learning to fly (part 1)

I (ben) really wanted to fly through the air on a BMX bike. Seeing that #7 on the list is Learn to Fly, I thought this would be a logical stepping stone and may even prep me for the real flight we are trying to hustle in Sun Valley. A few weeks back we decided to tie this into a collective dream the four of us have always wanted to do: show up unannounced at a local skate park with an extreme sport legend and surprise the kids at the park with an impromptu competition and thrash session (how sick would that be!?)

jamie is hella sick

Here’s how it all went down: I called the good people at Levis (Jamie rides for them) and asked for Jamie’s email and sent out a well thought out “mega-dream” pitch email to the man who rules the Vert BMX world. 3 days later, I receive an email from Jamie saying, “I’m in.” (Shwing!) Then, with the help of Levis and Jamie, we found a small bike park known for young talent and for creating a safe community for kids to ride - Ramp Rats in Petaluma, California. We showed up with Jamie on a busy afternoon and the rest is in the books…

jonathan, jamie and ben

Jamie rode effortlessly with about 40 elated kids, all of them pulling off mindblowing tricks - feeding off the energy of the BMX superstar gracing their home turf. We chose one kid, Jonathan, who had always dreamed of learning a trick from Jamie and let them have the park to themselves - Jamie taught Jonathan how to do a tail-whip. Then I stepped onto a BMX for the first time and after a few embarassing tumbles, one epic face plant and the guidance of the best in the business, successfully cleared a 9 ft table top. Throughout the rest of the day, Jamie hosted a comp with the youngsters, Dave miraculously pulled off a backflip into the foam pit and Jamie told us tha before he died he “would like to be good at something other than riding… be a good father.”

on his first time riding, dave somehow learned how to do a backflip

Thanks Jamie, Ramp Rats, Levis and all the kids who didn’t laugh when I ate it so many times on the ramp. Jamie, you’re a star - I’m hooked. -ben (Photos - Tyler Lynch)