The Track

“Mmm, Waarp!” Ben’s bike screamed as he accelerated out of a corner, with dust and rocks spitting out of his rear tyre, leaving a thick cloud of dust lingering behind him. He continued steaming ahead, shifting up a gear, plummeting down the old tracks. When he arrived at his destination, anger and frustration crept through him. The track was gone. 

Ben had mowed lawns, cleaned gutters and washed the dishes for a year to buy his neighbour’s CRF110 pit bike at the track in the bush out the back of town with his mates. 

But now the track was gone. Destroyed. Never going to be there ever again because of population growth in town. Of all the bush to deforest, the government decided to build a residential estate, smack bang in the middle of the track. 

Things were going to change.

That night in bed, Ben lay wide awake. Through all the frustration of the day, he couldn’t sleep.

He had worked for a whole year and what for? The jumps were gone. Where could he ride? Then it came to him. He was going to build his own track.

The next morning, Jack walked over to the little rusty shed in his backyard and fished out a shovel. He went through the gate that his mother had put there so she didn’t have to look at the overgrown mess that was the rest of their property. Jack knew exactly what he had to do because he’d stayed up all night designing and planning the masterpiece in his mind. So using the sharp edge of the shovel, he drew the outline of all the gap jumps, berms, whoops, hips and table tops. Then he started to dig.

At first, Jack thought it was going to be easy. It wasn’t. Digging by yourself all day every day for long hours by yourself, is not that easy. Dig, dig, dig some more, keep on digging. This was the routine he followed. Some days, his mates chipped in with the workload.

After three long, hard weeks of the summer holidays of never ending

digging it was done. Complete. Finished. Over the rest of the holidays, Jack and his mates rode on the track from dusk to dawn, racing and doing daring jumps and tricks.

Lucas Bracken, Year 5

Bikes Shouldn’t Go to the Skatepark

The last time I was at the skate park I had a stack with a bike. It hurt way more than a skateboard or a scooter. This is why bikes shouldn’t go to skateparks. 

First of all, bikes take up a lot of space in a bowl or a halfpipe. So people

can’t go down ramps. Most people are afraid to drop in because you never know we’re those big bikers will end up when you're dropping in. 

Second of all, there are bike tracks FOR BIKES not for skateboards or off-road scooters. If they go to the skate parks then I’m going to a bike track with an off road scooter and a dirt bike. That’s a threat.

Lastly, but not least, bikes and dirt bikes are the same apart from the motor. Bikes should have the same rule because they are as dangerous as a dirt bike. That’s why bikes shouldn’t go to skateparks. 

Gage Lowe, Year 5

Paper Cranes

Thin and flat, folded firm, 

Paper cranes, twist and turn

Wind blows, time goes, 

Cranes hang on the string, one by one they start to sing

Joy and floating in a line,

Through the clouds they start to climb,

Up in open space; on air

Flying around without a care, 

The string snaps,

I hear wing flaps,

They leave, will we ever see them again?

Uma Dickenson, Year 5