RR The Boy Wonder's First Time

tcmedara said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage. What a way to introduce my 9 year old Matthew to
the wonders of mountain biking. Matthew was a late biker. I bought him his first bike at age four,
but could never convince him to learn to ride it. I was deployed for the whole Iraqi adventure
earlier this year and my wife bought him a $35 Wal-Mart beater to learn on as a surprise for my
return home. Once convinced he could ride, the boy took to it like the proverbial duck to water.
For Christmas we arranged for Santa to bring him a brand new youth-sized Specialized Hotrock. We
opted for the 7 speed only version (only one ring in front), with the idea that we could upgrade
the crankset later if need be. We went for a quick ride around the neighborhood on Christmas day
along with little sister and here new sparkly purple Schwinn, but never left pavement.

Yesterday I asked Matthew if he wanted to go for a "real" bike ride. His face broke into a huge
grin and his chest just puffed up while he bellowed, "Sure!." We got dressed, loaded up, and were
on our way in no time to the local city park trails. It's nothing too challenging, but its close
and its fun. I even gave the boy one a military issue desert camo Camelbacks that had been sitting
around unused for a while. I thought we was going to burst with pride when he slipped that on.

In the parking lot, I tried to talk him through some basic skills: Standing/pedaling out of the
saddle, weight shifts, braking advice, etc. I don't think much sunk in as he didn't have much of a
frame of reference to go by. No matter, as a kid he'd pick it up on his own quickly enough. We
started out on the "novice" loop, which is about a mile long twisty, rooty singletrack through the
trees. Obviously we went pretty slowly, but he managed to figure out how to stay on the trail
without too much effort. The log jumps intimidated him, but eventually I got him to try one or two
easy ones and he did fine. Hills were a new phenomenon for the boy, though. I could see him ahead
of me locking the rear will on the downhills, and not anticipating the uphills. No problem really,
as I told him anytime he wanted or needed to he should get off and push. He really enjoyed the
idea of riding right through mud holes and quickly both he and the bike were covered.

He was really enjoying himself until we came to a series of wooden bridges across a small
depression. As he pointed the bike down into the gully, I could see that he was nervous about the
bridge and wasn't really controlling the bike. He was just gritting his teeth and hoping chance
would get him across without incident. Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his front wheel
rolled over the edge (only about 6" high) and he flew over the front. Before I could even get to
him he'd popped up and was checking out the bike, so I knew he wasn't hurt. We continued on and
shortly came to the next bridge, this one with a bit steeper run in. I encouraged him to just let
the bike roll down and over and try to maintain a little speed for the climb up on the other side.
He tried, but was obviously a little schizoid from the last bridge encounter. His front tire hit
the boards, rattled around a bit, and he panicked. Once again, the bike was down and he was off
the front, though with more speed this time. I was pretty worried. This time he popped right up,
but seemed a bit more confused about what happened. He was also rubbing his thigh where he'd taken
a sharp blow. I helped pick up the bike and quickly noticed the rear brake lever was bent and the
mount was snapped at the handlebar. No other damage to the bike though, so it was still ridable. I
could tell by the look on his face that he'd had enough after two bouts with the bridges. As we
were about at the halfway point and totally flat from there on, I make him get back on and ride
out which he did without further incident.

When we got home the first thing he did was run in and show his mom the three bloody scratches on
his leg and the mud on his face. A quick trip to the bike shop and we had a new brake lever on in
less than an hour. Much props go to Contes Bikes in Newport News Virginia for pulling a lever of a
bike on the floor and swapping it for the old one "gratis"/under warranty even after I told 'em
what happened. He's psyched to go again tomorrow, though only after I promised him we'd do the
trail with no bridges.

Tom

Great story.

I almost bought one of the hotrocks for my six year old but then figured she was a little small yet.
Maybe next year. I can't wait to get her out riding dirt. I gave up on my nine year old as a riding
partner :-( but she's the one that always wants to go to the hockey games <(;-}.

