Today was Anthony's first race as an intermediate. There was the seasonal low turnout again so he got bumped up to the 7I class and raced against Devin and Taylor. The results ended up as we all expected: Devin-Taylor-Anthony. But watching Anthony at 4 hold his own against 6 and 7 yr. old inters is fun.
Luca won his third Strider race, but on his pedal bike!
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
Napa BMX 10/12/16- Anthony steps up to Intermediate
Anthony wins his 10th race and moves up to the Intermediate class.
Gianluca races against Donny Robinson......and pulls off the win!!!
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Napa BMX 10/8/2016
This week was our last week of Donny's beginner league, and Anthony attended both full sessions on Wednesday and Friday. We did get a little focused instruction on Wednesday, which was really good. They worked on taking different lines through turn one, simulating passing other riders.
Wed 10/5- Gianluca finished second out of two. It was just him and Connor. He should have finished first but Erika held him up at the last step up and let Connor go by. Anthony dominated the 5 and unders.
Fri 10/7 beginner races- Coming into the last race day Anthony and Colton were apparently very close in points for the overall 5 year old class (Boden, a 5I, won all of the races that he attended, but he missed a couple of weeks. Donny told Anthony when we arrived that the points were close and that he had to perform to win the #1 honors, but I'm not quite sure that Anthony understood. Even I didn't know that they were tallying all of the race results.
Four rounds were scheduled, and after a very brief practice session they got the races going. Anthony crashed about 1/3 of the way down the second straight. He got back up and finished 5th. Boden won, and Colton finished a ways back in 2nd. I told the boys to go get Boden in moto 2 and they listened; they were a lot closer. Colton finished second again with Anthony right behind in 3rd. In moto 3 they were even closer; Colton actually pulled up alongside Boden about half way down the second straightaway, but then Boden picked up the pace and pulled away for the win. Anthony finished 3rd again. Moto 4 was the best race of the whole series. Colton actually passed Boden and led him down most of the second straightaway with Anthony gaining ground on both. Boden retook the lead coming out of turn two and pulled a little gap. Colton slowed exiting turn three and Anthony passed Colton at the line for second not too far behind Boden.
Colton ended up being the overall winner of the series, which was great! We were all happy for him.
Sat 10/8- Gianluca won the Strider race (first out of two). Anthony again dominated the 5 and under class, logging his ninth win. Just one more win before he advances to the Intermediate class!
It was a beautiful day at the track for the 10th anniversary celebrations. The only rough part is that the schedule was considerably longer and the boys were outside waiting for their races in the 90 degree October sun. No biggie though, they're pretty tough!
Wed 10/5- Gianluca finished second out of two. It was just him and Connor. He should have finished first but Erika held him up at the last step up and let Connor go by. Anthony dominated the 5 and unders.
Fri 10/7 beginner races- Coming into the last race day Anthony and Colton were apparently very close in points for the overall 5 year old class (Boden, a 5I, won all of the races that he attended, but he missed a couple of weeks. Donny told Anthony when we arrived that the points were close and that he had to perform to win the #1 honors, but I'm not quite sure that Anthony understood. Even I didn't know that they were tallying all of the race results.
Four rounds were scheduled, and after a very brief practice session they got the races going. Anthony crashed about 1/3 of the way down the second straight. He got back up and finished 5th. Boden won, and Colton finished a ways back in 2nd. I told the boys to go get Boden in moto 2 and they listened; they were a lot closer. Colton finished second again with Anthony right behind in 3rd. In moto 3 they were even closer; Colton actually pulled up alongside Boden about half way down the second straightaway, but then Boden picked up the pace and pulled away for the win. Anthony finished 3rd again. Moto 4 was the best race of the whole series. Colton actually passed Boden and led him down most of the second straightaway with Anthony gaining ground on both. Boden retook the lead coming out of turn two and pulled a little gap. Colton slowed exiting turn three and Anthony passed Colton at the line for second not too far behind Boden.
Colton ended up being the overall winner of the series, which was great! We were all happy for him.
Sat 10/8- Gianluca won the Strider race (first out of two). Anthony again dominated the 5 and under class, logging his ninth win. Just one more win before he advances to the Intermediate class!
