Flying through the air and riding over rocks and through the trees is sophomore Kasen Scott on his dirt bike.

Scott has ridden dirt bikes for 11 years and was introduced to dirt biking by his parents.

“I’ve always been interested since I was young,” Scott said.

Scott participates in a competition every other weekend. One of the competitions he competes in is a hare scramble, which is an off-road race through rugged terrain.

“They’re long races like three to four hours over rocks and big logs and through trees and stuff like that,” Scott said.

Scott also races on tracks, where he has found success. Scott has won two track races.

“I guess I was just the fastest one there,” Scott said.

To adjust to these different competitions, Scott has to change parts on his dirt bike.

“You have to change your tires, your suspension, where you put your handlebars and all that,” Scott said. “It’s like a whole bunch of different stuff just so you can get over the logs and all that.”

Scott’s favorite part of competitions is competing against other riders that are more experienced than him.

“It kind of helps you get better,” Scott said, “because you can learn off their techniques and you’re racing them, pushing yourself to keep up with them or keep behind them.”

Besides the competition, Scott says riding dirt bikes has some additional benefits.

“It helps you with your balance,” Scott said. “Fear, you kind of get over a lot of fear because you’re jumping long distances and stuff like that.”

However, there is also a disadvantage to riding dirt bikes.

“The only disadvantage then, you get hurt,” Scott said. “It messes with work, school, other things in life.”

Despite the chances of getting injured while riding, Scott has no plans of stopping.

“That’s a big part of riding: you’re going to get injured most of the time you ride,” Scott said. “It’s put in my head, and I’m ready for it.”