With the bigger lot now we are finding a lot more fun outdoor things to do. We decided we wanted to get a quad for the kids. While we were waiting for our "mid-size" quad to come we got a small dirt bike from a friend for $40. I asked my neighbor Eric to help me figure out how to get it running... Next thing I know he has taken it home, taken it apart, and gotten it running. That began our frequent visits with Eric. He lives at the end of our cul-de-sac, is a retired police officer, and loves all "toys" with an engine. The bike is small for Kayda and Dillon but they like riding it anyway.
Getting a dirt bike and quad led to creating a track in our pasture.
Along came our ever accommodating, awesome neighbors. We mapped out the course with flags, and Eric led the way with his riding lawn mower while Alan followed with his big tiller.
Our "mid-size" quad arrived and ended up being the right size for Carson. It ended up being a lemon. We spent hours working with Eric trying to get the thing to run right. Despite being brand new the company wouldn't help at all. We ended up selling it to a mechanic guy for half what we paid... We were happy to be rid of it.
The lemon ended up getting the kids into "shop class" as I called it.
Lucky for us Eric has all the motor toys and is happy to let the kids borrow them.
As the seasons changed our track became muddier and muddier. It started with huge chunks of clay textured mud flying around.
It coated the quads in the stuff and was crazy hard to wash off. This is our first quad by the way. It's an orange reaching style vs the utility style Eric owns. Eric and his mechanic friend Bruce found us one, went to see it, and came back with it. Buying motor toys is a hobby to them so they had fun doing it. The first one we found I went with them to look at. The guy refused to open it up to let Bruce see what was going on. So Bruce was immediately a no. Meanwhile Eric was in negotiation mode just in case. Next thing I know I'm a single mom of three... With a whole sad story. I had to work very hard to keep a straight face (which I'm terrible at by the way).
Eric, being the crazy guy he is decided we needed to have a "great race". He went and got trophies, an annual one and a special one for this year's winner. He also tagged on a prize of $100. That was a surprise. Brian and the kids competed on the three vehicles. Fastest time (with handicaps) won!
He had a whole set of rules that he planned out ahead of time.
His friends Bruce, Ken and a friend of Ken's came to watch. I was happy to excuse myself from calculating handicaps.
Kayda ended up winning by an incredibly small margin. Brian crashed, he managed to hop off and land on his feet, and forfeited an event because he "got mud in his eye". He will be teased about that forever. We also had an exciting moment where Kayda was almost completely off the quad but was able to save it.
The later in the season the more soupy the mud got until it was practically water. Definitely easier to clean up from
We have a lot of stories about Eric now. He has decided that Dillon is a natural and should ride motocross. That sport is too time consuming and expensive so it will never happen. He went and bought a two stroke dirt bike for the kids to learn on anyway. As I said, he loves all motorized toys.
