Hickory Hills Youth Trials

Disclaimer, I am going to get terminology all wrong in this post. This is just my POV after hearing all about it, second hand.

When Jack was a baby, Daniel would show him YouTube videos of various off road sports, especially dirt bikes in the woods. When we moved to the Chattanooga area four years ago, Daniel started taking him to the TKO event in Prentice Cooper every August (basically a dirt bike race through the woods).

This fascination with dirt bikes grew even more when another little boy, who is the same age as Jack, and his dad showed up at our neighborhood park a couple of years ago with a kid's dirt bike.

Daniel and Jack immediately befriended the other family (who also happen to have a younger son who is Isaac's age), and this has grown into a fun friendship over shared hobbies...

They have shared their dirt bike with us; Daniel has shared his dirt bike with the other dad and they have ridden together in the local woods; they took the boys on their first big mountain bike ride to Edwards' Point; and they have even attended a couple of events together (Motocross and TKO). I'm not sure who loves this more, the boys or their dads!

We are so grateful for this unexpected friendship and the bonding over bikes of all kinds.

A few weeks ago I shared a bit about Jack learning to ride his friend's dirt bike, and Daniel subsequently getting the boys their first Trials bike. When Isaac turned three, he was determined to ride too!

Last month, when I shared the video of the boys riding, one of Daniel's old co-workers mentioned a Youth Trials competition that would be held in May (just weeks after our purchase). I told Daniel there was no way Jack would be ready to compete because we had just bought the bike and he had had very little practice (other than pretending to be riding a Trials bike when he was on his mountain bike, which meant riding over obstacles, doing wheelies, and practicing going as slow as possible without putting his feet on the ground).

A couple of weeks after the purchase of the bike, Daniel told me he thought he should take Jack to the event. I still wasn't sure. (Jack had only just gotten boots and had only had a chance to ride in the stiff boots once before this event!).

Well, it turns out he was more than ready. On Saturday, Daniel woke Jack up really early and they headed to Lenoir City to participate in the Hickory Hills Youth Trials competition held by Papa Joe.

As I have learned (I know/knew nothing about Trials bikes until about a month ago), Trials competitions are scored like golf. The lower the score, the higher you rank. You get points for putting your feet down while making your way through the course. The kids did four courses, each one subsequently harder than the one before.

Surprisingly, Jack ended up tying for third (with a twelve-year-old) in terms of points (both scored 10 points). The tie breaker was determined by whoever made it through a course clean (without dropping a foot). The other kid ended up beating Jack, but just barely!

We are so proud of Jack! Best of all, he had a great experience and made a new friend (and they all got medals, which he is super proud of).

It seems like Jack has a natural talent and ability for navigating the trail and tight turns, planning ahead for his next move. With a little more practice, I am sure he will be placing.

My boys are ready to go to the next event (it's fun to compete and it's a good learning experience). I'm pretty sure it won't be long until Isaac is taking his turn on the course as well!

Two of Daniel's old co-workers were at this event to compete in the adult trials, and also to cheer Jack on. Daniel got to test ride one of his friend's bikes, so it was a successful day!