Cross is here

  This weekend was our very first cross race of the season, and even tho it was more of a “fun race” it still was nice to see J back in his element. The race was at Bent Creek Park in Asheville, NC and held by Asheville CX, they are awesome and only do 3 races so if you ever get a chance check them out.  The course was more of a MTB course with the normal CX pavement, stairs and for the Men’s A race they even put a barrier up. J placed 2nd and the guys in 1st and 3rd were both on mountain bikes. The wooded section was pretty gnarly, but J still had a blast!
  There is so much about CX that we love. It’s such a laid back atmosphere and everyone is so friendly. For example, start of Masters 35+ race some guy walks up to me and says "Hey you look trustworthy, can you hold my Oakley sunglasses and water bottle?” Well of course! Haha, good thing I am trustworthy. It’s just nice that everyone is so comfortable at cx races. One thing that stuck out to me is the whole day the announcer kept saying, “It’s not about getting on the podium, CX is about racing against the guy behind you or directly in front of you” The race within the race.

  Our calendar is for the most part completed and we have a lot of traveling to do this season. J is now in the Elite 17-18 Men’s and will be chasing UCI points. 3 big races will be part of his road to Euro Cross Camp. Providence CX Festival in Rhode Island, Cincy3 in Cincinnati, OH which also includes the Pan American Continental Championship, and Derby City Cup in Louisville, KY. Those are just a few of the BIGGER races and we are so excited to travel to Providence this year. It will be a new venue and is a huge festival. With that all being said, I am going to be doing a few fundraisers to raise money for the CX Season and all of our travels. Currently I am working on a bike wash at Reedy Creek Bicycles, T-shirt order and possibly a few other things. Stay tuned for all the opportunities to donate! If you have any great ideas to raise some funds please shoot me an email at momofacyclist@gmail.com
 
 

Cross is Coming!

  Even though it is just August, we have had Cyclo-cross on the brain for at least a month. Jordan attended Geoff Proctor's CX Devo Camp a few weeks ago and we just got back from KindHuman/Cycle-Smart CX Camp. Needless to say, cross is coming... at least in our household.

  We have had a few changes in preparation for CX Season. First off, Jordan has a new team and a new coach. Opportunity arises and he has moved on to a more cross focused team and we couldn't be more excited. We love our AYC family and of course we will still see everyone at the races and Jordan still keeps up with his buddies, but we are so excited to announce that Jordan will be racing for the Cycle-Smart Elite Team this year for cross and his new coach is Adam Myerson. If you know CX, then you know the name Adam Myerson. If not google him. He's the dude from Boston with all the tats and piercings. While that may shy people away from him, he most definitely knows his CX. The thing that draws you most to Adam is the fact that he has been racing since 1987, not that I want to touch on his age but he definitely knows what it's like to race as a Junior. So this year look for the baby blue and white! It's going to be a great season.

  I want to touch base on both camps Jordan attended. This is his second year he was chosen to attend the Talent ID CX Development Camp in Montana hosted by Geoff Proctor. It's like Christmas for this kid when he gets to hang out with his cycling buddies for an entire week. It's great that they have the opportunity to come from all over the United States and just hang out and ride bikes. They brush up on skills and have some class time to study European Racing. Big Fun! Here are a few photos from that, courtesy of Tom Robertson and Geoff Proctor.

  Next up, Kind Human/Cycle-Smart CX Camp South. I actually got to attend this one. I made good use of my “free time” and took tons of photos and I had an absolute blast! Not only did Jordan get to hang out with his coach and teamies all weekend but we got to meet an amazing group of people who race cross, want to race cross for the first time or just wanted to brush up on their cross skills.

  We had the pleasure to meet the Humans behind Kind Human Sports. Not everyday do you get to meet the great minds behind those sweet bikes Adam Myerson and Jacob Fetty get to ride this season. Great guys with a great vision for cycling. I can’t wait to see their great company grow! We stayed at the Magnolia Ridge Farm and it was so cool. A huge farmhouse with our very own Sep, who cooked us up some yummy meals and made sure we had everything we needed. Can you say summer camp? Ton’s of fun and lots of knowledge about CX. Here are a few pics that I took.

