Laying the groundwork

I've mentioned this before, but I suck at wheelies. I'm getting better, but at 36, how good can I really expect to get from here. So I figure I'll get the kids going early on some ramps. Now, I know it's now much of a ramp here. A 2x2 sheet of plywood with a 1x4 underneath isn't much. But man, it sure spiced things up for them. They must've rode over that thing about 100 times.





We set a little course up. In one of the pics you can see a jack stand in the middle of the garage floor. They had to go counter clockwise around the jackstand, over the ramp, then around the matching jackstand in the middle of the driveway. Do I expect them to be the next Marla Streb? No, but I can't wait to get them on the trails with me. Plus, from what I can see, none of the little boys on the street can do wheelies either. I'd love Mara to be riding home from school one day, pull a wheelie about a 1/2 block away and ride it into the driveway. That would make dad proud.

I know for a fact that I never used training wheels. Just got on and rode down the hill at our farmhouse in Alexander, IA. No such luck with these two. In fact, I thought I'd get lucky with Ellen. I took her training wheels off the other day due to the fact that when she gets on and takes off she takes off like a maniac. No such luck.

Ellen and I did go down the bike trail last Sunday though while Stacey and Mara were at a birthday party. I'm tellin ya, that kid pedaled a solid mile without stopping. Her training wheels drug her down a little, so when they did, I'd grab on to the handle bar. But other than that she did it on her own. We stopped at a park where she played and played and played with a bunch of other kids. So on the way home she was pretty tired.

Mara got a trail-a-bike last year that was too big for her. I bought it used and very cheap, so I was cool with it being too big for her. This year she's good to go on it though. She pedals hard and I have to tell her when to let up or she pushes me when I'm trying to slow down. Funny. She loves it. Pics of that later.

A little vid of me doing what is a simple obstacle for some, an impossible one for others, and one that lies in between for me. The video doesn't show real well the two teeny tiny little trees you have to ride between to hit the up ramp to the log ride. Your bars hit those trees, and your steering is thrown off and you're done. I run reallllllly wide handle bars. Helps with leverage while climbing. Anyways, I was about 40% successful on that skinny last year and the video taken unbeknownst to me at the time is of my first go at it for this year.

The riding season is definitely upon us. Trails are dry early this year. Huge night at the trails Wednesday night. Lot's of good riding. Got a night ride in at the end that was just plain ol' fuckin' fun. Ate some bratwurst, drank some beers, and got home way too late.

I'm hoping Stacey and the girls come out and join us at the trails some this year. I told Stace to bring them out on Wednesday, but I knew she was a little busy. It's cool. We have the whole summer.