The community of Revelstoke is a beautiful setting for outdoor activities. The community’s ATV and snowmobile clubs are noted around the region for being progressive—and there is no shortage of beautiful areas to ride. Revelstoke Mountain Resort is known internationally as a fantastic ski and snowboard destination, and the Revy Riders—a newly formed dirt bike club in Revelstoke is making fresh tracks around the area.
Chris Pawlitsky is the president of the Revy Riders and was born and raised in Revelstoke. He rode and raced dirt bikes quite a bit when he was a kid, and last year at the age of 40, he started dirt biking again. Pawlitsky said last year was a good one for him, considering that he took so much time off from dirt biking, yet was still leading a series.
“This year I was leading my cross country series,” said Pawlitsky, “but I tore my rotator cuff so I had to miss the last two races.”
Carrying on a tradition
Pawlitsky grew up in the Revelstoke area, and he knows about all of the hidden gems and the best riding trails. It comes as no surprise that when Pawlitsky got married, he passed along his love of the sport to his stepson, True Romeo.
“My mom and my dad got married and my dad bought me my first dirt bike, which was a Honda 50,” said Romeo. “(It is a) retro 1994 bike, and then I started riding that and got too big for it so my dad bought me a Kawasaki 65. I was five or six when he bought me my first bike and I’m 12 now.”
An active lifestyle
A skilled athlete, Romeo plays on the rep soccer team in Revelstoke, snowboards during the winter and wins dirt biking competitions around the region. Some of the competitions that Pawlitsky and Romeo want to enter are too far away, but they have found some cross country races near Revelstoke that they like to participate in.
“They had a Cross Country Okanagan Hare Scramble series last year in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton,” said Pawlitsky. “All of the places are fairly close to Revelstoke and we hit every race last year. True won the 65 class and I had a couple of wipeouts and got fifth in my class.”
For the coming season, Pawlitsky and Romeo have a couple of races planned, including a cross-country race in Salmon Arm on September 13. After this dirt biking season wraps up, Pawlitsky and Romeo will be found on the ski hill with plans to return to their bikes once the snow melts.
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