Kelli Emmett - I Ride

Growing up I lived on an apple farm in Michigan and we had motorcycles around. I had a Honda XR75, but it got stolen within a week and I was crushed. I had borrowed money from my dad to get it and I had to pay it back. It is funny now, but my pay went up from 10 cents an hour to 25 cents.

The motorcycle totally helps with the technical aspects of mountain biking, especially with picking lines and with the higher speeds. I've found I can find lines faster and I'm able to look farther ahead, plus it's a good way to get a different kind of workout. I'll go for a two- to three-hour road bike ride in the a.m. and then I can do a trail ride on the moto in the afternoon to work on skills.

The motorcycle really forces me to use the center core of my body, I can really feel it getting worked, and those are the muscles that really help get a mountain bike turned. Good skills on the mountain bike save you time, and "free time" is really hard to come by at my level. For sure it justifies my motorcycle riding time.

Some of the downhill girls ride moto as well, but not too many of the cross-country racers are into it. Most may ride a little, but are so focused on fitness they wait until the off-season to ride. I'm trying to get out at least once a week on my KTM.

I like to push to my limit and that seems to happen a bit more on the motorcycle, especially since I'm riding with guys who are usually better than me.

Motorcycle riding is always an adventure, but that is what stories are made of. Plus, it increases my level of struggling.

I hate working on my mountain bike, but I really like learning about and working on the motorcycle. It's mostly because I'm so picky about my bicycle and the moto is just fun.

I was sick of kickstarting so I got an electric-start KTM 250 XCF-W used from a little guy who had it all set up for someone my size. It is an awesome bike for me.