We get to see fall up close and personal while we travel to and from these mountain bike races every other week in the fall. I love cheering for Hank, I love a long drive, I love the community of the mountain bike families, the team dinners, cheering for each others' kids. I love seeing Hank challenge himself in something he loves and come out a little more mature, resilient, confident, humble, experienced each time. It's not about being the best. It's about doing something you love and challenging yourself to do better each time. It's about a team family and community that centers around this love for the outdoors and adventure. We are so joyful to be experiencing this alongside of him. Race 1 - Frisco, COPre-ride and team dinner was cancelled due to the rainstorm. Hank raced first in the morning. Everything went smoothly. He said people during the race on the sidelines were commenting on him smiling during the race. "That's it! Have fun. That's how you race!" I think he was reminded about the love he has for this sport. He said it was FUN! He placed 21st and which means he is very much a strong contender for the state race in October. Top 40 move on to state. As long as he keeps it up, he will have another strong season. Frisco was beautiful as usual. It always reminds me how much I want to live there whenever we go. It's got the lake, the bike path, tons of hiking trails, nearby skiing (both downhill and xcountry), good food, and beautiful mountain scenery. Great way to start the season. On to Glenwood in two weeks. Race 2 - Glenwood Springs, COI like Glenwood the more time I spend there. Big mid town bridge with restaurants and outdoor area under the bridge that they have lit up. The kids are old enough now that we just go out on a date and the kids hang out at the hotel and watch cable TV (something we don't have at home). They have their shows and Henry has a routine he follows the night before a race and the morning of that he tries to keep consistent. He likes to have the same race day breakfast. Plain oatmeal and a banana. I like cafe where we get smoothies and lattes and paninis while Hank is on his pre-ride. The race track is so dusty every time. While it isn't his favorite track to race on, it's good practice for state when we come back next month here to the same spot with many many more racers. This was the one where the racers nearly crashed into us on the sidelines. Someone's bike clipped someone else's and it started a chain of events where if you were behind the crash at the start, you were really behind in the race from that point on. I think Hank nearly missed it and maybe got a little delayed and had to make up for it in the race. Doing cross country and mountain biking at the same time is no joke. If he isn't running, he is biking and visa versa. School and practice every day, and travel on the weekends to races. Neither of the types of workouts are easy. Running 10 miles at a 6 or 7 minute mile pace daily is pretty intense. Then adding 4 x 20-30 mile mountain bike rides (not road bike) a week... you get the idea. I think this will be the last season he does both because the schedules conflict constantly and there is virtually no recovery time. Needless to say, he's tired and he tells me so. It's a commitment that he wanted to make so he's sticking with it to the end of the season. The race went smoothly with the exception of the major pile up crash at the beginning. He's still a top competitor for state after this race. I don't remember what he placed but I think it was about the same as the last. Race 3 - Leadville, COI could live in Leadville. Home of the highest elevation ultramarathon race in the country. Beautiful tall densely packed in coniferous trees. Home of the famous Mellanzana. The best mountain thrift stores. The best hiking. Turquoise Lake is actually turquoise. The town is a weird mix of blue collar mining families that go back generations, then you've got your mountain hippies, and then you've got your uber-ultra-endurance athletes who want to climb the tallest mountains, run the longest distances, and ski all winter long. It makes for a hardy interesting mix of people. This is one of Hank's favorite races in the series. The drive was beautiful and fall is really here. The weather was pretty mild. It's not too cold yet. OThank goodness for these weekend trips where I get to see the seasons change all over the state. Where I get to have a change of scenery and get out of the busy week of day to day work and home and dinner and sleep and work and all over again. I'm so proud of Hank's resilience. All his constant hard work. He works so hard and he is doing something he loves. I love seeing him go through these experiences. Race 4 - Eagle, COEach of the races in the series has a theme for spectators and riders alike. The theme in Eagle this year was "noisemakers." Natalie's been looking forward to using our rubber chicken noisemakers all season long to cheer on the racers! People bring an endless variety of drums and cow bells and kazoos and anything else homemade or store-bought that makes a distinctly fun noise. This is the race that I really get to see the gold rush come through all the aspen trees. They shimmer and flutter in the wind. Going through Vail on the way to Eagle is especially lovely. I think the challenge in Eagle this year was that our puppy Murphy had gotten a hold of Hank's hydration tube days before the race and we had to replace it. We couldn't get the exact same one so it was a bit longer than the previous one. The tubing kept getting stuck around his seat during the race preventing him from standing up to gain more leverage. He said he had to stop several times during the race to adjust it and lost some time. Obviously, during a race pulling over to adjust gear is not the most ideal or advantageous to your placing. He didn't lose much time though, or he made up for it somehow. He still held and gained in his placing. Headed to state for year 2. State Competition - Glenwood Springs, COmosNot many states in the US really have the type of terrain and trail systems for mountain bike trails, much less a full state competition and race series that occurs across the state in various divisions. From Durango to Aspen, to Vail and Frisco; this competition takes many people to organize a lot of trail systems, the racers, and their coaches and parents for a full season of races. It's a world class event. It's part of the reason I'm documenting it. There are over 800 racers in total. The top racers in the state, in the top state for mountain biking. It's a big deal for him to qualify and then participate in this race. He'll remember it for the rest of his life. The only thing I care about is that he has fun and walks away feeling stronger, more capable, more confident. He has done it for himself. For the simple fun of it and the satisfaction of the experience. As a family we don't really care about the winning. We ask, "did you do your best?" and "did you improve from last time?" and "what did you learn about yourself this time?" At the end of season banquet, coaches speak about the racers. The coach that spoke about Hank said that Hank was his favorite kind of racer. He's out there because he loves it. He's out there for the fun of it. How many adults do I know that have forgotten to have fun without the use of some substance giving them some false sense of what fun is and an a bad habit that leads to bad decisions. More than anything, I want my kids to have healthy outlets to give them a more fulfilling lives. It's not about the winning. I used to have this negative opinion of uber sport moms ("soccer mom" types or baseball dads). I think its all about what you make it and what your kid wants out of it. It can't be some weird ego trip for the parent. It has to be something the kids wants. For us/for Hank its about the adventure, the community, the experience, the self-discovery, the character development and most importantly the fun of the ride. and on the way home Hank says, "it's time for ski season!"
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AuthorMy cathartic stream-of-consciousness processing of the day-to-day. Archives
September 2023
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