Junior Patrick Lundgren faced an uphill battle from the moment that he decided to reestablish the Chico State Dirt Riders Club during his freshman year.

“Since the club had already been at the school before, there were a lot of previous accounts that had to be converted and a ton of paperwork. It just made it all harder than it needed to be,” he said.

The club is for men and women that have an interest in dirt biking and are interested in practicing, traveling and competing with a group.

“The only rule that we have is that you have to have a bike,” Lundgren said.

The Dirt Riders currently have 25 members, and about 10 of them actively participate in most of the events. They travel to places such as Marysville and Konkow to ride the trails together during the week and go to different competitions on the weekend.

The races that the club participates in are either motocross or off-road. Motocross is a form of motorcycle racing that is held on private tracks. Off-road racing is done in the open on a trail.

“When you’re off-road racing, you will go from riding at about 50 mph through an opening, to traveling about 20 mph dodging through trees,” Lundgren said.

They go as far as Havasu, Arizona to attend these races and many times have seen success. Some of the racers have become so good that they race at the A-class level, which is semi pro.

The club has progressed greatly since it was restarted in 2014, but they are not complacent. The Dirt Riders hope to build on their success at Chico State in the next few years.

“In the next few years we’re hoping to get our name out there and hopefully get more sponsors so that we have money for new banners, graphic kits, business cards and things of that nature,” said sophomore rider Reed Carter. “We also hope to get more members to join the club.”

Though the Dirt Riders are a club that is focused on racing, they also seem to have formed a brotherhood among the members. You will see the members spending their free time together and sometimes even living in the same house. When asked about their favorite memory from being in the club, the answer was pretty much unanimous.

They did a camping trip last semester at Lake Alminor. The club spent the weekend there and had a phenomenal time.

“The riding conditions were perfect because it had just rained the day before. We met a few pro riders and just had a great time together all weekend,” Lundgren said.

The Chico State Dirt Riders are making a name for themselves both on the track and at the school, and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the community notices them as well.

Patrick Pace can be reached at [email protected] or @PatPaceSports on Twitter.