Stories of Success
~ Sam’s Pump Track Prowess ~
We have a lot of fun here at GoGet and we also have a lot to shout about. Day in, day out, no matter what, our fantastic clients do something incredible that inspires each and every member of the team. We're excited to share some of these special moments with you.
Written by Patrick - March 2021
Having joined us in the summer of 2020, Sam has been an absolute dream of a young man to spend time with. It always delights me how eager to be involved and proactive about what we do together he is. He is always giving everything he’s got, with a massive smile on his face and a Fortnite dance in his back pocket. Never before have I met a man so keen to be a bike rider, tennis player and part time DJ! You would be surprised just how many synchronized dance moves you can pull off in the back of our van with a seatbelt on! While Sam has been working really hard to handle the difficulties that the last 12 months have posed, it still hasn’t been an easy or straightforward journey for him. Despite every twist and turn along the way, Sam has impressed us all at GoGet with how versatile, engaged and resilient he is! Faced with all the challenges 2020 had to offer, he has thrived!
We began our time together enjoying laps of the Knavesmire: Sam would speed round on a KMX Kart and display impressive technical abilities when tested by intricate cone exercises. Despite my best efforts, I would often find myself out of breath and left in his dust! Even when the heavens opened and did their best to drown us out, Sam could still be seen carving his way through the deepest puddles around. Personally, I’m shocked we didn’t witness our first bike based aquaplaning event with Sam at the helm! It quickly became apparent that an upgrade was needed to keep up with Sam’s speedy legs, and so the two-wheeled chapter with GoGet began.
During Sam’s first time riding a bike with us, the raw talent was evident. Sam’s enthusiasm to learn the finer details, alongside his desire to perfect his technique, is sure to make him a superb rider indeed. He would listen intently to guidance, seeking out tips and tricks at every opportunity, and be quick to implement the new skills into his riding. In an unsurprising but nevertheless impressive turn of events, Sam leaned into the practical side of bike maintenance with just as much enthusiasm as everything else he’d taken on so far. From seat adjustments to oiling chains, he was keen to take on as much as he could.
As Sam’s confidence and capabilities grew, so did the number of mornings and afternoons spent flying around pump tracks. For those unfamiliar with pump tracks (I was before I started with GoGet), they are essentially a course made up of humps (rollers) and banked turns (berms), designed for the rider to pump the bike around the track rather than pedal. Sam would often impress us with his quick thinking, balance and technique while making his way round the tracks. The great big, beaming smile on his face was a telltale sign of joy as he navigated his bike down the sloping track, up and over the steep rollers and guided it to a stop after sweeping round the final berm.
Never being one to shy away from a chance to develop, Sam regularly challenged himself to push the boundaries of progress. While this often paved the way for Sam nailing a new skill, occasionally there were a few incidents along the way. In reality, the process of learning something new often exposes us all to accidents and this is completely natural. Unfortunately for Sam, an accidental fall while practicing his braking technique resulted in a broken wrist. While this meant he wasn’t able to ride a bike for a few weeks, it wasn’t enough to interfere with Sam’s enthusiasm to persist in being active. Despite having one arm in a cast, Sam was showcasing his table tennis and badminton talents instead in no time at all!
After a period of recovery, Sam was keen to get straight back on his bike. In his simple act of wanting to return to riding despite the major setback he faced, Sam demonstrated one of the fundamental beliefs of GoGet: if something fills you with genuine joy, pursue it. Even when the barriers you might have to face seem too great, or the going gets too tough to see the path ahead, keep pressing on. Sam’s attitude to the accident was not one filled with defeat, but one filled with resilience! With a great deal of determination, Sam set his sights on continuing to experience joy while in the great outdoors, riding his bike through sunshine and snow, racing round pump tracks and having a good time with friends. In my own humble opinion, in the weeks that have followed since his return, I believe Sam has done just that.
Looking ahead to future plans with Sam is a particularly exciting prospect. Once it is safe to do so, we are hoping to explore more bike parks across the region and conquer even bigger pump tracks. Since last summer, we have seen Sam grow significantly in so many different ways, both as a rider and a person, and we simply cannot wait to be there alongside him to see what he will triumph over next! I am confident that Sam will continue to show us all how brilliant a young man he is.