The Mt Hood Cycling Classic has kicked off with The Kids Race in the Dalles. We asked Camden if he wanted to "race like daddy" and he jumped on the idea. Seeing him get second place and stand on the podium with his red ribbon was more excitement than I can explain! I was shaking for an hour afterward!
It was a very hot day - in the 90's - when we headed out to the race. We got Camden registered - with the same OBRA forms I fill out to race - and got his number pinned on.
From that moment - IT WAS ON!!! He was hilarious and all business. When he saw all the bigger kids doing "warm up" laps on the course around the downtown city block, he just had to go with them.
He was focused and probably rode 10 times the distance of the race at "warm up"
He even managed the slalom course of cones without a problem
Finally, about 15 minutes before start time we had to pull him aside for some proper hydration to get ready for the big race!!
After he had done so many laps on the big kids course we found out that the 3 yr olds were only doing a straight part of the course - A SPRINT. We knew Cam was more of an endurance guy but still had high hopes for his chances today!
Everyone lined up:
And just like that - they were off. Cam had started right in the middle, but got bunched up in a small group elbowing for position at the start (or in other words, a couple kids wobbled their bikes sideways into Cam as they got started)
Camden quickly moved to an outside lane that he found open and then saw that the pro racer who was in place to pace the leaders was just in front of him. He put his head down and his little legs pumped faster than I had ever seen. He quickly moved into second place where he and the leader had opened a huge gap on the main field! 
As he approached the finish line he knew he could sit up and relish in a podium spot of second place!
He and the days winner (biggest 3 yr old in the race - I want to check his birth certificate) pulled off to the side for a photo op with the races sponsors......
and then it was off to the podium for a few kisses from the podium girls (in this case - mommy) Obviously from the photo you can tell my level of excitement seems to be outweighing Cam's by just a bit:
I don't think he was to sure as to what was going on here and he asked me if he could race again.
I'm very proud of my "bestest buddy" and look forward to many more of these days. 
This race was awesome and I was totally overwhelmed with the amount of kids/families that were at this event. They raced every age group from 3-12 yrs old. It is fun to be part of a community like this and one that promotes a healthy lifestyle. We love where we live, work and play!
No comments:
Post a Comment