The Time Trial

Lots of pictures tonight - there were just so many that I just like.  The morning started very early...a little before 5 for me and not long after for James.  I don't think either of us slept very well.  Both of us were so much more nervous today than the last race.  He was so confident he had a shot of winning.  I think he very well could have if he weighed about 10 more pounds.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Of course, we had the last minute adjustment to his aero bars.  At least this time, we've known for a couple of days that they needed adjusting so I was able to factor that into my schedule.

  

Then it was time for warms ups.  By this point, he seemed to be getting into his groove and I started pacing.

He was chatting it up with a teammate.  Doesn't he look impressive with all the aero gear?

I have no idea what this was about.  When I saw it, I snapped a picture and walked away.  At this point, he was just a few minutes from needing to be at the start line.

While we were waiting to start, they couldn't find the first guy.  I was so relieved that James was right where he was supposed to be.  He was the third 10-12 to start (you may remember that for time trials, they start every 30 seconds) and his goal was to pass the two kids in front of him and keep on trucking.  It was very cool because they had the very professional countdown clock that did the beeping just like in the Tour.  James was so cool when he got to the line, he just took a bit sip of PowerBar drink and sat ready to go.

And before I knew it he was off.  I thought he should be back in roughly 20 minutes.  It was a long 20 minutes.  I paced and paced and paced and paced.  All the girls finished so we knew it shouldn't be long since the guys started just a few minutes behind them.

And then the announcer gave him a total shout out because he was going to be the first guy to cross the line...he did pass the two in front of him.  They even went on to say what a hard time to beat that was going to be.  I was so proud of him.

He was first and would stay in first for a little while.  Then, slowly his time fell and eventually he finished 9th.  I reminded him of his goal when we left Nationals last year.  It was to make the top 10 and he absolutely did that. (I almost forgot to explain the weight comment.  It was a downhill finish so these little guys were at a definite disadvantage to the guys who weigh more.  Maybe by next year, he'll have a bit more muscle mass.)

I was also so proud of him as I watched him seek out the kids he remembered either meeting or seeing their names from last year and the other top  10 finishers to tell them "good job."

We're both pretty tired and looking forward to the last race tomorrow, the crit.  He starts at 11 - I have heard the course is "epic."  I also heard a few parents saying they didn't mind a course being difficult, but dangerous wasn't such a good thing.  For those of you praying, keep praying.

Very Quick Update

The last two days have been for relaxing and getting a few rides in.  Tomorrow is a big day - the time trial.  James is the 3rd rider off in his age group at 8:11 PST (or 11:11 EST).  His goal is to pass the two riders that leave a minute and 30 seconds, respectively, before him.  Going that early makes for a long race.  Even if you do well, you don't really know it until the end.  Also, later riders know exactly what time they need.

He is quite excited since he gets to race using a disc wheel...those are the solid back wheels, which are much more aerodynamic.  I haven't seen him on it, but one mom told me he just looked fast.  He told me he wasn't sure he would go that much faster because it's heavier, ie, he'll be slower going uphill but faster going down.  The point, he said, was that he looked intimidating.  Indeed.

We're up at 5:30 am and it's nearing 11 so I'm signing off.  (Don't worry, James was in bed at 8:30.)

Watch for those tweets - they're starting early tomorrow.

The Road Race

Today it started.  Last night James was unbelievably nervous and, honestly, I was, too.  Just seeing him feel all that pressure was so hard.  We prayed that we would be ok with God's design for today - great if that meant on the podium and ok if it meant off.  We were able to get in bed early, which I think made him feel much better today.

We woke up about 5:40, which gave us just a little more than four hours to race time.  He said he wasn't as nervous and he played a game on my computer, which I think helped him not think too much about the race.  He even ate more than I have seen him eat before a race so I knew he wasn't as nervous.

We had a big field of Male 10-12s.  James so much wanted all his teammates to do well.  One of the first things he said to me this morning was that he hoped Teja would have the race of his life.

We encouraged the roaming pack to go meet some people so they did.  I even heard a few boys after the race ask if they were going to be at the other races and were glad when our guys said yes.

I think the better he felt the more anxious I felt.  For him, getting into the pre-race routine made it all feel more normal.  I, on the other hand, was coming out of my skin.  That could have been because he decided his pedal needed a last minute adjustment.  Then about 35 minutes before race time he told him he left his bike computer in the garage.  Thankfully, Philip's dad was able to get it to us just as James was riding to the staging area.  I was so glad to get him on the course.

This few minutes is the worst.  They are lined up and my tummy was in knots.  It was even worse today because once they were past us, we couldn't see them again until the end of the race.  We got a few race updates along the way, but it wasn't the same as being there.

