Nick Connelly loves BMX racing so much that he gave up playing baseball and football for the sport.
Connelly, 16, has been racing for six years at the Bradley BMX track in Cleveland, Tenn., where he first learned to love the sport that takes racers on specially designed bicycles through a dirt track that consists of high turns on hills and sudden, steep jumps.
Racers begin on a hill behind a starting gate that lowers to set them off on single-lap sprints around the track, which is usually about 1,200 feet long. Whoever makes it to the finish line first is the winner, and competitors must use a combination of riding skills to gain the advantage.
"In the race, you always want to go the fastest you can, whether it's jumping or tap-manual," said Connelly. Tap-manual is a technique of briefly tapping your rear tire against a hill while jumping over the hill in order to move quickly and maintain speed without gaining height.
The techniques are not easy to master. Connelly says it took him about a year to learn how to manual, which is a coasting wheelie, and another two or three to tap-manual.
Many of the racers at the track say they fell in love with the solo aspect of the sport. Brad Lewis, a racer who began when he was 5 and has raced for 12 years, says he likes the thrill of knowing that whether he wins or loses rests solely on his shoulders.
"It's pure adrenaline, man. It's just an all-out sprint for 30-40 seconds of pretty much war with everyone else on the gate with you. It's a blast," Lewis said.
The sport is not just for teenagers. Children as young as 3 can be seen riding along the dirt track, and Terry Trew, 53, began riding after his son got him hooked on the sport.
"He forced me to come up here, I sat in my truck with the air conditioner on, and he made me feel bad," Trew recalled of his first visit to the track with his son. When Trew got out of his truck and watched his son race, he thought it looked like a lot of fun.
Six years later, he still comes back to ride every week.
The addictive nature of BMX racing is shared by others at the track who have been coming for years to ride for fun or race competitively, with several competing on the national level across the country.
"Just come out and ride one time," echoed Connelly. "You'll get hooked."
BMX rider Aiden Curran flies through the air while riding during practice at the Bradley BMX track in Cleveland, Tenn.