Frank Barry doesn’t know why he felt compelled to ride dirt bikes. Actually, he was so good at it, he was riding at a pro level by the age of 15. That’s not to say his passion didn’t come without a price. In fact, while practicing for his very first race, Frank broke his arm. “That’s how I started my racing career, so I got it out of the way”—or so he thought.

In March 2006, Frank’s racing career changed forever. During a training run, he was kicked off his bike and landed head first, simultaneously being crushed by the bike. The local hospital wasn’t equipped to deal with his extensive injuries, so he was transferred to the University of Saskatchewan facility. “I woke up two weeks later in Saskatoon,” Frank remembers. He says the doctors described his insides as mush: collapsed lungs, lacerated liver, fractured vertebrae, internal bleeding, among other injuries. Amazingly, he recovered quickly, and was back on his bike within three months of the accident. “It’s what I love doing but, as soon as I got back on, I knew things would be different.”

The Barry family lives near Busby, about 70km northwest of Edmonton, and normally rented a large portion of their land as pasture. When the renter backed

out, Frank took action. “The land was just sitting there, so I basically just went out and started making a track,” he says. Based on his vision, Barry’s Ultra Motosport Park—BUMP—started in 2008, and was officially launched in May 2009.

Moreover, it would provide Frank a practice track at his doorstep. The successful operation also involves his wife Elisabeth and other family members. Currently there are five tracks, including his own “master track”, one for peewees and a ladies’ beginner track. Frankhopes to make the track national quality. “I just want the biggest facility around that’s open to everyone all the time.” Away from the track, Frank works as a parts technician at Riverside in St. Albert.

He got his ticket from NAIT in 2007, using that as another way to be involved in the biking community. BUMP sponsors a local rodeo, as well at the hot lunch program at the elementary school Frank attended. Considering all he has accomplished in his 25 years, Frank obviously has a knack for overcoming obstacles. He just won the provincial championship
in September.