They had a field of 41.  It seemed like a lot of guys and James remembered so many of them from last year.  He spent a lot of the early morning analyzing his strategy and what he thought the other riders would do.  As they planned when there was a break away of about 16 boys, James and Brody stayed with them group.  

Right at the end of the race, there was an attack that split that group and these guys came across 11th and 12th.  Brody came across just after James...just the way they had planned, but a little further back.

When all was said and done, they were only 13.4 seconds behind the winner.  We're all proud of them and believe that if they can finish that close to the winners they can definitely still pull off a podium finish.

As far as the other races, Abigail took 2nd in the 10-12 girls and Zoe took first in the 13-14 girls.  We had two other girls in the top 10 for the 13-14.  Our 13-14 guys finished 7th and 12th.  Overall, a pretty good day.

Tonight is a team picnic and tomorrow is probably tubing.  It's a fun day tomorrow before the rest day on Thursday.

Nationals Day 2

Fairly uneventful day.  The kids got up and did a 32-mile ride.  Jenny and I thought we would walk just over a mile and a half to the grocery store.  Long story is we got left out the house with no car and we didn't have food for lunch for the kids.  Ended up being a 3-mile walk so we called in reinforcements for the ride home.

The afternoon was packet pick up.  We had a small issue with James - somehow they had Christopher's birthday so they were showing James as race age 9.  It took a few minutes, but we got it sorted out.

We're all drinking tons out here because it is so dry.  After pick up, we stopped at the nearby Quiznos for a drink.  The guys were totally engrossed in the magazines they got at pick up.

As a matter of fact, Wagner was so engrossed in his reading he didn't even hear his mom telling him it was time to go.

James's race is at 10:30 in the morning (1:30 EST).  We're hitting the sack early 'cause we're both really tired.  Big day tomorrow.  The road race is his designated race.  He is really feeling the pressure so if you like to pray, tomorrow will be a really good time.

Catch you tomorrow.

We made the trek to Bend today.  About five hours in the air and then another 3+ hour ride to Bend from Portland...with 3 teenage/pre-teenage boys.  From 5am this morning until now (about 9:25 EST) has been a long day.

I didn't mention the 3 hours we waited in Portland for our carmates to arrive.  Wagner and James were gems and the time went by very quickly.  They both kept me fairly entertained.  One day James will grow beyond being too cool to smile for a picture.  Well, that's not actually fair.  He doesn't think he has a good smile.

It was a beautiful drive to Bend.  For the first part of the trip, we could see Mt. Hood, an absolutely gorgeous volcano.  Keith and I rode to the summit (almost) many several years ago to have dinner at Timberline Lodge.  I just love looking at it.

Once we got beyond Mt. Hood, we could see Mt. St. Helens.  Her top is still gone, but it sure looked to me like another cone was forming.  I was telling the guys (amongst their boy talk) that when Keith and I went to see it we were amazed at the utter destruction of the area around it.  It was just crazy how it destroyed everything for miles.  We could see other peaks, but those were the only two I could identify.

Tomorrow morning is another ride - the poor guys had to jump out of the car, throw on the kits and leave for a ride - and then packet pick up.  It's getting really close now.

The Countdown

This time tomorrow James and I should be on the runway taxiing out for takeoff.  You cannot imagine the list I have to complete before then.  (Ok, some of you know me well and can imagine.)

Nationals is finally here and there can be no more training.  The kids have a race today, but they've been told to take it easy - no risks.  It will be weird to see James on my bike (since their bikes arrive in Bend today).  Keith made one of his funnies.  If you remember "It Finally Happened" you will remember there was some confusion about the kind of bike they thought I should get.  It is an RD1.  James won the race yesterday on my bike so now it really has "already won."  (You'll have to go back and read the old blog if you don't get it.)

I won't keep you all (ok, honestly, for that's for me not because you have anything better to do, but I have tons), but I did want to let you know that I will try send blog updates every night.  For those of you who want more realtime updates, check out my Twitter here.  

He's such a Tough Guy

He rides miles and miles and miles.  I can't even imagine sitting on a bike that long.

He competes....hard.  He loves to compete.  He loves to win, but he also loves to see his friends do well and to support them.  It's all part of his team competing and winning.

He can be so tough and mean to his little brother.  I know, it's a part of being a brother (or a big sister).  But he can be tough.

But then, he's really not....inside.  He heard about a book when he was at a public speaking camp.  The book is Treasure in an Oatmeal Box.  It sounded very appealing to him so he wanted me to find it.  It's no longer in print so that took a bit of doing, but I finally found it.  