Gary

Great story, thanks.

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:ZgkHb.47492$hf1.18382@lakeread06...

Quoted message said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage. What a way to introduce

my

Quoted message said:

9 year old Matthew to the wonders of mountain biking. Matthew was a late biker. I bought him his
first bike at age four, but could never convince him to learn to ride it. I was deployed for the
whole Iraqi adventure earlier this year and my wife bought him a $35 Wal-Mart beater to learn on
as a surprise for my return home. Once convinced he could ride, the boy took to it like the
proverbial duck to water. For Christmas we arranged

for

Quoted message said:

Santa to bring him a brand new youth-sized Specialized Hotrock. We opted

for

Quoted message said:

the 7 speed only version (only one ring in front), with the idea that we could upgrade the
crankset later if need be. We went for a quick ride around the neighborhood on Christmas day along
with little sister and here new sparkly purple Schwinn, but never left pavement.

Yesterday I asked Matthew if he wanted to go for a "real" bike ride. His face broke into a huge
grin and his chest just puffed up while he

bellowed,

Quoted message said:

"Sure!." We got dressed, loaded up, and were on our way in no time to the local city park trails.
It's nothing too challenging, but its close and

its

Quoted message said:

fun. I even gave the boy one a military issue desert camo Camelbacks that had been sitting around
unused for a while. I thought we was going to

burst

Quoted message said:

with pride when he slipped that on.

In the parking lot, I tried to talk him through some basic skills: Standing/pedaling out of the
saddle, weight shifts, braking advice, etc.

I

Quoted message said:

don't think much sunk in as he didn't have much of a frame of reference to go by. No matter, as a
kid he'd pick it up on his own quickly enough. We started out on the "novice" loop, which is about
a mile long twisty, rooty singletrack through the trees. Obviously we went pretty slowly, but he
managed to figure out how to stay on the trail without too much effort.

The

Quoted message said:

log jumps intimidated him, but eventually I got him to try one or two easy ones and he did fine.
Hills were a new phenomenon for the boy, though. I could see him ahead of me locking the rear will
on the downhills, and not anticipating the uphills. No problem really, as I told him anytime he
wanted or needed to he should get off and push. He really enjoyed the

idea

Quoted message said:

of riding right through mud holes and quickly both he and the bike were covered.

He was really enjoying himself until we came to a series of wooden bridges across a small
depression. As he pointed the bike down into the gully, I could see that he was nervous about the
bridge and wasn't really

controlling

Quoted message said:

the bike. He was just gritting his teeth and hoping chance would get him across without incident.
Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his

front

Quoted message said:

wheel rolled over the edge (only about 6" high) and he flew over the

front.

Quoted message said:

Before I could even get to him he'd popped up and was checking out the

bike,

Quoted message said:

so I knew he wasn't hurt. We continued on and shortly came to the next bridge, this one with a bit
steeper run in. I encouraged him to just let the bike roll down and over and try to maintain a
little speed for the

climb

Quoted message said:

up on the other side. He tried, but was obviously a little schizoid from the last bridge
encounter. His front tire hit the boards, rattled around

a

Quoted message said:

bit, and he panicked. Once again, the bike was down and he was off the front, though with more
speed this time. I was pretty worried. This time he popped right up, but seemed a bit more
confused about what happened.

He

Quoted message said:

was also rubbing his thigh where he'd taken a sharp blow. I helped pick

up

Quoted message said:

the bike and quickly noticed the rear brake lever was bent and the mount

was

Quoted message said:

snapped at the handlebar. No other damage to the bike though, so it was still ridable. I could
tell by the look on his face that he'd had enough after two bouts with the bridges. As we were
about at the halfway point

and

Quoted message said:

totally flat from there on, I make him get back on and ride out which he

did

Quoted message said:

without further incident.

