Her dad begged her to start riding bikes four years ago, but nobody expected her to start competing in ice races.
Kyrstin Orr has placed second in the women’s division of the ice racing competition hosted by the Greater Kamloops Motorcycle Association (GKMA) for the last two years. She is the youngest woman competing in the Stake Lake ice race, held 25 kilometres south of Kamloops, B.C., but it doesn’t faze her.
“It’s kind of funny being the youngest,” said Orr, “but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it because we’re all pretty even out there.”
At first glance, Orr looks like a typical teenager, but one critical difference sets her apart from most high school girls: it’s the simple fact that she only becomes animated when she begins talking about her biking gear.
Upping her game
After starting out on a pit bike, Orr upgraded for more power and began riding a 2001 Honda 250.
“The change was huge,” said Orr. “The first bike was so short, but now I’ve got a lot more power.”
Orr admitted that she has sustained some injuries while riding, but she nonchalantly brushed them off. When pressed for a more in-depth replay about what happened to her, she explained that one of her competitors dropped in on her after taking a sharp corner. The racers swapped places before Orr flipped her bike and got a concussion, but getting injured didn’t impact her riding results in the competition.
“I didn’t want to . . . not place,” she said. “I didn’t want to not finish the race.”
After a one-hour break, Orr opted to compete in the race once again and that led to her placing second in the women’s division.
The important stuff
Orr said ice racing is addictive, even though there are some dangers to the sport. She said it’s important for new riders to take their time to get used to riding with studded tires when they start off.
Orr and her family buy parts from local retailer River City Cycle, but she expressed more concerns about having warm clothes to wear to the races than she did about getting studded tires for her bike.
Orr can’t wait until her youngest sister, aged four, starts riding with her and her father.
In the dry season, Orr often travels to Agassiz, B.C., to ride with her family and friends, and she participates in the Big Kahuna Race at Whispering Pines.
The other side of life
Orr works part time at a movie theatre in addition to attending classes at Valley View Secondary School. She anticipates an early graduation from high school, and she has been accepted to Thompson Rivers University for fall of 2012.
Orr will be taking classes to meet the entrance requirements for the animal health technologies program because she hopes to become a veterinarian.
Up close
- Kyrstin hates when people pronounce her name wrong—most people call her Kirsten.
- This rider’s favourite singer is Pink.
- She enjoys hunting in her spare time.
- Kyrstin is an honour roll student at Valley View Secondary School in Kamloops, B.C.
- She considers her family supportive, but considers her mom a bit of a worrywart.
- The ice race at Stake Lake will mark her fourth year of riding.
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