Tyler's first wreck that Scared me

Me on Todd's 125 and a new riding place

We found a new place to ride(it's called Boykin ATV Off-rode). It's about half as far as the main place we ride at. The guys who own the land are really nice guys. My bike ended up with another flat tire so I ended up riding Todd's 125 while he snapped some pics with our little camera. The bike is so much bigger than it looks in these pictures. It's actually so big that I can ride it fine but I can't stop. I actually roll in to where Todd can catch the bike for me. This bike is so much more fun and has so much more power than my 100. I am considering later getting the Honda 85R Expert bike.

Here are a few pics:

Here is Tyler doing his stunts while we were there:

Meet Duke. I swear this dog is always smiling. This is the dog that lives at ATV off-road, he is also the dog that gets half our lunch when we go ride. He's just too cute:

My dirt bike story--I drove Todd's Honda 125CC

10 years ago if you had asked me if I would ever ride a dirtbike the answer would be "NO WAY! not on your life, never" I thought they were too noisey, stinkey, dangerous, rectless, scarey, etc.

Well this is my story:
5 years ago Todd had a KLR(on road-off road dirtbike, that way he did not need a trailer for it) Well as far as I traveled on it was around the block putting on the back with Todd. I hated it!! It was just scarey to me.
Well then about 2 years Todd got some Honda dirtbikes for him and Tyler. He got Tyler a brand new 50cc right from the Honda shop and threw him on it. The bike tried to go without Tyler on it. Tyler tried a couple of more times to ride it but he just wasn't ready. So I ended up giving it a try and I liked it ok but we decided a Golf Cart would be better for everyone at the time and it was(I'm thinking I really want another one)

Then Justin came to work with Todd and they were discussing wanting to get dirtbikes again since they both use to ride.
Then my uncle had a Family get together this July and he and his son had 2 Kawasaki's. My cousin's was a KLX110, automatic clutch that he let me ride. I loved riding it around his yard.

So sometime after that we were talking and Todd decided to get another dirtbike so that he could ride with Justin at Carolina Adventure World and we found that the kids could drive one of the buggy Go-karts there. And I could drive the KLX110.
Well I quickly discovered how painful the suspension is on the 110 and also I was limited on riding. So I spent alot of time researching another bike, only to discover that to move up I would have to learn the CLUTCH!! So I decided on the CR100 (based on weight, seat height, and tire size) Todd told me to give it a try and we would sell whichever bike I decided I did not want. The first day or 2 on the 100 I was not pleased. I was stalling it and it felt wierd to me. Well after a day or 2 at Carolina Adventure World I picked it up. The suspension was so much more comfortable to my lower stomach.(I thought I would cry after 4 hrs of hitting bumps on the 110).
Well the only thing left was to sell the 110, but that did not happen. Tyler decided he really wanted to learn to ride. He loved the little Green dirtbike. So he gave it a real try. Now it seems as though he was made for riding. He makes almost no mistakes. He's jumping it and flying up to curves, then breaking and sliding. We have not found a challenge yet that he has fear on. He is riding the green trails which are the easy ones with almost no effort and has even gone on the blue trails (alittle harder than green--these are more steep and such) There was one that he said he didn't really like it but no real complaints.
Now back to me. I have learned to jump my dirtbike! No, not off any huge tabletops but small jumps. And then my big news!!!! You're not going to believe this>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I DROVE Todd's DIRTBIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The thing is huge I have to climb up and have him hold it while I kick it but then I'm off!!!! I was even JUMPING IT!!! Oh the excitement of riding on something that big compared to myself. ( I am 5ft 4 1/2 inches and my leg height is 28 inches.) Yes I kept it in 1st and 2nd gear which on his bike feels like a lot of power. It's amazing how much easier it handles though and it can go over logs that on Tyler's 110 I would have been fired off the seat and over the handlebars if I even attempted it!

