I went for a run round a different park this morning to discover a cycle race being set up. As I came to the end of my run (4.5k if you're interested!) the park began filling up with children on bikes dressed in cycling gear. Intrigued, I decided to go & ask what was going on! After a brief conversation with the lady at the registration tent I found out that there were several children's races, as well as the adult races, & that it wasn't too late to take part. I rang Lee to see if Jordan wanted to take part, which of course he did!
An hour later we were both back in the park with Jordan's bike & gear. I paid the entry fee of £1 & filled in the relevant paperwork. We both had no idea how a cyclo race works so we had to ask! The under 12's race consisted of a winding, undulating grass course with the competitors completing as many laps of the course in 15 minutes as possible. After completing one lap of the course as a warm up, all the children were lined up to start the race in age order. The judges checked race numbers were positioned correctly & a race briefing was given. The mass start was a little scary! Even Jordan thought so!
Jordan did brilliantly....
...competing against a lot of very accomplished young riders....
....all wearing the proper gear...
....with very competitive parents, some of whom were more like coaches calling out which gears the children should be using, or what pace they should be keeping! They were all very friendly though. I cheered Jordan on with lots of encouragement as I ran around various parts of the course taking photos!
He got tired towards the end but finished strong! He was very proud of himself, and rightly so! He really enjoyed his goodie bag at the finish line which included a little badge bearing words & pictures that read 'I love my bike'. Nice! Jordan can't wait to do his next race! :o)
