Gwinnett BIKEfest

• Well, we were back to our normal crazy schedule this week.  Wednesday night marked the time trial the team has every three weeks.  When Keith isn't escorting some of the younger kids he participates.  Christopher doesn't always participate, but since I was able to go watch this week he wanted to.  He set a PR, which is a "P"ersonal "R"ecord for you bike novices.  He rode an average of 15 mph over 3.2 miles including curves, hills and open road.  He still holds the 7-year-old team record and increased the time to beat.  (Of course, he constantly reminds us that there are no other 7s.  He still doesn't get it's a big deal that he does the course.  By the time they ride back to the course, ride the warm up, the test and the actual time trial, the kids have ridden over 11 miles.

• James was really nervous about the time trial.  He set a PR and age group records at bike camp last week.  He had previously negotiated for a new aero helmet for that record, which we have previously discussed.  We had ordered it and it came in in time for Wednesday's ride.  He was nervous because he set the records on a much flatter course and I think was concerned about how he would do back on the more difficult one.  He didn't quite get his PR, but he did that he is consistently at a new speed.  He rode 21.2 mph on the easier course and 21.0 on the more difficult one.  And, boy did he look good in that new helmet!

• After the time trial and the leg shaving  - that got it's own separate blog- we had 3 days of racing at the Gwinnett BIKEfest.  The first day was the Criterium.  For this kind of race, the total time is set beforehand.  Once the race officials get a sense of the pace, they will then set how many laps are left.  The interesting thing about this particular race is that James as a 10-year-old was racing against 18-year-olds.  The competition was only against 10 - 12 years old, but those older kids were on the course at the same time.  For this race, another kid from his team was selected to be the designated winner so James's job was to support the other kid's win.  He did a great job hanging with the big kids and being in a pack at the end.  The second day was the almost 13-mile road race.  James enjoys road races so he was looking forward to it.  We had to get up at 5 am to get to the start, but it was worth it.  When we got there James found out that he was the designated winner yesterday.  I was so glad I didn't know that until after the race.  The team works hard to position you and it puts a lot of pressure on you to be in position and have those sprinter legs ready.  Fortunately, James was ready and he won.  It was a great win against a field that included at least one rider that is really great whom we compete against quite frequently.  Sunday was the last day - the circuit race.  On the last lap of the day, the sharp left that took so many riders claimed James and one of his teammates so he did not finish.  James fared much better than Dominique, but they should be in good shape for Nationals next week.

Next week will probably be a light week.  We leave next Monday the 4th for Nationals in California.  James will race Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Should be quite an adventure.