The Columbia Gorge offers a variety of outdoor activities for people to enjoy throughout the summer. Many area residents participate in the family-oriented sport of motocross, where kids through seniors can compete at nearby facilities in Washougal, Sandy, and Portland.
Byren Sullivan, 9, riding his motorcycle at Washougal Motocross Park.
Jessica Sullivan photo
Hood River riders who enter motocross racing events often include the Sullivan family, White Salmon’s Rory Sullivan, Husum’s Tom Modrich and Erik Hasselbroek of The Dalles. Collin Sullivan, his brother, Matt, and his sons, Byren and Turner, recently entered one of the biggest races of the year — the July 20 Northwest Amateur Championships at Washougal Motocross Park. Riders raced their bikes on the densely forested, hillside dirt course of steep downhill sections, hairpin turns, jumps and bumpy straightaways.
Collin Sullivan, 41, took fifth place in the 40 A Class (age 40 and over) while riding his Suzuki RMZ 450cc motorcycle. Brother Matt, 44, took 12th place in the 40 C Class on his 2024 KTM SX-300cc motorcycle. Byren, 9, finished 21st in the age 7-9 class on his GasGax 65cc motorcycle. Turner, 11, took 18th in the age 10-11 class on his KTM 65cc motorcycle. Turner will be moving up to an 85cc motorcycle when he competes in his next race on Aug. 27.
“Byren was born with a heart condition and so it’s actually pretty amazing that he’s competing in motocross,” said Collin Sullivan, a 2000 Hood River Valley High graduate. “Byren has a pacemaker and he’s had two open-heart surgeries since he was born. I think it’s important that people know about this. I’m sure that there’s not many kids out there that have been through what he’s been through and yet he continues to race and he’s doing very well in motocross.”
Brothers Byren Sullivan, 9, and Turner Sullivan, 11.
Jessica Sullivan photo
Sullivan’s boys have been riding dirt bikes since age three. He started riding dirt bikes at 8 and later started competitive racing at age 10 at Washougal and also at Portland International Raceway’s (PIR) Thursday Night Motocross Series.
“Motocross is a great sport for kids; it’s a life-teaching activity and it’s a great full-body workout,” said Sullivan. “When you get done riding, you just feel like you’re in a zone after accomplishing something that is so much fun and really gets your adrenaline going. It teaches self-control, throttle control and it teaches you how to have trust in maintaining a machine that you need to have working properly.”
Sullivan achieved a career highlight in 2006, when he won the Hi-Point Series Championship at Washougal. That same year, he also took third place in the Pacific Northwest Motocross Championship Series, which included events at Mountain View Motocross Park in Sandy and also at PIR.
Turner Sullivan, 11, riding his motorcycle at Washougal Motocross Park.
Jessica Sullivan photo
Sullivan and his sons also compete in Washougal’s Classic 7 Series. Sullivan is ranked 21st in the 2023 standings with 58 points. Byren is ranked 21st out of 42 total riders in the 65cc age 7-11 beginner class with 37 points. The Sullivans will compete in their next race at Washougal in the 125 Dream Race on Aug. 26-27.
Byren and Turner also play on Hood River’s Little League Baseball team. The brothers played in the District 5 All-Star Tournament in Bend in late June. Sullivan was assistant coach for the team.
“Baseball is definitely something that has left us with far less time to ride our motorcycles,” said Sullivan. “We’ve made time this summer to do both though and that has made things kind of stressful sometimes. Baseball is cool and it’s a lot like motocross. I like to compare them. Baseball is an independent team sport. You’re on a stage when you’re at-bat and in the outfield, and you have to make quick decisions, which is similar to motocross. There’s some similarities in both sports. It’s hard to do both of them at the same time of the year though.”
Washougal Motocross Park action.
Jessica Sullivan photo
Collin’s wife, Jessica, is also a key member of the family motocross race team as she takes photos and makes sure the boys have plenty of water and food while competing.
Rory Sullivan, who isn’t related to Collin, had a very successful event in the July 9 Oregon Old Timers Race at Washougal. Rory rode his Kawasaki motorcycle to first place in the 40 and over Master Class. Hasselbroek took 20th place in the 40 and over Intermediate Class and Collin Sullivan raced to a fifth-place finish in the 40 A Class.
Modrich rode his Honda motorcycle to a 26th place finish out of 37 entrants in the 50 and over Intermediate Class. Wayne Warner rode his motorcycle in the 60 and over Intermediate Class and he finished 28th out of 35 senior riders.
Other area cyclists who compete in motocross include Hood River residents Tom Watson, his son, Wiley, Pat Corelli, Brodie Warner of Lyle and the Barrier brothers of The Dalles, Ryder, 16, and Cooper, 15.
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