North Bay BMX 11/28/15

Going racing on Saturdays has now become a new routine for us, and it looks like we'll continue with it as long as Anthony maintains his enthusiasm. To say that he's enthusiastic right now would be quite the understatement.

 This weekend's outing was real nice. Despite it being a rather cold weekend overall it was very nice being outside during the warmest hours of the weekend. The weather was perfect for racing. 

Although Anthony's enthusiasm for going racing is static his energy levels from weekend to weekend have been pretty volatile. As I mentioned in a previous post, his aggresiveness in his first lap around the track seems to be a good indicator of how he'll ride all afternoon, and he was looking a little sluggish in practice this weekend. We're not sure why he's been so hot and cold lately, but we suspect it may be a result of Gianluca's unsettled sleeping patterns (to say the least) over the last few weeks.

 There was a full grid in the 5 and under Novice class this week. I think this is the only full grid (or gate, not up on all of the BMX terminology yet) that I've ever seen at Napa BMX. Anthony just had to finish ahead of one of the seven other riders in order to legitimately advance to the main event, which he hasn't done yet (although he's been very close since he switched to his race bike last week). He was in last place for about 2/3 of the first moto, but then was able to pass the girl in front of him and pull away to finish ahead of her by a pretty big margin. Unfortunately, in the second moto things didn't go as well. They were very close the whole race (they may have even swapped positions once or twice in the back), but Anthony couldn't find his way around,and he finished last. So, Anthony's advancement to the main continues to elude us, but I'm pretty confident that it will happen pretty soon. I actually think that the next time he goes out there and has his normal energy that he'll be a lot closer to the main pack. As I've stated in previous posts, it's just hard for a three year old to compete with the size and coordination of four and five year olds.

 Anthony of course stayed after the races to get in some more practice time, and by then end I think he had about fifteen laps in. 3 in practice, 3 race motos, and 7-10 laps after the races were done. He of course kept going until he couldn't go anymore, and unfortunately that ended with a pretty good crash. He was a bit shaken up, but not hurt. Watching him do his thing is VERY impressive. I'm extremely proud of him, to say the least.

North Bay BMX 11/21/15

Anthony's debut on his race bike!

I wasn't even sure we were going to make it to the track today. Anthony woke up crying last night with an apparent ear ache, and he's had a bad cough most of the week. But when race day arrived he was ready to go; no hesitation in his enthusiastic "yes" when asked if we were going to go racing today.

Although Anthony still looked a bit tentative on his race bike his increased speed was apparent from the first lap. It was a beautiful day at the track, and Anthony seemed very happy to be out there on his official race bike and full faced helmet ( thank goodness they had loaner helmets; Daddy forgot his in the garage). There was another clinic scheduled for after racing with multi-time Australian and world champion, Harriet Burbidge-Smith. 

Anthony's races were for the first time very exciting. He got good starts in both heats, and was actually  very close to beating a couple of the riders in front of him. He ended up not technically qualifying for the main, but was allowed to participate. He got a great start in the main, and stayed in third place until just a few feet from the end when Elena passed him to claim her third place trophy (Anthony wouldn't have won a trophy even had he finished ahead of Elena because he didn't actually qualify for the main). Nonetheless, it was a great race, and although I'm not sure Anthony completely understands how the racing works yet he definitely knew that he had done well. He was happy and excited after the race.

Good work little man!!!

The clinic was just okay this time, but Anthony was happy to be at the track on another beautiful afternoon. One thing that made me really proud of the little man during the clinic was his independence, and insistence on doing things by himself. After the first half I just left him on his own, and he participated in the rest of the clinic almost entirely on his own. He positioned himself where he needed to be, listened, and took off when his turn came up.

              Oldest and youngest ( Amaya and Anthony) together in the middle.

North Bay BMX 11/14/15

Anthony was looking forward to going racing again so we headed out to the track on Saturday morning. I could tell from the time he took off out of the gate that he just didn't have his normal energy. I don't know if it was because he did a nice hike up Montini the day before, or if he was just not feeling to well, but it was clear that he was low on energy. 

He still wanted to ride as much as he could. He even went out for the parade lap. The two heat races were just like the week before; he was very good getting out of the gate, but the older kids would pull away pretty quickly by the end of the front straightaway. He finished well behind the pack, but he finished (even though I had to redirect him onto the track after he exited before the back straight.

One of the older kids approached Anthony after the heat races and told him that he was welcome to stay and race in the main although he technically didn't qualify. I think a lot of people just like watching him ride around out there, and they're eager to help him develop.

Another good day at the track. 

Anthony was done after the races though; he didn't insist on staying to ride more during community time. We then stopped off at the skate park before leaving, and he didn't even want to ride there.

He even has his eyes closed in the only picture I have from that day.

North Bay BMX 11/7/2015

Another Saturday at the racetrack! This was our third in a row, and Anthony's really doing great and having a good time. I have to pace him in practice so he doesn't wear himself out before the races.

Anthony's races were just like last week. He was way behind, and he didn't advance to the main so he just got two heats today. And again, none of that matters right now. He really looks forward to riding out at the track; he loves starting from the gate, and I think he does an amazing job getting off the line and all the way down the front straightaway.

Donny Robinson, a local BMX racer that won a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, taught a beginner racing clinic after the races. I asked Anthony if he wanted to stay and do it, and of course he said yes. At first I thought that it may be a little over his head, and perhaps some parts of it were, but it ended up being a great experience. 

Anthony did absolutely awesome! I was definitely impressed with my little man, some of the other parents were, and even some of the older kids thought that he was really doing great. I lost track of how many laps he did around the track after about ten, and I know that he did several more after I quit counting.

I know that he couldn't fully grasp some of the concepts they were addressing, but he got much more out of it than I could have imagined. It was definitely the most well spent $20 that I've spent recently.

One of the things that he did that I was really impressed with was being able to balance his bike on the gate and take off with his feet on both pedals (without me holding him), which he did at least two times.

Another fun day hanging with my little man at the track!

Out of Retirement- Halloween 2015

Anthony wanted to go racing again, and since we were disappointed with the new kids track at Stafford Lake we decided to give Napa BMX another shot. We were a little spoiled having Santa Clara BMX as our home track when Alessandra was racing and Anthony started, but now that Anthony's a big 3 year old Napa BMX seems to suit him just fine, and it's less than 20 minutes from home in Sonoma.

We caught the last couple of Wednesday night events before the time change. The whole family went out, and Alessandra had a good time running around the track cheering on her little brother. Anthony was riding his 12" pedal bike. He did great, but it was difficult for him to make a couple of the steeper sections, which seemed to just be due to the lack of momentum from the small wheels.

A few days before Halloween our neighbors passed down Zach's old bike to Anthony, and he was in love with it from the first full revolution of the cranks. It isn't the best race bike, but it's a perfect transition bike from his 12" to the 18" Micro Mini (currently Alessandra's) that he'll most likely be racing very soon. He rode it at the track on Halloween morning, made it around the whole track by himself, and was ready to race.

The races were pretty uneventful for Anthony. He was the only 3 year old in the 5 and under Novice class, and he finished his heats (and the main; which he advanced to by default) we behind the other riders. That doesn't matter at all though right now. He's the youngest one out there on a pedal bike, and he's really enjoying it.