Casondra Greene grew up in Ontario listening to stories about her father’s glory days as a bike enthusiast and after she saw a competition on TV, she was hooked.

Greene encouraged her father to teach her how to ride bikes as a teenager and he was pleased with her request. He obliged by purchasing an old bike for her to train on, and after that, extreme sports became their mutual obsession.

Unfortunately, the number of women who rode bikes nine years ago was quite limited. Greene remembers being bullied by boys from her neighbourhood when she was only 16 years old.

“Back when I first started (riding), people kind of saw it as a joke,” said Greene, “and then the fast girls kind of proved that it wasn’t. It was for real, you know?”

Greene started racing competitively in 2003 and after contesting the Ontario Provincial Motocross Championship several times, she won in 2008. Greene has also competed in a number of national competitions for women, including the Can Am International in Batavia, New York, and several other outdoor and arena cross races in New York state.

“For me racing is such an exciting challenge,” said Greene. “It’s physical, it’s mental and it’s exhilarating. I love how it makes you a stronger person and allows me to travel all over the place.”

Greene has travelled to competitions in B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. But she moved to High Level, Alberta, last year to pursue an exciting career and now she enjoys riding local terrain. Her favourite places to ride, however, are Walton, Ontario, and Area 51 in New York.

Greene is optimistic about the opportunity to compete in the coming months. She expects to attend national competitions for women this summer in Calgary and Edmonton, as well as the Walton TransCan Grand National in Walton, Ontario.