The Cool Kid

What is it about wheelies?

Troy Corser lifting the front on a 1974 BMW R 90 S at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Our new place sits across from an elementary school on a slightly busy road off the main drag in Mountain View. There’s orchestrated chaos twice a day when kids are dropped off and picked up in front of our house. One daily highlight is seeing middle school-aged storks and geese roll by: young teen girls storking on their bicycles, pulling on the bars and standing while pedaling instead of shifting out of the big ring (storking), with a gaggle of young teen boys rolling by a few minutes later, their prepubescent voices breaking in unison (like geese) excitedly about stuff in general.

Then there’s the cool kid.

He’s easy to spot: no helmet, frizzy hair, metal band t-shirt, Vans or Chucks, Ben Davis or Dickies pants, effortlessly pulling a righteous wheelie for several blocks while carrying on a conversation with pals.

Here’s Mark Mandeville pulling one during the opening credits to On Any Sunday:

I regret being too chicken to lift the front wheel of my modified Schwinn Sting-Ray on Blackhawk Drive in Allouez, Wisconsin during my mid-Seventies childhood. Too many brushes with asphalt on my California Free Former banana yellow skateboard planted seeds of hesitation in my brain, which I could never shake.

I was an early adopter to mountain biking in the late ‘80s, but curiously kept that front wheel planted. Road cycling took hold of me at the same time, and it wasn’t until racers like Peter Sagan showed the world it was possible to ride a wheelie on 700c wheels.

Naturally, age played its part in keeping my front wheel stuck firmly to the ground. And with the benefit of hindsight, if I would’ve made an effort to find that sweet spot 50 years ago, I’d be showing off behind the bars of my Triumph Tiger 1050 today. At the very least I should’ve gained the confidence to lift the front on my ‘13 Suzuki DR-Z400SM or ‘04 DR650SE, two machines designed for wheelies.

All I can do is dream of missed cool kid opportunities, and cheer on the courageous ones lifting that front wheel triumphantly.

This kid was the envy of his neighborhood pals in the ‘70s.

What’s your wheelie status: early adopter? Too chicken? Willing to learn? Leave your answers in the comment section below.