by Jake Maddox
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: BIG MOUTH
CHAPTER 2: THE DARE
CHAPTER 3: HIDDEN TRACK
CHAPTER 4: HIT THE DIRT
CHAPTER 5: DOUBLE DARE
CHAPTER 6: TOUGH TRAINING
CHAPTER 7: READY OR NOT
CHAPTER 8: DIRT CROSS
CHAPTER 9: MUD SANDWICH
CHAPTER 10: THE BIG FINISH
CHAPTER 11: A GOOD SPORT
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Glossary
Discussion Questions
Writing Prompts
More About BMX
Copyright
Back Cover
CHAPTER 1
BIG MOUTH
At the rack behind Johnson Middle School, Jason Tillman unlocked his bike. He looked up and saw three boys from the eighth grade. They hopped on their dirt bikes and pulled on their helmets. Wearing their funny headgear, they reminded Jason of astronauts.
“Nice helmets, guys,” Jason called. As soon as he said it, he wished be hadn’t. But it was too late. The words were out.
“What’d you say?” asked Paul, the biggest guy in the group. He stuck his helmet under his arm and walked over to Jason.
“Nothing,” Jason said. “You just look like you’re going to blast off for the moon any second.” Jason smiled to show he was kidding. To his surprise, Paul smiled back.
“This is what BMX bikers wear,” Paul said. He stuck the helmet onto his head. “You know, pro riders who can handle the dirt and like catching some air.”
“BMX biking?” Jason repeated. He shook his head. “That’s nothing big. Little kids can do that stuff.”
The guys behind Paul laughed. Paul shook his head. “If it’s so easy,” he said, “let’s see you do it.”
Uh-oh, Jason thought. Now I’ve done it. Me and my big mouth. He had no idea how to ride a BMX bike.
“I would,” Jason said, “but I don’t have a little bike like you guys. I just have my mountain bike. Sorry.”
Jason put his foot on the pedal of his bike, ready to take off.
“Sounds like you’re just afraid,” Paul muttered. “Are you scared to try something a little kid could do?”
Jason turned and said, “I’m not scared. I just can’t do BMX stuff with my big-boy bike. I’d need a baby bike like you guys.”
“Meet us behind the Pine Grove Shopping Center tonight,” Paul said. “I have an extra ‘baby’ bike you can ride. I’ll even bring a space helmet for you.”
Jason frowned. “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s probably not —”
“I dare you to be there, Jason,” Paul said, interrupting him. “Are you going to wimp out?”
Jason was silent. How was he supposed to back down from a dare? He didn’t want to look like a baby. “Fine, I’ll be there,” he muttered.
Paul smirked and rode off with his friends. They laughed as they left Jason standing alone in the parking lot.
CHAPTER 2
THE DARE
“Jason!” a voice yelled across the school parking lot. Jason was so startled he almost fell off his bike. It was his best friend, Stephen Harris.
“Thanks for waiting for me,” Stephen said. He held up a textbook. “I almost forgot my book. Tomorrow’s math test would be pretty hard without this.”
Stephen unlocked his bike. “What’s with you?” he asked. “You look freaked out.”
“I am,” Jason replied. “You know Paul Hansen, that tall kid from the eighth grade?”
Stephen nodded. Jason told his friend what had happened. “So he dared you?” Stephen asked when Jason was done.
“Yeah,” Jason replied. “And you know my rule about dares.” Jason never backed down from a dare. Ever.
“I know,” Stephen said. “That stupid rule is always getting you into trouble.”
Stephen was right. Jason had a bad history with dares. He’d sprained his ankle last year when a neighbor dared him to jump off the roof. And last semester he’d ended up with detention for a month after someone dared him to start a food fight in the cafeteria.
Stephen and Jason rode out of the Johnson Middle School parking lot and onto the street.
“You should just forget about it,” Stephen said once they were further down the road.
“I can’t,” Jason said. “A dare is a dare. I can’t let them think I’m a chicken.”
“You have to learn to keep your mouth shut, man,” Stephen said. “I told you!”
“I know, I know,” Jason said. “Sometimes I can’t help it, though. The words just come out and get me in trouble.”
Stephen hopped over a pothole in the road and slowed to a stop at the street corner. He balanced for a moment, squeezing the brakes a few times. Jason stopped next to him.
“Can you come with me?” Jason asked.
“What?” Stephen asked. “You’re not actually going to meet them, are you?”
“I have to at least try,” Jason said.
“That’s crazy,” Stephen said. “You don’t know anything about BMX bikes. My brother, David, used to ride, but even he hasn’t ridden since —”
“That’s perfect,” Jason interrupted. “You can teach me some of the tricks David used to do! You can be my coach!”
Stephen groaned. “Talking about tricks won’t help you, Jason!” he said. “You have to practice to be good at that stuff.”
“Please?” Jason asked. He put his hands together. “Don’t make your best friend beg, because I’ll do it. I’ll kneel down right here on the ground.”
“You wouldn’t,” Stephen said.
“Want to dare me?” Jason asked. He started to climb off of his bike.
“No!” Stephen cried. “You and these dumb dares! That’s what got you into trouble in the first place!”
