Singletrack Cycles - Westside Series Race #5

Second weekend in a row traveling to the Tacoma area for mountain bike racing action, both races at Fort Steilacoom Park. Last week for the first ever high school league race, this Sunday for race # 5 of the Singletrack Cycles - Westside Series. It's been a super rainy spring here in the Pacific Northwest, we've lucked out for the racing however - cloudy skies, but the rain held off.

Ian was down for the count for two days previous to the race with a bad cold. He still wanted to race, to at least collect series points, being only 10 points of first place in his age devision. I loaded up the car the night before and told Ian we'll see how feels on race morning. He was up at 6:00 AM wanting to roll, even though he still he didn't feel 100%. Parent in me wanted to cancel the day, bike nut in me realizes Ian's interest in doing well in the series.

So, off we go. Plan was if not feeling well, just cruise the course, finish and rack up some points. Once we arrived and he rode around a bit, said he felt fine. This was also his first race using clipless pedals. Pre-riding part of the course, had one slow speed tip over. I offered to swap the pedals for platforms, we still had time; nope - he elected to go with the clipless setup.

Ian lines up with a few other JL Velo teammates. Ian racing U-12, one lap of the course - about 4 miles. Teammates racing 13-18 division; 2 laps for them.

Gidean, racing for Team Motofish, once again grabs first place in U-12 division. A very fast 10 year old. Ian and Gidean have been finishing close together in previous races. Today, Gidean was minutes ahead - great ride.

Mike, JL Velo teammate, rolls in for the 3rd place finish in the 13-18 division. A solid ride. Will, not pictured, scored a 2nd place spot for the team as well.

Jarrett rolls towards the finish in the 13-18 division. Always awesome to see these young racers out there. Mountain bike racing is fun, but not easy.

Ian, third to the left, cruising in for his 5th place finish in his U-12 class. Not a bad show for racing sick and rocking the clipless pedals; said he ran up some hills in fear of not being able to unclip midway. I give him credit for wanting complete the series and score as many points as possible. After today, he's still in second place overall - great job.

My little racer, recovering after the race. Any guilt associated with having him race feeling a little sick now gone. He had a good time and was glad to pile on series points. On the way home, shared a quick McDonald's stop with teammate Will and his dad. Overall, another good day out on bikes.

Next week is the final race of the series, visiting Black Diamond once again. We're looking forward to it. See you out there.