I brought the kids to the BMX track in Weaverville for the first time, and I was immediately sorry I didn’t have a full-face helmet so that I could participate too.
There were already several kids tearing around out there catching big air when we showed up. These kids were really little, and really good. I thought it would be too intimidating for my 8-year-old, fearing that he would decide not to participate, but at that age one’s self-perspective can be somewhat superhumanesque. Thank goodness.
However, there’s a careful balance of that. It’s important also for him to realize there are better riders so that he’ll work harder to get better. This is a great track for him to watch and learn. There are kids of all ages and skill levels from which to glean. I hope he’s willing to learn.
He rolled down the steep grade onto the track and began the rollers and berms. Thankfully he was being cautious on his first couple runs, but still riding the berms pretty high. It’s a lot different than our tiny backyard pumptrack, so it requires a lot more speed and pumping of the arms, to which he was not yet accustomed.
Meanwhile, the 3-year-old cruised the backstretch, which was a series of humps that he maneuvered with his Strider. He’s still learning to pedal, so I didn’t yet bring the new bike, however, it’s a perfect spot for him to figure out that action. He gets enough momentum on the steep humps to get him nearly up and over the next and he already understands the balance and lean of the bike due to the absence of training wheels. One pedal stroke would get his tiny bike over the top. I’ve been trying to wean him from the Strider – especially since it’s borrowed and needs to go back to its original home in just two weeks. I’ve got some work to do…
I took him to Carrier Park where it’s flat, wide, with little to crash into. I parked far from the playground so that I could use it as bait. He kept accidentally hitting the coaster brake, which would enrage him into a fit. I would push his feet forward to get him started again for the next couple of pedal strokes before it would happen again. By the time we got to the playground he could pedal four or five times without hitting the coaster.
While playing, we met a little girl with whom he immediately fell in love and followed around. She was a year older, so she was very fast, which was most frustrating for him. It was when she hopped on her big wheel and took off that I realized she was much better bait than the playground. He got on his little bike and pedaled after her without one coaster brake problem. The next time we rode he didn’t hit the coaster brake at all – not even on the extremely steep hill that points directly to the river.
I ran after him screaming, “HIT THE BRAKE!!! HIT THE BRAKE!!!!” But suddenly he didn’t know what that was, causing me to dive for him in a neck-breaking, mother bear save from his certain death and then plunge into the French Broad River.