Jason smiled. He knew he could count on Stephen. He just knew it.
CHAPTER 3
HIDDEN TRACK
That night at dinner, all Jason could think about was the BMX dare.
“Is everything all right, Jason?” his mother asked. “You’re awfully quiet tonight.”
“I’m fine,” Jason mumbled. “I’m just not hungry.”
Maybe Stephen’s right, Jason thought. Maybe I should just forget the dare.
He was about to grab the phone to call Stephen. Just then, there was a knock at the front door.
Jason’s little sister, Tina, raced for the door. “Hey, Jason,” she shouted a moment later. “Stevie’s here!”
When Jason got to the doorway, Stephen was waiting. “You ready for that bike ride?” he asked with a sigh.
* * *
Jason and Stephen rode through town until they reached the shopping center. Behind the stores, a BMX track stood in a clearing among a cluster of trees.
Jason could see Paul and his friends through the trees. They were riding their bikes on a dirt track that twisted back and forth.
“I never knew there was a dirt track back there,” Stephen whispered.
“Neither did I,” Jason admitted.
“Dave thinks you’re crazy, by the way,” Stephen said. “He says you can get hurt if you’re not careful.”
“He’s probably right,” Jason said. “Let’s get out of here before they see us.”
“Hey, Tillman!” Paul suddenly shouted.
Paul rode toward them through the trees. It was too late to turn back now. Paul wouldn’t let him off that easy.
“You actually came,” Paul said, stopping his bike. “I didn’t think you would. Does your friend want to ride, too?”
“Oh, no,” Stephen said, shaking his head. “I’m just here to watch.”
“Suit yourself,” Paul said. He nodded to Jason. “Let’s see what you can do.”<
br />
Probably a whole lot of nothing, Jason thought. He shrugged. Then he and Stephen followed Paul down to the track.
* * *
Jason wanted to pretend the BMX track wasn’t a big deal, but deep down he was impressed. There was a large clearing in the trees where a track had been created. Huge bumps and jumps were built into it.
They watched as one of Paul’s friends hit the dirt ramp on the track and went airborne. The rider did a kick-out, pushing the left side of his bike out and back in, before landing back on the track.
“Not bad,” Jason said. He tried to sound unimpressed. Stephen shook his head.
“Think you can do that?” Paul asked. On the track, another rider jumped. The second biker caught even bigger air than the first. He took both feet off the pedals in mid-air and kicked them wide. The rider brought his feet back to the pedals just before landing and biking away.
“Not with this bike I can’t,” Jason said. “But maybe with one of those baby bikes.” He was hoping Paul had forgotten to bring him a bike to ride.
“I brought my old bike for you,” Paul said. “As promised.”
Great, Jason thought. I’m stuck now — no way out.
CHAPTER 4
HIT THE DIRT
Jason sat on Paul’s old BMX bike at the top of the hill. He took a deep breath. All the other riders had stopped what they were doing. They all stood near a picnic table along the side of the track watching him.
It feels weird sitting on such a tiny bike, Jason thought. The scuffed pads Paul had let him borrow were different, too. I probably look more like an armored knight than a BMX biker, he thought.
“Any time you’re ready,” Paul called. “After what you said this afternoon, we’re expecting big things! Don’t let us down!”
Jason pulled the full-face helmet over his head. After a few tries, he was able to click the chinstrap into place to make it snug.
Here goes nothing, Jason thought. He cranked the pedal and launched himself down the giant dirt hill.
Air whistled inside his helmet. He squatted down, and as the dirt bike hit the end of the jump, he pulled up. But instead of flying over the jump, the bike did a tiny hop. Jason’s tires landed back on the dirt, and he wobbled a bit.
It was nothing like landing on hard, flat pavement. The loose soil and rocks seemed to want to knock Jason right off of the bike.
Jason gripped the handlebars and stood up on the pedals, pedaling harder to gain some speed. He tore around the first turn.
Suddenly, his back wheel skidded right. Afraid the bike would dump him, he jerked to the left and whipped around the bend. Jason smiled as the bike straightened out.
His smile faded when he saw the double jump ahead of him.
“Get ready to laugh at me again, guys,” Jason mumbled.
He pedaled hard going up the first slope. Tugging on his handlebars, Jason tried to get more air off the jump. The bike seat hit him in the butt and threw him off balance. He fell, crashing and sliding downhill.
Someone in the crowd yelled, “Nice!” Everyone laughed.
Jason lay on his back, white dots dancing in front of his eyes. “Now I know why they wear the space helmets,” he muttered.
Jason closed his eyes for a moment and heard footsteps approach. When he opened his eyes, Paul was standing over him. He held out his hand to help Jason up. Jason was embarrassed, but he let Paul pull him up to his feet.
“Not so easy, is it, smart guy?” Paul asked, looking smug. That was enough to make Jason open his mouth again.
“If I had time to practice, I’d be as good as you guys,” Jason said. As soon as the words were out, he wished he hadn’t said them. Stephen groaned. Jason looked over at his friend. Stephen was shaking his head. The look on Stephen’s face told Jason he’d said too much. Again.
