“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” That’s the motto Graham Dixon, 68, lives (and rides) by.
The two-time masters enduro mountain bike national champion had polio when he was four years old, which permanently affected the nerves in his left quadricep. The muscles wasted away and means he effectively rides with the power of one leg.
“I struggle to stand up and pedal without the leg collapsing. It makes it hard trying to get up pinch climbs, especially rocky ones or sprinting and also landing from jumps and drops. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger though,” he said.
Image: AusCycling
But it doesn’t appear to have slowed him down at all.
“I actually competed in one of the very first Australian MTB champs in 1987 in Brisbane on a rigid bike. They were being held near my place and I just went out to watch the open/elites class race. After watching them, I thought "I can do that", bolted home, chucked the bike in the ute, entered in the Novice class and got on the start line with a minute to go. I managed to jag fourth place and scored a couple of tyres,” Dixon recalls.
But it wasn’t until 2015, some 28 years later, Dixon would start competing in mountain bike enduro again.
“I took it up as a fitness training tool for my moto racing, there wasn't any actual trails back then but I lived near a hilly forestry area at the time and just rode up/down whatever I could find,” he said
“I got into MTB enduro competitions in 2015 after my back and body finally said enough after many years of dirt bike enduro/cross country riding and competitions.”
The Nannup Mountain Bike Club rider started racing the WA Gravity Enduro series 10 years ago, and won the +60 class and state title a few times between 2017-2022.
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Image: Tania Rutley
His first national title came soon after at the 2022 AusCycling Enduro National Championship at Red Hill, Victoria.
Graham suffered another major setback in 2024 when he had a large soft tissue sarcoma tumour removed that had grown deep inside his right shoulder
“Surgery involved detaching and reattaching my pectoral and bicep muscles to get to it. I lost some shoulder joint ligaments and should joint functionality in the process. My specialist surgeon wanted to cut off half my collarbone as well but we came to a compromise so I could at least continue to enjoy riding,” he recalls.
Incredibly, just a few months after the surgery Dixon was not only back on his bike, he was competing at the national championships in Collie, Western Australia where he went on to win a second national title.
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Image: Tania Rutley
“I never got back on the bike until a couple of months before the race but managed to hold on, had reasonably clean runs (except for the final stage when the heavens opened up) and fortunately won the +65 class again,” he said.
Looking to add another title to his name, Dixon was the oldest competitor at the recent 2025 AusCycling Enduro National Championships at the very same venue as last year.
Graham Dixon finished second behind Clive Mitchell this year. Image: Broken Photography
Despite a crash, Dixon managed to finish in second in the +65 category, just four seconds off the win, and he is already looking for redemption next year.
Asked what keeps him motivated and riding he said:
“I have always enjoyed the health benefits, both physically and mentally, from riding MTB especially when you put the work in. The aging process takes it's toll for sure and injuries take longer to recover from but once again, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.”