Ryan Dungey was just 5 years old when his father Troy plopped him on his first dirt bike.

At an age when most kids are learning to ride a regular bicycle, Dungey was already motoring around the family’s Belle Plaine yard.

“Oh yeah, you can even put training wheels on,” he answered when asked if they make dirt bikes for kids that young.

For Dungey, it was love at first ride.

“It was fun. I enjoyed it,” he recalled. “There’s nothing like riding a dirt bike.”

Starting Dungey off early proved fortuitous. By 16, he was turning pro and embarking on the beginning of a successful career as a racer.

“We went from riding around the yard for fun to races,” said Dungey.

Photo courtesy of Rockstar Makita SuzukiToday, the 20-year-old competes for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. Last Sunday, he won his fourth race of the 2010 season, stretching his lead to 24 points over second place with six races remaining in the 17-race season.

“It’s been a fun season,” he said.

Championship

Dungey is modest when talking about his success.

“I just try to do the best I can,” he said.

Dungey’s best was good enough to earn him the title of 2007 AMA Rookie of the Year for Supercross/Motocross. Last year, he took home both the AMA Supercross Lites West and AMA 250 Class Motocross championships, making him only the second rider from Minnesota to ever win a major AMA National Championship (the late Donny Schmidt is the other).

Though Dungey grew up in Belle Plaine (attending Guardian Angels Catholic School through eighth grade), he is currently based in Tallahassee, Fla. There, he can train year-round.

Dungey trains by riding his dirt bike 4-5 times a week and hitting the gym daily to run and lift weights.

“It’s kinda non-stop,” he said. “I’m always looking to get faster and faster.”

Dungey is up for the challenge. “I like getting better,” he said.

Going pro

Dungey figures he was 14 or 15 years old when he realized that dirt bikes could be more than just a hobby for him.

“I thought this could be something I could do for a living,” he said.

At 16, after years of racing locally and nationally, Dungey went out to California and got a test with Suzuki.

“The hardest thing about going pro was that I had to perform,” he said. “But soon I started winning races.”

Dungey credits his wins back to hard work, dedication and plenty of practice.

“When you’re racing, you’re in the moment,” he said. “You don’t have time to think. So hopefully you did your homework.”

Dungey has suffered a few bumps and bruises on his road to the top.

“It’s a dirt bike,” he said. “If you don’t respect it, it’ll put you on your butt.”

“I’ve had a couple of injuries,” he added. “A few broken bones here and there.”

But time away from the bike can be torturous for a rider like Dungey.

“After a couple weeks off the bike, you crave it,” he said.

For Dungey, racing dirt bikes still feels more like fun than a job.

“That’s the whole reason you do it,” he said. “It’s gotta be fun.”

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer