"Nothin's gonna stop me this time!!!"

(Chris riding the Huffy over the dirt hill up by Quail Hollow Elementary)

Chris:

Anyway -- Nothing's gonna stop me this time!

Never have words been farther from the truth. This was in the earliest days of Quail Hollow Elementary. Newcastle Drive was not complete, so the school was surrounded by mounds of dirt -- which was really cool for kids with some courage and a cool dirt bike. I had neither.

I had a great fear of hurting myself, so generally I played it safe -- Aaron took enough chances for both of us. But on top of that, I had the stupidest bike in the history of boys bikes: The Huffy Bandit. (My parents assumed that because I wore cowboy boots, and a superman cape, and a space helmet, and guns and a lightsaber -- all at the same time -- that I wanted to be a dork).

The Huffy Bandit was a black monstrosity -- supposedly inspired by the Smokey and the Bandit movies. It bore no resemblance to a Trans Am. It had a long, trapezoidal seat that looked like a black pound cake. But the coup de gras, the piece de resistance, were the handle bars. They were bent and curved in a manner that made it impossible to do the two things that all boys want to do with their bikes -- jump and do wheelies.

It was like riding a drunk moose. On rollerskates. But not as graceful.

Anyway, Aaron and I were riding around in the dirt, through this little washboard area, but there was one hill (which was not very big - but kind of steep). Aaron could go up and down this hill very easily, but I couldn't do it -- mostly because, for whatever reason I chickened out and jumped off of my bike before I got half way up the little mound. After the humiliation of failing seven or eight times, I made the famous declaration "Nothin's gonna stop me this time!!!"

I got way back, to pick up some good speed, and I was off. Closer. Closer. I was going to do it -- and I'd probably get some good air on the other side too -- I'd be a real boy!

I'm not sure what happened, but when my front tire hit the base of the hill, it just stopped. Inertia took over, and I just went right over the handle bars (or more accurately, right INTO the handle bars).

Needless to say, somethin' stopped me that time.

Aaron found great humor in this emasculation.


Aaron:

HAHA! That was a funny retelling although I have to say from my point of view I felt bad that you didn't make it. I did make sure you were able to laugh about it before I broke out in all out laughter. I wondered to myself "I wonder why Chris just won't go up the hill....its not that steep, he just needs to keep pedaling."

For whatever reason when you started up the hill you would always stop pedaling and try to coast up the hill, thus not making it, and jumping off. When you made your "NOTHINGS GONNA STOP ME THIS TIME" exclamation I really hoped you would make it. You were standing up when you went over the handlebars into the dirt and I remember thinking "Crap, he'll never try that again..."

I am pretty sure you eventually made it up the hill, I don't recall when or how that happened, but I do recall the crash vividly. In thinking about that, it was just before 3rd grade. That would have made us about 8 ish?