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…