The Ride | Teen Ink

The Ride

May 29, 2013
By Owen Clayton BRONZE, Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania
Owen Clayton BRONZE, Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

There once was a man named Jim. He lived in a small town in PA. He was a really amazing motocross racer. He raced dirt bikes and 4-wheelerss all year round. He was a national champion the past 3 years. This was a new year against all new people. He would start this new season at a race in his hometown.

It was a lot of training but the work held out. He was on the first lap with a solid lead of 3 seconds. Then by the tenth lap, halfway through, he was ahead by around 10 seconds. Then all the sudden on the final lap, on the straightaway his brake cable snapped and he couldn’t slow down. He went through the finish line but he couldn’t stop, he hit a line of hay and crashed.

An ambulance was at the race and got him in to it and on the way to the hospital. On the way there they got him to wake up slightly. They told him he possibly has a broken leg and three broken ribs. When they got him to the hospital they took him to get an x-ray and an MRI. When they got back the test results it said he had 4 broken ribs and his femur was chipped.

They also kept him that night for if he had any problems with his body that they didn’t notice. He had been good all night so they gave him a cast and scheduled him for surgery on his leg. The next week was his surgery and he wasn’t allowed to walk until a week after the surgery.

So he got his surgery and it went fine. A week after he was able to start walking again and did. He asked the doctor if after he got better he would be able to race again. The doctor said he didn’t know if he would ever be able to ride again. So when Jim got back to his house after the news he was angry. He knew the Motor Cross Championship was soon so he wanted to get healthy and start riding again.

After about a month he got his cast off. So then when he went to the doctor he asked again if he could race. The doctor said it depends if you feel good enough to. He said,” Ya.” and the doctor said to be safe and get his bike fixed first. By the next week his bike was fixed and he was getting used to it again. Throughout that week he got used to it again and started to hit jumps and go race speed. The championship was in one month and he wanted to be ready.

It was a week away and he was training hard. He woke up a one morning a week before the race and thought about what it would feel like to win it one more time. He looked at his past three championship trophies for 1st place and wanted to win again. This was the last race he would ever race as a junior contender. One week from that day was going to be the moment of truth. Will he be able to win the race or will the injury be his downfall.

Today is the day it was time for the big race. He had gotten all new gear to wear that was sponsored by Red Bull, his favorite sponsor. He would also get a new bike that was a KTM with Red Bull plastics. His gear was ice black and the Red Bull emblem was silver. It was time the race was starting and he was announced and told how he recovered from the injury and got back.

The race started with him in second on the first lap and going around the first turn. By the time they finished the first lap he was in second and right on the guy in first’s tail. By the end of the 10th lap he had taken 1st but wasn’t very far ahead. It was 1/3 of the way though the race on the tenth lap. By lap 15 he had taken control of the race and was in pretty good position to win; but there is still a lot of race to happen.

It was the last five laps and he had the lead but his bike was starting to run low on fuel. He didn’t want to stop so he kept going. On lap 29, the last lap, he was about fifty yards from the finish line when his bike stalled out. He started back up when the guy in second started to get closer. He was getting going but the other guy was approaching him fast. He got moving and was speeding towards the finish line the fifty yards went fast and he won his 3rd national championship.

After the race he was so happy because his final race as a junior and how he came back from the injury. When they gave him his trophy he was really just happier than anyone in the world. Now when he got back to his camper to change out of his riding gear he saw someone standing there. It was the head executive of KTM. He wanted Jim to race for them. Jim said he would talk it over with his parents.
Jim said, “Can I please do this?”
“Well we’re going to have to talk about this.” replied his mother.
“You know as well as I do that I’ve wanted this my whole life!” Jim explained.
“Well it’s ok with me now you will have to talk to your dad.”
“Thanks mom you’re the best!” Jim yelled as he went to find his dad.
When he got to his dad he was outside working on his car. Jim asked, “Hey dad can I race for the KTM Team?”
“What about school?” his dad questioned
“They said that they would have a tutor to teach us what we need to know.” Jim said.
“Well in that case I’m ok with it, but what did your mom say?” He wanted to know.
“She said ok and by the way thanks!” Jim said exited.

Two days after the race when they got back home they talk about what they would do. Jim and his parents agreed that he would race for KTM. They called the executive and told him yes. He wanted Jim to come practice a few times with Tommy, the kid who got second, which would be his racing partner. The other kid and Jim would be racing the motocross circuit in the U.S.

The rest of these two kids’ lives would be racing motocross together. They will try to win the championship in team points and by winning the race. The two had become great friends while they were practicing over the summer. They planned that they would win every race they were in. This was their last week of practice before they started the season in Dallas, TX.

This was the week of the first race down in Dallas, TX. They would get there a week before the race actually was. They would be allowed to practice on the actual track twice but there was also a practice track. They were going to practice on the real track the two days before the race and all the other they were going to use the practice track. The day of the race was here and they didn’t want mess up. They were going to need to get at least 1st and 1st to win because the other teams were all really good.

This is what Jim had wanted his whole life was to be here on the day of the race in all his gear and with his bike. On his way to the starting gates with Tommy he said, “This is what I have waited for my whole and now it’s coming true.” Tommy said back, “Me too!” It was time for the race to start you heard the revving of the bike as they waited to go. When he thought about how he was going to win he thought of his parents. He remembered how they always told him to try his hardest and he will succeed. When he thought of that he remembered how long it had been since he saw his parent. It was about two months before that when he was back from his first week of practice. Then he had left and hadn’t seen them since, but he knew after the race he would see them and hug them.

But at the end of the race that wasn’t what had happened. His parent never showed up to the race. They were about ready to leave when the plain that they were going to take got delayed. The plain was going to leave until about 5 hours later. So they decided they wouldn’t make it and they would just go home and watch it on TV. At the end of the race when they knew that there son and his partner won they called and congratulated him. When Jim knew that his parents weren’t there he was sad, but he overcame the sadness with joy and took the excitement home and was congratulated by a town that was proud of him.

That is how the story of Jim getting hurt but getting back up and fulfilling his dream of becoming a Pro motor cross rider. He goes on to win 3 national titles with his partner Tommy, and the top rider in motor cross.


The author's comments:
it was one of the best pieces that i think i ever wrote.

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