When I first decided to embark upon this epic journey to the
2016 Olympics, taking in a dozen different Olympic sports on the way, I have to
be honest and say that, of those I picked, BMXing was least likely to be the
sport to take me to Rio. I’m tall (just
over 5’11”) and not the skinniest nor most agile of people, so given my high
centre of gravity and lack of cat-like reflexes and agility, I always feared
that I would end up doing some serious damage, at the very least, to my
ego. In short, I was not looking forward
to the BMXing leg of my journey with any great relish. You can imagine my relief then, when Amos
Burke, my BMX coach, texted to tell me that our first appointment would have to
be postponed due to the torrential rain hitting much of the country at the end
of September. However, when two further
dates were shelved for the same reason, I began to wonder if someone,
somewhere, was trying to tell me something.
I decided to take my friend and brand new accomplice Hollie
Vincent – also my new photographer – along to the skate & BMX park which
was due to have been the venue for my comedic, two-wheeled doom. The idea was to get a look at the venue so as
to acclimatise myself, and to get a few shots.
The first thing to be said is that very sadly, it was raining. Again.
As Hollie’s fancy camera isn't waterproof, she was reluctant to whip it
out and start snapping with abandon, so the weather had foiled me yet
again. What we did manage was to get a
good look at the BMX track. Have you
ever stood on the edge of a cliff and looked down? You know the feeling you get when you feel
like your legs have turned to jelly and that you’re about to overbalance and
plunge over the edge? Well that’s what I
felt like looking down into the pit of the track. We walked all the way around it, presuming
that there must be some kind of slope down into it – surely nobody in their
right mind would willingly launch themselves off the edge of a 15-foot high concrete
bowl on a tiny, tiny bike? There was no
such slope. One did indeed have to
launch straight into the concrete pit.
And, presumably, hope and pray that your skill and agility can defeat
the will of gravity.
Sadly, as my skills still require some honing, I have
decided that for the good of the rest of my Olympic assault, I should postpone
the BMXing until such time as a) I have bolstered my skill set a little more
and b) it’s stopped raining: if there’s one thing guaranteed to hasten my
death, it’s a wet track. Hollie and I will revisit the BMX pit of death as soon as is possible so that I can at least post some pictures to prove that I'm not being a giant wuss. Or perhaps that I am. Either way, photographic evidence will be provided.
However I still
intend to follow through on my mission; next
on the agenda is archery, a far safer venture, at least for me – quite how safe
others in the vicinity such as Hollie, will be is a different matter, but at
least the chances of my, and therefore my Olympic mission’s survival is far
greater.
Time, date and venue are yet to be confirmed but never fear,
Mission 2016 is back on (non-BMX) track and I intend to come back fighting, bow
and arrow in hand. Take cover...
