All Round Biker Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight Sometimes we do things without really thinking. Ok, well I do. I think I was in grade 10 and that would have made me about 16 years old. I was hanging around after school with a few friends just looking for something to do. There were several guys hanging behind the school with their bicycles. The standard bike back then was something you could ride through the dirt without worrying to much about dirt and dents. I was obsessed at the time with bike racing and I did not have one of these dirt type bikes but a racing bike which was acquired by a generous cash donation on my father's part. The football field was located directly behind the school. It was in really bad shape and the school was preparing to do a total resurfacing job on the field. Every twenty feet or so there was a truck load of earth piled up. I supposed the next step would be for a plow to come and spread it all out. In the meantime it was providing all these bikers with a dirt park. My two buddies were racing across the field and executing these jumps and I have to admit it looked like fun. However, none of them were really going for it. If you took a good run at one of these you could get some serious air. I kept thinking to myself that with the level of fitness I had, I could reach an incredible pace by going down this little hill in front of me and then sprinting across the field to the first and biggest jump. I also reminded myself that I had very little experience as a jumper but "how hard can it be?" Just as my friend Rod returned he looked at me and said "why don't you give it a try?" as he said this he pushed his bike towards me. It was that moment I believe I stopped thinking. I said "yeah!' with great enthusiasm and passed my bike to Rod as I took his. I sat there on the bike surveying the landscape much like I imagine Evil Knevil would have. Then without hesitation I stood up and started down the hill pedaling like a freak. Rods bike was a standard three speed with regular handlebars and a regular springy seat. The only thing different about the bike was that Rod had removed the water and mud guards as they rarely looked cool on any bike. After the hill I had to cross a small asphalt parking area before entering the football field. I used the asphalt to stand up and dig for speed and as I came on the grass I still had a good fifty feet to go before the earth pile. Each earth pile had a path beaten down on it from all these guys doing their "little" jumps. I aimed the bike straight at the path on jump number one. As I rode up the front of the jump I remained seated. At that time I thought "gee none of the other guys do this?" Well there is a reason they stand up on the ride up the ramp. As I left the top of the pile I leaned forward because I was sitting down. I was later informed that this is bad. During the decent portion of my flight I recalled the other guys landing on the "back wheel". It appear there was little I could do at this point to get the back wheel lower than my head. When I woke up... there were about ten or twelve guys around me asking me if I was alright. Was I? Rod informed me that I didn't even have a chance to put my hands out in front of me. I simply rammed my head into the ground. Well they laughed and laughed and I smiled and spit out some of the dirt accumulation from my mouth. Then I heard Rod shout "Jesus Christmas, my bike is a pretzel". I was having problems moving my head to see and I had several recommendations not to move at all but from the corner of my eye I could see Rod holding his bike up and the front wheel and forks were bent back past the crank shaft. Well the guys (not Rod and I) laughed and laughed as they looked the bike over. Soon the attention came back to me because I hadn't moved which I felt was normal, all thing considered? It had been about five minutes when my good friend Dave piped up to suggested I had broken my neck. Nonsense I though and began my "don't worry about me" routine that any manly man would attempt at this time. It took me about ten minutes to get back up and walk around a bit. I have to admit that with the amount of discomfort I was experiencing, a broken neck was not off my mind. I could not turn my head in any direction or lean in any direction. It was straight up or screaming my head off in pain. The guys offered to help me home and everything but I decided that I would be fine and make my own way home. I did ride my bike home and with all the restrictions on head movement I had to ride bolt upright with no hands! Sensible? I made it home and the x-rays were negative on the broken neck. It was four weeks before I rode my bike in another race and let's see its been about 23 years since I executed a bicycle jump of any sort. But occasionally I do things without thinking.