4 Wheeling

I may have never known what it would be like to ride a 4 wheeler across mountains if I had stayed in the Philly area.

Likewise, my children and their children ride them. 4 wheeling can be a family sport and a 4 wheeler can also be your workhorse. We plow with ours and they do a kick a** job.

My twins named Greg and Mike, took 4 wheeling to the next level, racing. They had never raced a day in their life. They did, however, fool around with each other jumping piles of dirt in our upper field. The grandchildren rode with their parents till they were old enough to ride on their own. It seemed pretty harmless at the time

One Friday morning the twins began loading the truck with a handful of tools, a few clothes, their helmets and two 4 wheelers. When I ran out to question what was going on, the reply was, “we’re headed for the Grand Nationals in West Virginia.” I said, “you got to be kidding” as I ran for my clothes and the rest of the family. We piled into a car and off we went. When we arrived I noticed every rider had a team of machines, two to three bikes per rider and fancy trailers. We entered the event like a bunch of hillbillies.

When the twins hit the track I fell to my knees. Everyone around me was screaming for the pro-racer of his or her choice and the TV cameras were rolling. Tears were streaming down my face. We were unknowns out of our ledge. We had enough money between us to pay for one hotel room. It was the first time I experienced what it was like to bathe after 13 people. The shower had sand and dirt so deep in the tub that in order for the water to go down, I had to bale it out by bucket into the toilet. It was the first time I experienced a used towel. Lucky for me, I was one of the oldest in the crew so I got to sleep in the bed.

The twins were diagnosed with E.S.P. when they were born which led me to believe that both boys were actually riding the same bike, regardless of the difference between the helmet and suit color. There were many accidents throughout the day. The race was halted as a helicopter landed to pick up a rider in critical condition. The race began again.

Greg crashed into a rider in front of him who stalled on a jump. Greg flew off the 4 wheeler and held his ribs. The paramedic diagnosed Greg with broken ribs. Greg jumped up and continued to ride towards the finish line. Greg’s bike was messed up and there was no way he could finish the race. Once the track was cleared the race continued.

The twins were down to one 4 wheeler in order to finish the race. As one twin came to the finish line he’d jump off as the other twin jumped on the 4 wheeler, without falling behind. Greg’s accident set him back a lap, which meant he couldn’t win. Pain didn’t stop Greg from helping his twin brother, lap for lap out on the track.

I knew that the twins were mentally riding together. Mike took 12 place. After the race the twins walked over to me, stood me to my feet and said, “Happy Mother’s Day. Our gift to you is that will never race again.”