My Journey

• Jacob Vera, Grade 3
• Short Story
• 2021

Covid changed my life. It also changed how I looked at the world and how I exercised. We had more time without any organised sport or social activities, less distractions and more time to enjoy a simpler life. Bikes were a big hit during Covid and I wanted my own.
One day a friend asked me if I wanted to go on a mountain bike course during the school holidays but there was a couple of problems. Firstly, I had never ridden a mountain bike in my life and secondly, I did not have a mountain bike. Which only meant one thing. Now, I had to go searching for a mountain bike.
My parents and I looked everywhere for a new mountain bike but we could not find one. I knew exactly what I wanted. We rang almost every mountain bike dealer in New South Wales and there were none left. Orders were taking up to a year and I didn’t want to wait. We were about to give up and rang one more store and they surprisingly had one bike left. It was just right. The perfect colour and size for me. A black and yellow mountain bike with 28-inch wheels. The bell rang sweetly and I could have sat on the seat for hours. It felt amazing!
It was the day of the mountain bike course. I woke up super excited on the day. I didn’t know what to expect. They taught me how to get on a bike, how to use breaks, how to ride over small rocks and control steering. I tried super hard all day. By the end of the day, I was jumping over rocks, going down steep hills and was having so much fun. I couldn’t wait to do it again.
Every day I rode up and down my street. I taught myself to jump the gutter, ride up ramps and get air. After a couple of months, I started to become pretty good and my confidence increased.
One day one of my friends asked if I wanted to go to Manly Dam. When we arrived at the track it was at a whole new level. There were hills that rose 60m and boulders that were three times my height. It was incredibly difficult but from that day I did it twice a week.
Covid may have passed but my love for mountain biking had just begun. Weekly rides became daily rides. Competitions went from local to regional to state. The 60m hill became a time challenge and my strength and skills grew. I learned the importance of practice, consistency and not giving up.
I am now 19 years old preparing for the Mountain Bike final at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics competing against some of the greatest mountain bike riders in the world. I am one of them. I think back to when I was an eight-year-old kid doing my first ever mountain bike course and how I achieved my dreams.