Washington High School Cycling League - Race #1

As mentioned in a previous post, I vowed to get involved with the Washington High School Cycling League once it starting rolling. Well, I lived up to that promise and volunteered at the first ever event in Washington held this weekend. Race site being Fort Steilcoom Park near Tacoma, Washington. I officially signed on to be a Course Marshal for the inaugural event. At least I can say I was there for a bit of mountain bike history.

To refresh your memory, NICA, is a national based organization promoting high school mountain bike racing. A few states have been on board for awhile now, with hugely successful programs. Hundreds of kids racing for themselves and their respective high school teams. Things are just starting to get off the ground here, with an incredible amount of work being done since the Leadership Summit held in January. Kudos to Lisa Miller and other involved folks to get this deal flying in a short amount of time. From what I hear, there are 17 high school teams forming or in progress. That number soon to grow.

Official Washington High School Cycling League tent stocked with goodies for volunteers.

"MP 8", my official manning station for a few hours. World's biggest official orange vest keeping my 29er seat warm. Official Specialized course tape marks the route. I even had an official race radio. Yep, all of it pretty official. To the left, out of view; official fenced dog running park. A few dog walking types asked what was going on. All were supportive when I gave 'em the low down. Hey, who can get cranky with anything involving kids?

High school boys roll out for the start, following official adult volunteer type. Get ready to rumble.

Off they go! About a 4 mile lap, don't recall how many laps per age group. Racers ranged from kids on department store bikes with soccer jerseys, to experienced racers gunning it for their high school. Inexperienced types outnumbered the "pros" by far, which is great to see. The program is all about kids getting out there, no matter the skill or equipment level.

Rad Racing kid ripping it for his school. Having kids like this on your team provides some fantastic coaching and riding advice to the newbies.

Baggy shorts 'N' sneakers on a decent mountain bike would describe most of the racers. Nothing wrong with that. SRAM banners, finishing tent and race announcer, all provide a pro experience for the kids.

More experienced racer powering towards the finish; now his experience assisting his high school team. How cool is that?

I watched these two boys sprint towards the finish, then let up, crossing the line with joined raised salute. Awesome.

About 50 kids total raced today, most boys and a few girls. This entire high school racing shindig is prepared to take off. The seeds have been planted. By next season, you'll see hundreds of Washington State high schoolers duke it out on various courses. I guarantee that - mark my words. It's already happened in other states, it will also happen here.

Next race is scheduled for May 1st, location yet specified. I plan to be at that event assisting as well. This program is fantastic and well worth the volunteer donated time and effort. I can only imagine how this program will mature by the time my kids hit high school. Flat out awesome scene to get kids on bikes, taste some racing, and create some spill over interest to siblings and parents.

I feel honored to have a played a small part in it all.

Welcome to Clipless Town

While at the Bike Expo a few weeks ago, scored Ian a pair of Specialized SPD compatible shoes for 40% off, courtesy of the Bicycles West booth. I already had a pair of Shimano 505 pedals in the garage - presto - Ian goes clipless. He's been riding for years and doing just fine with platform pedals, however as most of you already know - once you go clipless - there ain't no going back.

Plan was to let Ian test 'em out for a few rides. If he felt they improved his riding, awesome. If not, no pressure - back to the platform pedal and sneaker combo. Of course, kids being sponges at learning new things, going clipless appears to be no problem. A few weeks ago, late one afternoon, I bolted up the SPD cleats to the new shoes, popped the 505 pedals onto his mountain bike, strapped spiffy new shoes to his feet - and instant issues clipping into the pedals. Closer inspection reveled a few millimeters of sole needed to be shaved off, Dremel tool to the rescue.

After buzzing off some plastic sole, attempt number two goes a little smoother, even with a few awkward clip in/out practice moves in the yard. Then after 15 minutes or so, he's rolling around like a pro. "Can we go in the woods?" Ah, it's getting dark, but sure let's give it a quick spin. We roll down to the local woods in street clothes and hit the singletrack for 20 minutes. Besides one slow speed tip over from stalling on a climb, he's riding just fine on clipless pedals. We still elect to go with platform pedals for the race last weekend however. Go with what you know for now.

One night last week, Ian and I hit the local woods for a ride - clipless setup now reinstalled. We did our usual hour plus loop at a decent pace. He did just fine on the new set up. Plus, placebo effect or not, he's seems a bit faster on 'em. He likes 'em and says they feel "faster". With the platform pedals, his feet were all over place, often pedaling on the arch of his foot. Now with the ball of his foot attached to where it should be, I even had to raise his saddle a bit, he's getting a little more power. Yeah, we all know this, but news to an 11 year old.

Yesterday, more buzzing around the yard to speed up the SPD route into Clipless Town...

"These feel faster" as quoted by Ian. The blurring of the camera as proof.

Spiffy, complete with mud from previous ride. The colors even match his bike combo. Pretty pro, eh?

Small log in yard provides bunny hop practice. Houston, we have lift off.

I'll get him out for a few rides this week to bump the confidence factor up a tad higher; then we'll go clipless for the next race. Should be interesting, as kids always are. Ride on.