I knew it was only a matter of time before Gavin would experience his first moto event. I just didn't think it would be so near his 2 year birthday. I was checking e-mail at work one morning two weeks ago and saw a message from Blake, a guy I first met when I worked at Healthstream years ago. Blake was one of the instrumental guys in pushing me over the proverbial edge of purchasing my first motorcycle. Six years and three motorcyles later I'm still hooked on pretty much anything that involves two wheels. Blake's e-mail was about a vintage motorcyle trials event, one we checked out last year in Dickson, TN. Only this year the event was going to be invaded by Palmer, Blake's three year old daughter and Gavin, who had just turned two. Gavin and I headed over to Blake's around lunch time on Saturday. After checking out his new house (which was awesome) we headed to Dickson, TN for the event. It took about an hour and half to get there and Gavin was more than ready to get out of his car seat and venture into the woods. After a daddy diaper change (after two years I still don't have this perfected) on the tailgate of my Titan we were off. We hiked into the woods and after 5-10 minutes of walking we were at the first trials station. Here's a video of that station which shows (briefly) Gavin and Palmer watching the riders.



After a few minutes at the first station we hiked through the rest of the 25 stations, many of which were empty. It was a beautiful day and thankfully wasn't too hot. I don't remember how much Blake and I walked last year at the event but this year it must've been 2-3 miles. It was pretty grueling with a 26 pound boy on my shoulders who was laughing and grabbing at trees and limbs as we went along. Gavin would intently watch and listen to each rider as they rode through the woods. Several times he would shout out some gibberish and point. For several months now Gavin has said "bike" when we pass one on the highway. He must've said "bike" 300 times throughout the day. We spent roughly two hours watching all the bikes navigate the rough terrain and everyone had a blast. After snacks and another diaper change on the tailgate Palmer and Gavin were in their carseats and we were headed home. Blake and I were able to have some great conversation during the ride home thanks to the toddlers nodding off for over an hour. At the close of the day Blake and I both agreed "Toddler Trials" was a tremendous success. I look forward to taking Gavin and Palmer again next year!

Here's a few more videos of the riders.