Since we had an off week from racing for Mother's Day, here's some more background on our protagonist, Finn (and maybe some context about me). I guess you can say he exited the womb with a destiny on two wheels. At least I hoped so. One of the first articles of clothing I bought for him had a motorcycle on it. He was a bit too young to ride and it was winter, so we together longed for spring and its fair riding weather.
But the bicycle training began as early as practicable. In our quest to de-gas our infant, we'd move his legs in a bicycle motion. Often, this yielded desired results. But he needed training on the throttle and clutch, so I took pleasure in playing a song for him so he could learn how to braap- "Dirt Bike Rider" by Hot Action Cop.
"When I was a kid...
I never bothered with what my friends did.
I just wanted to be
a dirt bike rider."
For the first 2 years of Finn's life, I did what I could to bring him into the 2-wheeled fold. Shop time wrenching, sitting on the bikes, videos of bikes, Dakar Rally season, etc.
I didn't get to attend many events or races when he was really young (naturally), but his first motorcycle race was watching me in the Florence Grand Prix May 2023, where he wore earmuffs and actually fell asleep right next to the main street straight.
At less than 6 months of age, we had started Finn's dirt bike fund with some seed money from a generous fishing pal in Nebraska what we affectionately call "Uncle Morrie." This investment persists and has multiplied several times over, however, what constitutes a "dirt bike" may be different by the time he grows into the fund. I'd guess Finn's first dirt bike will be electric. But we're maybe a couple years off still.
Once we scored a seat for Finn to ride on the mountain bike with me, we got busy pedaling. A motorbike pal gifted us a used baby seat and purple helmet with bows. We weren't choosy, since it was a solid entry to bicycling. Finn took to it immediately and was comfortable enough to reliably fall asleep.
Finn's first balance bike was another hand-me-down from my motorcycle buddy. We definitely put some miles on that thing pushing him around the yard in Winchester. He's since personalized it a bit with some stickers to match his dad's Kawasaki. Team Green.
And we got him his own helmet. With dinosaurs on it.
At about 1 and a half, we went to his first BMX event at the Hardesty track in Tulsa. Here is where we saw other kids of all age and size riding/racing bikes. Seems like it could be a fun thing for Finn to do as an "organized sport."
Finn and I picked up a basket case Chinese scooter that I hoped we would fix together someday.
Always be ready to ride.
At the Black and Gold Glenpool carnival, it was pretty obvious that he's pretty much stoked about anything with handlebars. His riding partner was not so impressed.
It won't be long. He's definitely got his eye on the next level- dirt bikes.
If we take his bike with us, it's a guarantee to entertain him for a while. As he gets more brave, he ventures out farther, so it's tough to keep track of him.
I was a bit over-anxious and bought him a Trek pedal bike with training wheels for his 2nd birthday. He likes it, but it has limitations due to the training wheels. He's figuring out the mechanics of the pedals though and won't be long before we can shed those outriggers.
On a recent campout to Keystone Lake, Finn had somewhat of a breakthrough on the balance bike. He just started ripping on it. Pointed in a direction and just went. But the key thing I noticed was his desire to ride the hard lines over technical obstacles. Holes and bumps. And through the water. This seems to inspire him a lot more than going straight or fast. Perhaps this is foreshadowing for some trials riding or more technical MTB rather than BMX. We'll see.
And that pretty much brings us up to date. We've been practicing this week, which deserved some ice cream.
Buckle up- we've got a big update after a weekend full of two-wheeled adventures with Finn. :) As Nina and I have observed Finn's bicycling development, we have agreed that maybe he would enjoy and benefit from Observed Trials motorcycling someday, as it's low speed and lower risk, but builds critical balance and skills for offroad motorcycling/bicycling. Also, it requires very little space. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_trials . So, when I saw that NEOTT was hosting a big trials event on Saturday, we made plans for Finn and I to attend. It was at a great location where Finn could ride around over obstacles, which he loves to do. And he got to see (older) kids competing in trials. Plus, he got to see a girl have a minor getoff and recover quickly, so we got to talk about crashing again. He still brings up the fact that he crashed at the BMX race last weekend. But it seems that, though it made an impression, he isn't traumatized by it. With his toddler patienc...
Better get some things written down before we get too behind here. Finn’s first BMX race Sunday April 27, 2025, was a success. Not knowing how things worked aside from a cursory perusal of the Sand Springs BMX website and track rules, we showed up on a muggy day at about 2pm. Practice and sign ups were supposed to happen from about 2-3 with races after. With the help of a teenage girl named Maddie, cones were placed on the finish straight and the one preceding it such that the balance bikes had a “safe zone” for practice on those two “rhythm” sections. Essentially a coned-off 3’ lane consisting of varying height roller hills with one 180deg turn. It was foreign to both of us, but we took cues from the other racers and parents. We put in a bit of sweat (mostly mine) laying down some practice laps and then we found ourselves on the track when the parade lap began during the national anthem. Not knowing protocols, we paused during the anthem and in retrospect, should have just kept ...
This weekend was a busy one, but we were blessed with fair weather and no threats of rain. Most of our focus was on prepping for mama’s 39th birthday and we had a small party planned for Saturday night. So we stayed up later than usual, which challenged our wakefulness Sunday morning, race day. Finn and I had plans to spectate at a cross country race where my long-time dirtbike racing pal was competing. We are fortunate to live about a half mile away from a trail complex consisting of two separate parks with hiking/mtb trails that have an additional trail system corridor connecting them. It is close enough to ride bicycles from home to the park, so that was our original plan. But with the late night, Finn slept a bit late, so we had to scrap the ride plan and drive to the race. Nabbed a burrito enroute. We cheered for the racers and got to see another type of bicycle event, but most of our focus was on the familiar playground with slides, ladders, and other things to climb....
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