Team Summer Adventures: Dusty Dyar

Catch up with PSIA-AASI National Team members as they share their summer adventures and how it keeps them on their game for winter. Here’s how PSIA Alpine Team member Dusty Dyar spent his summer.

What’s been your go-to summer activity or big summer adventure?

Dirt biking. Besides riding them around, my two children, wife, and I race. We mostly race hare scrambles, which are off-road races set for a certain amount of time or distance. Thirty-minutes or so for kids and two hours for adults. In mid-June I unfortunately found the dirt and injured my wing, turning my activity into my adventure. I continued to take my family to the races, we even sprinkled in some motocross for the kids in July – mostly terrifying, and awesome all at once.

Why is this one of your favorite activities in the offseason?

I grew up trail riding with friends and family and have always loved motorcycles. As a young adult, nothing was better than exploring new single track in the mountains or seeing how far away from everything I could get. This all still rings true today. Now I share it with my wife and kids.

I always thought it would be cool to race enduros and never did. Then, two summers ago my family tried our first race. Wow so many new things and who knew a two-hour race could crush you so hard physically. I couldn’t lift my arms to wash my hair and could barely walk. I only tried a couple events that summer, then my son asked to do the whole series the next summer. It has continued to grow for my family as my daughter grew into gas bikes and is now excited about getting muddy and learning to jump. Getting to push myself and spend this much time with my family is amazing!

What did you learn?

After a handful of races, I was able to relax and ride within myself more. This significantly changed the impact from each race. While still completely wiped out, I wasn’t wrecked for the whole next week. Unfortunately, I put myself through this cycle regularly and continually remind myself to stay within myself and be ok with who I am and what I got. This was crucial within PSIA-AASI as I moved through certifications and especially in selection processes for education staff, regional, and national teams.

I have also learned a lot about KTM 2-stroke 50’s as one of my kid’s bikes need to be torn down all the time. I have grown to like the garage time with the bikes.

How does this keep you physically and mentally engaged in the offseason?

Along with what I have mentioned above, mountain biking and motoing are reverse pendulum sports like skiing. Dynamically balancing and moving with the bikes is great crossover for skiing. I also believe the mental exercise of reading terrain and making split-second decisions is directly related to snowsports. On my dirt bike I can become more accustomed to traveling and reacting at higher speeds in the woods. This all connects to my ability to get into and play in a state of flow. Which is huge reason why I do it!