One summer day I was looking outside, staring at the tall fir trees waving back and forth as the wind blew through the thin branches. It was the perfect day to go ride my dirt bike. Almost an hour had gone by and I finally made my decision if I wanted to ride behind my house. I call my friend and tell him to bring his bike to my house. After I hung up, I raced to get my gear on, my bike fueled up and ready for the ride. Finally, I see my friend roll down my driveway in his truck with his bright blue Yamaha sitting in the bed of his pickup. We quickly got on our bikes and took off towards Green Mountain.
The smell of race fuel on a bright, warm, and glimmering summer day is something that I will never forget. Further on the trail, I turn my gopro hero 2 on and begin recording us mess around as we flew through the trails. My heart was racing as the trail began to get narrower and narrower. I glance over to my left to see a sheer cliff that was about 250 feet down. I slam on my brakes as I nearly drift off the ledge. After I caught my breath, I finally see my friend closing up on me. I wave him down so he knows I am taking a small side trail through thick brush.
The trail that we have never been on was called the widow maker. It sounds scary and for fact, it is treacherous. After riding a few hundred yards through bushes and fallen trees, we come around the corner to see the hill climb. It was about 380 feet long and made up of boulders, waterfalls and loose gravel. As we sat at the base of the hill, looking straight into the face of the first obstacle, I was thinking if I should attempt it or not. My friend then started pressuring me into doing it. A few minutes has gone by and I decided to go for it.
I was hesitating on if I actually should try because we were not near anyone so if I crashed and were injured, we would be in a lot of trouble considering we had no cell phones on us. I put on my goggles and start up my dirt bike. I then shift into second gear and then quickly popping the clutch and start to make my way up the hill. I can hear the sound of my tires spinning on the slippery rocks trying to grip onto something firm. Smoke began filling the sky as I slowly worked my way up to the top. It was a miracle; I can actually see the top of the hill. I think to myself, “I got this, I will make it. Next thing I know, my bike is launched into the air as I fell backwards. As I slammed onto the rocks, I barely had enough time to roll off to the side so my bike does not squash me like an ant. Smack, my bike hits me and then traps me pinned underneath it wedged up against a rock. I was full of adrenaline and surprisingly managed to push the 220-pound motorcycle off me. Now I felt like I had the strength of Hercules when he fought off all the monsters trying to kill the gods. After this death-defying encounter with the widow maker, I told myself that I would never try it again.
As soon as I got to the bottom to where my friend was sitting in shock that I made it that far up, I tried catching my breath but couldn’t because of the adrenaline rushing through my body. We eventually headed back to my house because the light was going down and didn’t want to get lost in the trails. That night I just thought to myself how lucky I had been, not having any injuries from the bike landing on me and being able to push it off me. This made me realize that I should probably consider thinking things over before I attempt it.
