But there is a good reason for that. Son Sam (15) is a rising star in motocross circles.
The latest string to his bow is selection for the New Zealand Junior Squad, which will compete in the Motocross World Championships in Taupo next year - the first time the event has been held outside Europe.
Only 30 riders have been selected f or the squad, ten of whom will be cut in the build-up to the event during a series o f training camps held across the country. The first is in Hamilton later this month.
Sam is the only Central Otago rider to be selected but will join two Dunedin riders to represent Otago.
With the support o f his parents, Sam and his younger brother Taine (10) - also an accomplished rider - travel away most weekends to compete in motocross events.
Sam has ridden competitively for five years but has been playing around on motorbikes since about the age of five.
‘‘Mum and Dad just decided to buy me a wee bike one day and I just gradually started liking it more and more,'' Sam said.
Having since graduated from that first ‘‘wee bike'' to a Honda CRF250, Sam is now a member of the Central Otago Motorcycle Club, training twice a week, or three times i f there is no competition to attend at the weekend - and racking up some impressive wins along the way.
Last year, he competed at the national championships in Australia and gained a number 10 ranking in the under-15 category.
He has already won three Southern Series titles and came second in the South Island champs two years ago, ironically losing out to a North Islander.
The O'Callaghans are likely to take Sam to Australia again in September for the Australian junior motocross nationals and to the Taupo Extravaganza in November.
Sam's goals for the future include making it to next year's world champs and performing well, winning some New Zealand titles and, eventually, travelling to the United States to compete.
‘‘For a kid living in Cromwell that doesn't get a lot of training, a lot of it comes down to the effort he puts in,'' his father Steve said.
That effort now has Sam feeling understandably ‘‘stoked'' over his squad selection and excited at the prospect of getting in ‘‘a lot of good training'' as a result.
He said there was far more competition to be found further north and the training camps over the next year would give him plenty of opportunities to improve his riding.
‘‘Down here we're racing with one guy but up north there's about ten guys racing at the same speed as me,'' Sam said.
Despite having already suffered a broken collarbone, leg, arm, fingers, wrist and several concussions while racing, Sam said the adrenaline associated with the risky sport had him hooked.
‘‘ It's the main thing that keeps you going,'' he said.