When he walked in from bike practice last night his eyes were all puffy.  I asked him if he were tired, but he said no, it was the book.  He was so touched by the story of a special needs boy who wasn't always treated the best by anyone (including his family), but was very giving.  

I cried when he told me the story from camp.  When he told me last night I should read it, I told him I didn't think I could.   What a guy that allows himself to be touched by stories like that.

Simply Phenomenal

Christopher was in his first play this weekend.  We have always thought he was a little entertainer - loves to be in front of an audience.  (Isn't he the cutest little ant?  The play's name?  Antsylvania.)

I mean, who else do you know whose favorite thing in school is public speaking.  (For those of you wondering how we pull that off in our homeschooling endeavors....each week at Classical Conversations, they have to do a presentation.)

He was cast as a weed.  A bad weed.  A bad weed with an attitude.

And let me tell you, he pulled it off totally.  He had the attitude.  He had the tone of voice.  He had fingers pointing.  He didn't look like an 8-year-old playing a weed.  He was the weed.  With an attitude.  

Keith said the camp director said he was a natural - I just didn't know how much of a natural.  He loved it and looked like he had found his thing.

On the way home, he said he had found his new sport....only it's not a sport, he said.  We reassured him that was ok - that dancing using a lot of energy, especially when you really get into it.  (Although there was some mention of baseball.)

Molly has always said she can hardly wait to see where these guys take us.  

This is a definitely a new direction and a fun one at that.  Stay tuned.  We have video and as soon as I re-figure out how to get a short clip up, I will.  You will have to see the weed with 'tude.

Forgot How Cute He Was

You all know I have many, many ongoing projects.  (By the way, I am making good progress on the scrapbooking.  2007 is almost completely done and 2009 is almost caught up.)  My latest project is getting my roughly 20,000 photos off my lapbook because I just filled it up.  It literally won't let me save anything else to it.

You should see my desk.  I have three, yes 3, external hard drives.  Call me anal, but these are our family's memories.  To reinforce that, I came across a couple of videos that I had totally forgotten I had taken.  Christopher was just too cute in these.  

This cutie is in his first theatrical performance tomorrow night.  Bet I'm entering a whole new world.

Wow, That Was a Gap

We had another beautiful day for a race.  It was cool, the course was shady and it seemed there were just enough hills out there to be James's kind of course.

From what I understand there was no designated winner - we're close to Nationals and the two 10-12s that trade off winning races weren't getting any help from the bigger boys.  If they were going to win, it was up to them.  Of course, if they got a gap then their teammates would help, but they had to make it happen.  Brody went first early in the race.  I haven't talked to him, but maybe he was being a decoy or maybe he was going for it.  He looked strong, but when they came back around the 1.2 mile course, the peloton had caught him.

A couple more laps and then James attacked.  (A sick feeling hit the pit of my stomach - there were six laps to go.  Probably 2-3 more than he could hold the lead.)  One of our toughest competitors was there and he rides this particular course almost every week so he knew every curve and the best places to attack.

 

He came around again and he was still in the lead, but the announcer told the group that the crowd would overtake him, but James apparently didn't hear him because he just kept motoring up the hill.  His teammates were doing their job by blocking and slowing down the pack.

He came around again and it really seemed like the gap had widened.  I didn't see anyone around the turn.  Could he make it?  I said a quick prayer that reiterated what we prayer before every race.  "Father, glorify Yourself with this race.  Whether he wins or loses, it's for Your glory."  Boy, I really wanted him to win, but he still had so long to go.

He was really gutting it out when he came around me.  There was so much determination on his face.  I was so proud of him at that moment because I know he was hurting, but he wasn't giving up.

It seemed to take an eternity for them to come around the last time.  Then, in the shadows I saw a bike, but I wasn't sure who it was because, of course, I watch the races through my camera lens.

But then I realized I knew those moves, those pedal strokes, the way those hands gripped the handlebars....it was James.  He still had a gap.  In fact, as the announcer pointed out, it had widened on the last lap.  It was such an exciting race.  It's very seldom that a lone rider attacks and makes it.  It takes so much energy and it does get lonely out there, but this time he did it.

And for that, he got a gold Georgia Games medal.  Way to go, James.  

Hightlights from the Georgia Games Road Race

Today was the Georgia Games Road Race and it was a beauty of a day.  I decided to just share some of my favorite sights from the day.  

Ever wonder what happens to riders that crash and their bikes totally tear up and there is no team car riding right behind them to give them another bike?  (Those Tour riders are so spoiled.)

Well, they just get up and walk to the finish line.  Bless his heart, there was a horrible crash, but he finished.

This is the face of a kid who just won his first race.  He worked really hard for another guy at our last races.  Love that smile and how his dad is right there with him.