This is a big deal for me. I never would have imagined the day I would be able to drive a dirt bike of that size. I honestly can not describe how it feels to achieve something like that. I have been such a low-risk scared kind of person and now to be doing these things---I feel like I am beginning to live and not hide in fear. (I'm not saying it's not scary to think about it still because I still have that oh my goodness "what if..?" I am saying I sometimes worry more than I should)

Now I only ask myself how could I have been missing out on this all my life!!!!
(I still have to take a picture to add for you to see)

Day of mishappenings

We headed out to Carolina Adventure world today for 8 hours of fun and adventures.

• Right after we got there Todd broke his clutch shifter on the mototrack.


• Then the rubber strip between my rim and inter tube on my tire came out and was wrapped around my spoke which is when we noticed I had a flat front tire


• And then after that Todd's Spark pull fouled out from going so slow the past 2 weekends.

But the highlights of the day was that Tyler is riding REALLY Good. None of the trails scare him at all. He wrecked 3 times and each time he just picked himself back up and kept going. I'm going to a have to keep improving my riding skills because I can see him smoking past me in a few years. He is so good. His Balance is Perfect!!!! All the time he has spent on his BMX is really paying off now.

I have by far more fear for him than he has in himself. He has only been riding a short time and he is already wanting to learn bike tricks. Coming off the trails while cruising on the service roads he rides with his little feet rested up on the gas tank, and then I see him standing and doing one handers. I know that in 10 years I will probably just have to close my eyes and put all my trust into him and the lord because I know that it will be to much for a mom alone to take on. And right now I have to just really TRUST in myself that I am making the right decisions on all of this. I know boys will be boys and life is too short to not live and have fun.

Also I almost forgot to mention that we met another family that home schools also and their son is a little older than Tyler. We are really hoping that we will get to meet up with them again.

Tyler on his dirtbike

Sunday at Carolina Adventure World

My parents joined us and took some pictures on Sunday. We had a great day except when the tire on the golf cart we rented blew and flung my mom. Her back was hurting that day when it happened But now her neck is also hurting. I keep asking her to go to the dr to have it looked at. I wish she would but she says it does hurt very bad but she thinks it will get better. I also wish they would have bigger better tires on the golf carts they rent out. The tires are the smallest and cheesiest I have ever seen. I do know that we will not be renting one of there golf carts again.

I am still picking up speed on the trails and have gotten use to the clutch. I know I rode the hardest ever because I fell asleep that night before 8pm and was a bit sore the next day. What an awesome way to get exercise!!!!

Lucky enough.....

to have my very own pit crew!!!

Today at Carolina Adventure World

We took a couple of pictures with the point and shoot. I am dieing to take some real pictures just trying to figure out how to get my camera safely out on the trails. It's ruff and sandy.


The trails really are incredible. The entire time I am riding I go over in my head how to put the experience into words. You come up on the curves so quickly with trees right at the very edge some grazing the handlebars and the terrain can be unpredictable, sometimes sand other times very rocky. Your hands and eyes get tired but the excitement to see how fast you can clear the next turn and the fast shifting from lane to lane as you glide and lean into the next curve trying to always keep with the outer and then inner lanes is undiscribable. The land is so beautiful and the air feels so fresh blowing into your helmet. I enjoy riding so much. I get a little scared sometimes, and I can't ride anywhere near as fast as Todd and the guys and I've crashed more times than I am able to count, but I try not to let any of that bother me or effect the way I ride or the fun I'm having. I do not ride to race; although, when they fly past me I do like to give it a little extra gas just to see if I can attempt to be as fast as them for a second or two.



I've discovered alot of other things also while riding, like it's better to keep rolling a little faster than it is to slow way down or stop. The gravity holds me to the curves better and the speed pulls me up the hill better then if I panic and try to stop. This panic causes me to wreck. I do better when I relax and stay focused. I wish I had been video recording my ride at each stage to show the improvement I am making. Taking on this challenge to ride has given me a new meaning to the word determination.

And now Tyler is beginning to learn to ride and when I watched him ride yesterday I remember that was me only weeks ago, creaping over little bits of sand that now I fly over without even giving it any thought.

Riding with my parents

I was so excited to have talked my parents into joining us to ride this weekend.





