Dirtbikes and Ponytails
the smell of gasoline and the growl of revving engines welcome you to a Hare Scramble race as either a participant or spectator. You make small talk with the person taking the entrance fee, and they hand you a clip board where you sign away your right to sue and accept that it isn´t out of the question for you to get hit with a dirt bike tearing up a small wooded trail while you are watching from an alleged safe place. It is like motorcross in the woods with fewer rules and participants will ride in any conditions. Fearless children as young as four can compete; their helmets the same size as their torsos on tiny bikes.
There are major national race series´ and smaller, local races in the southeast Ohio region which is known for it´s Hare Scramble trails. Enthusiasts with their loyal families in tow travel from far and wide to race in this region. The grounds become a camp-site and close knit neighborhood, with many of the people traveling to the same events all year round. Crowds are drawn to the hilly and varied terrain, which makes for challenging riding. Fans are of all ages and often fathers who race get their kids into the sport. This sport requires great monetary and time commitments. One mother told me that the gear, bike upkeep, and travel expenses to all the races cost her family almost $10,000 last year.
Though the scene is family based the sport is largely male. Out of 10 races in a day, there might be 3 or 4 women riders tops. It is super aggressive, fast and dirty. The tough women and girls who race with the boys are the subjects of this piece.
Mandi Mastin, 26, has been riding since age 14. Millfield, Ohio, on May 11, 2008.
A rider is almost at the top of a hill at a Hare Scramble race in Amesville, Ohio, on April 27, 2008.
Kaytlin Pistole, 8, plays with a motorcycle figure after breakfast at the Hampton Inn in Marysville, Ohio. The Pistoles stayed there overnight to be closer to the the race track, May 25, 2008
Kaitlyn Pistole waits at the starting line for her first race of the day to begin.
Jenn Copley, 20, on the right, and her dad get ready for a race. Copley has been riding an ATV for seven years but never competed. She is the only female in the race and one of the only three who have raced all day in Amesville, Ohio, on April 27, 2008
Morgan Heskett stands with her mom and waits for a race to start in Amesville, Ohio, on April 27 2008.
Krystyn-Lee Windland, 17, checks her make-up before leaving for a race held at Wildwood Raceway, a track owned by her family. Kristin put this shirt on after a friend told her that her first outfit made her "look like a boy." Little Hocking, Ohio, on May 18, 2008.
An observer at the edge of a harescrambe racetrack.
Krystyn-Lee Windland, 17, just before a race at her families track, Wildwood Racetrack in Little Hocking, Ohio, on May 18, 2008.
Krystyn-Lee Windland, 17, glances at the mirror in the check in trailer at her families track, Wildwood Racetrack in Little Hocking, Ohio, on May 18, 2008.
A racer’s back wheel is half buried in the mud during a GNCC Hare Scramble race at the Sunday Creek Raceway. Sunday Creek is known for it’s muddy conditions, but some deemed this weekend in the top three worst conditions in GNCC history in Millfield, Ohio, on May 11, 2008.
Kaytlin Pistole, 8, plays in the field near where her uncle, Mike is hosing down an ATV in preparation for thier upcoming race in Marysville, Ohio, on May 25, 2008.
Alexa Pistole, 8, is comforted by her grandmother after breaking her arm in a four-wheeler race in Marysville, Ohio, on May 25, 2008.
After thier first race, cousins Kaytlin and Alexa Pistole, both 8, lay in the shade of a truck to escape the hot sun and wait for thier next race in Marysville, Ohio, on May 25, 2008.
Kaytlin Pistole, 8, stands with her trophies after a day of three races. She claimed two firsts and one second place. Her father, Mike Pistole, also stands with his trophy in Marysville, Ohio, on May 25, 2008.