When we got home the first thing he did was run in and show his mom the three bloody scratches on
his leg and the mud on his face. A quick trip

to

Quoted message said:

the bike shop and we had a new brake lever on in less than an hour. Much props go to Contes Bikes
in Newport News Virginia for pulling a lever of a bike on the floor and swapping it for the old
one "gratis"/under warranty even after I told 'em what happened. He's psyched to go again
tomorrow, though only after I promised him we'd do the trail with no bridges.

Tom

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (grisoft.comgrisoft.comOpen ↗).
Version: 6.0.551 / Virus Database: 343 - Release Date: 12/11/2003

tcmedara said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage. What a way to introduce my 9 year old Matthew to
the wonders of mountain biking. Matthew was a late biker. I bought him his first bike at age four,
but could never convince him to learn to ride it. I was deployed for the whole Iraqi adventure
earlier this year and my wife bought him a $35 Wal-Mart beater to learn on as a surprise for my
return home. Once convinced he could ride, the boy took to it like the proverbial duck to water.
For Christmas we arranged for Santa to bring him a brand new youth-sized Specialized Hotrock. We
opted for the 7 speed only version (only one ring in front), with the idea that we could upgrade
the crankset later if need be. We went for a quick ride around the neighborhood on Christmas day
along with little sister and here new sparkly purple Schwinn, but never left pavement.

Yesterday I asked Matthew if he wanted to go for a "real" bike ride. His face broke into a huge
grin and his chest just puffed up while he bellowed, "Sure!." We got dressed, loaded up, and were
on our way in no time to the local city park trails. It's nothing too challenging, but its close
and its fun. I even gave the boy one a military issue desert camo Camelbacks that had been sitting
around unused for a while. I thought we was going to burst with pride when he slipped that on.

In the parking lot, I tried to talk him through some basic skills: Standing/pedaling out of the
saddle, weight shifts, braking advice, etc. I don't think much sunk in as he didn't have much of a
frame of reference to go by. No matter, as a kid he'd pick it up on his own quickly enough. We
started out on the "novice" loop, which is about a mile long twisty, rooty singletrack through the
trees. Obviously we went pretty slowly, but he managed to figure out how to stay on the trail
without too much effort. The log jumps intimidated him, but eventually I got him to try one or two
easy ones and he did fine. Hills were a new phenomenon for the boy, though. I could see him ahead
of me locking the rear will on the downhills, and not anticipating the uphills. No problem really,
as I told him anytime he wanted or needed to he should get off and push. He really enjoyed the idea
of riding right through mud holes and quickly both he and the bike were covered.

He was really enjoying himself until we came to a series of wooden bridges across a small
depression. As he pointed the bike down into the gully, I could see that he was nervous about the
bridge and wasn't really controlling the bike. He was just gritting his teeth and hoping chance
would get him across without incident. Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his front wheel
rolled over the edge (only about 6" high) and he flew over the front. Before I could even get to
him he'd popped up and was checking out the bike, so I knew he wasn't hurt. We continued on and
shortly came to the next bridge, this one with a bit steeper run in. I encouraged him to just let
the bike roll down and over and try to maintain a little speed for the climb up on the other side.
He tried, but was obviously a little schizoid from the last bridge encounter. His front tire hit
the boards, rattled around a bit, and he panicked. Once again, the bike was down and he was off the
front, though with more speed this time. I was pretty worried. This time he popped right up, but
seemed a bit more confused about what happened. He was also rubbing his thigh where he'd taken a
sharp blow. I helped pick up the bike and quickly noticed the rear brake lever was bent and the
mount was snapped at the handlebar. No other damage to the bike though, so it was still ridable. I
could tell by the look on his face that he'd had enough after two bouts with the bridges. As we
were about at the halfway point and totally flat from there on, I make him get back on and ride out
which he did without further incident.

