ATV flyin’ is the big head

Angela Adkins loves "the speed, the jumps . . . the thrills." Angela Adkins won her division in the ATV Association's 10-event, national motocross series that concluded Aug. 7 in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. There is no airport in the Charles City County backwoods, but there are frequent takeoffs and landings.

Atop her oft-airborne, racing four-wheeler, Angela Adkins is all over the national radar for all-terrain vehicles.

The 19-year-old Landmark Christian graduate ranks No. 1 nationally among amateur women.

"I tried other sports, but once I raced quads [four wheelers], I thought 'Wow,'" she said. "I love the speed, the jumps . . . the thrills."

Adkins won her division in the ATV Association's 10-event, national motocross series that concluded Aug. 7 in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

She also has claimed back-to-back titles in the Virginia District 13 series with a 23-race, two-year string of conquests.

Happy birthday: Adkins received her first quad for her 16th birthday. Soon after, father/crew chief Donnie Adkins cleared family property off Rocking Horse Lane for a 2-acre dirt track, complete with several jumping ramps.

Going full bore, Adkins sails about 15 feet off ground in her snazzy No. 15, Honda 450 speed machine.

So what of the fear factor? Can't a lot go wrong propelling a 500-pound racer high into the sky?

"I try not to think about that," she said with a laugh.

All landings aren't silky smooth. Her injury toll includes a broken wrist and herniated spinal disk.

Adkins' quad produces a serious roar on training runs, but no one is apt to complain. The Adkins live off the beaten path on an unpaved road in the Roxbury section. Thus her nickname: The Roxbury Rocket.

This and that: The 5-8 Adkins was a basketball/volleyball standout at Varina's Landmark Christian. Before competing in quads, she went on family trail runs in West Virginia mountains.

"Racing's what we do," Donnie Adkins said. "We're consumed by it."

Angela Adkins' brother, Noah, 8, also is a regular on the junior circuit.

Quad racing isn't for the puny. Adkins works out regularly with weights and cardio gear at the Chickahominy YMCA in Sandston.

No softie, Adkins is an avid bungee jumper. She has taken kickboxing and lists "Dirt Wheels" as her favorite magazine.

Adkins plans to enroll at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College next semester. For now, quads come first.

"Angela wants to make a career out of it," her father said.

Weekend warriors: Monday to Friday, Adkins seldom goes a day without working out her body, quad or both. Weekends are set aside for travel and competition.

The March-to-August, ATVA national circuit included these destinations: Pell City, Ala.; Oakland, Ky.; Danville; Walnut, Ill.; Mount Morris, Pa.; New Berlin, N.Y; Blountville, Tenn.; Armagh, Pa.; Buchanan, Mich.; and Hurricane Mills.

Usually facing 10 to 12 other women, her 10-race report card showed seven firsts, two seconds and a third. And what of those rare weekends when she's not revving her engine?

"I get bored," she said.