I love to watch you jump on your bike ramps

Summer had moved into fall and fall was becoming winter on Newland Drive. No more baseball for Mercer. He missed that so much after he had a great season and ended up as one of his team’s best hitters. No more basketball either. Try as he might he missed the deadline to sign up for a team. But since winter started to set in, he was at his wit’s end. The days were getting so short there was hardly any time during the week to even use the ramps to jump with a bike. And oh, how he missed the time flying on his bike. More than anything else, he loved to get his helmet on, mount up his bike, and scream down the street till he was climbing a ramp he built himself. Nothing was as thrilling to Mercer as pedaling as hard as he could until he found himself atop the ramp, then getting some air and finally returning to earth. He never forgot the first time he landed on a ramp and held his balance after taking off from another one. It thrilled him like nothing else. But it seemed for all the world like it was getting dark within a few minutes after school ended. By the time he got home, changed his clothes, grabbed his helmet and knee pads, and assembled the ramp, it was nearly dark. No baseball, basketball, and severely limited biking? What’s a guy to do? For Mercer it seemed like he devoted a lot of his time just wishing the pandemic were over. Then came the icing on the cake. Just as he was getting to know his classmates, the school decided to go with
remote learning. If 2020 was a cake, Mercer thought, it would be a pan of mud, covered in garbage. Mercer passed the time doing his schoolwork, and he was a real good student. In between assignments he let his eyes wander on the computer screen, and they kept winding up on a certain ad: “dare devils wanted! Come with us and be a human cannonball! Call American Racer Boys today!” That sounded pretty cool to Mercer. He quickly scanned the details and he thought he might just be a fit – nearly everything sounded great. They needed young, fearless boys under 5 foot 4 who were willing to get on a bike and be fired from a cannon, landing on the ground nearly 6 blocks away for a parade. Training starts soon! Mercer couldn’t wait to ask his dad when he came up stairs from work. “Hey dad, take a look at this! It’s just what I have been looking for. They need guys to volunteer to be shot from a cannon.” Mercer’s dad looked the ad up and down and told Mercer he needed to read the fine print. “They are looking for boys 9 and older, and you don’t qualify until next July. Besides, the training takes place in Greenland, that’s 4.000 miles away! And it lasts for nearly a year. Mom and I would miss you so much! Let’s talk about this when you’re older, but don’t go getting your hopes up.” Mercer was a little devastated at first, but after he thought about it for a while, he knew he would miss his family so much and Greenland was so far away. He knew deep in his
heart his dad was right, and cannon ball shooting would have to wait for another time.
Mercer was an outdoor guy, through and through. He missed 2019, when he could play at recess with his friends and see his cousins all the time. He felt cooped up from the time he left home wrapped up in a mask, that he left on during the bus ride and the school day and it seemed like always. And now they were going to return to all remote learning? Would this ever end? Mercer was starting to get depressed when there was a loud knock on the door. “Mercer, Mercer can you come out? I need your help!” Mercer loved to help, and he was out of his chair and at the door in a split second. Before Mercer could even say hello, Jimmy was talking a mile a minute. “Mercer, Mercer, American Racer Boys just called me! A guy got COVID on the daredevil team and they want to know if I will replace him. The man from American Racers called and wants to work me out to join the team. He’s coming by this afternoon and I need someone to work out with me. I need your help. Mercer. What do you say?” Mercer always liked Jimmy and loved to do bike tricks, so he thought “why not?” and headed to the indoor biking arena. Lots of the tricks involved two bikes, like roller derby whips while riding and jumping over another rider again and
again. As soon as they pulled up to the arena, a man ran out and said “My name’s Flyer. You must be Jimmy, who’s your friend?” Jimmy said, “This is my buddy Mercer, he agreed to work out with me.” Mercer could see Flyer was a daredevil. He had a thick crash helmet and a padded suit that fit tight to his body and covered all his skins. Mercer thought how nice it would be to wear a suit like that when he missed a landing or went off the ramp. He was only 8 but was getting used to the scraped-up knees and elbows that went along with his hobby. Anyway, Mercer got into the routine and kept up easily with Jimmy, they worked together like old pros on the roller derby whip, where one rider grabbed the other and slung him around the corner. They were two peas in a pod as they performed complicated jumps right in tune with each other. After about 45 minutes, Flier called the session to a halt and extended his hand out to Jimmy. “Welcome aboard Jimmy! We’ll be leaving for Greenland in the morning. Thanks for your help Mercer. I sure wish you were a year older. Mercer was sure happy for his friend, but part of him wished he had made the squad.
That night Mercer went home and sat with his mom and dad, who were watching the news. Some newsman was going on about how bad the fires in Southern Colorado were getting, they said they were getting really bad in the area near the Royal Gorge. Mercer remembered going there with his family. It was a deep canyon with a really narrow bridge going over it, it seemed like it was a mile above the river. Now a wildfire was surrounding it, and with no rain coming, it didn’t look good for the people who lived there. At least, that is what Mercer was thinking as her heard his dad’s phone ring. “Hey Merse, it’s for you
– somebody named Flyer.”
