Author: Edward Guenther
Uploaded: November 11th, 2011

There were four of us brothers who liked to race bikes. Johnny was the oldest, then Donny, me, and the youngest and small for his age was Davy. The biggest race course ran across two properties and a county road with some very steep spots. Nobody had ever beaten Davy, and his bike had the smallest wheels too! On this day I had decided that Davy had been kingpin long enough. I called him out from the the living room.

“Come on, Davy, I’m gonna race you today.”

“Naw, I don’t want to,” Davy said without conviction. It was the expected response and it let me know that I wasn’t considered a serious threat in his mind.

“ It doesn’t matter! I’m going to race you and I’m going to beat you! Come on,” I returned.

“Oh, all right.”

Out the door we marched with Jonny and Donny heading for the finish line, right at the end of the homemade sidewalk where it met the gravel road. Dad used to run a wooden drag behind his tractor over the driveway to smooth the new gravel out. But one time we brothers tied the drag to Mama’s cow when Mama was in town, just for a little ride. Bossy, the cow, took off down the hill with a rope around her neck and the wooden pallet-like drag bouncing along behind. It was clear to us that it couldn’t be ridden. Anyway, the cow near hung itself on sister Louise’s apple tree as the rope twirled around the trunk. Bossy stretched that hemp and came down flat on her back. We didn’t want to worry Mama with that story, but Bossy never did die from it, though we traded her for hamburger. Good thing, too, cause I wouldn’t have wanted to eat our pet Bossy. Anyway, drag or no drag, it was a bumpy road. Davy and I were walking our bikes onto the road and starting up.

“I’m gonna beat you today,” I said, knowing the statement would chill him to the bone with fear and at the same time build my own confidence for the wild ride ahead.

“We’ll see,” Davy responded.

Passed the old hammock at the base of the hill where my teddy bear had met his watery grave one winter day with a mighty toss from the tree-house. Davy wouldn’t throw his. His wasn’t missing an eye like mine nor have its arm mostly ripped off. It was lonely in bed that night without teddy.

And close by was mama’s dahlia garden. One time I watered one of those dallies for maybe an hour and it was still thirsty! Course, I finally figured it was a mole hole or was it? I asked Mama if a dahlia could drink that much and she must not have known because she just kept walking. I know that she thought the cherry trees could drink a bunch because sometimes she’d just let the hose run on it and run on it. Another thing about that dahlia garden was that she always buried her wood ashes there. When I asked about it she said it mighty good for the garden. Those ashes came from Pa’s woodstove. He nearly burnt the house down many times.

Around the first bend we moved beyond the house. There were the bushes where Davy chided me into throwing my bottle away because I was a baby for still drinking one. Naps were never the same! And that window on that corner of the house… how did it get that BB hole in it? I would never tell. That little hole was perfectly round and no bigger than a snake’s eye. Lightning would make big holes like that along the rocky creek.

To the right on the big curve was the big red camellia bush. It looked like a burning house afire when it was all in red bloom. Mama loved that bush and so did I. And I loved Mama, too. She sneaked me bottles lots of times.

The incline was steady now as the straight stretch moved beyond the girl’s playhouse, or my coon house later. I never could quite get it straight why Jack Lapp, the builder, broke glass on the roof. Before that we had a blast up there!

“I’m gonna beat you today.”

“We’ll see.”

Just over the first rise and bearing a little to the right we intently moved side by side passed the old fireman’s slide that our dad had set up on the country slope. Boy, you could sure get your britches torn out on that metal at the bottom! And on the left was that tree I fell out of and thought I had broken my back, but I wasn’t even hurt!

The road dog-legged left as the upgrade began to lessen. Under that spreading fir tree was where Davy and I had that pet mole. Course it was a dead one; that’s why we kept him up there out of sight. Mama never would have let us keep a pet like that. He was softer and smoother than anything. Then right over there was where those two wild cats faced off, Blondie and Blacky, and I saw it!

