Rough ride

Published: September 1, 2009

Tom Long, controller at Triad Construction Inc., poses with his motocross bike July 29 in a field near his Waukesha home. A former CPA, Long said he enjoys breaking the stereotype of a buttoned-up accountant. Photos by Kevin Harnack

Tom Long’s hobby requires routine trips to the doctor.

A shattered kneecap resulting from his after-hours motocross racing demands regular draining and sometimes leaves him limping into the office.

Long has no illusions about what his co-workers at Triad Construction Inc. think of his off-the-clock antics: “They think I’m stupid,” he said with a laugh.

But the former certified public accountant, now working as a controller at Milwaukee-based Triad, said he loves the thrill of taking his life in his hands every time he climbs on his Honda CRF450R.

“Every time you go out, you scare yourself a little bit,” he said.

Long, 42, has been riding motocross bikes for a while, but he is new to racing this year. Unlike road racing, motocross racing is less about speed and more about terrain changes, he said. Long rides with friends through farm fields near his Waukesha home, and, in the winter, they put studs on their tires and ride on ice.

Indulging his hobby’s devil-may-care attitude, Long said he doesn’t worry about farmers getting angry when he and his friends drive through fields.

“They’d have to catch us first,” he said.

Long participated in his first motocross race Aug. 9 at Aztalan Cycle Park in Lake Mills. The course features many different levels, about which Long admitted he was “a little nervous.”

Though trophies were available to win, Long had a simpler goal.

“I just want to live through it,” he said beforehand.

Though he said it was hot outside on the day of the race, Long said he enjoyed himself and walked away uninjured. He plans to race again at Aztalan in September.

The former Navy operations specialist is no stranger to dangerous situations and said he enjoys breaking the stereotype of typical accountants.

A father of two, Long likes to trail ride with his son, 14, and daughter, 11, and said he thinks his son might get into motocross racing when he is older.

And though Long’s love of motocross racing certainly has its costs — that shattered kneecap a few years ago kept him off the bike for an entire summer and continues to cause problems since he re-injured it recently — Long has no plans to stop riding.

“You just have to get back on the bike,” he said.