by my sister Lydia, over at most-tranquil.blogspot.com
He saw the door opening, but by that time there was nothing he could do to slow himself down. The other bikes raced ahead and he knew the race was over for him. His life was about to end as well. A huge, middle aged lady stuck her head out of the door. Her face slowly registered suprise and then anxiety. In the split second his tyre hit the door, he thought about all the stories he'd heard of people dying. The stories always read: 'His life flashed before his eyes, and he knew that this was the end.' The puzzling thing was, the man thought as he collided with the door, that his life wasn't flashing before his eyes. All that he could think of was, 'I'm gonna die.' This phrase repeated itself over and over in his brain like a broken record. Just before the bike smashed into the door, the man pulled up the front wheel with an expert twist. Maybe it was just as well he wasn't looking at his life's story or he wouldn't have had the presence of mind to do that. His whole body jerked convulsively back as the bike came in contact with the door. The front tyre skidded up the door, the back tyre in the air, and the man leaned over the handlebars. This was some jump, the man thought. He'd done a lot of different types of jumps, but never one like this. The woman was sitting in her seat in the car, watching him do the jump like it was some kind of show. She wore the expression you have when you're watching someone do something dangerous, the anxious but entertained look. The back tyre just touched the top of the door, then the whole bike hurtled through the air. Nice, thought the man, crouching over the handle bars. That was a well executed jump.
The bike made an arc and then landed, crunching into the tarsealed road. The man braked. The speed with which he'd been traveling was so great that the bike didn't respond immediatley to the brake, but skidded for several meters. Great, the man thought. Now the brakes were probably wrecked.
And you know why I know so much about it aye... I do these kinds of jumps all the time. I wonder if it's possible to do a jump like that.
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