BMX action!

Sarah went bmx-ing.. she even posted to ze email list about it.

Anyways... here it is...

Last night I got talked into going up to Rehbein's BMX Arena (aka The
Barn) to ride on the BMX track. Apparently not having a bike, helmet,
or money isn't an issue or excuse. It was much more difficult and
intimidating than I expected. I went up there last weekend to just
watch and see what it is all about. It's mostly kids, so I thought if
they could do it, I could do it too, right? A friend loaned me his BMX
bike, fully loaded with Spokey Dokes and a seat that was much too
high, but beggars can't be choosers. I figured if a kid made fun of my
Spokey Dokes I would just tell him/her that no one likes them.

I lined up to the gate and the first thing I noticed is that the track
is a lot steeper than I thought it was. The gate went down and off I
went, eating the dust of children. I was really awkward on my bike
since I haven't ridden a BMX bike since I was a kid, and it really
didn't fit. I went up and down the hills, went around the burms
(banked corners) and finished out of breath. The second burm was the
hardest part of the course since it is a clock-wise turn which felt
really strange to me.

For the first hour I was really frustrated and discouraged and ready
to quit. Thankfully the guys I was with were really encouraging, gave
me helpful pointers and cheered me on throughout. Most importantly
they made me keep going around and not give up.

When I finally hit the second burm smoothly I knew I was improving and
actually wanted to keep going! I had a big smile on my face and only
stopped once to get a corn dog. I kept saying "one more time and I'm
done," but I kept lining up to go again. Towards the end I even
started to get some air off the hills and beat a kid to the finish
(I'm a bully, I know).

I'm starting to look for a bike that fits me and plan to keep going
and hopefully improving as significantly as I did over the two hours
last night. I'm even planning on racing one of these weekends (they
award trophies)!

Let me know if you want to come out, it's super fun and the more the
merrier!