CHAPTER 5
DOUBLE DARE
Paul reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper. He held it out to Jason and smiled. “Prove it,” he said.
Jason unfolded the paper. It showed a picture of a BMX biker and the words “12th ANNUAL DIRT CROSS.” Underneath were the details on how to enter the contest.
“Let’s see how good you can get in two weeks,” Paul said. “I’ll even let you borrow my gear and bike to make it fair.”
Stephen grabbed the flyer from Jason’s hand. “No way,” he said. “You’d be racing against riders who’ve been riding BMX bikes since they were kids.”
Jason looked at the track Paul and his friends had made. He hadn’t even made it around once without wiping out. And he’d be picking dirt out of his teeth for days.
“I don’t know, Paul,” Jason began. “Maybe Stephen’s right.”
“I double dare you,” Paul said. He folded his arms and glanced back at his friends. “All you have to do is place in the race. You said you could do it. Show us.”
“Fine,” Jason said. He could taste the track dust in his mouth. “See you at the Dirt Cross in two weeks.”
* * *
The trip home was tense. Jason felt pretty dumb. He had to walk both his bike and Paul’s BMX bike back home.
“You realize what you did, right?” Stephen asked after a while.
“I know, I know. I opened my big mouth again,” Jason said.
“That’s not all,” Stephen said. “You wiped out in front of a few guys from school tonight. Big deal. Next time it’ll be in front of a huge crowd, though!”
“I can do it, Stephen,” Jason said. He struggled to balance both bikes. “I just need you to help me.”
“No way,” Stephen said. “If you want to risk hurting yourself, you’re on your own.”
“Please,” Jason said. “I don’t even care if I win. I just want to prove I can finish.”
Stephen stopped walking suddenly.
Jason had to quickly steer the bikes to avoid hitting his friend. “What are you doing, man?” he asked.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Stephen said. “If I help you, you have to make a promise.”
“Okay,” Jason said.
“Promise me this is the last dumb dare,” Stephen said. “I’m serious, Jason. And quit being such a smart mouth all the time.”
“No problem,” Jason said. “I can do that. No sweat.”
The friends shook on it. Stephen groaned and then laughed a little.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Stephen said. He pointed at Jason. “And you’ve got dirt on your forehead.”
CHAPTER 6
TOUGH TRAINING
On Saturday morning, Jason headed to Pine River National Park to meet Stephen. It felt weird to ride Paul’s BMX bike across town. His legs were way more tired than when he rode his mountain bike.
“Why aren’t we practicing at the track with Paul and his friends?” Jason asked.
He looked around the picnic tables, wooded areas, and paved trails in the park. It didn’t look like a BMX course at all.
“They’ll make you nervous,” Stephen said. “You need to get comfortable on that bike before you do anything else. You need to learn to go up and down hills.”
“This park is totally flat,” Jason said. “Maybe this isn’t the best place.”
“There are miles and miles of dirt trails along the river,” Stephen said. “Dave used to ride them until he fell over.”
Great, Jason thought. Just the way I want to spend my Saturday.
Stephen pulled an old notebook from his backpack. “I borrowed this from my brother,” he said. “It’s every racing trick he collected from his BMX days. He and his team would write down what they did to win. And they added lessons from when they lost.”
“Like a BMX instruction book?” Jason asked. “That’s really cool.” Stephen tossed the book to him. Jason flipped through the pages. There were sketches of racetracks, jumps, and notes on nearly every page.
Crouch down low over your seat to minimize wind drag, Jason read to himself.
That makes sense, he thought. Standing up t
oo high probably just slows you down.
“I’m not sure it’ll help,” Stephen admitted. “But it’s better than nothing.”
“Cool,” Jason said. “Where do we start, Coach?”
“You ride until your legs hurt,” Stephen said. “Then you ride some more. Follow me.”
* * *
Stephen wasn’t kidding. Jason spent the entire day racing through the rough, muddy, overgrown trails. More than a few times, he wiped out.
“Get up!” Stephen called. He followed from a distance on his mountain bike. “The race isn’t over just because you fall. It ends when you cross the finish line!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jason muttered. There was mud caked into the sprocket and cranks of the bike. One of the back wheel pegs was buried in the ground.
Fantastic, Jason thought, wiping the mud away. I’ll probably end up ruining Paul’s bike before I get a chance to race with it.
Stephen skidded to a stop and hopped off the bike. He pulled the BMX notebook out of his backpack and opened it.
“David’s notes say one of the biggest mistakes riders make is quitting,” Stephen said. “Once they fall off, they act like the race is over. The best thing to do is get back on quick and ride like you’re on fire.”
“Fine,” Jason said. He picked up the bike and got back on. Silently, he rode off.
“Wait for me, Jason!” Stephen called.
At one point, Jason hit a huge pothole, knocking himself off of his bike. He flew over the handlebars and hit the ground hard. He lay there stunned.
“Are you okay?” Stephen called. He stopped his mountain bike to help Jason.
“Yeah,” Jason said, groaning. “I’ll live.”
“Good,” Stephen said. “Then get back on the bike! You have more work to do.”
CHAPTER 7