Tyler Tix has been riding for 22 years, starting when he was 11 years old. His first dirt bike was a Honda CRF150cc four-stroke trail bike, which he used for its designated purpose until he wanted to get into racing two years later.

He still races the North Dakota Motocross Association circuit. The circuit has tracks in Bismarck, Mandan, Williston, Dickinson, Jameston and Glen Ullin. Over the years, the track designs changed, and the circuit has expanded as far south as Frederick, South Dakota, and as far west as Glendive, Montana, in the past.

The active tracks vary from year to year, depending on which track club wants to be involved, do track maintenance and find enough people to cover the necessary posts.

Occasionally, when the motocross track was still open just south of Ruthville, north of Minot, Tix would help the Magic City Motocross Club prepare the track for races.

Ciara Parizek/MDN Tucker Tix, left, takes a corner on his family’s personal practice track on April 23. His dad, Tyler Tix, right, is close behind him, coming down the landing of a tabletop jump.

Despite his own love for racing, he puts more of his focus now on his two boys, traveling with them to make sure they get to their races out of state.

Tucker Tix has been riding dirt bikes since he was 3 and racing since he was 4. Hank Tix also started racing very young.

Both sons have participated in several riding camps, improving their riding skills, making them faster and more confident in their riding abilities. The brothers have also been to national races in many different states, including Iowa, Colorado and Michigan.

The traveling means Tucker and Hank Tix miss quite a bit of classroom time, but they are not falling behind in school due to the Glenburn Public School’s willingness to work with them and give them distance learning as an option. They are able to pop in and out of class without having to play catch-up.

Tyler and Meta Tix moved into their home near Glenburn in the spring of 2012. That fall, they built a track on their property. The track is of a considerable size, but it is not wide enough to be considered race-worthy by the NDMA, so it just serves as their personal track whenever they want to ride.

Ciara Parizek/MDN Hank Tix focuses on the corner of the family’s practice track on April 23, taking slight caution, as the entire track was extremely dry.

The Tix family invites other motocross families to ride, giving their children a chance to socialize and ride with other kids who are around their ages.

“My favorite thing [about motocross] is it brings our whole family together,” Tyler Tix said. “It teaches the kids to work hard and go after something they’re passionate about and focus on it, and never give up. Even if you fall down or you crash, get back up and try again.”