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wood and other materials to size.
With permission and hammer in hand, Mike went to work. Using a few minutes during lunch here, a few minutes after school there, Mike built the ramp. “He really worked at it - built it himself on his own time,” Mr. Currie said, obviously pleased with the young man’s initiative.
And last week, the ramp was ready to go home. But before it did, Mike gave Mr. Currie and a group of interested students a demonstration of the sport. To the beat of AC/DC, he put his specially fitted bicycle through a series of maneuvers which proved that with the right rider in the saddle the rear wheel doesn’t necessarily need to be on the ground for a bike to move.
During a competition, he explained, riders are allowed a minute and a half to perform their routine, which consists of tricks they have selected themselves. Each is judged according to degree of difficulty and skill of execution. At some events, Mike said, as many as 100 riders compete.
Mike’s bike is similar to other low-slung, knobby-tired off-road bikes, with the addition of extra footpegs on the front and rear axles. And there are a number of roughtextured grip pads stuck to the main frame tube and the handlebar brace. “They’re for advanced tricks,” Mike said with a smile. “I’m not quite there yet.”
Though he’s been competing for only about four months, Mike said, he’s definitely hooked. His halfdozen trophies, lined up in front of the ramp, attest to his ability. “He practices every day,” his grandmother said, “at least an hour a day. With it getting dark so early he doesn’t have as much time, but he comes home right after school and rides until dark.”
Does she worry about him getting hurt? Well, she did insist that Mike wear the required safety hel
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