It was perfect day for a race....not too hot and the guys were able to ride in the shade for most of the almost 18 miles.  What a great looking group of kids.

Perfect setting in all ways - just a lovely idyllic setting.  Hope you all are enjoying your weekend.

It's July so It Must be

the TDF or for you "noobs" [Ok - this has stimulated quite a bit of discussion. I originally spelled it "newbs" as in short for newby, but both CBT and James independently corrected my spelling so there you have the etymology of the word.] , as James would say, the Tour de France.  It's all Tour all the time (except for those moments I sneak peaks at the train wreck that has become the coverage of MJ, which reminds me...there's a certain someone whom my family knows and loves that should give us a report of what the Memorial was like.  Yep.  We know someone that was actually there and I think he should  post a comment about it...you know who you are.  And, just for the record, JST guessed who you were right off the bat.)

Ok, I digress.  Again.  We love watching the Tour and I have to confess that I didn't give Lance a snowball's chance of actually performing this year.  How wrong was I?!  For those of you who don't follow this sport, the 37-year-old Texan is a fraction of a second out of the yellow jersey (a.k.a. first place).

I am celebrating my own cycling triumph.  James took me out for two rides this past weekend.  He had goals for me.  Goals that I was unaware of.  Goal #1 was to drink out of my water bottle while I was riding.  Check.  #2 was to go 20 mph for some distance.  I made it to 22 briefly.  Check.  The third was to ride without having my hands on the handlebars.  Oops - not so fast.  I took them off and freaked out.  We reported to Coach Ralph my lesson and he told James he should set a goal of making it 6 seconds.  (Sounds suspiciously like the 8 seconds in bull riding...just shorter.  Maybe because it's harder?)

Not to be outdone by my 11-year-old or Coach Ralph, the next day I rode for 13 seconds with no hands and that was after he acknowledged that some pro riders can't do that.  All these were accomplishments, but the thing that I was the most proud of?  When we finished the ride, I rode up onto the driveway, the concrete driveway.  James was talking to me and I had all but stopped when it hit me.  I was still clipped in.  Dangit, I thought, I'm going down and it's really going to hurt hitting that concrete.  Somehow at the last possible moment, I got unclipped and saved myself.  I just stood there saying to James, "I didn't fall.  I didn't fall.  I did it.  I didn't fall."  I think he may have thought I had early dementia.  

Take that Lance and Cavendish and Levi and Contador.  (If you don't know the names besides Lance, don't worry, neither did 85% of the people in a recent survey.)

Our Fourth of July

We have several July 4th traditions to celebrate our nation's birthday and our freedom.  We started out this year with fireworks in Norcross on Friday night. 

We found a great place to see them this year.  Not too much obstruction if you sat just right.  Christopher and I had a big time taking pictures of them....well over 100.

We were playing with different settings.  If you really slow down the shutter speed you can get some neat effects.  I think we got this one after he asked me to slow it way down.  I'm thinking this looks like massive neon signage.

This is definitely his.  I think it is what you get when you just don't focus.  He had several similar to this - I thought they were pretty neat (and reminded both me and Keith of a Spirograph).

July 4th morning has brought us the Dunwoody Parade for more years now than I care to think about.  It's a great small town parade with floats, bands, veterans, politicians and, this year, a bunch of pirates.  Quite authentic right down to the excessive cleavage.  James skipped the Saturday morning fast 50 just so he could go with us.  

The last tradition we have are sparklers in the driveway.  We saved that for Sunday night so we could really drag out our 4th. 

Christopher with a halo.

James's ring of fire.

Just plain crazy designs.  

It was a great weekend highlighted by church on Sunday morning.  It really put everything in perspective - the politics, the craziness in the Middle East, general frustration with people in charge.  At the end of the day the only thing that matters is a relationship with Jesus Christ - the rest are just "minors" from which we learn and grow.  I hope your 4th was as great as ours.

Taking it to the Next Level

Apologies for being a little distracted.  I have been quite busy.  After watching a guy take pictures at a race the other day, I decided that I could do what he was doing.  After all, I had a LOT of practice during All Stars.  I wouldn't charge as much as he did and I would just give it a go.  So....after many several hours of work, I have a website and I have pictures for sale.  (Lisa, I still owe you pictures of the Sunny King and I do not intend for you to have to pay for them - I'm just running behind.)

The site (www.candisnaps.com) is slowly being populated, but I have to say it has been fun.  I think the tipping point was when a couple from Colombia came up and asked me if I would take pictures of their son.  I at least looked the part.

I'll let you know how it turns out.  More pictures and interesting posts are coming....just have to wait until that software isn't being used for uploading pictures.

Happy Fourth of July....would love some comments about what you're doing.