 5 though, I began to realize that my life wasn’t quite like most of the kids around me. Somewhere around age 8, I started to understand that I always would have to leave my friends, and my school, and my church, and my house, and pretty much my life every time I moved. Most of the time, it’s not very much fun. But riding and racing dirt bikes is almost always fun!

Growing up in the military can be hard on a kid. They move every couple of years. They have to make a new set of friends everywhere they go. They need to adjust to different schools, different churches, different homes, and different styles of living in each new area of the world where their parents are sent. I’m growing up as one of those kids. I was born into a military family. My dad has been in the Navy since before I was born. We literally move every one to three years. I’m up to 8 moves, 7 schools, and counting.  With so many moves in my life, it seems as if nothing ever stays constant or consistent. However, this continuous upheaval has encouraged me to search for those pieces of my life that do not change. In fact, I find that there are several things that help me shove aside constant confusion and find constant peace.

I’m constantly blessed by my God and my family. My parents and little brother have always been with me. They have been there through every step of my life, and are there to lean on when I am happy, sad, or just need someone to listen. My mom and dad work hard to provide me not just with the basics in life, but also the extras like dirt bikes and race weekends. They have also been dedicated to taking me to church and getting me involved with people who are strong Christians. Fortunately, even though my church changes every few years, my God stays the same. He is a friend that sticks with me always. Along with my faith, having a family that is not only physically close to me, but also emotionally close for me, is the greatest constant for me at this time in my life.

Believe it or not though, I also see the act of moving as a constant in my life. I know I am going to move every one to three years. Since I know ahead of time though, it does make it much harder to commit to close friendships. Because of the short time frame at each duty station, I tend to not get too close to people since it just makes it that much harder to leave. However, I do have a best friend that actually travels with me no matter where we move. It’s my dirt bike. Now you might not think a motorcycle can be a friend, but I’ve discovered that riding and racing can be as constant as a best friend.

When I was about 5 years old, my family went to a party on a farm with some church friends. Everyone brought dirt bikes and ATVs but us. I jumped on a little dirt bike with training wheels and took off riding. I was hooked. That was the beginning, or “the beginning of the end”, as my mom likes to say! I begged for a bike for over a year. When my seventh birthday rolled around, my parents and grandparents surprised me with a brand new Yamaha TTR-90, even though we were moving yet again and they had no idea where or when I’d get to ride it.  I hopped on that little bike for the first time feeling invincible and tore around my grandparent’s farm in Florida!   At 39, my dad bought a used dirt bike so he could ride with me. He’d never even been on a dirt bike before then!  My family ended up driving 2+ hours every weekend to the middle-of-nowhere in Virginia to ride some land with a club we had joined, just so I could learn to ride. It was this group of avid riders who introduced us to off road riding and local racing, and eventually to the Grand National Cross Country Series. My dad and I grew to love these weekend escapes not just to ride and race, but also to bond. We started bringing my mom and little brother along, too. Riding and racing became a family affair.  I rode that TTR-90 for a year, until I couldn’t make it go any faster. After an instructor told my parents I needed a better bike, I received my first, used KTM 65, which was more of a race bike. As I progressed through the sizes of bikes, I got faster and faster, and even started winning some races. When we moved from Virginia Beach to Washington DC, the dirt bikes came with us, and then we drove 4+ hours to ride on a weekend. I was 10. It was then that I knew my dirt bike would be my best friend, and my new constant, in my life.

 This new constant wasn’t just another thing that didn’t change, it was something that I was good at, and that I could take from place to place and still ride and race. I even realized that as I made some acquaintances in the off-road racing community, I would get to meet up with those same friends on a pretty regular basis since they would travel to many of the same races as my family. Also, I realized that when I ride, it’s just me and the bike, and nature. It brings me peace. It allows me to clear my mind and just feel free. It’s very relaxing for me. Even though I’ve been injured several times, I’ve never thought about stopping. All I can think about is when I can get back on the bike. Without my dirt bike, my life would consist of doing school work and trying to fit in to new places.

So, yesterday, I lined up for the last race of the season. I looked around me at the other riders, and realized that they just aren’t dirt bike racers, they are my friends and extended family. We’ve laughed together, cried together, and prayed together. We’ve reached out to each other in times of joy and in times of distress, both on and off the race track. I realized I’ve found a place where I truly “fit”. Racing and riding is not just a hobby for me, it is my way of life now. As I raced for the hole shot yesterday, I hung on tight and gave it all I had, just like I did the very first time I jumped on a dirt bike. This bike, these people, and my family, they are the reason that I constantly count my blessings and thank my God every, single day.