My Son's First Race

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I apologize for the shameless parent beaming with pride post, but today was my son Andres' first bicycle race. He is 14 years old and took up cycling this past August. Though I've been riding for a long time, I never once asked him if he wanted to take up cycling, as I wanted him to approach me about it, if he was interested. We made it through him riding with tennis shoes, and the many falls with clipless pedals, and each week he has improved and gained strength by leaps and bounds. I have to go all out to drop him on a climb now. I suspect he'll be dropping the old man soon enough. A few weeks ago, he told me he wanted to try racing, too.

Today Andres toed the line in the Jr. 15-16 category. A group of six kids got away from the gun, and Andres caught on with two other kids to form the first chase group. Though the three kids shared pulls, the two others let Andres do all the pulling in the last two laps and they predictably came around him at the end. All in all, he learned a lot and is excited to do his next race. We are so proud of him. Mom and Dad love you, Andres.

[rePhil]

That's cool. Congrats to both of you!

[Cicli]

Awesome.

[Black Dog]

Good for you. Nice moment. I was 14 when I rode my first race and still remember that day. He will never forget it! Cycling is a great sport for fostering resilience and discipline in a young person. Hard work and suffering for, sometimes, small gains is a great lesson about how things are earned not given.

:banana:

[AngryScientist]

awesome man.

he looks very PRO on the bike too, i must say.

[numbskull]

I have to go all out to drop him on a climb now. I suspect he'll be dropping the old man soon enough..

"Suspect"?

LOL, dad, you're toast......... and it will be a cool moment for the both of you. In the meantime try putting lead in his water bottles.

[jghall]

Nothing wrong with being a proud papa Robert. Great pics.

[Ralph]

Totally understand the pride.

[SlowPokePete]

Awesome!

SPP

[shovelhd]

Ninth in his first race ever? That's great.

[ntb1001]

Get used to being dropped.
Here is a pic of my view of my 14 year old when we ride together. ..:D

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/18/fd589d427dade3ead353fe3d695608d7.jpg

[Grinta13]

Based on the last image in your post, I'd say he clearly needs an upgrade to some aero carbon wheels. :) Certainly he would have been in the front group then.

In all seriousness, that's awesome. I wish my daughter showed some interest in cycling, so I'm quite jealous.

[54ny77]

That is awesome! You must've been beaming with pride. :cool:

[velomonkey]

Getting in the 2nd group when you can see on the start line you got some George Hincapie junior dude with a DOGMA - I'd say that's a good result.

Go on, be a proud poppa.

[soulspinner]

Kudos for letting him come to you. Good parenting and a great result.

[CMiller]

My favorite bike is a Mercian my father handed to me. My favorite times with him are shared in cycling. He's not as much of a wrench as I am, but the old man can easily put on any tire, even the ones which I've struggled with for 15 minutes!

Glad to hear you will share many memories with him, especially the "difficult" teenage years!

[firerescuefin]

POTD Robert.

That's really awesome! Hope to see more "homer" posts in the future.

[Schmed]

That kid with the green helmet has carbon wheels? OMG.

Congrats, UJA. I had the same proud moment when my son did his first mountain bike race.

It's a bittersweet moment, when you can't keep up with your own kid.:)

[fuzzalow]

I have to go all out to drop him on a climb now. I suspect he'll be dropping the old man soon enough.

As a parent, whether it is having your kid beat you to the top of a climb or win a debate over you on a dinner table discussion, their victories are far sweeter for you then they'd yet to understand. When you lose you win.

[Chris]

Congrats. You have good reason to be proud.

[vqdriver]

As a parent, whether it is having your kid beat you to the top of a climb or win a debate over you on a dinner table discussion, their victories are far sweeter for you then they'd yet to understand. When you lose you win.

this

great thread

[gasman]

Congratulations and great parenting.
You'll be chasing him up the hills next year.

[commonguy001]

That's flat out awesome.
Good work Mom amd Dad! (& Boy:))

[krhea]

Ultra cool, BE PROUD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck to him.

[beeatnik]

UJA, your son looked 8 in 2012!

Have you taken him to the TJ Crit (Hughes Park)?

[Rebel_Biker]

That is great and you sound like a great father.

My father never understood my interest in BMX and vert riding. He never attended one race and did give any congratulations when I came home with trophy's. Some other fathers would race the 24' bikes just to spend time with their son.

Your son, and you, are lucky that cycling is an endurance sport and you can both spend time together training and enjoying rides.

[572cv]

Big Congrats, Dad. :banana:

Being there for our daughter when she was racing (collegiate and for a few years thereafter) was one of the biggest highlights of my cycling life. And yes, you are toast....sooner than you think. She can drop me without a hitch.

I hope you experience him raising his arm in triumph, but even if not, every completed race is a triumph of its own. Recalling moments in my daughter's racing period still brings me to tears.

Thanks so much for the post!

[Uncle Jam's Army]

UJA, your son looked 8 in 2012!

Have you taken him to the TJ Crit (Hughes Park)?

Thank you all for sharing your kind words and thoughts. We really appreciate it.

