Thursday, November 1

Guatemalan Adventure

By Chris Hallman
Woodward Camp

After things had calmed down a bit I snuck out into the crowd to check out a flatland jam circle that had formed. The wanted me to ride, so I borrowed a bike and tried to do a few tricks. After I fumbled around a while a local named Freddy busted out a Cherrypicker to the delight of myself and the crowd. I decided to ask him for his autograph and as he signed my jeans the crowd cheered and shouted, "Guatemala!" At this point the jam circle collapsed and all of the kids rushed in. They grabbed me and lifted me over their heads like I was a hero. Flattering, but scary at the same time. For a moment I didn't know what was happening. Then the autographs began again, and the crowd rushed in. I knelt down to use my leg as a table and the crowd engulfed me. They were all hunched over me, touching me from every angle and nearly suffocating me. At this point things got a little scary, so I forced my way up and headed for the safety of the cage. I stopped just outside of the fencing by a support column which I backed up against. I figured that it would be more manageable if the crowd could only come at me from one direction. Even that didn't last long, as the crowd became more and more pushy. In the end I had to retreat to the cage and catch my breath. That was probably the most bizarre experience of my life.

At the end of the contest we went out to do another show. This time the best of the locals rode with us and it was more of a relaxed jam session. The riders followed me around the course and tried to do the things that I did. It was interesting to see what impressed them most. The spine for example: they had never ridden a spine before and they had built it just for the show. They themselves had no idea how to ride a spine, and they were amazed when I jumped it. They watched intently and asked how I could land smooth. Then one by one they tried it. It was like a new world had been opened up to them. Some caught on pretty quickly, while others would need a bit more time to get acquainted.

Another thing that really amazed them was what I considered a simple fly-out. There was a large roll-in built from scaffolding, and below the deck of the roll-in was a six foot quarter pipe which created a perfect five foot sub box. One of the first things I did was fly out onto the top of the roll in via the quarter pipe. Their amazement shocked me as much as my fly-out shocked them. I don't think they had even considered that an option, and in was gratifying to see some of them do it shortly after. I think the locals enjoyed seeing new possibilities most of all.

Riding with the locals and teaching them new things was a rewarding experience. BMX is relatively new for them, and they're having to figure it out on their own. Things that seem obvious to you or me are real eye openers to them. After the second show we planned to ride together again on Monday. It was Saturday and our hosts had a day of sight seeing planned for us on Sunday. Everyone else was leaving Monday morning but I wasn't leaving until Tuesday, which meant one more day of riding for me.

I was really hoping to go street riding with everyone. The street possibilities there are out of hand, but I think it's something that they just don't see. Every time I brought it up they seemed disappointed, which to me seemed strange. I figured that if I could get them to go street riding, they would never look at their city the same way again. Unfortunately they couldn't be talked into it. Instead they planned on taking me to their trails and then to the local BMX track.

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Related Photos:
Getting Started wtih BMX Photography
Guatemala Living Gallery