The Dirt Bike

Just before 8pm on April 12th My Sweets texted to let me know he was on the train. It's our nightly ritual. But this text read, "On train, oh bought the kids a dirt bike, love u :)" I replied, "Haha, u r kidding?"


He was not. That afternoon he had bought a Yamaha PW50 on Craigslist. I took a deep breath in and eventually let it out with a smile, because I knew this day was coming. I just didn't know when. And I suppose I was relieved it wasn't some vintage Indian with sidecar coming home {p.s. sidecars are his other obsession}. My Sweets grew up on a beautiful little farm and has been riding motorcycles and dirt bikes most of his life. He taught me to ride sometime in the '90s, and now he couldn't wait to get Buby started.


The only thing is... our Buby isn't the typical rough-and-tum five year old BOY. He's pensive, sweet, sensitive. A risk-taking thrill seeker he is not. Despite his athleticism he refuses to play contact sports, even soccer, and has requested tennis and golf lessons instead. It took me a year to get him back onto a two-wheel bicycle with training wheels after a slight fall. That's just Buby, and we wholeheartedly embrace his careful nature. If there's any daredevil in this house it's the lil' sister.


I fear if we rush Buby into a motorized sport and he gets hurt, which is inevitable, that he'll never ever try again. I know him. Plus, there's a part of me that is not okay with inevitable hurt, however big or small. I can't stand boo boos. They make me CRAZY!







Anyway. I got on board fast but asked My Sweets to take it sloooooow. The PW50 is small, but it's no toy. And so began the complete restoration and tune up of our tiny Yamaha. My Sweets waited for new parts to arrive from all over the world and tinkered away after hours. Safety improvements to the bike included all new plastic, seat, throttle housing and switch, paint, forks, training wheels, kick-starter rubber, carburation, electrical wiring, repacked bearings, and of course the geniusly fabricated foot guards.







On April 30th he gave it to the kids. Buby was supposed to learn first and Bleu in a couple of years, but she fearlessly hopped on to ride. Unfortunately Buby's first time ended with him getting his left foot stuck under the training wheel {ouch!}, so My Sweets designed custom foot guards and he tried again last night. The funny thing is that Buby was okay to stop after one run, but his sister wanted to go again. And again. Buby's competitiveness got the best of him, and he went another round. An exhilarating night cap for sure.