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Penhold man enthusiastic about freestyle motocross

Lance McMorran never outgrew his childhood passion.Instead, he found a way to make a living doing what he has loved to do since he was five-years-old — motocross.

Lance McMorran never outgrew his childhood passion.

Instead, he found a way to make a living doing what he has loved to do since he was five-years-old — motocross.

“For the love of it,” said the 27-year-old Penhold resident, explaining why he has remained dedicated to the sport for so long.

“Once it’s in you, it’s in you. There’s no turning back, it’s so fun. You know, we’d probably do it even if we didn’t get paid.”

McMorran got his first dirt bike, a gift from his dad, when he was five-years-old and promptly started racing.

He has since driven straight into the ranks as a professional motocross competitor.

Two of his sponsors include Turple Bros Ltd. out of Red Deer and Suzuki Canada Motorcycle.

And while he still races occasionally, McMorran now focuses primarily on freestyle motocross, an activity he likens to acrobatics on a motorized-bike.

The adrenaline sport was popularized by the Americans in 1999 and has since grown to become one of the most popular events at the X-Games.

After learning how to master tricks as a small child by trying to emulate what he had seen on TV, McMorran said he was one of three Canadian pioneers that brought the extreme sport to this country.

For much of the past six years, he has been travelling across Canada with his younger brother Dylan as the McMorran FXM team.

Together, the two daredevils preform gravity defying acts in front of captivated audiences at events such as trade shows, monster truck rallies and town fairs.

Just this past weekend, in fact, the duo brought their exhibition to a motor sport show in Provost.

“The first couple of jumps, it’s more of an awe than a cheer,” McMorran said, describing how a crowd typically reacts when he flip his Suzuki bike around while soaring up to 12-metres in the air.

“A lot of people look at it like it’s crazy, it’s insane. But when you do it as much as we have, and we’ve got it down to a science, it just feels smooth and easy. It’s like when you go skating for the 30th time, it’s not that bad.

“It’s a relaxing feeling in the air.”

That’s not to say he hasn’t hit some bumps in the road along the way.

McMorran has suffered from his fair share of injuries, including an multitude of bruises and need for stitches. There’s been numerous concussions and shoulder injuries. And in 2005, after two bad crashes, McMorran suffered sever nerve damage in his back that resulted in losing the use of his legs for three months.

But he’s persevered, refusing to give up on what his brought him so much joy for the past 22 years.

“Almost my whole life surrounds around biking,” McMorran said.

“The freestyle part of dirt biking, I’ll do until no one’s calling to hire us to do it anymore. I’ll do it as long there’s a demand for it. I’ll keep riding a dirt bike no matter what.”

The pair has a busy few months ahead of them as McMorran said they’re either performing or racing every weekend from mid-June to mid-September.

When he’s not riding, McMorran focuses on his excavating business, McMorran Bobcatting.

ptrotter@www.reddeeradvocate.com