When we got home the first thing he did was run in and show his mom the three bloody scratches on
his leg and the mud on his face. A quick trip to the bike shop and we had a new brake lever on in
less than an hour. Much props go to Contes Bikes in Newport News Virginia for pulling a lever of a
bike on the floor and swapping it for the old one "gratis"/under warranty even after I told 'em
what happened. He's psyched to go again tomorrow, though only after I promised him we'd do the
trail with no bridges.

Tom

Too good to snip! Bill

Quoted message said:

...one speed to rule them all, one speed to find them, one speed to bring them all and on the trails
pass them In the Land of Avalon where the geared pigs lie...

tcmedara said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage. What a way to introduce my 9 year old Matthew to
the wonders of mountain biking. Matthew was a late biker. I bought him his first bike at age four,
but could never convince him to learn to ride it. I was deployed for the whole Iraqi adventure
earlier this year and my wife bought him a $35 Wal-Mart beater to learn on as a surprise for my
return home. Once convinced he could ride, the boy took to it like the proverbial duck to water.
For Christmas we arranged for Santa to bring him a brand new youth-sized Specialized Hotrock. We
opted for the 7 speed only version (only one ring in front), with the idea that we could upgrade
the crankset later if need be. We went for a quick ride around the neighborhood on Christmas day
along with little sister and here new sparkly purple Schwinn, but never left pavement.

Yesterday I asked Matthew if he wanted to go for a "real" bike ride. His face broke into a huge
grin and his chest just puffed up while he bellowed, "Sure!." We got dressed, loaded up, and were
on our way in no time to the local city park trails. It's nothing too challenging, but its close
and its fun. I even gave the boy one a military issue desert camo Camelbacks that had been sitting
around unused for a while. I thought we was going to burst with pride when he slipped that on.

In the parking lot, I tried to talk him through some basic skills: Standing/pedaling out of the
saddle, weight shifts, braking advice, etc. I don't think much sunk in as he didn't have much of a
frame of reference to go by. No matter, as a kid he'd pick it up on his own quickly enough. We
started out on the "novice" loop, which is about a mile long twisty, rooty singletrack through the
trees. Obviously we went pretty slowly, but he managed to figure out how to stay on the trail
without too much effort. The log jumps intimidated him, but eventually I got him to try one or two
easy ones and he did fine. Hills were a new phenomenon for the boy, though. I could see him ahead
of me locking the rear will on the downhills, and not anticipating the uphills. No problem really,
as I told him anytime he wanted or needed to he should get off and push. He really enjoyed the
idea of riding right through mud holes and quickly both he and the bike were covered.

He was really enjoying himself until we came to a series of wooden bridges across a small
depression. As he pointed the bike down into the gully, I could see that he was nervous about the
bridge and wasn't really controlling the bike. He was just gritting his teeth and hoping chance
would get him across without incident. Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his front wheel
rolled over the edge (only about 6" high) and he flew over the front. Before I could even get to
him he'd popped up and was checking out the bike, so I knew he wasn't hurt. We continued on and
shortly came to the next bridge, this one with a bit steeper run in. I encouraged him to just let
the bike roll down and over and try to maintain a little speed for the climb up on the other side.
He tried, but was obviously a little schizoid from the last bridge encounter. His front tire hit
the boards, rattled around a bit, and he panicked. Once again, the bike was down and he was off
the front, though with more speed this time. I was pretty worried. This time he popped right up,
but seemed a bit more confused about what happened. He was also rubbing his thigh where he'd taken
a sharp blow. I helped pick up the bike and quickly noticed the rear brake lever was bent and the
mount was snapped at the handlebar. No other damage to the bike though, so it was still ridable. I
could tell by the look on his face that he'd had enough after two bouts with the bridges. As we
were about at the halfway point and totally flat from there on, I make him get back on and ride
out which he did without further incident.

