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Dylan Kappeler: Riding and Jumping With Commitment, Injuries and a 3.7 GPA By Kathy Schrenk, Contributing Writer Dylan Kappeler was practically born on a motocross bike. His dad, David, and David’s dad were avid dirt bike racers. Like him, both of Dylan’s brothers were on dirt bikes when they still had their baby teeth, much to their mother’s chagrin. But Dylan has taken it to the next level. He has placed in the top three of every race he has ridden in the last year in his intermediate class in California and is looking to go pro. The 16-year-old Redwood City resident has chosen a tough sport, said his coach, Jeff Pestana. It requires a huge time commitment, as well as hefty financial backing. Even Dylan’s size — he’s a little over 6 feet tall — is working against him. Most racers are much smaller, Pestana said. “Being tall and big kind of hampers you,” he said. But if anyone can excel, it’s someone with Dylan’s passion and commitment — and powerful family support system. “He has talent. He can do it,” Pestana said. ”It’s just going to take a lot of dedication.” Last year Dylan qualified for the regional championship, but he broke his arm just weeks before the competition. It’s the kind of injury that often turns young racers off the sport, Santa Cruz–based Pestana said. www.SpectrumMagazine.net It wasn’t Dylan’s first injury, by any means. He once broke both ankles at the same time on a jump that went wrong. He has had only one concussion but has been to the doctor a number of times as a precaution when it seemed as though he might. On a track with a dozen or more racers in a tight pack on a turn, where bikes can go as fast as 50 mph, danger is inherent. His parents recognize that and take many precautions. His racing suit includes a full-face helmet, goggles, neck brace, chest protector, knee-high boots, knee braces and special gloves. This year Dylan will be allowed to attempt to get the professional designation, since the American Motorcyclist Association changed the minimum age from 18 to 17. He hopes to soon switch from a Honda bike to a Kawasaki, so he can get the company to provide him with gear and pay him $200 for every win. It’s Dylan’s dream to go pro, and it would also take some of the financial pressure off his father. The expense is significant, Dave said. Besides his three bikes, there’s the cost of the safety gear (special knee braces can cost $400 alone), the 20-foot trailer for transporting the bikes to races around the state, plus maintenance. And it’s not easy to earn that money back in competitions, Pestana said. “I tell kids, you have to do this sport because you love it, because the money that comes back to you isn’t that much,” he said. “In Northern California, there’s maybe seven kids that make money at motocross,” he added. “It’s a tough, tough sport.” Between the expense of the sport and the worry of injury Dylan’s mother, Nadine, has to deal with, he wouldn’t be able to compete without his parents’ full support. It helps that he’s conscientious and a hard worker when it comes to schoolwork and practicing for races. Each of Nadine and Dave’s three children started racing motocross at a young age, but Dylan is the only one who stuck with it. Their oldest, Steven, 18, got injured and moved on to other interests. He now works for his dad in his home construction businesses. The youngest, Ryan, 12, stuck with it for a while before deciding basketball was more his speed. All three were riding with their dad when they were younger. “At one time I had them all on the track at once,” Nadine recalled, shaking her head. She worries about all her boys getting injured but supports Dylan’s passion for the sport. “It’s amazing how into it he is,” she said. “I just can’t take that away from him.” It’s a thrill and a rush, Dylan said. “I love it when I hit a turn right,” he said. The highlight, though, is a flying leap that ends in triumph instead of injury. “Good jumps are always fun,” he added. “It’s the showoff move.” Dylan and his dad spend every weekend driving to races all around California. That means lots of time in the truck towing the special trailer that holds Dylan’s bikes. He practices three times a week after school — last school year it was every day, when he got special permission to leave campus every day at 12:30. The intense schedule has its pluses and minuses. David enjoys the time he gets to spend with his son driving to competitions and seeing him race. And, through the years, Dylan has gotten to know the other boys in his age group and category. Though they compete fiercely against each other almost weekly, they’re all good friends, he said. “They’ve grown up together,” added his mother. And David has become friends with the other fathers as they’ve watched their boys grow in their racing. Dylan and his father are part of a trend in motocross that is boosting the sport’s popularity, even as the tough economic times put it out of reach for some families. Dylan is known as a “second-gener,” according to Pete terHorst, spokesman for the American Motorcyclist Association, because he’s one of many who were introduced to the sport by their parents. In
fact, pro rider Josh Hansen, who won the AMA Supercross Lites race at Anaheim in January, is the son of 1982 AMA Supercross Champ Donnie Hansen, terHorst said. (The AMA sanctions about 3,000 amateur races a year, including the ones Dylan rides in.) Another trend in the sport is greater conditioning among the racers, said terHorst. Controlling his 225-pound bike is a full-body workout, Dylan said, so he does a lot of cardio and weight training. In fact, he works out at the gym every day he’s not racing. Nadine continues to be impressed with her middle son’s ability to juggle his intense racing and practice schedule with AP classes and time at the gym. Despite the demands of his sport, he manages to maintain a 3.7 GPA. In his junior year now, he hopes to attend a school in Southern California like UC Santa Barbara, in large part because there are more tracks and competitions in the southern part of the state. Education is important to the Kappelers. Many parents of racers cope with the demanding motocross lifestyle by home-schooling their sons. Nadine decided not to take that route. “You can’t go back to high school,” she said. The Spectrum 17
Page 1 and 2: DYLAN KAPPELER The Thrill, The Rush
Page 3 and 4: The Spectrum.FEB.2011 Steve Penna O
Page 5 and 6: RCSD Corner: News From the Redwood
Page 7 and 8: Cultural Events The Main Gallery 10
Page 9 and 10: 587 Canyon Road Redwood City (650)
Page 11 and 12: WOODSIDE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC BOOST
Page 13 and 14: Redwood City Police Chief Resigns B
Page 15: Events Around Town Official Grand O
Page 19 and 20: In the New Year! - Shop Redwood Cit
Page 21 and 22: Community Interest Kick-Off for Red
Page 23 and 24: Every Woman’s Place for Fitness
Page 25 and 26: The Spectrum 25
Page 27 and 28: News Briefs (Continued from p20) Co
Page 29 and 30: Insurance Tips: Cheap Car Insurance
Page 31: The Spectrum 31

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