For more photos check out my Facebook page. Mom of a Cyclist!
  Our race season is creeping up on us so stay tuned for more updates!

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!

Just kidding, that title is a little misleading. Not much going on for us right now. J-man raced a few road races at the beginning of the season and on a Mountain bike ride with his dad tore a ligament in his thumb and managed to scab up his entire body head to toe. So he has had some lovely hardware on his hand for about 2 months now. Of all the ligaments in his thumb to tear this was the mack daddy so he has just a few more weeks in a brace just to be safe.  Just in time for him to board a plane and head to Helena, Montana for his second year of CX Development Camp led by Geoff Proctor.

Jordan has been able to be a teenager this summer and enjoy having fun, which I think is pretty important. Don’t be fooled tho, just because he’s not been racing doesn’t mean he’s not been training. He’s gearing up for a fantastic cx season and we have some major great things going on this year. I will share the goodness soon enough!
 Stay tuned, hopefully I will get at least a phone call or 2 while he is in Montana so I can know what crazy fun he is having!

CX Nats and 2013 Season Wrap-up

Yes, it’s March and Yes I haven’t blogged since October! Life has been moving right along.
This season is over and we are already thinking of next season. Jordan had an amazing season and we all have learned so much to prepare ourselves for his bump up to 17-18 Elite Jr.
 We made the trip to Boulder, CO for CX Nationals and he came home with some hardware. Bronze! He fought hard for his 3rd place and won the sprint at the very last second.

Sorry for the blurry pic but I was jumping up and down so much I didn’t get a good one.

Top 5 15-16 year olds in the Nation

Spencer did amazing with Gold, Gage with Silver and J with Bronze
3 of the hardest working boys out there

 We have never been to Colorado and it was so gorgeous. We got to enjoy it while we were there and check out the scenery and Jman and Jimmy even went Snowboarding at Copper.

The food… oh my the food we ate! Everything was so yummy and fresh. Thank you Boulder, CO for being so good to us. We will visit again for sure.
Our local newspaper did a really neat article on Jordan
http://johnsoncitypress.com/article/114085/lewis-ranks-among-nations-best#sthash.sUkkhWEi.cmfs

Big thanks to everyone who has supported Jordan. We are surrounded by some amazing people!

Putting our feet up

We are approaching weekend two of no racing. Our schedule is about to get a little crazy so I took this opportunity to take it while we could. Plus, it's my baby boy's 15th Birthday (Oct 30th) and I wanted him to be a teenager and relax for his birthday! I am in a slight state of sadness this week. 15 years I have been a mom. 15 years I have been responsible for this living, breathing, pantry clearing, refrigerator raiding child. It's been an awesome journey and I can't wait to see where else he takes me. I have been cleaning out my computer photos and I come across so many and I just can't help but share the chunkiness. Like this one when he was 2

Or this one, I think he was 5 here

Look at those chubby cheeks!! Or this one running cross country in 6th grade. Still he has the chubby cheeks.

 Now we have lost the chubby cheeks and he's growing into a young man. A fine young man if I say so myself. I am proud of him and his accomplishments so far for his 15 years he has been on this earth. Watch out world he's getting his driver's permit soon~! 

