The more races we travel to, the more people we meet, the more parents and volunteers doing their own junior teams we are introduced to, I am relieved that we aren't the only ones out here trying to figure this all out. For a while we just thought we were crazy and then you start running into people just as crazy as yourself.
We just came from the Snake Alley/Melon City/Quad Cities Memorial Day Races this past weekend. We are really starting to see the numbers of juniors rising. The 10-14 field was 25 strong and the 15-18 fields was 50 strong - all three days. Kids from all over, kids are are serious competititors and there to win. It was so nice to have our kids race against other kids on other teams for a change. And it was a success. All of the work we as admin and the kids as athletes have put in is starting to show. We had 7 wins over the 3 days. On top of that, we met new people and the kids had an absolute blast.
Added to the fact that we met a lot of new faces, the fact that all of our kids were competitive in the fields really strengthens my belief in what we are doing. I can't tell you how exciting it is to see one of your kids soloing away from grown men to win a race. Goose bumps doesn't even begin to describe it. Not only are we seeing these accomplishments, but we're trying out the possibility of some of the younger kids racing up a little in the adult categories to get more pack experience. We did just that and once the feeling ofnervousness passed, we watched one of our most promising 13 year olds take on the Cat 5 field and stay with them through the final pack sprint, finishing 18th of 42 starters.
In the training and club department, we are keeping our youngest members engaged with rides starting at the ice cream palour and having sponsors host dinner and movie nights where all of the families can mingle "bike free" to help build our RZ community.
Just as the kids have grown leaps and bounds from last year; we are seeing our little cycling team experiment grow and grow. And the vision just keeps getting clearer and clearer. I can honestly say I learn something at every race, at every training ride, in every conversation with any of the kids, in every emailed question and answer. When I think about the doors we're opening for our oldest kids, it makes me excited for the door that will be even easier to open to all the kids that are still up and coming.
The next couple of months are key for RZ and we're hoping for great things and great opportunities for all of the kids. We have Edgar Soto, Red River Gorge, Junior National Mountain Bike Championships and Junior Road Championships. Not to mention that cyclocross starts next month. Stay tuned!
L