With four boys in the family to keep occupied throughout the snow-free months, Bobbi Miller and her husband Mike turned to two-wheeled horsepower as the answer.
They gave each of their kids motocross bikes to fuel their craving for adrenaline and help keep peace at home and so far it appears the experiment is working well.
"Everybody knows the routine when they get to the track so it actually runs fairly smoothly," said Bobbi Miler.
"They are different ages and race different classes but there are times when they race against each other and they're definitely competitive against each other. What really surprises me is most of the time they don't care what position they've come, they've just had so much fun. They could be first or last and they come off the track with the same attitude."
Gavyn, 14, the oldest of the Miller boys, started racing a year after Cameron, now 10, who was just five when he started. Evan, now seven, and five-year-old Erik, started as soon as they turned four.
"Erik has been raised at the track pretty much and we don't have to give him any pointers because he's watched his brothers so much," said Bobbi. "He's just picked it up on his own and he just does it. He's still trying to get used to the bigger tracks."
The three older boys have raced all three of the Prince George Yamaha Series/B.C. Motocross Association races so far this year and all are near the top of the standings in their respective classes. Evan ranks first in the 50cc (seven-and-eight-year-old) class, Cameron is second in 65cc (seven-11-year-old) and fourth in the 85cc class, while Gavyn holds down first place in the junior B class. Erik is third overall in the 50cc (four-six-year-old) class. All four came home with trophies from last weekend's races in Quesnel.
"They're all very different," said Bobbi. "Gavyn's the oldest but he took the longest to get into it. He wasn't really interested at first but now he's really enjoying it. Cameron is very natural with it, but he's very easy-going and not really competitive but his talent kind of makes up for it. Evan is crazy-competitive, he goes to win.
"Cameron and Evan actually race 65cc bikes together. Evan is brand-new to that bike, and probably by the end of the year or next year he'll be giving his brother a run for his money because he's so competitive. But that will make Cameron pick up his socks too and he'll try a little harder seeing his brother coming up from behind."
This weekend at Blackwater Motocross Park, the P.G. Yamaha Series makes its first of two Prince George stops this season for two days of racing Saturday and Sunday.
From a mother's perspective, Bobbi says it's exciting and stressful watching her kids race. While wrecks do happen in motocross and injuries are part of the game, she says the risk is no worse than having a kid involved in a contact team sport like hockey or football.
"Once the gate drops it's in their hands and there's nothing you can do," said Bobbi. "They have really good protective gear and injuries really are few and far between. Their dad got them into it, against my better judgment. I wasn't interested at first because I thought it was very dangerous but they fell in love with it and you have to support them."
Motocross is considered a young person's sport and considering the gut-churning full-body demands of a race it does help to have supple bones.
"When they crash, they bounce," Bobbi said. "The rest of the world wouldn't get up, but they just hop back up and look for their bike and off they go again."
The kids also race BMX and play softball, and in the winter either ski or snowboard. Bobbi, 33, a downhill ski instructor at Tabor Mountain, is a former snowmobile racer but no longer has time for that, and she doesn't race bikes. She tried it once, entering a mother-son race at an arena-cross event, but it didn't turn her crank.
"I'm too competitive and if I can't win I'm not doing it," she said.
She prefers obstacle course running races like the Tough Mudder. She did her first race last September at Sun Peaks and finished 18th in a field of hundreds of women.
Motocross racing is undeniably expensive. Bikes cost thousands of dollars, then there's the cost of travel, gas, repairs, protective gear, and entry fees. But the Millers would argue it's an investment that's helping to shape the character of their kids in a positive way. Motocross families that travel together to races develop lasting friendships and that's part of the appeal for the Millers. After the races, the fun really begins around the campfire.
"That's their favourite part, it's more what happens off the bikes than on the bikes that they enjoy," Bobbi said. "They compete on the track but once they get off they're the best of friends. It's really cute, and they have friends all over the province because of it."
Racing has also brought them closer to their parents.
"The kids are stuck with us all weekend so they're staying out of trouble and busy focusing on their sport," Bobbi said. "It's an individual sport and they learn how to win and lose, how to compete and how the different ways to train their body affects them."
Heading into this weekend's races, several Prince George riders are among the PGMA points leaders. Hayden Wolff is a three-class leader, ranking first in Junior MX2, Junior MX3 and schoolboy; Aidan Proctor is first in 85cc (12-16 years) and fourth in supermini; Blade Degen is fourth in Intermediate MX2 and fourth in youth; Bailey Garrison is fifth in schoolboy; and the ageless Dale Voldeng is first in Vet Master and first in Plus-40.