When we got home the first thing he did was run in and show his mom the three bloody scratches on
his leg and the mud on his face. A quick trip to the bike shop and we had a new brake lever on in
less than an hour. Much props go to Contes Bikes in Newport News Virginia for pulling a lever of a
bike on the floor and swapping it for the old one "gratis"/under warranty even after I told 'em
what happened. He's psyched to go again tomorrow, though only after I promised him we'd do the
trail with no bridges.

That's such a fun age. I've seen my nine year-old pick himself up after heart-stopping
diggers (my heart, not his) and be back on the bike and moving before I've gotten myself
clipped back in. A couple of weeks ago he fell off a 10 foot rock shelf. Leaned out over the
edge to look into a knothole on a tree and the tree *broke off* at the base. He rode the
tree down, hit the ground rolling and stood up laughing about it. The diet Dr. Pepper
incident put a scare into him, though. His sister had put a plastic bottle of diet Dr.
Pepper into the freezer to chill quickly, and forgot about it. He found the soda and took it
to the table to drink. He managed to get the lid mostly unscrewed. Then the laws of physics
took over. The cap shot off and hit him in the forehead with enough force to leave a knot.
It was Old Faithful, rendered in Dr. Pepper. There was soda on the vaulted ceiling, on the
walls, the carpet, the bookcases, the couch, both dogs, the book report he'd just written.
Being the bad mom that I am, I laughed at him and sent him to take a shower and wash the
soda out of his hair while I mopped up. Then I ironed his book report to dry it, and wrote a
note to the teacher explaining why it looked like it did. All those wrecks on his bike, and
he's not a bit nervous about riding. But the poor kid blinks and flinches whenever anybody
opens a bottle of soda near him.

Kathleen

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Tcmedara
It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage. What a way to introduce my 9 year old Matthew to the
wonders of mountain biking. Matthew was a late biker. I bought him his first bike at age four, but
could never convince him to learn to ride it. I was deployed for the whole Iraqi adventure earlier
this year and my wife bought him a $35 Wal-Mart beater to learn on as a surprise for my return home.
Once convinced he could ride, the boy took to it like the proverbial duck to water. For Christmas we
arranged for Santa to bring him a brand new youth-sized Specialized Hotrock. We opted for the 7
speed only version (only one ring in front), with the idea that we could upgrade the crankset later
if need be. We went for a quick ride around the neighborhood on Christmas day along with little
sister and here new sparkly purple Schwinn, but never left pavement.

Yesterday I asked Matthew if he wanted to go for a "real" bike ride. His face broke into a huge grin
and his chest just puffed up while he bellowed, "Sure!." We got dressed, loaded up, and were on our
way in no time to the local city park trails. It's nothing too challenging, but its close and its
fun. I even gave the boy one a military issue desert camo Camelbacks that had been sitting around
unused for a while. I thought we was going to burst with pride when he slipped that on.

In the parking lot, I tried to talk him through some basic skills: Standing/pedaling out of the
saddle, weight shifts, braking advice, etc. I don't think much sunk in as he didn't have much of a
frame of reference to go by. No matter, as a kid he'd pick it up on his own quickly enough. We
started out on the "novice" loop, which is about a mile long twisty, rooty singletrack through the
trees. Obviously we went pretty slowly, but he managed to figure out how to stay on the trail
without too much effort. The log jumps intimidated him, but eventually I got him to try one or two
easy ones and he did fine. Hills were a new phenomenon for the boy, though. I could see him ahead of
me locking the rear will on the downhills, and not anticipating the uphills. No problem really, as I
told him anytime he wanted or needed to he should get off and push. He really enjoyed the idea of
riding right through mud holes and quickly both he and the bike were covered.