Sitting In

We are a few races into the season and are taking the next few weekends off to rest up. Jordan has had a few bad races and what looks like a few great races. This past weekend was 1 MSG Race on Saturday and the final AVL CX race on Sunday. Saturday was not a good day for him. Jordan had consistently placed 3rd the past few races and this race seemed to bring in a few bigger riders. Needless to say, Jordan's nerves were getting to him. He had a great start and on the first lap he hit the barriers at what seemed to be full speed! It mangled his handlebars and he already had to pit. He continued for a few more laps but quickly realized he had hurt his back and decided to call it. He was mad. Mad at himself? mad at the bike? or even mad at the barrier that he smacked so hard. It was time for that go get in the car and let's have a mom/son talk. In my head I had to remind myself he's only 14. After a pep talk of " there will be many more races just like this" and "the most important thing is you are ok",( you know all the mom stuff ) he came out of the sulking state of mind. Tomorrow was a new day and new race! Rest up, chin up and go cheer for your fellow cyclists.
Sunday morning he was in a new state of mind. He had a race to race and he wanted to redeem Saturday's race. Boy did he ever! I can say that J-man raced the smartest, best race I have ever seen him race. I can see how much he learns each and every race and he has the power, it's the skill set and tactic he still needs to improve on. He always makes me proud, win, lose or DNF. I had to look around and just soak it in for a few moments. People we didn't even know were pulling for him. He tells me people cheering and even heckling fuel him so he was in pure heaven! He ended up with a 4th place finish behind some very strong pro's. I don't care if he would've placed 45th, he raced his heart out and that is exactly what its all about.
I cannot even begin to explain the support we have from everyone that surrounds us. He is a young racer and still has alot to learn, but when I hear people telling him he races his heart out and still keeps a humble attitude... that makes me realize I am doing my job as mom.

And so it begins……

Cyclocross is slowly creeping back around our house. Even though it actually has never left. 2 weeks ago J raced a North Carolina race just to see where he was from last season. He did well with a 3rd place finish on a tough course with some tough competition. The first place guy was on a MTB and was on a good course for that. J was pleased with his results and learned a few things needed to be corrected here and their but all in all it was a good day.

This past weekend was full of cycling events. Friday evening we went over to AVL for our Team Meeting. Saturday was a day of marking the course for the Hilly Hellacious (AYC benefit ride) and a afternoon CX Race at Carrier Park. It was so great to see the kids and parents we haven’t seen in a few months. It was a blast! Lot’s of team fellowship and fun. It poured the rain on Saturday so it definitely was a CX race. Mud everywhere. It was also great to have a lot of J’s teammates racing cx and all of them there to watch. That’s something we have not been able to do so it worked out well. The boy’s did great!

On Sunday the entire AYC Team rode The Hilly Hellacious. An event that helps to support the AYC Jr Development Team. It was such a fun event and I think everyone that attended had a blast.  We had Brent Bookwalter show up to preview the course for his own Gran Fondo. Very exciting day for the kids and our sponsors that help us out so much.

We even found a bear on the course that wanted to join in the fun.

We had a very exciting weekend and I think we are ready for Cyclocross Season to begin. Next weekend the first race of MSG Series will begin at Domtar Park in Kingsport, TN! Pics and updates to follow….

Great video of USAC CX DEVELOPMENT CAMP

Here is the link to the camp J-man got the pleasure of attending. So much awesomeness in this video it’s not funny! Great group of boys with great coaching.


http://vimeo.com/72116895

Christmas in July? No, just CX Camp

J-man is home and recovering from a week of training. His excitement and motivation are contagious! I think we are all counting down the days until Cyclo-Cross. He had such a great week learning and meeting new people who share his passion for the sport. Road season is finished for us and now it’s time to train, recover and prepare for High School. Here are a few neat articles that Geoff Proctor shared with CX Magazine and Cycling News.

http://www.cxmagazine.com/usa-cycling-cyclocross-development-camp-juniors-takes-place-montana

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gallery-junior-crossers-learn-skills-at-development-camp

Tom Robertson also took a great gallery of photos! You must check this guy out, he knows what he’s doing.

http://portfolio.tomrobertsonphoto.com/#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=16&a=0&at=0

Big Thanks to Geoff Proctor and his staff for a week of intense training for these boys!

