February 6, 2020
“Mr. Arenacross” looks to promote his sport
By Jerry W. Kram
Dan Bata grew up on a motorcycle and tries to ride every day of the year, even in the dead of winter on his rural home near Belden.
Growing up near Langdon in eastern North Dakota, Bata said he grew up on a motorcycle. His parents were bikers and he and his four siblings learned to ride very early in life.
“As soon as we were tall enough to touch our toes on the ground while sitting on one, we got bikes,” Bata said. “I got my first bike when I was six years old. We all had bikes. That’s what we would do on summer Sundays, all seven us would go ride in the Pembina Hills. Mom still rides and she’s 79.”
Bata moved to Parshall in 1988 and brought his love of motorcycle sports with him. He calls himself a “late bloomer” because he didn’t get into organized motocross racing until he was 26. Motocross is a sport where riders go through a course with lots of jumps and curves and can be both timed and head to head competitions. Bata said a new innovation is to build courses indoors so motocross can be enjoyed all year long, even in frigid North Dakota.
Growing up near Langdon in eastern North Dakota, Bata said he grew up on a motorcycle. His parents were bikers and he and his four siblings learned to ride very early in life.
“As soon as we were tall enough to touch our toes on the ground while sitting on one, we got bikes,” Bata said. “I got my first bike when I was six years old. We all had bikes. That’s what we would do on summer Sundays, all seven us would go ride in the Pembina Hills. Mom still rides and she’s 79.”
Bata moved to Parshall in 1988 and brought his love of motorcycle sports with him. He calls himself a “late bloomer” because he didn’t get into organized motocross racing until he was 26. Motocross is a sport where riders go through a course with lots of jumps and curves and can be both timed and head to head competitions. Bata said a new innovation is to build courses indoors so motocross can be enjoyed all year long, even in frigid North Dakota.