He was really enjoying himself until we came to a series of wooden bridges across a small
depression. As he pointed the bike down into the gully, I could see that he was nervous about the
bridge and wasn't really controlling the bike. He was just gritting his teeth and hoping chance
would get him across without incident. Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his front wheel
rolled over the edge (only about 6" high) and he flew over the front. Before I could even get to him
he'd popped up and was checking out the bike, so I knew he wasn't hurt. We continued on and shortly
came to the next bridge, this one with a bit steeper run in. I encouraged him to just let the bike
roll down and over and try to maintain a little speed for the climb up on the other side. He tried,
but was obviously a little schizoid from the last bridge encounter. His front tire hit the boards,
rattled around a bit, and he panicked. Once again, the bike was down and he was off the front,
though with more speed this time. I was pretty worried. This time he popped right up, but seemed a
bit more confused about what happened. He was also rubbing his thigh where he'd taken a sharp blow.
I helped pick up the bike and quickly noticed the rear brake lever was bent and the mount was
snapped at the handlebar. No other damage to the bike though, so it was still ridable. I could tell
by the look on his face that he'd had enough after two bouts with the bridges. As we were about at
the halfway point and totally flat from there on, I make him get back on and ride out which he did
without further incident.

When we got home the first thing he did was run in and show his mom the three bloody scratches on
his leg and the mud on his face. A quick trip to the bike shop and we had a new brake lever on in
less than an hour. Much props go to Contes Bikes in Newport News Virginia for pulling a lever of a
bike on the floor and swapping it for the old one "gratis"/under warranty even after I told 'em what
happened. He's psyched to go again tomorrow, though only after I promised him we'd do the trail with
no bridges.

Tom

Great ride report! I enjoyed reading it. Thanks.

K.

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:ZgkHb.47492$hf1.18382@lakeread06...
<snip good story>

Quoted message said:

Tom

Looks like ya got a new riding buddy.

Quoted message said:

The cap shot off and hit him in the forehead with enough force to leave a knot. It was Old
Faithful, rendered in Dr. Pepper. There was soda on

That's what happens when you drink diet!

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:ZgkHb.47492$hf1.18382@lakeread06...

Quoted message said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage. <snip>

Most excellent! I started riding MTB's too late to get my daughter interested. (Apparently cute boys
were more important!)

BTW, We're having a 'Hair of the Dog' ride on New Years Day in Richmond. You're welcome to come up
and join us. We're meeting at the Belle's Island Parking lot near the Tredegar Civil War Museum at
10 am. It'll be a SLOW ride. ;^)

Mike

Michael Dart said:

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:ZgkHb.47492$hf1.18382@lakeread06...

Quoted message said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage. <snip>

Most excellent! I started riding MTB's too late to get my daughter interested. (Apparently cute
boys were more important!)

BTW, We're having a 'Hair of the Dog' ride on New Years Day in Richmond. You're welcome to come up
and join us. We're meeting at the Belle's Island Parking lot near the Tredegar Civil War Museum at
10 am. It'll be a SLOW ride. ;^)

Mike

Mike,

Sounds good. No plans for New Years Day yet, so I'll try to make it. I'll try and shoot you an email
later this week.

Tom

tcmedara said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage.

<snip great story of father-son bonding>

I can't wait for that! I'll just have to settle for this for a while:
mattb.netyellow%20jersey.jpgOpen ↗

Matt

Quoted message said:

BTW, We're having a 'Hair of the Dog' ride on New Years Day in Richmond. You're welcome to come up
and join us. We're meeting at the Belle's Island Parking lot near the Tredegar Civil War Museum at
10 am. It'll be a SLOW ride. ;^)

I might make that one myself.

Hopefully the trails will dry up this week; I was downtown today and they're the muddiest I've
ever seen.

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<ZgkHb.47492$hf1.18382@lakeread06>...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his front wheel rolled over the edge (only about 6" high)
and he flew over the front. Before I could even get to him he'd popped up and was checking out the
bike, so I knew he wasn't hurt. > Tom

"...checking out the bike." Maybe it's just holiday nostalgia getting to me, but that's just totally
[censored]'! Some would say that bike love is learned, but I believe this illustrates that the "protect
the bike" reflex is innate.