My mom has never really been around go-karts and dirt bikes except at amusement park places but even then she never rode them. Well after she rode around on our Buggy she was hooked. She couldn't believe how much fun it was. She even gave the little dirt bike a try but that did not work out so well. Her dirt bike career ended in less than 2 seconds with a fun wheelie bike launch story for her to tell for years to come.
My dad even skipped half his Nascar race on TV to come join us. Even though he was sore that night he really had a good time cruising around with us. I loved having my parents join us for the ride so much. It was so cool all of us riding together!!!! I wish Billy could have joined in too, but he said he wasn't feeling good. Hopefully we can get him to ride with us next time too.

This is kind of a goofy picture of me and Todd. My mom took it right after we pulled up from him taking me for a ride on his bike. Holy Moly I could not believe how fast it was going and it wasn't even full speed. Something about the thought of going 70 mph on a dirt bike just does not sound like fun to me. I did like riding while he drove though I could never have gone that fast by myself. I can't believe we've been together 14 years and I have just now built up enough trust to ride with him. Some things just take time. This is one of them.
This was one of the coolest weekends!!!!!

New Dirtbike

I upgraded to a bigger dirtbike. It's a 2003 Honda XR100R. The size is perfect for me, but the clutch I'm not sure about yet. I'm told it will just take time to get used too. I am hoping this is the case. Because right now I like everything but that. The seat has more cushion, the tires are bigger, and the suspension has more bounce.


This is my dad cruising around on it. Even though it was way too small for him he still had fun riding it around the yard.

Sunday---Fun day at CAW

Since the kids spent Sat night with Nana, me and Todd got up Sun morning; the weather was perfect high of about 78 degrees so we loaded up the dirt bikes and headed to Carolina Adventure World to check out the trails and for Todd to meet up with some of his friends that were going. We rode up there the other weekend without our bikes but couldn't really see the trails. So Sunday we rode about 50 miles of trails for about 4 hours. I was exhausted! Especially after getting over being sick still. This was my first experience at anything like this. I rode on Green and Blue trails which are considered Easy to Moderate. The trails were very rutted and only as wide as a 4wheeler with trees on both sides and full of curves, hills, and rocks. The terrain was different than the soft sand I have been practicing in around here. One of the things I have liked about the sand is that I know when I lay the bike down it won't be too painful, But on a hard surface with sharp rocks there was no way I wanted to risk it. I only laid the bike down once the whole day and that was when I tried to make a last minute turn.
It's hard to believe that there are trails any harder than the ones I was on but there are. There are yellow and black trails which everyone said that these are the trails that would only be as ride as your dirt bike with more curves and hills that were straight up and down. I'm thinking to myself why be nice and call them yellow and black trails why not go ahead and call it something like Trail of Death or Super Suicide. No, I'm not serious, but I am so amazed at how riders can rip through these trails without even blinking.

Anyway we had A LOT of fun. We signed up for the annual pass so we can go whenever we want and the kids can go too. I am also now considering a bigger dirt bike though something like a Honda 100. I just will have to get use to the clutch on it. The bike I'm on right now is too small all around for me but it is great for Tyler and in a couple of years we can pass it to Megan.

My new ride

We went today and bought me a used Kawasaki KLX 110. This bike is sooo perfect for me. It has an automatic clutch= no shifting, also the seat height is perfect. I rode for about 2.5 hours this afternoon. The weather was perfect. I'm gaining skills by practicing on the trails around our house. I already know these like the back of my hand from all the time we spent on them with our golf cart when we had it. I can not begin to tell you how much fun and how truly relaxing this little bike is. My other hobby scrap booking keeps getting pushed further and further aside. I've already moved it to the closet but this dirt bike might just hog all of my hobby time. The really great thing about dirt bike riding is that it is something we as a family enjoy. We are considering joining Carolina Adventure World maybe in the spring or sooner. Carolina Adventures is even going to have a power wheels track, playground, and rock wall. Great for the little guys.

I will have to add a better picture when I get one.