Second race - are we sure about this?

 

One week after Finn's BMX race debut, we had a pre-scheduled father/son campout weekend about an hour from home. Sand Springs BMX has Friday night and Sunday afternoon races so we considered racing Friday so we wouldn't miss a week. Instead, since we had fair weather (for a change), we decided to head to camp and spend two nights. First time Finn's been away from his mama for two consecutive nights, but it was a success. We took four bicycles- Finn's green race bike, his orange strider, his Trek pedal bike (with training wheels), and my MTB with toddler shotgun seat. We rode all four, plus my dirtbike. It was also a good opportunity to ease into his new full-face helmet. The transition to that was simple enough... just keep the half helmet put away and offer the full face.

When not riding bicycles and playing with dump trucks, Finn was exploring the creek and catching frogs, fish, and a snake. Good times. 


Late Saturday, we decided that making the Sunday afternoon races was within reason, so we packed up Sunday morning to head home, unpack, shower, and get ready for the race. Here he is packed up and ready to go with his race medal from last week, a basket on his head, and a bucket full of toys.


However, Finn was now tired and cranky, so everything was a challenge and it was a race time decision whether or not he was gonna do it today. We showed up later to minimize the waiting time, but with enough time to get a few practice laps in. 


Making sure to get rested and hydrated between practice and race. Planning to up our bivouac setup with a popup shade rather then hiding in the shade of the shipping container.

He passionately wanted to race his red bike (with training wheels). But that wasn’t possible because it was at home and he’s in the balance bike class. Literal tears at the starting line and he finally decided that yea, he was gonna race on the green bike when the other kids lined up next to him.

Once going, he was a lot more comfortable than last time. To a fault. He was gazing at the surroundings, talking about what he was seeing, and pointing at things rather than being eyes forward. I'm definitely not an effective coach, but I've tuned my instructions to a few simple concepts for now, making sure I use consistent terms. 1. hands on the grips, 2. eyes forward, 3. pedal! The last one seems odd for a bicycle that doesn't have pedals, but it's the concept I'm going for. If he can focus on using his own feet to climb or as outriggers when coasting, then there will be less reliance on me to push or steady him.

We have work to do. But he did climb and coast a couple of the hills (expected me to push on most). He needs more practice on smaller, slower rhythm sections to build his confidence. At one point, I was telling him, "You need to pedal. I'm not gonna push you through this whole race." A father in the bleachers yelled, "yes you will!" We both laughed about it.

Small improvements, so it was a win. Came home with 1st place in his class of one! Youngest kid to race today. And look at that swagger on the podium. :)


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