It was his first time out in 2 ½ years, so I didn’t know what to expect, but was at least glad he was willing to try out a 2-stroke – a custom KX/KDX hybrid nonetheless a friend graciously provided. Mind you: he vehemently prefers straight-gas sippers. And by the way: dad’s never going to buy him anything with valves and cams again because I’m the one who has to pick it up and start it after a fall or a failed trail maneuver (at sixteen, 107 lbs. of skin and bones is not enough!)
He seemed to catch on to riding again pretty well, yet his first mishap followed a stop after missing a RH turn on the other side of a mud puddle. Once straightening it out, he started it up and the next thing I saw was it coming at me standing straight up! Then the dust cloud and me saying “are you all right?” “yeah.” Geesh: I couldn’t get that thing to do a power wheelie the other day!
We did the usual Placelast loop, and there were no other close calls until he got into a rut and stalled, then slowly backed onto the lip of a big trail drop off. “Dad: I’m going off the edge!” I told him to hold on, I’m commin’. We were in some awfully tight stuff, in manzanita and scrub oaks that would slap you neck and rip jerseys. When he didn’t make the next steep uphill, I concluded this was a bit much for him right now, so we turned back to the truck. Thing is, we were about ten miles out by then. So we found our way back to the valley floor and stayed on the more level sections as opposed to the steeper inclines.
On one of the last section he lagged behind, so after some waiting, I became concerned. Turns out he hit a rock he couldn’t see in the shade, and it pitched him over the bars. It developed into a rash but it wasn’t too serious. With that he said “I’m just not into speed like you and David (our oldest son) are.” “Speed is not that’s not important, son; that is why it is just us two today, trail riding, and so long as you are enjoy it, we’ll do it at whatever pace you feel comfortable.”
Overall I’d say he did better than on the former XR200 - not bad after so long being off. And I’m glad I hardly had to do restarts and pickups. Now if I can only convince mom it’s time we buy something again for him…
He seemed to catch on to riding again pretty well, yet his first mishap followed a stop after missing a RH turn on the other side of a mud puddle. Once straightening it out, he started it up and the next thing I saw was it coming at me standing straight up! Then the dust cloud and me saying “are you all right?” “yeah.” Geesh: I couldn’t get that thing to do a power wheelie the other day!
We did the usual Placelast loop, and there were no other close calls until he got into a rut and stalled, then slowly backed onto the lip of a big trail drop off. “Dad: I’m going off the edge!” I told him to hold on, I’m commin’. We were in some awfully tight stuff, in manzanita and scrub oaks that would slap you neck and rip jerseys. When he didn’t make the next steep uphill, I concluded this was a bit much for him right now, so we turned back to the truck. Thing is, we were about ten miles out by then. So we found our way back to the valley floor and stayed on the more level sections as opposed to the steeper inclines.
On one of the last section he lagged behind, so after some waiting, I became concerned. Turns out he hit a rock he couldn’t see in the shade, and it pitched him over the bars. It developed into a rash but it wasn’t too serious. With that he said “I’m just not into speed like you and David (our oldest son) are.” “Speed is not that’s not important, son; that is why it is just us two today, trail riding, and so long as you are enjoy it, we’ll do it at whatever pace you feel comfortable.”
Overall I’d say he did better than on the former XR200 - not bad after so long being off. And I’m glad I hardly had to do restarts and pickups. Now if I can only convince mom it’s time we buy something again for him…
