The Dirt Jump - Learning to jump mountain bikes again...

Jojo, my brother, confident and sailing!

7:30 Breakfast

It was 7:25am on the green stove clock and I was about to pull the orange rolls out of the oven. As I walked around the kitchen the smells of breakfast drifted around: the toasted dough of the rolls, the bacon, the still-dripping Dunkin Doughnuts coffee… brewed strong. Where’s Jojo?, I wondered to myself.

We were all excited. It had been a few days since we had rode bikes and today we were going to hit it hard. Outside the sky was cloudy but the rain was supposed to hold off until the afternoon. It was time to eat some breakfast and get busy.

Jojo arrived right on time and we all sat down to eat. After a moderate amount of insults and laughter we suited up and hit the bikes. It was chaos for a few minutes getting the kids suited up. We were staying home today and going to work on our own trails. We didn’t really have a big plan, just to get started. I think we like to do that so we can judge our motivation as we go. Don’t want to bite off more than we can chew you know?

The Party Departs

We left the house in an uncoordinated gaggle. Rabian went ahead of us while we hung back and helped Allyona get her self together. She’s still too short for the bike she’s chosen to ride so I hold the back of her seat and help her get started. When she gets to a big hill, she gets off and pushes her bike down the hill. I’m thankful for this. She’s already way too brave for her skill level. I mean, she’s only had the training wheels off for a couple months and she’s hitting some big hills.

Wipeout

Last week she was going down a huge hill and wiped out hard. When she hit the ground her little body just got tossed. Her helmet came down hard and smacked the ground and then flew off. She had mud and scratches all over but thankfully, because of the helmet, she was ready to ride again in a couple of minutes. I can’t believe we rode all those years as kids without helmets. Especially as many times as we crashed!

What to do first?

Well, we got over to the track area and just kinda jumped in. The rest of the day was a complete euphoric blur. We improved the creek jump and then decided it’s still too big to actually jump. (That’s what Pamela calls “checking myself”) Then, we headed up to “Running Wall” to work on our dirt jump.

Near the end of the day, Jojo hits it hard while Allyona watches in background.

Scary every time!

I know the dirt jump isn’t really that big. But let me assure you that when you come at it from atop the other big hill getting faster and faster and all the time knowing that based on your skill level you might just wipe out and break your clavicle, it seems huge! Such great fun. As I continue to break my record for most days I haven’t died, I sometimes wish that I didn’t need to be so rambunctious to enjoy life. There’s something about having skin in the game that makes life more fun.

So we have a few of these little wall descents. They aren’t bad unless the crotch of your clothes gets stuck on the seat and you can’t shift your center of gravity back as you go over the edge…. #lessonslearned Also, notice the pants tucked into the sock, another lesson learned. I’d get cool bike shorts but it was kinda cold out that morning and I’m just a novice biker, not a real biker.

The clouds eventually opened up. The streaks of sun beamed down and made the dust we were kicking up stick to our necks. A cooler breeze blew across my face once in a while and I’d stop to enjoy it and take in the day. Rabian and Allyona played in the creek, covered themselves in red mud, and played every game possible with sticks and dirt. Jojo and I rode and worked. We’d jump a while and then get the shovels and dig for an hour improving our line and the angle of the jump. I could feel every muscle in my body burning. We had used all of our energy and were now playing on pure joy.

I’m only like 6 inches off the ground but at my skill level this is like full-on Red Bull Stunts!

Our Ladies

Near the end of the day, Amber, Jojo’s wife brought chicken fingers from Jack’s. We were all starving. Pamela had finished her work and joined us as well. We beamed with pride showing the ladies our hard work. We showed them knowing deep down that neither of them cared the first thing for jumping mountain bikes over dirt hills. Despite this fact the cheered us on by watching and being with us. We are some lucky guys.

Amber brought chicken from Jack’s. Score! We were starving. We’re just missing the nephews here big time.

No better days

There are some days in life that just couldn’t be any better. Days filled with playing hard, doing something you enjoy, and punctuated with the laughter of the ones you love. Days you look at your kids and your wife and your family and wonder how you got so lucky…. This was one of those days.