Goodell: gracing motocross track for 44 years and still counting

DOUGLAS —In 1978, Glen Goodell was an ordinary young boy, regularly testing his parents’ patience with requests for the next-best-thing of the time. 
A new dirt bike is exactly what the then-9 year old had his sights set on. When the ‘no’ he received as a frequent response – from both his mother and father – finally set in, he soon realized his own hard work would have to reward him his great ask. 
He began putting in the hours at his family’s grocery store, soon filling his piggy bank with enough pennies to purchase a brand new bike, a 1978 Kawasaki KD100M. 
It’s been 44 years and counting since Goodell embraced motocross with youthful adoration, and the sport has developed into an almost weekly affair for the Douglas native and his family. 
“He started racing at 9 and since then we have been at a motocross track every weekend since,” his mother Anita Goodell said. 
Motocross, supercross and motorcycle trials are uncommon athletic events for those who reside in the home of the Jackalope, where rodeo and school organized sports seem to dominate. 
But Goodell’s determination to spread his love for riding in the Cowboy State remains strong. 
“This stuff is just for my passion,” he said. “When you do this all the time, all of the friends you make do this, too. On weekends you just follow the circuit of racing.” 
The High Plains Motocross Association (HPMA) covers all of Wyoming and surrounding states, and Goodell gladly participates in that circuit. 
When looking at the motorcycle guru, a live-life-to-the-fullest kind of man who is always flashing an optimistic smile, one would not be able to tell that his front teeth are fake, that beneath the skin on his wrist there are screws holding everything together or that a deep scar runs across his skull, hiding underneath his youthful brown hair. These are just a few outcomes that exemplify his dedication to the sport. 
“Man, sometimes I try to think about how many motorcycles from 1980 to today I’ve had. That’s a lot of motorcycles,” he said with a chuckle. 
And, with no surprise, when Goodell achieved “dad” status in the 1990s, he even purchased PW50 dirt bikes for his girls, with training wheels attached. 
He said he is thankful he had only daughters, because the sport never appealed to them and he was able to see first-hand how scary it is to have a family member riding. 
Anita finds humor when thinking back to what started it all for the family. Before he was a teenager gluing the tops of motocross trophies on the hood of his car as emblems, she recounted a time when Glen was just an infant, struggling to fall asleep at night. “Larry (his late father) would put him on a motorcycle and ride around the block,” she said, before Glen interrupts with a pertinent notation: “To this day, it’s the only way I can go to sleep.” 
According to Glen’s wife, Beth (who he ironically met in a bike shop), he does, in fact, ride every single night, which is an easy task considering the family built their own personal motocross track on their five acres of land. 
And, last winter, they created an indoor motorcycle obstacle course using tires, cement tubes and trees. 
The sport has also gained the interest of Goodell’s son-in-law, Ty Kelley, who now competes in motocross and motorcycle trials. 
“He never rode a dirt bike until he started dating Brianna (Goodell’s daughter). He had come out to the house and started riding my dirt bike. Then he bought Glen’s old dirt bike. He received a scholarship to play baseball at college, but then he was like, ‘No, I kind of like motorcycles,’”Beth said, laughing. 
Their daughter, Brianna, recalled a time six months prior to their wedding when Kelley dislocated his hip during a motocross race. 
“I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness. I am going to have to push you down the aisle!’ But he recovered enough to walk down it,” she said. 
“He rides good. He’s got a lot of natural talent,” Goodell said proudly of his son-in-law. 
A dislocated hip is minor compared to some of Goodell’s past collisions. He thought back to 1992 to one life-threatening result of failing to land his bike properly. 
“I crashed my bicycle training and split my skull,” he explained. “They life-flighted me (to a hospital), took out part of the skull, removed a blood clot and put me back together.” Anita provided a different angle on the incident – one from a mother’s point of view. “The doctor came in and said, ‘We lost him on the table, but we got him back and in the morning he’ll either be brain dead or paralyzed.’ He woke up the next day and said, ‘Dad, will you tell Phil I won’t be to work today?’” 
Although the family members have each experienced their fair share of injuries, they all agree that the life-long memories outweigh the adversities faced. Plus, they said, the sport has become something that provides a reunion-like atmosphere every weekend. 
Competitive events are open to all ages. 
At a recent motorcycle trial hosted by The Hat Six Ranch of Casper, children too little to get on top of their bikes without the help of stepping stools to those in their 80s competed, proving the sport is something that can be enjoyed throughout one’s entire lifespan. 
Accents from around the world could be heard at the competition — a few belonging to those of New Zealand origin, others British, and some an interesting combination of Texan and Australian. 
The diversity in participation at each event adds to the fun of the sport, according to the Goodell family. 
Given that the sport is recognized around the globe, many of Goodell’s sponsors provide him with supplies manufactured overseas. 
A favorite among those participating in trials is the Belgium-based company Jitsie, which makes bikes specifically for obstacle courses at trials contests. 
Five professionals also graced the tracks at the Sept. 3-4 event, which is nothing new to Goodell, who has been competing amid motorcycle pros for years. 
“They wouldn’t let me sign up for the pros class,” he said with a grin. 
Goodell doesn’t qualify for the pros class. Given his age, he is a senior pros rider and a successful one at that, with a multitude of first place wins under his belt. 
Over the years, Goodell’s love for motorcycles has awarded him many once-in-a-lifetime memories. Perhaps his favorite is a time when he used his dedication for the sport to help reconnect his favorite 1980s band. 
Goodell was first introduced to The Talk’s music in early adulthood when he would frequent bars and other pastimes following races. Although the band only lasted three years, he kept two of its three albums, pulling them out occasionally for a sense of nostalgia. 
“I was listening to The Talk when Brianna was talking about her wedding plans and I said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna get this band to play at your wedding.’ She laughed,” he recalled. 
After using Facebook to befriend all of the ex-band mates, they all agreed on a reunion and played at the Alex Johnson Hotel in South Dakota. They did not play at Brianna’s wedding, so he booked out the same venue a different night, because, he said, it was an opportunity he would not have missed for the world. 
“It keeps me young,” Goodell said of his endeavors. “My long-term goal is to race competitively in the pro class as long as possible and to someday win an AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) national supercross race, and to prove my skills and prove to myself what I can accomplish. 
“I will continue to teach local riding schools for local up and coming riders. My goal is to continue learning and supporting the future of motorcycling,” he said.
For a 9 year old dreaming of riding all those years ago, it is kind of like coming full circle a few times over – like riding on a motocross track.
 
 
This story was published on Sept. 28, 2022.