When most high school students are studying or playing video games over the weekend, freshman Peter Steilberg can be found racing dirt bikes across the U.S. 

Steilberg started learning how to ride a dirt bike at a young age.

“My dad raced dirt bikes when he was younger,” Steilberg said. “He started teaching me when I was three and I’ve been doing it ever since.” 

After racing for many years, Steilberg has had many good experiences while racing. 

“Dirt bike racing has a really good community around it,” Steilberg said. “It’s a positive environment where people are always trying to help each other get better. I enjoy the freedom of being able to do fun jumps and tricks on the bike as well.”

Steilberg aims to climb the ranks in the sport and win trophies in the future.

“I haven’t gotten a lot of trophies because I usually race just to do it for fun. I’ve done around five races so far, but I’m trying to get more into it,” Steilberg said. “When you race dirt bikes, there’s different classes for how good you are. I’m aiming to work my way up the classes and earn more trophies this year.”

Steilberg encourages everyone to try out dirt bike racing, even just as a hobby.

“I think it’s pretty easy to just try it out and see if you like it. You can also watch videos online or go to actual dirt biking events. If you really like it, you can always buy a used dirt bike and try it out.”

Throughout the long journey, Steilberg learned a lot about what it takes to become a competitive dirt bike racer. 

“The most important thing I learned from racing is how to persevere,” Steilberg said. “In dirt bike racing, you’ll see that if someone crashes, they get up and keep racing. They don’t stop to worry about how hurt they are.”

Steilberg placed 1st, 2nd and two 3rd places in his most recent races at Washougal, Washington.