Ready to ride Motocross racers take to the track
<p>Kaleb Rogers, right, of Athol, flies over the table top jump on the motocross course at Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Friday as official announcer Bart McAllister, left, waves the white flag indicating the last lap during a practice run for motocross competitors.</p>
<p>Donovan Lentz of Colville, WA rounds a hairpin corner on the motocross track at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d'Alene on Friday.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Watch out for the whoops.
Those are the back-to-back-to-back bumps motocross racers have to brace for on the racing track this weekend at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
"I'm scared about them," said Tori Leon, 12, a motocross rider in a Rathdrum family full of riders. "I'll probably go around them."
Or take the rollers on slowly.
But it's not just the whoops. Local racing hero and former professional rider Chaun McAlister has the racing course especially difficult this year. The annual weekend motocross event he puts on has brought in racers from across the region for around 30 years now, and this year's rides might seem a little rough with the more challenging course.
"Oh yeah," said Victor Leon, Tori's dad, about seeing his daughters racing on a difficult course. "Keeping it upright and not crashing, that's the goal. You get nervous, but I get to watch them."
McAlister has been putting on the show on his own for seven years. His mother is the one who started it around 30 years ago, as she needed an event for her boys to chase their passions.
"My dad was doing it before I was around, it was natural for me," the Coeur d'Alene native said about learning to dirt bike. "It's a family thing for me. My kids ride. My brother rides."
And, thanks to the race he has kept going, hundreds of other local riders have a place to ride, too. Around 125 raced Friday, and 130 or so are expected to compete today. The ages range from tots to pros. A pair of professional freestyle riders will put on a jump or two, too.
"I've done some riding before but nothing this extreme," said Darwin North, a racer from Smelterville about to take on the course. "Jumps and sharp corners and they're all banked."
The show wraps up tonight beginning at 7, but will be back in town during the North Idaho Fair.
And watch out for the whoops.
"It was brutal," said Bobby Kinservik, 24, from Post Falls, after his practice run on the rolling bumps. "I hope it breaks in before the race."