SEAN CLARK FLYS

Hmm… The story of Sean Clark?  Well, I work with the middle school youth group called WILDLIFE at my church.  I’ve worked there for six years now and about three years into that, in walked this red headed kid that just had something different about him.  Sean Clark was one of the core kids of the 70-100 kid group.  Core, as in he came to EVERYTHING!  Maybe not at first, he used to be a little shy, but certainly in 7th and 8th grade.  We didn’t have an event that Sean Clark was not at.  I’ve been so blessed to know him, and not only because of the amazing person that he is.  The thing is, his whole family is amazing.  The Clark family has been such an example of an loving and adventurous family that I’ve often thought that I want my future family to be much like theirs.  I’ll stick to Sean for this post, but at some point I know that I will certainly blog about The Clarks and how I’ve come to really love each of them.

I’ll admit that our youth group, WILDLIFE, is geared towards the “skater/ surfer” crowd.  By all means we love every student the same, but when you walk into our room and you find yourself surrounded by the skate ramps and benches that Ryan and I have built, it becomes clear what sort of student is attracted to the group.  Sean stood out a bit, because he didn’t ride a skateboard or surf (at the time).  Sean, he biked.  Now I’m not talking, “Hey guys, let’s go for a bike ride!”  Sean started showing up with his bike, and I was shocked to see an incredible piece of machinery designed for bombing down hills at speeds that I’m still in awe of.  It took a great deal of time, but finally a few months ago, I mustered up the courage to go riding with Sean.

Don’t be fooled by the dress pants and button up shirts you normally see me in.  I have tons of mountain biking experience.  I’ve been riding since I got my first mountain bike when I was six.  I’ve ridden up and down crazy hills, across cities and through miles and miles of terrain.  I was not ready for Sean.  We rode a more cross-country trail the first time and I was gasping for air and my thighs were burning by about half way through.  The kid wouldn’t stop pedaling!  I took a short break and decided, “I’m not letting this kid lose me in his dust!”  So I pedaled as hard and fast as I could, for as long as I could, but I still couldn’t pass Sean.  At one point I saw a river crossing about 20 feet wide ahead and I started slowing down.  Then Sean, in front of me, sped up!  So I thought, “Well, he’s doing it.  I better speed up and hold on!”  We flew through the water and got soaked from head to toe!  That was one of the most tiring, exhausting, humbling, and most exciting days in a while!

Then Sean took me down hill riding.  Long story short:  He went really fast and was waiting at the bottom while I held my brakes about 80% of the way down.  I thought, “This kid is good, and I need some pictures of this!”

Ryan and I went with Sean to the downhill we had ridden earlier and Sean’s mom, Jeanine, was nice enough to give us a ride to the top.  Jeanine is a whole other story of an insanely awesome mom, but again, I’ll stick to Sean in this post.  We setup sections for Sean to do, and the funny thing is, we made him do them over and over and over.

Here’s one that Ryan snapped early on.  This is Sean’s playground…

Here, sean modestly stops for a few shots before pedaling off in a blur again…

Sean and one of his friends making the hike to the top from the drop off point…

It was actually a little freaky to have him blazing right at me, then leaning in and cranking the turn just a foot away…

Ryan is NOT afraid to get in the bushes if it means getting the shot he wants…

You wouldn’t believe how fast he’s coming through that corner.  Props to Ryan on this shot…

Somehow I kept getting the angle that almost got me run over…

Alright, here’s the money shot!  Mind you, I was sitting/laying in a bush pile with sticks in places that I will refrain from saying due to my junior readers.  I’ll have to go back through the pics and find one where you can see the take off and landing for this jump.  He’s launching off a 3-4 foot jump and landing about 10-15 feet later.  PLUS, the landing is HIGHER than the takeoff.  It was insane to see, and I’ll admit, I sort of didn’t believe him when he said he was about to hit it…

Sean is one of the crazy cool people that you meet in your life and you just know will be there for good.  But again, not only Sean Clark, but the whole Clark Family.  I hope that one day they’ll teach me all the sweet camping, biking, hiking, and kayaking skills that they have so I can share that with my kids.

THIS POST IS 1 of 2 WITH THE CLARK FAMILY.  STAY TUNED FOR PART 2.