Trent Sandoval - I Ride - Dirt Rider Magazine

I grew up doing rodeos, but the horse thing is really expensive. To make a long story short, I wanted to save some money so I thought I'd get into the cheap sport of motorcycle racing. Let's just say that it's not nearly as cheap as I thought it would be!I was attracted to off-road because I like exploring, and I like to see new things rather than just seeing the same thing lap after lap on an MX track. Where I live in Nevada I can ride straight from my house.As a full-time firefighter, there is a stigma where the guys and the chiefs are always judging me and asking if I'm done racing yet. I got hurt pretty badly two different times and after the second crash that left me off the bike and away from work for nearly eight months, the chief came to me and basically said, "We can't tell you what to do off-duty, but you need to chill out on the bike!" These days, I kind of pick and choose the events that I like to do and try to take it easier, but I still ride a lot.I love racing EnduroCross because it mimics the stuff that I ride on a daily basis in my backyard. With my schedule and being a die-hard off-roader, I get to ride tough stuff all the time, and I love it. The obstacles at EnduroCross are difficult to a point, but you just have to be smooth, have some energy and keep your momentum up.I like being a firefighter because every day is different, and you never know what is going to happen. It kind of goes back to what I like about off-road racing, it's always a new thing. It's an adrenaline rush when you get fires or what we call "good calls" like serious car crashes, but it's a stressful adrenaline rush. On the bike you don't have to stress about it because you can try things again and again. On the fire side, you need to make sure you do things right the first time!