I took noah out for a lenghty ride today and instead of going straight to our usual jumps and trails we decided to just ride and explore for a while. we probably got in about 7 miles or so of trail, road, DH and some stunt/drop action during our ride. As we were on the way back to the car, with a fast and fun DH section still ahead of us, he asked me, "dad...is this 'freeride'?" " i mean, because we were like, out riding all over today and exploring AND i did a sweet drop!"
i think i cried a small tear of joy
so i guess that he's figured out the true meaning of the often debated term and he's simplified it in his own head. the best part is that his idea of "freeride" involves riding with me
i think he's even found a new respect and liking of XC riding because he kept saying, "this is awesome!" as we were climbing a long fireroad section that leads to the dirt jump area 
then as we go in the car he was expressing his excitement and said that we could have long rides like this everyday because school is out! i think this is his first summer where he realizes what summer break is really for
so during our ride today we hit up an old spot that we've neglected for months and discovered that someone pieced together a fun little step-down drop thingy. it's probably about 5-6' out and 3' or so down, nothing huge but somewhat tech considering the run-up and landing. i hit it a few times to show him how it works and then he hit it, ....about 20 times! it's so cool watching him clean stuff intended for big bikes on his tiny 20". i took some vid and pics but i'm saving the vid for his next montage that will be coming out soon. it was getting dark and the flash illuminated the dust particles but other than that it's a pretty sweet shot showing the size/tech of the step-down compared to his small body.
can you tell that i'm a proud dad
edit: added two more pics from vid to better show the drop
takeoff
landing (bad angle with the trees but you can see his tire just as it hit the tranny)
i think i cried a small tear of joy
so i guess that he's figured out the true meaning of the often debated term and he's simplified it in his own head. the best part is that his idea of "freeride" involves riding with me
i think he's even found a new respect and liking of XC riding because he kept saying, "this is awesome!" as we were climbing a long fireroad section that leads to the dirt jump area then as we go in the car he was expressing his excitement and said that we could have long rides like this everyday because school is out! i think this is his first summer where he realizes what summer break is really for so during our ride today we hit up an old spot that we've neglected for months and discovered that someone pieced together a fun little step-down drop thingy. it's probably about 5-6' out and 3' or so down, nothing huge but somewhat tech considering the run-up and landing. i hit it a few times to show him how it works and then he hit it, ....about 20 times! it's so cool watching him clean stuff intended for big bikes on his tiny 20". i took some vid and pics but i'm saving the vid for his next montage that will be coming out soon. it was getting dark and the flash illuminated the dust particles but other than that it's a pretty sweet shot showing the size/tech of the step-down compared to his small body.
can you tell that i'm a proud dad
edit: added two more pics from vid to better show the drop
takeoff
landing (bad angle with the trees but you can see his tire just as it hit the tranny)
but yeah, he does other things, it's just that i don't post the non-bike related stuff in here much.
