He has been riding motorcycles since he was three years old.

His father, former motocross and rally champion in Kenya, insisted that he can only get a motorbike if he can ride his bicycle without the aid of training wheels. He promptly took his bicycle to the mechanic on the farm and asked him to remove the training wheels. In a matter of hours he was confidently riding a bicycle and all without the aid or knowledge of his dad. This was at age three.

“My dad was really surprised. My first bike was a Honda QR 50 bought from a neighbouring farmer. I rode this bike for three years until we moved to South Africa.”

The family was living and farming in Kenya at the time. They moved to South Africa in 2010. “

At age six my dad bought me a Honda CRF 50 and now I had to learn to change gears”.

Next came a KTM 65. This was quite a big jump in performance from the little Honda and he now had to master the use of a clutch.

He soon outgrew this, so his dad got him a Kawasaki KX 85. He did several Lowveld Enduros on that bike.

The next bike he got was a Honda CRF 150 four-stroke. He scored many podiums and wins on these bikes, competing in the Kickstarter class and later the Pro Mini class.

In 2018 his father got him a Yamaha YZ125X.

“My dad bought me a Yamaha YZ 125X, but I have since become too heavy for the Yamaha. We recently acquired a Husqvarna 250. My dad has Husqvarna 300 and rides that bike in the Green class. I was riding the Green class but I am now competing with the 250 in the High School class”. “

I prefer short technical Jake was born to ride wild in the bush Matthys Ferreira climbs into fast and flowing sections,” said Jake.

“Many of the local tracks are truly challenging and certainly not for the faint-hearted but they offer a balanced ride for participants. Too many technical stretches’ will overheat the bikes so fast sections are important for cooling the bikes down.”

“The biggest challenge I found when moving up to the High School class was that one moved from using stickers (on branches set by the marshals) to using a GPS. The routes are longer, more challenging and technical. As a result they are also a lot more physically demanding. At the recent Casterbridge race, I unfortunately did not finish day one because of a broken sub-frame. On the second day, various mechanical failures prevented me from finishing too.”

For now though, Jake will be riding the Lowveld Enduro series and perhaps some EWXC events with some of his riding friends. The latter series offer shorter routes but more loops and is generally quite challenging on both rider and bike. It is also important in terms of training and fine-tuning one’s riding skills.

“I am also training with the wellknown Barend Erasmus,” says Jake.

“We have a weekly programme of various exercises and rides. On Thursdays I practice rugby at Uplands, where I go to school. I also love 7s rugby and hockey. The latter helps with hand-eye coordination which is important for enduro riding also. So the combination of these sports enhances my fitness levels.”

“I am in grade 10 and not really sure where my riding will take me. I have learned to be grateful for all opportunities – to offer help and support to another whenever I can. I will eventually study agriculture and join my dad on the farm,” concluded Jake.

Jake is known among his friends, competitors and elders as being kind, passionate and well-mannered and one wishes him success on his path to adulthood and success.

Photos by Kevin Scott.