medic75

My son completed in his first race on Sunday. I had mentioned it to him about a month ago and he wasn't interested because it was a race. I tried to explain that he doesn't have to race, and that he can just go ride & have fun. He still wasn't interested. Suddenly, on Saturday morning, he decided he wanted to go. I entered him in the novice race & rode along with him. The weather had been rain for the previous day and that morning, making for a very interesting & dirty ride. The most important part is that he enjoyed himself & is looking forward to next year. I have already begun discussing the option of the beginners race next year which is 13 miles with some moderate climbs.

On a side note, there were some younger kids on 20" Specialized Riprock bikes that made me feel somewhat jealous. I wish there was something like those bikes around when I was a kid. They are better spec'd than the bike I was riding last summer.

North Coast Joe

Been pretty wet in our neck o' the woods!

Awesome, Dad!

qclabrat

That's awesome for lining up
Where was the race?
Are there any NICA leagues by you? School level MTB race leagues

medic75

The race was in Allegany State Park, New York State. It is called Raccoon Rally & this was the 30th year.

No, unfortunately there are no associations or leagues around me. We are literally in the middle of nowhere. I consider myself lucky to have a respectable LBS. The LBS puts on weekly road & MTB rides, but they are a little too intense for a kid who just turned 11 last week.

He doesn't know, but spending Father's day this way was the best gift he could have given me.

Yep, the trails are going to need a good amount of work after this race. The novice was the last race. By that point the trails had been turned to a slimy mess. My 29+ tires were pretty much useless. At least I had the foresight to swap out the tires on my son's bike to something more aggressive. I watched him power through the mud while it was taking everything I had to keep my bike upright.

qclabrat

Reach out to the contacts here to see if there's anything near you. Our leagues in NJ are getting fairly popular with over 600 kids in the state racing.

About ? New York Interscholastic Cycling League

bike_boy

That's awesome and congrats on him doing his first race. My kid has a 24" wheel Trek Superfly.
LBS had me put a front tire on that had more aggressive tread than the rear one; in that configuration we can tell it sure makes a difference.