I was up at 5:30am on race day, Saturday, August 10. It was 46 degrees outside. I made a cup of coffee and got in the shower. I had some breakfast and then started to wake the rest of the family. JJ got up really good for how early it was. He was really nervous and did not feel he was ready. I went down to the van and got the bikes ready for the race. We were all loaded up and on our way to the race by 7:16am. We arrive at the starting area and finished out prep. JJ was still nervous so we went to the start line and readied ourselves.
Ready to go!
The race started and JJ started working his way to the front of the pack. I got stuck behind some slow traffic but made my way up to him somewhere after the 1st mile. JJ was doing good until we hit the climbs. I would slow down and wait for him after cresting the climb. I kept encouraging him to push on and he did. At the top of one of the climbs I checked my phone and seen we were on track to finish in an hour. I figured that could get him in the top five for his age group. We got to the big sand pit downhill and we both got through really well. We hit the wood chip hill and jumped off our bikes and pushed to the top. While doing this we watched a young girl (guessing around 12 years old) make it to the top. Both of us were cheering for her, she was riding great. I checked my phone again and figured we still had a chance at the one hour mark. I told JJ we really needed to push hard. We were in the final section of single track and a young boy was on the side of the trail looking at his bike. His chain came off so I told JJ to keep going and I stopped and put his chain back on for him so he could finish.
I caught up to JJ and he was struggling, I kept pushing him. He kept going as hard as he could and when we rounded the final turn he asked if we could cross the line at that same time. I agreed that was a good idea. We crossed the finish line JJ just slightly ahead of me. It was really cool.
The results were taking a while to get in so we headed for the hotel. I started to download our video and checking for the race results. I found that JJ had finished 3rd in his age group. We were really happy with that result. It was now time to clean up and have some food and fun before Brendan's race at 4:00pm.
Michelle made some sandwiches and we were off to Presque Isle. We stopped at one of the picnic tables and had some lunch. Then we were off to the cove to look for beach glass and see if anyone was doing cliff diving on this cool day.
At the cove!
Cliff divers! I would never do this!
Beach Glass
We left the park and went to have some ice cream. Then a detour to the hotel to get Brendan's shoes and we were off to his race. We got to the start area and got Brendan up to the start line so he could be in front.
Ready to Race!
Coach is ready for race number 2.
He had a good start but was not shifting and was spinning out. I caught up to him and got him to shift his gears and then he started to make up some ground. About a mile and a half into the race he ran into the back of another rider and crashed. He got right up and kept going. He was doing really well and passing a lot of riders. I kept telling him to pedal hard and he did. I kept pointing out riders for him to pass and right at the finish line he even passed one. He finished in 9th place in his age group. He did really good.
After the finish line.
It was now time to go back and clean up for the awards ceremony. We got back to the arena and got a seat. The awards went very smooth and JJ got his trophy and time on the podium.
Jason Ashley Jr., 3rd place, 15-19 Shore Rock!
The results showed that I finished 6th in my class. But the smile on JJ's face on the podium said I finished first!
Next up will be the wrap up of vacation and hopefully some video highlights from the race!
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