CHAPTER 6
On Saturday morning, Jason headed to Pine River National Park to meet Stephen. It felt weird to ride Paul’s BMX bike across town. His legs were way more tired than when he rode his mountain bike.
“Why aren’t we practicing at the track with Paul and his friends?” Jason asked.
He looked around the picnic tables, wooded areas, and paved trails in the park. It didn’t look like a BMX course at all.
“They’ll make you nervous,” Stephen said. “You need to get comfortable on that bike before you do anything else. You need to learn to go up and down hills.”
“This park is totally flat,” Jason said. “Maybe this isn’t the best place.”
“There are miles and miles of dirt trails along the river,” Stephen said. “Dave used to ride them until he fell over.”
Great, Jason thought. Just the way I want to spend my Saturday.
Stephen pulled an old notebook from his backpack. “I borrowed this from my brother,” he said. “It’s every racing trick he collected from his BMX days. He and his team would write down what they did to win. And they added lessons from when they lost.”
“Like a BMX instruction book?” Jason asked. “That’s really cool.” Stephen tossed the book to him. Jason flipped through the pages. There were sketches of racetracks, jumps, and notes on nearly every page.
Crouch down low over your seat to minimize wind drag, Jason read to himself.
That makes sense, he thought. Standing up too high probably just slows you down.
“I’m not sure it’ll help,” Stephen admitted. “But it’s better than nothing.”
“Cool,” Jason said. “Where do we start, Coach?”
“You ride until your legs hurt,” Stephen said. “Then you ride some more. Follow me.”
* * *
Stephen wasn’t kidding. Jason spent the entire day racing through the rough, muddy, overgrown trails. More than a few times, he wiped out.
“Get up!” Stephen called. He followed from a distance on his mountain bike. “The race isn’t over just because you fall. It ends when you cross the finish line!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jason muttered. There was mud caked into the sprocket and cranks of the bike. One of the back wheel pegs was buried in the ground.
Fantastic, Jason thought, wiping the mud away. I’ll probably end up ruining Paul’s bike before I get a chance to race with it.
Stephen skidded to a stop and hopped off the bike. He pulled the BMX notebook out of his backpack and opened it.
“David’s notes say one of the biggest mistakes riders make is quitting,” Stephen said. “Once they fall off, they act like the race is over. The best thing to do is get back on quick and ride like you’re on fire.”
“Fine,” Jason said. He picked up the bike and got back on. Silently, he rode off.
“Wait for me, Jason!” Stephen called.
At one point, Jason hit a huge pothole, knocking himself off of his bike. He flew over the handlebars and hit the ground hard. He lay there stunned.
“Are you okay?” Stephen called. He stopped his mountain bike to help Jason.
“Yeah,” Jason said, groaning. “I’ll live.”
“Good,” Stephen said. “Then get back on the bike! You have more work to do.”