Broken arms, a crushed foot, a torn-up shoulder and a punctured lung: Painful.

Roughly a dozen motorcycles replaced during the past five years: Spendy.

Getting the chance to compete in the largest amateur motocross race in the country: Priceless.

For Ryan Skinner of Longview, competing at the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championships in August — on the ranch of the famed female country music singer — is an experience that he can’t forgo.

Ryan is the 18-year-old son of Dana and Teri Skinner, who operate Little Indian Embroidery in the Coal Creek area of West Longview.

He recently graduated from Laurel Springs High School, a homeschool program out of California.

“I travel a lot, and teachers weren’t really liking it,” Ryan said. “With homeschool, I was able to travel, train a lot more and spend a lot of time in California during the winter, training.”

He began his motocross career when he was 12. He watched racers on TV and started going to a couple of tracks to watch the action live.

“As soon as I started doing it, it was just lots of fun. It kept me out of trouble,” Ryan said. “I put all of my money, everything into it, because it was just so fun.”

The biggest thrill is the speed factor. Racing on the track, taking jumps and sometimes winning money piqued his interest as well.

“It’s fun to be able to get paid for it and do something you love to do,” he said.

The sport he adores hasn’t always been kind to him. He has broken his right arm twice — the first time so badly that the bones shifted backward, creating a visible ridge before they were set.

Last year while practicing in California, he shattered his foot and dislocated all of the bones.

“There were, like, 50 mile-per-hour winds,” he said.

A gust from a different direction rushed into him while he was in mid-jump.

“It blew me off track, and I stuck my foot down, looked down and it was completely sideways,” he said.

Doctors installed screws and plates in his foot, which he subsequently bent and broke.

“One was pushing up through my foot,” he said.

During another race, he ended up wrecking so badly that he punctured both of his lungs and had to be taken off the course in an ambulance.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time you go to a race, someone breaks something, there are always ambulances there taking someone away,” he said.

Although his injuries only bother him mildly now, Ryan said he knows that eventually he will suffer from arthritis.

“I know I’m going to have problems when I’m older with my arm and left foot,” he said. “I’m going to go to college so I can get a good job and somewhat of a desk job when I’m older.”

With a 4.0 GPA since middle school, getting into a college shouldn’t be a problem. He plans to start with two years of online schooling through Lower Columbia College. This way, he can keep racing and will later go to a bigger college or university to study business or nursing.

Right now, he is keeping his eye on the Loretta Lynn races. In order to compete there, Ryan placed third in the 450 pro-sport class and fourth in the 450 pro class in the Northwest Youth and Amateur Regionals in Washougal on June 12.

With temperatures in Tennessee expected to be near 100 degrees, with extremely high humidity, Ryan has taken some unorthodox methods to prepare for the climate change.

“I’ve been riding in long underwear, a jersey and sweatshirts for the last couple of weeks,” he said.

Plus, he has continued racing and practicing in the interim. A lot of young men suspend their racing until the big event, but Ryan wants to keep his skills sharp.

Running against 43 other racers, Ryan said he is hoping to place in the middle of the pack.

Higher would be nice, his father said, but he’s “racing against all of the factory kids and the best racers in the entire world.”

Ryan will use a stock bike rather than the sponsored bikes that other racers get to ride.

“These other people have sponsors who give them bikes,” said his mom, Teri. “They give them suspensions. We have none of that. He has the riding ability, just not the bikes.”

Luckily, Ryan doesn’t rely on the bike alone. His body is also in good physical shape, despite his injuries. He goes to the gym three hours a night, lifting weights, using the rowing and elliptical, then swimming 100 laps without stopping.

He also concentrates on his eating, choosing healthy food for fuel rather than junk, he said.

“It’s not all the bike,” Ryan said. “They say you burn about 2,000 calories per race. You use your whole body.”

The family also hopes there will be rain during the event. In the mud, Ryan shines.

“Us Washington people, if it’s raining, we have the advantage,” Teri said.

Both parents said they stand behind their son in his racing endeavors. He works at the embroidery shop with his mom and at Horizon Concrete, which his uncle owns. All of his money goes to racing and to pay for his schooling.

Mom and dad have kicked in a few bucks, though. On average, they purchase two bikes a year.

“We would never have helped him out like we did if he hadn’t gotten such good grades,” Dana said, adding that they were also pleased that the sport is family oriented.

Ryan’s step after the Tennessee event is to turn pro and race supercross. The difference between the two styles of racing, he said, are the jumps. Supercross has more “peaky” jumps and is held on a tighter track.

“Supercross is more challenging,” he said. “A lot more technical and stuff.”

After watching their son pick himself up off the course time after time and continue to be a responsible student, Ryan’s parents said they are confident he will do well.

“He’s very self-motivated,” Teri said. “He’s driven.”