Twelve racing mothers grab their own piece of the racing action in the AMA-sanctioned Virginia Cross Country and Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series
BY JOY BURGESS
May 14 is Mother’s Day, of course, so we’d be remiss if we didn’t thank all the moms out there who’ve supported their kids and spouses in their riding and racing…cleaning leathers, making lunches, keeping things organized, helping finance the effort, cheering from the sidelines, and much, much more.
But International Female Ride Day also falls in May, and Jessica Riddle — whose family has an AMA Family Membership — recently introduced us to a pretty badass group of moms on the East Coast who’ve taken Female Ride Day much more literally…by competing in the AMA-sanctioned Virginia Cross Country Series (VXCS) and Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series (VCHSS) along with
their families.
These ladies decided that they wanted a piece of the racing action for themselves, and it’s a special thing when you’ve got dads, moms and kids all out there racing toward the checkers.
After all, says racing mom Brianna Sowers, “Moms who support their racing families are awesome…but moms deserve to join all the fun, too!”
We couldn’t agree more.
Brianna is one of only two moms in the tight-knit group to begin riding as a child. “I was 8 years old when I got my first dirt bike for Christmas,” she told us. “I remember my parents showing me the Crusty Demons videos, and I wanted to be as cool as all those guys. Some of my best and
earliest memories are from the long track and trail days with my brother.”
Lanie Taylor’s start to riding was similar. She started at age 8, riding on the weekends on a family farm with lots of friends. “I was so scared of the hills as a child,” she said, “and loved having help from the boys — one of which I later married — to get me through those trails.”
But the rest of the group never threw a leg over a motorcycle until far later in life.
“I started riding and racing at age 39,” Jess Riddle said, “and I’d never even heard of dirt bikes until a year or so before that when my husband — an avid mountain biker — purchased a dual-sport to ride to work and on the trails. I was afraid of that bike…I
didn’t even feel comfortable walking by it parked in the garage!”
“I still remember my first impressions of hare scramble racing,” she continued. “I was shocked at the fields of campers — I had no idea this was a thing families did. And every time a bike rode by in the pits, I jumped, startled at the noise. But after my husband started racing, we bought our son Bodie his first dirt bike, and we slowly became a dirt bike racing family. I found it increasingly difficult to stand on the sidelines, so I purchased a used Yamaha TT-R 230 and started racing.”
Jess first raced at VXCS, then took on a VCHSS race that generally has around 250 competitors. “I don’t even know how I got around the track,” she remembered, “I must have pissed off so many guys out there. And I remember
“That first year of racing, it wasn’t pretty, but my girls — Sadie, Josee and Kallie — cheered me on like it was Christmas morning. I would have never related to my daughters on this level if I didn’t give it a shot.”
MEGAN DANIELS
asking a now-retired racing mom on the start line how many laps she planned to do. She looked at me like I had two heads and said, ‘As many as I can until I get the checkered flag.’ I was so clueless. But I went on to win the VCHSS Senior Women Championship in 2022!”
Katie McKeithan decided to start riding to make sure she didn’t get left out of the story…or left with all the work. “I started riding in 2020 in support of family time,” she told us. “When my husband and kids — Alison and Samantha — started racing, I didn’t want to be left out of the story or the one doing all the packing, cooking and cleaning. So I put on my gear and
joined them in a sport far outside my comfort zone.”
For Ari Heemstra, it was her son that pushed her to start riding…at age 50! “I always like to say that my son, Nathan, ‘whined’ me into doing it,” Ari said. “He really put the pressure on!” But it was getting hooked as a spectator of the sport that finally pulled Staci Griffin to race. “My husband Jim told me stories about riding as a kid,” she remembered, “and in the early 2000s he wanted to start racing hare scrambles. He told me how much of a family event the races were, so I started going as a cheerleader, and got hooked as a spectator. I think I was more excited
than anyone when they yelled ‘10 seconds!’ for each class. It made my soul sing.”
“Everyone at the races became family,” Staci continued. “I learned to jump in with the kids and help pick up bikes, get them started, and began to understand the training, skill and endurance it takes to ride and race. Finally, in 2009 when I was 38, my husband talked me into getting my first bike, a Honda CRF100. It didn’t come naturally to me, I was scared to death, and the beginning was rough. I stalled the bike a million times, had a mental block on making right turns — the perfect NASCAR driver [laughs] — but I started practicing. I remember
Along with racing the Virginia Cross Country and Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series, many of the moms also compete in the AMA Feature Sprint Cross Country Series (pictured), which runs primarily in Maryland and West Virginia.
the best part was going down our halfmile-long gravel driveway. What a rush. I kept thinking, “I’m on a dirt bike! OMG, I’m on a flippin’ dirt bike!’ That feeling — as well as seeing my husband and son racing — was exactly what made me want to do it again.”
Passing along the love of racing, Staci played a big part in getting Jessica Bakken to start racing along with the group.
“I got my first dirt bike — a Yamaha TTR125 — in 2015, deciding to ride since my husband Chad and my son Dash both raced,” Jessica said. “I was
Despite losing an hour of sleep the night before, freezing temperatures and snow falling, the moms still made it out early in the morning to race Round 1 of the AMAsanctioned Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series in Arrington, Va.
hooked! I started racing when VCHSS added the Women’s Trailrider class, and Staci was a big influence on my decision to race. She always has a smile on her face after a race, no matter the conditions. We started talking about me racing, and she supported me and wanted me to start racing with her.”
