High Flying Hippie Hoodie

 



Here's another interesting ride on my old Yamaha DS 100.

I was 12 or 13 and it was this time of year - mid spring. My friend and I were riding around on our local dirt roads. We came up on a trail that was roped off with a “No Trespassing” sign. I knew where this trail led, to my Uncle Wally's (he wasn't really my uncle, but he always told me to call him Uncle Wally) cabin. Seeing as it was my uncle's place, I knew it would be ok if we took a ride through his trail.

My friend was riding a four wheeler and he and I would always argue which was best, a dirt bike or quad. I had to show how much faster than him I could go through this trail (this was no small feat because he was crazy on that quad). I knew that the bike could definitely out corner the quad, so I went extra fast at each curve.

As I was going through a particularly long curve, I received a little surprise, a downed tree. Oh shit! I had no time to brake, so I hit it hard! I flew over the handlebars and through the air. I landed on my helmet's face mask. This was a streetbike full face helmet with the shield removed. The lower part of the mask dug into the dirt, filling my face and mouth with it. I was wearing one of those "hippie hoodies" (the multicolored burlap sacks with sleeves and a hood) and the rough woven material basically gave my arms rug burn as I slid on the ground. Needless to say, this sucked. However, my bike was virtually undamaged, just a couple scratches.

My friend mockingly laughed as he slowly rode his quad over the tree. Damn! Chalk one up for four wheelers (dirt bikes are still better). What lesson did I learn? Follow instructions when you see no trespassing signs, don't show off on an unknown trail, and don't wear hippie hoodies (I think they were trendy back then… it was the grunge era).

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” – Helen Keller