As a kid riding his dirt bike on the trails around Schuylkill County, Thorn Devlin dreamed of someday being a professional off-road motorcycle racer.

At age 22, he has already accomplished that, and many other goals. He is one of the top professional racers in his discipline, enduro racing.

He rides for a factory-sponsored team, and he’s qualified to represent the United States in the historic International Six Days Enduro, a race once contested by actor Steve McQueen.

“It’s pretty awesome to get to travel the country racing a motorcycle. I just happen to get paid to do it but that’s the least of my worries. The opportunities it brings, it’s priceless,” Devlin said.

Before he travels to Portugal this fall for that race, Devlin will represent his friends and family from Tamaqua this weekend, as some of the best off-road riders in the U.S. come to the area to compete in “Tough Like RORR.”

Organized by the Reading Off-Road Riders, Tough Like RORR is like a Tough Mudder or Spartan Race, except on two wheels. With $16,300 available in prize money, it attracts some of the top riders from around the country, and international riders like South African Wade Young, who has won prestigious off-road races in Europe and Africa. It’s also the Pennsylvania state championship for “hard enduro” racing, as the discipline is known.

The race takes place Saturday and Sunday on anthracite mine land. When the organizers lay out the course for the race, they search for the most unforgiving terrain they can find. That includes steep slopes, boulders and water. Speed isn’t always the key to winning.

In the main event, which will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday, riders will take about 3.5 hours to complete two laps of the 17-mile course.

The goal is to create a course that makes the best riders struggle to the finish. For the rest of the field, just surviving is an accomplishment.

In order to get to the finish, riders have to protect themselves and their bikes.

“You have to take every hill with a smart approach of ‘how can I get up it without using a lot of energy and not beating up the bike,’ but also, ‘I have to get up the hill.’ You have to be very smart with it,” Devlin said.

It would be tough to walk up the obstacles, but luckily the course is spectator friendly.

Enduro racing

Hard enduro races like Tough Like RORR are not Devlin’s chosen discipline. He prefers traditional enduro racing, where he sprints around tracks which are mostly dirt.

But the race takes place on the trails which he grew up riding.

Growing up in Tamaqua, Devlin became accustomed to the rocky terrain. Riders from other parts of the country don’t have the same experience.

“For guys that are out of the area, it’s not necessarily normal or enjoyable to ride a trail that we might take a Sunday ride on,” he said.

Devlin got his first bike when he was 4 years old. His dad owns Thorn’s Cycles and ATVs in Tamaqua. Racing was a family activity.

His family travels to most of his races — not only his parents, Heidi and Thorn, but also his four older sisters and two younger brothers, who all race.

“They’re a great support group, they would come along and watch. Every year as I moved up through the ranks, it helped to have that support.

He always played sports at Tamaqua — soccer, swimming and diving, and kicking for the football team.

But when he got home, after completing his schoolwork of course, he would hop on his motorcycle and ride for hours, where he was truly happy.

Even today, riding a motorcycle gives him peace of mind he can’t find anywhere else.

“You can’t be thinking about ‘I have this to do, and that to do’ — you’re forced to focus on what you’re doing and you think of absolutely nothing but what you’re doing at the time,” he said.

When he was 16, he decided the best way to accomplish his dream was to continue his studies online. That was a tough choice, but it paid off a few years later when he got a ride in a national series just a few months after he graduated high school.

In the past year, he’s accomplished some major goals. The Spanish motorcycle company Gas Gas signed him to their factory team. He got on the podium of a national event last month. And he also qualified for ISDE, which is known as the Olympics of Motorcycling.

At ISDE, riders must do all their own maintenance, whether it’s changing tires or oil. Not only do you have to be a world class rider, you also need to keep a bike running for six days and over 1,000 miles.

The same is true of Tough Like RORR. The winner will be the rider who can keep his bike running through merciless terrain.

His bike will be specially prepared for the hard enduro, turning a ‘sporty Ferrari’ into ‘armored tank’ for the race.

“Anybody can ride a bike fast and super hard, but you still have to see the checkered flag to win it,” he said.

Meet Thorn Devlin

Fans can meet Thorn Devlin at the kickoff for the Tough like RORR race, which will take place Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Fegley’s Mini Mart, 30 Center St., Tamaqua.

The event will feature live music from Ricky and the Ricardos.

Fegley’s will be giving away beverages and Dunkin’ Donuts products. A drawing for a children’s bike will take place.

Thorn’s team, Gas Gas, will have motorcycles on display, and other off-road bikes will be displayed. Trek of Allentown will also be on hand.

Fegley’s is lowering gas prices during the meet and greet.

Tough Like RORR will take place Saturday and Sunday on RORR property on Route 209, southwest of Tamaqua. From Fegley’s and the five points intersection, take Route 209 south and follow the orange RORR signs.

For more information about the event, visit www.rorr.org.