mx775

When your life becomes sufficiently tangled with motocross, even the holidays begin to involve traditions with motorcycles. For me, the habit has always been to go riding on Christmas Day. It makes sense, after all, to do something with that big block of time between the opening of presents in the morning and Christmas dinner. So for years I've gone out to do a couple of motos while the rest of the neighborhood tries on their snowflake-print sweaters and struggles to assemble elaborate toys.

But I wouldn't dedicate my whole day to my own riding this year. My dad had bought a Dora the Explorer electric quad for my daughter Ava to try out (which I assembled the night before,) and I surely had time to watch some of my copy of The Simpsons Movie (great gift, mom.)

But my eventual riding was made more exciting by the fact that I had some cool new moto stuff. Trisha, my superbly perceptive wife, got me a new set of boots, some moto socks and some T-handle wrenches. There's nothing like getting new moto stuff and being able to try it out the same day, though I eventually declined to wear my new boots so I could apply a little saddle soap to them while they are still new.

But as I said, I had to get Ava out for some moto--her first riding ever--before I could contemplate doing the same myself. Her tiny quad was charged and ready to go, and after a few moments of just sitting on it, she discovered the gas pedal and we hit the streets. Though I'm not sure she ever figured out that she was the one making the quad move, and I'm positive she had no clue how to steer the thing, we put in a solid half-hour session before she was ready to move on to her countless other new toys. And though I know I am biased, I am positive I saw tremendous natural talent in her as she rode. Maybe she takes after her mother?

I realize that a Christmas dress isn't typically appropriate riding attire, but it sufficed for the walking-speed pace we kept.

After Ava had had her fill, I loaded up and headed out to Deer Run Road. In what turned out to be a quad-filled day, my sister Bryttny and her husband Chris joined us for a little fun on a gas-powered mini quad. If you can believe it, this marked the first time that my sister has rode anything that resembles a dirt bike in her life (as opposed to her brother, who has done virtually nothing but.) The occassion was so unusual, I decided to mark it with a brother/sister portrait.

After all this was done, it was finally time to ride myself. Following a month-long stint of hardly any riding, this session was my second of the week, and it felt great to be back on my bike. I put in a couple of motos, did a little freeriding, and, maybe most importantly, kept one of my favorite traditions alive for another year.

Happy new year, all.