CX Mania

Jordan is in Montana right this minute doing CX skills and drills. He landed on Sunday after a long day of travel and I haven’t heard much from him since… I guess that’s a good sign. He’s having fun and learning tons. It’s 7:30 am there and thanks to some Twitter stalking I have found a few peeps there that are tweeting pics and updates! Thank goodness for Social Media for this Momma!
I snagged this pic of a water break from yesterday on their 3 hour training ride.

Hopefully more updates will follow as I get them. I know he is gonna be a tired little boy when he get’s home but it will be well worth it.
P.S. Is it CX season yet??

Fun things ahead...

Jordan is counting down the days until USAC CX Development Camp! We are pretty happy with such a great opportunity! Here's an article released with  the 2013 Roster http://www.cxhairs.com/2013/06/07/young-guns-get-call-up-for-usac-cx-devo-camp.

Tour of Dairyland is under wraps and he's in recovery mode at home after a tough week of racing. I didn't attend so I don't have many photos to post other than those I stole from facebook.
Here is the start of the first Jr Road Race of the week. Jordan had competed in a few 2/3 races and said they were fast!

 Here is a great pic of he and his teammates on the last day of ToAD.

What a good experience it was for him and he was in the care of some great Sponsors from AYC. Time to rest up and prepare for the weeks ahead! 

Summer Cross

Last night we had the pleasure of going over the Mountain to Asheville Cyclocross’ annual Summer CX race, which is part of the Mountain Sports Festival. Jordan picked up his new CX bike earlier this week and didn’t get his new tires glued until Thursday. He rode his bike for the first time about an hour before the race started. Keep in mind he went from Shimano to SRAM. Big difference in shifting so he had a little mishap at the first of the race and went from starting at the front to being last. In usual Jordan fashion he put the pedal down and quickly made his way up the field passing 20+ riders to gain the 6th position for quite some time. He has had a little bit of an upset stomach for the past few days and he said all of the jarring of the course just hit him hard. Just two laps to go Jordan came off the course hurling his bike… and what was in his stomach! That was a little disappointing to see him have to quit the race but he was happy with how quickly he moved up and his legs were feeling great, just his stomach didn’t agree with how hard he was going. I am so proud of him and last night showed how much strength he has gained since last season of CX. Road racing is going great and I really think it’s clicked with him. I am so excited to see what the remaining Road season and upcoming CX Season is going to be for him.

Our race schedule is slowing down for a week or so until J-man leaves for Tour of Dairyland in June. Time to enjoy his summer!

Two Words: Athens Twilight

Athens Twilight is an awesome event that we have been to for the past 4 years in a row to watch. I think Jordan has been even more with his Dad. They would race the Ft. Yargo Mtn Bike event and then head over to Athens to watch the Pro Race. There is nothing else like it in my opinion. A few years ago we started doing the daytime criterium. This year Jordan had a goal to qualify for the Amateur Finals Race. It’s a neat race they put on before the Pro Race. It was a crazy day for the day racing. Lot’s of flat tires and a few crashes here and there. Jordan flatted in the Cat 4’s and was bummed about his opportunity to qualify so we rushed to fix a flat and he raced Jrs for qualification.

                    SRAM neutral support had to change a lot of flats, thanks to some glass on the course.

It was so fun to see him and his teammates all lined up in a Big Boy Race. They looked so tiny….

J-man got a Prime! You would’ve thought the kid one a million dollars, even though it was just $40! Adrenaline was already pumping with the crowd and being out there with some of his teammates so this was the icing on the cake.

                                                                 That is one happy kid!

Since Athens we have chilled a little with the races but did have the chance to go support our Team at the Meals on Wheels ride in Asheville last week. Great cause and it was neat to see the AYC kids come together for this event.

Racing in Raleigh this weekend for Jordan’s first Cat 3 Race and he had great results in the Road Race. Crit this morning and I am patiently waiting around for the results. I stayed home this weekend and he’s with his AWESOME team sponsors. The next few months are going to be pretty exciting, lots of things coming up. Stay tuned…….

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.