Bike ramps are the best, and all children at some time in their life, must ride their bike over a ramp and experience the thrill of flying through the air. I jumped my bike off a ramp many a times. It's a thrill to fly through the air, bike and child, it's a lift off!
So, when my youngest child, Jacob, asked me to build him a bike ramp, I was all for that. We had the perfect sloped yard, and he could really get up to speed, and fly...fly...fly through the air, him and his bike. Together we found some plywood and a cinder block, and the ramp was made.
He told me he had jumped his bike off a ramp at his cousins house, so I didn't really give much thought to telling him how it was done. After all, he had done it before, so for me to give him instructions would have only made him mad.
He hopped on his bike, peddled up the yard, and prepared for lift off. I stood off to the side waiting for the show. I knew it would be great, I just didn't know how great. Off he goes. Peddling for all he was worth. I thought, "He is really going to fly." He would have, he really would have, and it would have been a great lift off....if only he had known to lift the handle bars when the front wheel cleared the edge of the ramp. I thought he knew!
It was a great flight, just not the flight he had anticipated, or the flight I expected. He flew through the air, and then he plowed the ground with his nose. When his plowing crash was complete, he jumped up and yelled at me, "DO NOT LAUGH!" Hmmm, now why would he say something like that? I said, "I won't." Then I quickly made my way to the house and laughed and laughed and laughed. When I could go back out without laughing, I went back to suggest that the next time he lift the handlebars to prevent the front tire from dropping off the edge of the ramp, which caused him to be propelled across the yard, and land on his face.
Whatever, he was not interested in my, too little, too late advice.
