PHILADELPHIA -- T. J. Lavin is comfortable. He's riding well, feeling healthy, and having fun. You can't help but wonder if he's looking for a new challenge.

After taking the gold medal in 1997 and '99, Lavin, 24, captured his second consecutive bronze medal in Bicycle Stunt Dirt Jumping at the 2001 X Games in Philadelphia.

Lavin gets some air during Bike Dirt practice at the First Union Center in Philadelphia.

But during practice for the Motocross Big Air competition on Tuesday, Lavin wasn't talking about bikes, he was chatting with the riders and having a lengthy conversation with Robert Pastrana, the father of Travis Pastrana. Could T.J. be thinking about crossing over for real?

"I'm just doing it for fun right now" says Lavin, eyeing Travis Pastrana's bike as it sat on a stand. "These guys are really gnarly. It could be and it might not be, either way I'm happy. I like having fun on a motorcycle and it is definitely a dangerous sport so I have to be careful."

Lavin realizes that making the move to motorcycles would pose a danger that he may not be ready to take.

"You have to pick and choose your risks. There is a risk and reward factor. For right now the risk and reward factor isn't there for me to start entering contests. But maybe in the future it will be."

So was Lavin trying to get some tips from Pastrana's camp?

"Travis is just a wonderful kid and I was just telling him what I think of Travis and how much I value his friendship. We were talking about the flip last year and I reassured him that I didn't think Travis would try it this year."

It's no secret that Lavin has a weakness for motorcycles and rides them often at his home in Las Vegas, where he lives next door to Carey Hart.

But contrary to what many fans think, the gap between bicycles and motorcycles is big -- really big.

"Motorcycles and bikes are two different sports, completely different," said Lavin. "Everybody thinks they are a lot alike but the only thing that is the same is you have grips and tires and that is it. To learn a trick on a bicycle is completely different than on a motorcycle. Crossing over is a little easier just from a mental reason that I've been jumping dirt all my life. It's definitely not something you can just jump from one to the other."

But Lavin isn't in any rush to make a decision. He is after all riding well and consistently finishing among the top five.

"I'm feeling really good in my riding right now," said Lavin on Tuesday, a day after capturing the X Games bronze medal in Dirt Jumping at the First Union Center. "Coming into the X Games I knew there was going to be some really sick stuff going on. I tried to prepare as best I could. I got third so I'm happy with that performance."

When asked what the future holds for himself, Lavin enjoys the fact that he has no idea.

"I'm not really too sure," he says with confidence. "There is a whole lot of stuff out there to do. I want to stay well-rounded. Bikes aren't everything to me. It is a big part of my life for sure but I enjoy other stuff too. I'm going to take a break from my bike after the contest season and jump back into it next year, ride a little bit of Motocross with my neighbor Carey Hart, play some piano and just have fun."

When asked if he has any special plans for his break, Lavin is quick to reply.

"I'll probably go on a vacation. I haven't had one of those yet."

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