After getting a bike for Christmas, Colin Morini was excited to hit the courses. Last month, he was in biker heaven.
Colin, 13, along with five others took part in the Full Circle Bike Shop BMX clinic, held on property in Worthington from July 11 through July 15. Another clinic is running this week.
“My favorite part are the doubles, I never did it before and had fallen a few times before I could hit them,” Colin said of jumps on the course.
If there was someone on the course, odds were good it was Colin, seeking to hit the jumps higher than he did before.
Jason Graves, owner of the bike shop at 30 N. Maple St. in Florence, started the BMX clinic last summer. Cyclists had been riding in his yard for years. “It’s nice to turn it into something real,” he said.
Other participants in July were Otis Bowen, 13, Logan Demerski, 12, Jonah Graves, 9, Ben Harder, 13, and Julian Clark, 13.
All learned bicycling skills as they apply to BMX riding, from beginner to intermediate, Graves said.
Along the way, participants learn new ways to interact with other kids, Graves said. The clinics are held Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sessions resumed Monday and run through Friday.
Riders make their way around tracks – a “pump track,” where the objective is to ride around the hills of the course without peddling. Then there is the “jump line,” a track with several skill level jumps.
“The kids start their day by stretching then we pick up the shovels and dig,” Graves said.
There is always work to be done on the course.
Along with lots of riding, the clinic includes activities like a zip line, a “Slip ‘N’ Slide” and nature walks.
On the last day of the clinic in July, participants walked a trail to a river, hopped over rocks and looked for salamanders.