For the last 19 years Kevin Windham has been a Supercross series fixture. He’s appeared in over 200 Supercross races, winning a total of 19. For much of the last decade he’s been the cagey veteran, the paternal provider, and the esteemed patriarch of the sport. So it was an emotional Saturday evening at Round Three of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series in Anaheim, California, when the 34-year-old star announced that he was walking away.

Dirt Rider magazine’s photo gallery from Anaheim

Though he thought he would be riding through the 2014 season, after suffering two frightening crashes in 2012, including one that ended his Supercross season, he decided that the risks were starting to outweigh the rewards.

“I would love nothing more than to ride forever,” Windham told the crowd. “To the fans of Supercross, this might seem to be a hasty decision, but I’ve been talking to a lot of people for a lot of months. I thought I would be able to come into the season and ride myself out of that funk and that mental hurdle I was having to overcome. With every passing lap–be it at the test track, my home track, or the stadium–it became more and more difficult to ride with the clarity I needed to be safe, fast, and successful.”