Wild Ride (4 page)
“Frank, get over here!” she bellowed. The rest of the crew stopped what they were doing, curious.
Frank appeared a moment later. “What now?” he snapped.
“I was hoping you could explain why I just found another rut on a trail you
swore
you hadn’t been on. And,” she added, “I found this in the brush near the rut.” She opened her hand to reveal a bright-red bike reflector.
Frank snorted. “That’s not mine. Someone probably lost it last year.”
“Not a chance,” Alison shot back. “It would have been buried in dirt and debris. Someone lost this recently.”
“Well, it wasn’t me!”
Alison’s eyes blazed. “You lie to me again and I will
definitely
ban you from the skatepark!”
“He’s not a liar. I am.”
Jonas pushed his way through to Alison’s side. He reached out and took the reflector from Alison’s hand. “This is mine.”
Alison stared. Frank smirked.
Jonas felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. “And what exactly is your reflector doing up here, Jonas?” his father asked. His voice was low, but Jonas could hear the anger in it.
Jonas swallowed hard. “I — I was up here yesterday. I had a wipeout. My reflector must have come off then.” He turned to Alison. “And I was the one who turned the sign around.”
“Told you I didn’t do it,” muttered Frank. Alison grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The rest of the crew backed off, too, leaving Jonas and his father alone.
“You mean to tell me you went mountain biking by yourself on trails you knew were unsafe?” Mr. Malloy asked. “Did anyone know you were up here?”
Jonas stared at the ground and shook his head. Mr. Malloy let out a long breath. “And you had a wipeout. Well, that explains why your bike was such a mess this morning. And why your chain was clicking.” Jonas’s head snapped up. “Oh, yes, I heard it. And I noticed your reflector was missing. I figured you had lost it in the rainstorm yesterday.” He shook his head. “It never crossed my mind that you’d been up here.”
“I — I’m sorry, Dad,” Jonas whispered.
Mr. Malloy knelt in front of his son. “Rules are made for a reason. One reason is to keep people safe.” He sighed. “You know I have to punish you, right?”
Jonas nodded.
“I was looking forward to biking with you,” his father said. “But I guess that will have to wait. No mountain biking for one month.” He stood up. “Now, let’s go take care of that rut you made.”
As awful as the punishment was, Jonas knew it was fair. He also knew he’d learned a lesson he wasn’t likely to forget. As he picked up a shovel and followed his father, he vowed that the next time he took a wild ride, he’d stick to the rules — and play it safe.
Mountain biking is a two-part activity. Part one is going up the mountain. Part two is coming back down. Both require steady balance, strong legs, and quick reactions. But how one gets up a mountain is very different from how one gets down.
Riding your bike up a mountain means pedaling — hard. One way to make pedaling a little easier is to shift your bike into a lower gear. Another is to stand up in the seat so that you can use the full force of your leg muscles to push the pedals. Rocking the bike back and forth while standing helps keep you moving, too. To rock, lean your bike to the right as your right pedal pushes down, then to the left as your left pedal pushes down.
After all the hard work of making it up a mountain, coming down may seem like a piece of cake. But descending takes just as much, if not more, concentration and effort as the climb. For one thing, riders need to control their speed. Since jamming on the brakes while careening down a hill could cause you to flip over your handlebars, keep forward momentum in check by squeezing the brakes lightly over and over instead. This is called feathering.
Taking corners while coming down a hill can be tricky. To corner safely, brake before you start to turn. That way, you’re less likely to lose control. Leaning into a turn can help keep you stable, too. And keep your eyes on the trail! The brain has a way of telling the rest of the body to follow where the eyes lead. If you’re looking somewhere else, you may steer your bike off the trail without even knowing it.
On your way down the mountain, you’re likely to run into obstacles such as fallen branches, roots, rocks, and holes. If you’re a beginner, your best bet is to swerve around them if you can. If you can’t, shift your weight backward so that your front wheel can pass over the obstacle more easily. Since the front wheel is connected to the handlebars, riders can lose control of the bike if the front wheel hits something hard enough.
More advanced riders can loft or bunny hop — lift the front or the front and back wheels — over obstacles. However, these moves take weeks to master. To learn how to do these and other moves, join a mountain-biking club, pair up with an experienced rider, or research these techniques at your local library. But before you attempt any of them on a trail, be sure to practice, practice, practice!
The Extreme Team
#1
ONE SMOOTH MOVE
#2
DAY OF THE DRAGON
#3
ROLLER HOCKEY RUMBLE
#4
ON THIN ICE
#5
ROCK ON
#6
INTO THE DANGER ZONE
#7
WILD RIDE