I went in early that week and bought the Yamaha PW50, a bike that has remained largely the same for over a decade, since it gets the job done. That job is of course, introducing new young riders to the sport. Automatic clutch; 1 gear; point, twist and go.
A day after buying the PW50, it occurred to me that I was going to need some way of hanging with Colin as he was riding. As a friend of mine relayed having gone through this himself years ago, and the idea of jogging after him or chasing him from the pedals of a bmx bicycle didn't hold much appeal. So back to the dealer I went ...
We are very lucky to know someone, who knows someone, who has his own dirtbike track. Just short of actually having your own land with your very own track, this is the next best thing.
Having mastered the loop and hill in the backyard, it was time to move on to something a little more challenging. This section of the track serpentines around within a couple of acres. It had some nice 3 - 5' banked turns and several tabletop jumps that probably average around 4' in height. Hit a 4' tall pile of dirt at 15 - 20 mph and you will get some air.
Looking again to his rear wheel, you see the compressed suspension and the dirt kicked up upon landing. Boy, if only I'd captured some of the actual jumping. He was pretty amazing for a first time.