A short straight stretch got us to the county paved road, right where the big poplar tree grew. We used to see who could get the biggest leaf in the fall while waiting for the school bus. I didn’t catch that bus too often though cause of my stomach aches, sore throats, hurt legs, and every other thing that can go wrong with a boy when it comes to school. Also there was that big alder tree that a boy my size could disappear behind; I didn’t like it when they would yell for me with the bus right there and all. I guess they were mad cause I was missing school. I was there that day, though, when my sister, Annie, found a poplar leaf so big it couldn’t be beat! So the game ended then, I guess.

“Today’s my day, Davy.”

“We’ll see.”

Across the county road we rounded the bend. It was a blind corner. They have since bull-dozed out that blind hill. It was a dangerous corner. Sometimes we’d get on that little mound with our BB guns and shoot dragonflies out of the air. We shouldn’t have done that though because Mama said that they were good little creatures and they ate mosquitoes. Sometimes we were bad boys like that but mostly we tried to be helpful to Mama.

Our creek went under the road here. Once we hiked up that creek into the mountains and I thought we were lost for good.

Just in the middle of the bend a dirt logging road cut left up the hill. It was steep! It was so steep and dusty we had to give up running our home made go-carts on it even though we used goggles! This was the Daily’s property except that nobody lived up there then. Later Mom and Pop bought that ten acres on the mountain and built at the top. The same steepness is still in the now paved road. If you don’t believe what I’m saying then drive on down to North Bend, Oregon, and have a look. You’ll know you are in the right spot if the big bridge on the bay is perfectly framed in the sunset. Dad’s gone now and so is Davy, but Mama could sure show you that steep road! Our bodies pitched forward into a slant as we headed up that dirt incline.

“We’ve never raced this high before,” Davy argued as I moved beyond the usual starting point.

“I’m gonna beat you today,” I bloated like a toad, trying hard to believe it .

“We’ll see.”

I continued higher.

Davy called, “Where are you going?”

“Come on”, I demanded with steel in my voice. Finally I was satisfied that we were high enough to shatter Davy’s nerves. In my own mind I was dazed with the thrill of it. I called “Go” but instead of the more passive coast down the steep dirt road I started out pedaling! It had never been done before but this was my day. My confidence waned briefly as I came out on the blind corner; there was no way I could stop, car or no. Could I even keep my wheels as I veered right? No matter! No risk was too great today.

I glided onto the pavement in full pedal, went round the half bend and ducked left down our gravel driveway. I could imagine the motion of my pedals a blur! Today was the day and here was the proof!

Bending to the right I was well past the halfway mark. I had ridden the perfect race thus far, but I couldn’t resist looking back to see if Davy was even in sight. I didn’t have to look very far! He was right on my back wheel! Unbelievable!

I crowded his way as we went over the top and down the final slope on the pocked gravel road. I would take no chances. I pedaled even here, going into the last ninety-degree curve left where the finish-line loomed just ahead. Johnny and Donny were there waiting just twenty yards ahead. I looked back one last time before the curb and there was my grim faced brother resigning himself to a beating. Even so, he was right on my back wheel! Victory was just ahead!

But it wasn’t to be! I took the corner too wide and my confidence evaporated as I hit the loose gravel and rolled into the ditch by the house, there beside our bedroom window, next to the BB hole. My hide was imbedded with gravel! And there went Davy rounding out the corner in a smooth standing up motion, holding one fist high in the air! He crossed the finish line with a “Whoop” standing up!

I hurt too bad, emotionally and physically, to get up, but I saw Davy cross that finish line. I hollered at him, “I won that race!” But Johnny and Donny called back disgustedly, “No, you didn’t,” and they walked into the house.

Davy strode victoriously over to me laying in the ditch and I said, “I would have stopped to help you,” and he calmly said, “No , you wouldn’t have.” He marched regally into the house. I knew what he said was true even before he said it, as I remember the day of the contest on the bay, but that’s a different story. The two days put together changed my life. Anyway, Davy never was beat, and he sure was kingpin on this day! That was the last bike race.