Looking Back…

I have been sickly this week and I made myself stay inside all day yesterday so I had some time to think about stuff… just all kinds of stuff. Last week J had a History project due. “My Family Tree" and of course Jordan style he procrastinated until 2 days before it was due to actually start. We spent Saturday afternoon at my grandparents house (J’s great grandparents) looking through old pictures. I’m not sure who had more fun, us or them. It was so sweet listening to my grandparents who have been married 57 years this year tell us about the photos of them when they were young. Each photo had a story and they would talk like it was just yesterday that these events took place. How many of you can say that you at age 14 got to sit down with your GREAT grandparents and listen to stories and look at photos? I think and hope Jordan appreciated the opportunity and will remember this for years to come. I know I will.
In our efforts to look for old family photos of J I found several of him when he first starting riding his bike and couldn’t help but look at how far he’s come….

This was his first ever bike purchase. He rode the creeper trail with his Nanna on it and was hooked from there. He actually raced on this bike for awhile, even after his first Cross Bike purchase and his first Mtn bike he still rode the green bike all over the place.

                  Here he is about to do a Mtn Bike Race at Fontana Village. He placed 3rd!

In 2010 he tried Cyclocross for the first time. He was not happy about it at first. His green bike was so heavy and hard to lift over barriers. I will never forget the first practice he was almost in tears because he didn’t want to stay. Below he and Garrett Smith his long time cycling buddy are lining up for Jordan’s first CX race. He got first place and CX was his newfound love.

In the 2011 Season his love grew for cycling and we had met some great people along the way that helped J learn the ropes of the sport. 

The friendships he has built and the people he looks up to, is worth more than the ribbons or medals he has. To watch the kids he began his cycling with make accomplishments is so exciting.

I had fun looking back at our photos and I can’t wait to see what’s next…

Update

It’s been a month since I have posted anything on races.This is our first weekend free in a few weeks so now I can sit down for a few race reports.
Blythewood Omnium was a AYC throw down! We had such a presence at this race it was awesome. It was a great beginning to the Road Season. Our kids went home with some major accessories. Here is a link to the Asheville Youth Cycling Windup Newsletter http://www.icontact-archive.com/aQ28mr_Hb-JDpbr2Xc9c2egYzqjAbCPt?w=2




They also showed some love to Coach Joey!

Next up St. Patty’s Day Crit which was a little more local and was to benefit Mars Hill Cycling. These kids were up at the crack of dawn it seemed to race the Jr. race early.

The jr. race was such a fast pace race with Nolan T leading the group. We did well and then our boys did the Category races with some great finishes. J-man got 4th in Cat 4, Ladson 7th and both our Andrew’s finishes strong. Devin did awesome in his first Pro1/2/3 race with a finish of 18th! Not too shabby for such a FAST race.

This past weekend Jordan and I traveled to Charlotte for the Dilworth Crit and NoDA Crit. We have never been to these events and heard from several it’s not a weekend to miss. The evening event was watching the Presby Crit! Fast Pro race in downtown Charlotte. We had such a fun weekend with our AYC Crew. Jordan to 2nd in the Jr’s Race and in Cat 4’s he got pushed off the course and just couldn’t get back up to the front group. Ladson had a great finish after being top 10 basically the entire race.

The following day was the NoDA Crit. In a cute little artsy district of Charlotte, this race was so much fun. This was one of the largest Jr. fields I have seen in a Crit. I think they said 58 junior riders! That makes my heart warm that cycling is growing so much for young people. I think our boys got the feel of racing a 1/2 field! Nolan T & Charlie H were leading the race and the pace was FAST! It was so much fun to watch. We had a great finish for our boys. Below is a pic of the Jr. Lineup!

We stayed home this weekend but several of our Jr’s traveled to Sunny King Crit and Charleston! I hate we missed the fun but, next week is Athens Twilight! It’s always a great race and tons of fun.