Not the retiring type; Beard, 25, back swimming after a two-year hiatus.(Sports)

Byline: KAREN CROUSE New York Times

Her back conspicuously turned to an arresting black-and-white photograph of herself in a bikini, the swimmer Amanda Beard sat at a conference table in a Midtown fashion showroom talking about one of her favorite pastimes, riding dirt bikes.

"The first time I jumped on a dirt bike I flew into the air," said Beard, a Speedo model who was in New York last week for Swimwear Market week. "I landed on my feet but the bike was in pretty bad shape."

As she was talking, Beard absently fingered a strand of pearls around her neck. From her refined tastes in fashion to her rambunctious off-road pursuits, the 25-year-old Beard …