“Mercer can you hear me?" came the voice on the other end. “It’s Flyer. I’m up in Greenland, and we need a big favor.” Mercer just knew they were going to ask him to come join the American Racer Boys, and his mind raced about what he would tell his parents. Little did he know that he was needed to help solve a bigger problem. “Mercer we are in a world of hurt.” Flyer explained. “There was a volcanic eruption in Greenland, so they won’t let any planes out, and I’m sure you heard about the emergency at the Royal Gorge. They can’t fly planes there either.” Mercer was wondering how this mattered to him, and Flyer had the answer. “We need to get medicine to the COVID hospital that is across the Gorge. The only way to deliver it is via a bike that runs down a ramp, flies across the gorge, and hits a trampoline to bounce back across the gorge. The only problems left are that the ramp they have built is made from wood, so we have to do this tomorrow, before the fires get closer, and a couple more things.” Mercer wondered what that could be. “Here’s the deal, The rider and the medicine he carries together can’t way more than 105 pounds, and the medicine weighs 35 pounds, so in order for the ramp to hold up, the rider can’t weigh more than 70 pounds, and that is what you weighed last night at Jimmy’s workout. The mission
- Full access to our public library
- Save favorite books
- Interact with authors
I love to watch you jump on your bike ramps

Summer had moved into fall and fall was becoming winter on Newland Drive. No more baseball for Mercer. He missed that so much after he had a great season and ended up as one of his team’s best hitters. No more basketball either. Try as he might he missed the deadline to sign up for a team. But since winter started to set in, he was at his wit’s end. The days were getting so short there was hardly any time during the week to even use the ramps to jump with a bike. And oh, how he missed the time flying on his bike. More than anything else, he loved to get his helmet on, mount up his bike, and scream down the street till he was climbing a ramp he built himself. Nothing was as thrilling to Mercer as pedaling as hard as he could until he found himself atop the ramp, then getting some air and finally returning to earth. He never forgot the first time he landed on a ramp and held his balance after taking off from another one. It thrilled him like nothing else. But it seemed for all the world like it was getting dark within a few minutes after school ended. By the time he got home, changed his clothes, grabbed his helmet and knee pads, and assembled the ramp, it was nearly dark. No baseball, basketball, and severely limited biking? What’s a guy to do? For Mercer it seemed like he devoted a lot of his time just wishing the pandemic were over. Then came the icing on the cake. Just as he was getting to know his classmates, the school decided to go with
remote learning. If 2020 was a cake, Mercer thought, it would be a pan of mud, covered in garbage. Mercer passed the time doing his schoolwork, and he was a real good student. In between assignments he let his eyes wander on the computer screen, and they kept winding up on a certain ad: “dare devils wanted! Come with us and be a human cannonball! Call American Racer Boys today!” That sounded pretty cool to Mercer. He quickly scanned the details and he thought he might just be a fit – nearly everything sounded great. They needed young, fearless boys under 5 foot 4 who were willing to get on a bike and be fired from a cannon, landing on the ground nearly 6 blocks away for a parade. Training starts soon! Mercer couldn’t wait to ask his dad when he came up stairs from work. “Hey dad, take a look at this! It’s just what I have been looking for. They need guys to volunteer to be shot from a cannon.” Mercer’s dad looked the ad up and down and told Mercer he needed to read the fine print. “They are looking for boys 9 and older, and you don’t qualify until next July. Besides, the training takes place in Greenland, that’s 4.000 miles away! And it lasts for nearly a year. Mom and I would miss you so much! Let’s talk about this when you’re older, but don’t go getting your hopes up.” Mercer was a little devastated at first, but after he thought about it for a while, he knew he would miss his family so much and Greenland was so far away. He knew deep in his
heart his dad was right, and cannon ball shooting would have to wait for another time.
Mercer was an outdoor guy, through and through. He missed 2019, when he could play at recess with his friends and see his cousins all the time. He felt cooped up from the time he left home wrapped up in a mask, that he left on during the bus ride and the school day and it seemed like always. And now they were going to return to all remote learning? Would this ever end? Mercer was starting to get depressed when there was a loud knock on the door. “Mercer, Mercer can you come out? I need your help!” Mercer loved to help, and he was out of his chair and at the door in a split second. Before Mercer could even say hello, Jimmy was talking a mile a minute. “Mercer, Mercer, American Racer Boys just called me! A guy got COVID on the daredevil team and they want to know if I will replace him. The man from American Racers called and wants to work me out to join the team. He’s coming by this afternoon and I need someone to work out with me. I need your help. Mercer. What do you say?” Mercer always liked Jimmy and loved to do bike tricks, so he thought “why not?” and headed to the indoor biking arena. Lots of the tricks involved two bikes, like roller derby whips while riding and jumping over another rider again and
- < BEGINNING
- END >
-
DOWNLOAD
-
LIKE
-
COMMENT()
-
SHARE
-
SAVE
-
BUY THIS BOOK
(from $2.99+) -
BUY THIS BOOK
(from $2.99+) - DOWNLOAD
- LIKE
- COMMENT ()
- SHARE
- SAVE
- Report
-
BUY
-
LIKE
-
COMMENT()
-
SHARE
- Excessive Violence
- Harassment
- Offensive Pictures
- Spelling & Grammar Errors
- Unfinished
- Other Problem
COMMENTS
Click 'X' to report any negative comments. Thanks!