Setting an example for her girls was the biggest thing for Megan Daniels. “My husband got our first daughter Sadie on a Strider, STACYC and then a PW50, and seeing her out there giving it her all against all the boys made my momma heart happy,” she
said. “My husband encouraged me to give it a try and bought me a Kawasaki KLX140 that gave me the opportunity to putz around behind my daughters as they rode.”
“That first year of racing, it wasn’t pretty,” Megan added with a laugh.
“But my girls — Sadie, Josee and Kallie — cheered me on like it was Christmas morning, and watching them look up to me and give me advice let me know the impact I was having on them. The challenges you overcome in a race are far more intense than I imagined, and it really builds a sense of courage and commitment I never dreamed
of. I would have never related to my daughters on this level if I didn’t give it a shot.”
Of course, when the entire family is racing, that makes for a hectic race day…or weekend.
“Race days are typically race weekends,” Jess told us. “Meal planning and preparation begin well in advance.”
“It’s pretty much controlled chaos,” Sheri Caccamo added.
Katie echoed that, adding that it’s always crazy getting everyone to the line on time, especially with everyone riding in different classes throughout the day.
“I have my morning anxiety attack on race day,” Jess said with a laugh, “compounded by coffee, of course. In the past, if Bodie had a bad experience during a race, I’d go have a mom cry in the camper while gearing up for my event. But when he moved up to a big bike, he raced in the morning event with me, which was cool because he’d lap me, and I got to cheer him on as he blew by.”
Staci’s morning starts a little differently. “My alarm goes off at 6:15 a.m.,” she said, “and I quietly get
up while everyone else is still sleeping. I prep everything the night before so I can sneak around the camper quietly. I eat breakfast, stretch — I’m 52 and stretching is required both before and after getting on the bike — gear up, check my tire pressure, and when the clock strikes 8 a.m., warm up my bike.”
Despite how hectic it is — often moms are lining up just as kids are coming to the finish line — the families all use each other for encouragement and strength to keep going.
“It’s often high stress in the mornings,” Brianna told us, “but watching my daughter come through
the finish is an indescribable feeling. It’s at that moment that I know I’m doing the right thing as a race mom.”
Riding together, spending the weekends engaged in the teamwork of getting bikes and gear ready, and cheering each other on through all kinds of racing conditions — good and bad — has a profound effect on these families.
“Although riding is an individual experience,” Sheri said, “it’s always better when you have a crew to share it with. And when it is your family…it’s priceless. It’s also an awesome way to spend time together as a family on the weekends, even when it isn’t cool to hang out with your parents anymore.”
“My mom inspires me to ride faster so I can lap her! I like being able to teach my mom when we go on rides so one day she can be as fast as me.”
DASH BAKKEN, 12 YEARS OLD
Having a common connection is powerful for the families, too. “No matter what else we do separately in life,” Lisa Morten, whose 21-year-old daughter Hailey races with her, told us “we have our love for dirt bikes that brings us together.”
“Riding together as a family gives us this incredible bond of adventure, joy, challenges, excitement and teamwork,” Staci added. “We cheer each other on, pull each other up when things get frustrating — trees can jump out in front of you, a bike can get wonky, someone can get
if you’re not good…especially if you’re not good. Model the behavior you want your kid to have. Show your kids how to lose, how to be a good sport about it, how to work your tail off to get better, how to hit your goals that don’t include first place, and then how to hit those goals and maybe even get a first place along the way.”
Age doesn’t matter, either.
at this sport,” she said. “I used to be absolutely horrible. I would crash on flat ground for no reason! But I refused to quit. Now I teach everything I know to other women, and it’s been so rewarding to help other ladies while honing my own skills.”
At the end of the day, it’s the support and friendships that keep bringing these women — and their families — back to the races.
stuck in the mud while the entire group of racers goes by, etc. — and we help each other grow. I get so excited to share our experiences at the end of a race. I live for those moments of ‘Mom, do you remember that gnarly hill?’ or ‘How did you like that crazy creek crossing?’”
By sharing their stories, these ladies hope that more moms will join the fun on two wheels.
“For any woman interested in racing,” Jess said, “find us! We’re here, and we love to ride with novice women riders. You will find some of your best friends.”
Jess also suggests advocating for a women’s class that runs with the minis in your local series. It’s a great way for women riders to learn the ropes of racing with less traffic to worry about, and it’s something they’ve done in the VCHSS series. And don’t be worried about being good before you get started.
“Just go!” Katie exclaimed. “Even
“I’m 52 years old,” Staci told us, “and I’m a beginner racer. I’m not fast. In all honesty, I suck at this. But it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life! You’re never too old, and it’s never too late to learn how to ride or start racing. Get out of your box, throw a leg over a bike, and as Bobby Bones says, ‘Fail, until you don’t!’”
Fifty-three-year-old Charity Kuebler, who races with her grandson Caden — the only Nanny and grandson racing team in the group — agrees. “I have to work
“The support system and friendships gained from the other women I’ve met through this sport is unmatched,” Lanie said. “And the friendships your kids will make through racing will be some of the best in the world.”
And while these moms are out there racing, in part, to inspire and encourage their kids, it’s often their children who influence them.
“My son Nathan is really the one who inspires and influences me,” Sherri told us. “Even when I’m not feeling my best, he encourages me to participate anyway. The best encouragement came during a race when I was on the struggle bus, and I heard a loud voice coming up behind me saying, ‘Come on, Mom, you’ve got this!’ just before he blew past me. It reminded me how lucky I am to experience this challenging sport with my family.”
With my family. It’s a key part of all this. But so is actually riding and competing. And these moms — along with moms all over the country — seem to have that part nailed.
You go, gals! AMA
