Gateway to Possibility

I can still remember the surprise my brother Paul and I received when two brand new Huffy BMX bikes showed up on our front stoop. Paul’s was yellow and red and mine blue. It had a banana seat and a plastic fuel tank with the word HOMBRE pasted to the side, knobby tires and hopes of being ridden over jumps and up and down hills. I can even remember doing a somersault over a drainage pipe as I misjudged a jump and tried to stop at the last minute. Before the days of helmets and personal action video cameras you’ll have to take it from me, but it was only by the grace of God that I didn’t land on my head and die. That bike was a gateway into an entirely different world where large dirt piles were conquered, and success was judged on who could lay down the longest skid mark.

The bikes were a tool, but more than a tool, they were a gateway into a whole new world of possibilities. Without it I would argue we couldn’t even imagine what we could have done. It opened up the possibilities of ramp building and flying through the air if only for a second or two, but never in my wildest dreams would I have dreamed this. It makes me wonder what tools could be gateways that we are either failing to use or refusing to acquire?

The sheer creativity of this BMX track brings out the kid in me again. Super fun stuff! And turn the volume down for the first few seconds as the guys introduce themselves so that you miss the explicative.