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??