Al, Hughes Park is super sketchy, particularly that last corner. I did that once and vowed never to do that ride (or the St. Patrick's Crit on the same course) again. I'm taking him to Sky Park in OC starting this Tuesday night to see how long he can hang on to the Rigo locomotive. I think you met my youngest son, Bobby, who is now 11.

[mike p]

Awesome! Congrats to both you and Andres!

Mike

[David Kirk]

so very cool

dave

[ofcounsel]

So very awesome for you and Andres! Cheers!

[pbarry]

Great parenting going on here. :hello:

[Tandem Rider]

Facilitating and quietly encouraging my own son while staying out of the way is extremely hard. My hat's off to anyone pulling that oar. Great job UJA!! The future of bike racing is in races like that.

[velomateo]

Nice job Andres!

If you think staying up with your 14 year old is tough, you should try keeping up with them when they are 19. Carrying all that pride, slows you down.
Cheers.

[oldpotatoe]

I apologize for the shameless parent beaming with pride post, but today was my son Andres' first bicycle race. He is 14 years old and took up cycling this past August. Though I've been riding for a long time, I never once asked him if he wanted to take up cycling, as I wanted him to approach me about it, if he was interested. We made it through him riding with tennis shoes, and the many falls with clipless pedals, and each week he has improved and gained strength by leaps and bounds. I have to go all out to drop him on a climb now. I suspect he'll be dropping the old man soon enough. A few weeks ago, he told me he wanted to try racing, too.

Today Andres toed the line in the Jr. 15-16 category. A group of six kids got away from the gun, and Andres caught on with two other kids to form the first chase group. Though the three kids shared pulls, the two others let Andres do all the pulling in the last two laps and they predictably came around him at the end. All in all, he learned a lot and is excited to do his next race. We are so proud of him. Mom and Dad love you, Andres.

The kid with the green helmet-Zipp wheels? Yowser.

[soulspinner]

The kid with the green helmet-Zipp wheels? Yowser.

Ya I had a $70 Schwin Stingray with a troxel bar, white banana seat and cheater slicks I bought new with my own money from mowing lawns. But it did have the two speed kick back hub :)

[JMacII]

The kid with the green helmet-Zipp wheels? Yowser.


How about the kid on the Dogma!?!

Congrats to you and I hope my four year old shows the same interest some day.

[beeatnik]

How about the kid on the Dogma!?!

Congrats to you and I hope my four year old shows the same interest some day.

I may know the kid on the "Dogma." Let's just say his dad wouldn't be able to afford retail.

Which reminds me of a funny story. The Dogma Kid rides with a crew (Martin's Pro Bikes) based out of East Los Angeles (ground zero for Mexican-American cultural consciousness). And most of these riders are Mexicans who have roots in Mexico City or El DF as it's known there. If you know anything about Mexico, residents of El DF are known as Chilangos. Many Mexicans view Chilangos the way Brits view East End Cockneys; a little vulgar, a little rough. I've ridden with Martin's crew often and I'm always amused by the nicknames they bestow upon each other. One particularly strong cat is called Tortilla. So, one evening after a long training ride, I asked Tortilla how he came upon his moniker. He looked at me straight faced and said, in spanish, "well, because I work in a factory making tortillas." Oh, he was riding an S-Works Tarmac and the average worker at a Tortilleria makes about $9 an hour.

[tiretrax]

That is fantastic. I wish my son would show some interest in riding. He thinks going around the block is a big ride.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I may know the kid on the "Dogma." Let's just say his dad wouldn't be able to afford retail.

Al, that kid is money. He was part of the six kids who got away immediately, three of which were kids on the Monster Media Junior Team. With 6 laps to go, that kid took a flyer and stayed away until right before the line. One of the Monster Media kids (who was yoked and looked like he was 21) ran him down in the last 100 meters, after doing no work in the six-kid group. Impressive for that kid.

His dad seemed like a really humble guy, cheering on his son (my wife and I cheered him on, too, yelling "Animo" every lap he came flying around solo), and it was good to see that. Hopefully, we'll hear more about that kid.

BTW, when I was coming up, Dennison's Clinchers was the team with the barrio kids. East Los y que?!! And, no, not all of us were chilangos! Arriba Jalisco!

[beeatnik]

It's a new world on the(true) Eastside. Hey, didnt the 4 time National Champion Fast Freddie Rodriguez come up through Dennison's Schwinn on Whittier Blvd?

[Uncle Jam's Army]

It's a new world on the(true) Eastside. Hey, didnt the 4 time National Champion Fast Freddie Rodriguez come up through Dennison's Schwinn on Whittier Blvd?

He did, and I raced with him at El Do when he was something like 13. Guys always got pissed off at him because he would always jump into races with the adults without a number and without junior gearing. His dad didn't give a crap and told Fred to just go out and kick their butts. He wasn't beating the local adult big dogs back then, but he was hanging on, which says a lot for a 13 year old.

Rodolfo Vitela (many times national champ of Mexico) also raced and worked as a wrench at Dennison's Clinchers.

[Limonade]

This is awesome! Reminds me of my first MTB race at 13 and my dad waiting in the rain for me at the finish line.

[ispy]

Nice work Andre and Dad!

[cdn_bacon]

Congratulations. And hop you get years of pleasure out of watching him ride.

I hope one of my daughters follows suit. ( or even just likes to ride)