/s

"supabonbon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<ZgkHb.47492$hf1.18382@lakeread06>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his front wheel rolled over the edge (only about 6"
high) and he flew over the

front.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Before I could even get to him he'd popped up and was checking out the

bike,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

so I knew he wasn't hurt. > Tom

"...checking out the bike." Maybe it's just holiday nostalgia getting to me, but that's just
totally [censored]'! Some would say that bike love is learned, but I believe this illustrates that
the "protect the bike" reflex is innate.

Nastiest fall I ever had, the first reflex action was to drag the bike out of the water. I then
inventoried my injuries.

[email hidden] (supabonbon) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"tcmedara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<ZgkHb.47492$hf1.18382@lakeread06>...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately, chance kicked his ass and his front wheel rolled over the edge (only about 6"
high) and he flew over the front. Before I could even get to him he'd popped up and was checking
out the bike, so I knew he wasn't hurt. > Tom

"...checking out the bike." Maybe it's just holiday nostalgia getting to me, but that's just
totally [censored]'! Some would say that bike love is learned, but I believe this illustrates that
the "protect the bike" reflex is innate.

Bodies heal and have insurance. Bike repairs cost real money! 😉
--
Jonesy

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Tcmedara
It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage.

Tom

In a related story: I just got back to work today after having last week off (soooo nice to not have that pager on, not shave, not have to be available 24/7). A buddy at work brought his 13 year old in to the office for a minute so he could "show-off" his new scabs (soon to be scars he says) from his first "real" mountain bike and crash. We were soon engaged (dad, son, me, couple others) in a "scar-off"! It was great. I think we have a convert (he's been racing bmx in town for a few years). His father is sure he'll be outriding us by the end of next year. Sadly he probably won't even need the winter to top me!

K.

MattB said:

tcmedara said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage.

<snip great story of father-son bonding>

I can't wait for that! I'll just have to settle for this for a while:
mattb.netyellow%20jersey.jpgOpen ↗

Matt

Awesome picture, though I'm a little worried about the roadie-like flavor of the t-shirt. However,
the beefy stem and serious risers just scream "downhill." And of course the "baggies" take on a
whole new meaning at that age, eh? Who needs chamois with 2 inches of diaper and contents? Sort of a
self made "gel seat."

Hope the shoulder is healing up well. I'm looking forward to your first post-op RR. I'm only six
weeks away from the same drill. I've heard so many horror stories about recovering from shoulder
surgery that I'm dreading the whole post-op period. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to being
able to ride, sleep, and lift my arm over my head without pain.

Happy New Year

Tom

tcmedara said:

MattB said:

tcmedara said:

It had it all -- mud, blood, and bike breakage.

<snip great story of father-son bonding>

I can't wait for that! I'll just have to settle for this for a while:
mattb.netyellow%20jersey.jpgOpen ↗

Matt

Awesome picture, though I'm a little worried about the roadie-like flavor of the t-shirt. However,
the beefy stem and serious risers just scream "downhill." And of course the "baggies" take on a
whole new meaning at that age, eh? Who needs chamois with 2 inches of diaper and contents? Sort of
a self made "gel seat."

His mom bought him the yellow jersey. She's a roadie (makes ours a "mixed marriage"😉. I'll be
psyched if he likes any kind of cycling, but I'm really hoping it's MTB.

Quoted message said:

Hope the shoulder is healing up well. I'm looking forward to your first post-op RR. I'm only six
weeks away from the same drill. I've heard so many horror stories about recovering from shoulder
surgery that I'm dreading the whole post-op period. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to
being able to ride, sleep, and lift my arm over my head without pain.

It is doing well. I'm going skiing tomorrow (haven't decided between tele or alpine - alpine would
be safer, but I just got some new tele boards and tele is more compatible with the Mrs. style of
skiing) so we'll see how that goes. PT is getting painful as we have moved into the range of
motion work.

Quoted message said:

Happy New Year

You too!

Quoted message said:

Tom

Matt