Long Islanders

7 - The Bicycle Jump

As the autumn wore on, the boys of the neighborhood took to riding their bikes over the jump course they had started building in the late summer. Widely ridden when first finished, the course sported several intimidating and fun jumps, but the most popular – and most difficult – was also the largest one.

Built of wood planks held up by cinderblocks, the jump had led to some of the biggest bike crashes of the year. Jimmy himself had done the jump several times, narrowly avoiding a crash each time, but had been unable to break the record, set by one of the older Horn brothers. His bike was just not powerful enough.

Ron's brand new mountain bike was just sitting in the garage. Ron had used it a couple times over the summer, but it had mostly spent its time at the Brandts gathering dust in the garage.

Now Jimmy had a greater purpose for it.

Rolling it out of the garage, Jimmy hopped up onto the seat and rode down the driveway, marveling at the smoothness of the ride. Clicking through the gears, he tried out different combinations as he rode down the road to the trail to the woods that lay beside the Horns' house so he could head to the jump course.

As he joined a group of his friends, also on bikes, he pointed to the jump course. "After a ride around the woods, I'm going to ride that jump," he told the other boys. "And I'm going to beat that record."

John lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, really? You know that record's unbeatable."

"Today I'm gonna prove it's not," Jimmy said cockily. "Come on, let's ride!"

Jimmy enjoyed riding Ron's bike through the woods. It was so much faster and smoother than his own bicycle. He played around with the gears until he settled upon the best combination, and he felt excitement and adrenaline course through him as they reached the jump course again.

A crowd had gathered. Apparently, Jimmy's declaration that he was going to beat the record had spread throughout the neighborhood and a bunch of the local kids had turned out to watch him either accomplish it or fail miserably. Either way, it would be enjoyable.

Jimmy's friends hopped off their bikes and leaned them up against the nearby trees as Jimmy rode around the jump and then positioned himself about twenty feet away from the jump, eyeing the wooden ramp that would catapult him into space as soon as he rode up it. Placing his foot on the ground to balance the bike, he sat for a moment, eyes intent on his goal.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

He had already examined the distance between the jump and the current record. It was quite a bit of ground to cover, but he was confident in Ron's bike's ability to cover it. It was just a matter of speed.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

Pressing down on the pedals, Jimmy pushed the bike forward, leaning forward over the handlebars as the machine picked up speed. There was a hush as he hit the bottom of the jump and shot up it.

The tires left the wood, remaining suspended in air as he flew forwards. The feeling of flying enveloped him as the wind whipped through his hair. Jimmy barely had time to look down and see the mark flash by underneath him before he crashed to the ground in a tangle with the bicycle.

There was a cheer as Jimmy's friends surrounded him, pulling him from the wreckage. "You broke the record!" Andrew yelled, shaking him. "You did it, Jimmy! You did it!"

Tim grinned. "And the bike."

Jimmy glanced down at the bicycle, now bent and broken. He made a face. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Dang it," Jimmy muttered. "That's Ron's."

The mark was moved, outlining the new record for the jump. And Jimmy half wheeled, half carried Ron's bicycle back to the house, storing it in a corner of the garage and hoping Ron wouldn't notice.

And for a long time, Ron didn't.

The lecture afterwards was totally worth it for that one perfect moment of glory.

And his record was never broken.