Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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racing off the BE1W ACK Dirt bike racers love of male-dominated sport challenges stereotypes, earns respect from peers, strengthens relationship with father. BY EMILY CHERRY While other 5-year-old girls marveled over dolls and kittens, Michele Eidam, freshman in chemical engineering, said she learned how to ride her shiny red Honda PW 50 dirt bike. My dad bought a dirt bike for me when I was bon, Eidam said. He started teaching me to ride when I was little, and I started racing when I was about 14. But Eidam did not just race. She won. After claiming the 1999 Missouri State Hare Scramble Series Champion title in the women ' s class, she emerged as a top female racer. She also won first place in an American Motorcycle Association National Hare ScrambleChampionship race and earned second at the 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 Black Jack Enduro Circuit. I get more respect when people know I do this since I ' m a girl and it ' s somewhat rare, she said. My goal, however, is instead of hearing people say, ' She ' s good for a girl, ' to hear them say, ' She ' s good. ' Eidam said while people initially acted surprised to find out about her hobby, her friends ' reactions tended to be very supportive. When I first heard she raced dirt bikes, I thought it was a joke, Ryan Dreiling, freshman in electrical engineering, said. Then she started bringing home trophies and I thought, ' Wow, here ' s this girl who rides did bikes, and she ' s really good. Eidam said she faced obstacles as both off-road racer and student. The season is March to November, Eidam said. During that time I race or ride about every weekend, which means leaving around 6 am. on Saturday and getting back here around 2 a.m. Monday. Alexandria Dunn, Eidam ' s roommate and freshman in mechanical engineering, said Eidam did not keep her dedication a secret. She told me she raced dirt bikes within 10 minutes of our first conversation, Dunn said. The neat thing is that dirt biking doesn ' t influence her personality, her personality influences her performance. Siam said she considered the close relationship with her father to be the largest benefit she received from riding dirt bikes. ' The bond my father and I share is unimaginable, she said. He ' s my teacher, my mentor and my companion. He tells me some of his proudest moments are when people see us ride and ask him if that ' s his son out there and he gets to tell them, ' No, that ' s my daughter dirt bike racer I 1

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MADNESS Champion off-road racer informs others about racing world. RACE TERMS SQUID: a slow and or beginning rider WIDE OPEN: the throttle applied all the way ENDO: going over the handle bars TWO-STROKE: bike with a two-cycle engine, like a chain saw FOUR-STROKE: bike with four-cycle engine, similar to a lawn mower TABLE TOP: a jump that has a long flat top COMPANY BIKE COLORS: Suzuki: yellow Kawasaki: green Yamaha: blue Honda: red source: Michele Eidam Dirt biking champion Michele Eidam. freshman in chemical engineering, wears a typical racing outfit Feb. 1. Eidam said her bike weighed about 245 pounds. and she lifted weights about two times a week and mountain biked three limes a week to keep in shape during the season. The pure adrenaline in the beginning of a race is amazing. ' she said. ' I ' m thrilled and scared at the same time, and I Just keep thinking, ' I hope I don ' t break myself: Once I hit about two miles. though, I get in the groove and try to relax a little bit. I always remember what my dad told me. ' First you must finish before you finish first. (Photo by Steven Domingo() RACE TYPES ENDUROS: a 40-to-So-mile, three-to-five-hour. timed race through the woods; Riders must maintain an average speed for a set length of time or mileage; riders are penalized for being too slow or too last, one point for each minute late and up to five points if they are early HARE SCRAMBLES: five-to-20-mile course through woods and fields; racers complete as many laps as possible during the one-to-three-hour race ROAD RACING VS. OFF-ROAD RACING road racing takes place on asphalt with street bikes; off-road racing takes place on dirt with dirt bikes 18 student life

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Lisa Griggs, freshman In kineslology. and Amanda Curth, freshman in elementary education. walk together to Bramlage Coliseum Nov. 29. The two were picking up basketball tickets for Griggs ' parents. ' We had football season tickets so we saw her at every home game. Julio, Griggs ' mom said. We see her off and on every two or three weeks. Outing basketball season we won ' t because we didn ' t get as many tickets, but she makes it home enough. ' (Photo by Steven Domineer) Before the Pant the Chant performance in Ahearn Field House Nov. 27. Lisa Griggs bites her fingernail. Tho squad put together the special routine for Homecoming week. Both Curth and Griggs stayed busy Homecoming week with several cheerleacing apperances and late- night practices. (Photo by Steven Domineer) 20 student life