It was a beautiful day at the track for the 10th anniversary celebrations. The only rough part is that the schedule was considerably longer and the boys were outside waiting for their races in the 90 degree October sun. No biggie though, they're pretty tough!
Tyler and Anthony sharing the top spot on the new podium after their Wed night dominance of the 5 and 6 yr old Novice classes.
A few minutes at the skate park before heading home for movie night!!
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Napa BMX 10/1/2016
Another Saturday at the race track with both boys! Just the three of us this time, and things actually went pretty smooth.
It was a low turnout day again with only two in the Strider class, Gianluca and Conner. Conner is almost exactly the same age as Gianluca, but he just started last week. Also, Gianluca rode his pedal bike, which gives him a little advantage (but other kids have ridden pedal bikes in the Strider class). Anyway, Gianluca easily won this one, so he finally won his first race. He did pretty well for his first time on the track on a pedal bike. He even rode the full track a couple of times during the break, but I had to push him up several of the hills/bumps.
There were only two five and under riders, Anthony and Donovan, so they got moved up to the 7 yr. old Novice class and were racing against a coupe of new riders. Surprisingly Anthony got into the lead of moto 1, won, and transferred to the main. In the main Anthony didn't get as good of a start. He managed to pull alongside the second place rider (who finished third in the first moto and ended up winning the main), but just didn't have the strength to make the pass. The second place rider then pulled alongside the leader and they went bar to bar almost to the end with Anthony in tow. Anthony actually probably would have gone faster on his own, but he couldn't engineer a pass of both of these kids. Third place was good for us today; he used his track buck to get an ice cream. And it was nice watching the two other kids enjoy first and second place finishes in their first main events. Anthony graciously congratulated the winner and made a couple of new friends.
It actually worked out perfectly, as I really didn't want Anthony to get another win today. He now has seven Novice wins and needs three more to become an Intermediate, which he's now beginning to understand. The wins will most likely be few and far between once that transition is made so it'll be fun to enjoy the 5 and under Novice class a little longer. Colton turns 6 later this month, so that may be a good time for them both to move on to new classes. At this pace that's probably around when he'll get his 10th win.
Bad daddy! I didn't get a picture of Luca after his first win. Maybe because I was handing out the trophies and couldn't multi task. I have a feeling there will be more!
It was a low turnout day again with only two in the Strider class, Gianluca and Conner. Conner is almost exactly the same age as Gianluca, but he just started last week. Also, Gianluca rode his pedal bike, which gives him a little advantage (but other kids have ridden pedal bikes in the Strider class). Anyway, Gianluca easily won this one, so he finally won his first race. He did pretty well for his first time on the track on a pedal bike. He even rode the full track a couple of times during the break, but I had to push him up several of the hills/bumps.
There were only two five and under riders, Anthony and Donovan, so they got moved up to the 7 yr. old Novice class and were racing against a coupe of new riders. Surprisingly Anthony got into the lead of moto 1, won, and transferred to the main. In the main Anthony didn't get as good of a start. He managed to pull alongside the second place rider (who finished third in the first moto and ended up winning the main), but just didn't have the strength to make the pass. The second place rider then pulled alongside the leader and they went bar to bar almost to the end with Anthony in tow. Anthony actually probably would have gone faster on his own, but he couldn't engineer a pass of both of these kids. Third place was good for us today; he used his track buck to get an ice cream. And it was nice watching the two other kids enjoy first and second place finishes in their first main events. Anthony graciously congratulated the winner and made a couple of new friends.
It actually worked out perfectly, as I really didn't want Anthony to get another win today. He now has seven Novice wins and needs three more to become an Intermediate, which he's now beginning to understand. The wins will most likely be few and far between once that transition is made so it'll be fun to enjoy the 5 and under Novice class a little longer. Colton turns 6 later this month, so that may be a good time for them both to move on to new classes. At this pace that's probably around when he'll get his 10th win.
Bad daddy! I didn't get a picture of Luca after his first win. Maybe because I was handing out the trophies and couldn't multi task. I have a feeling there will be more!
Napa BMX late September 2016
Anthony got a little overwhelmed with going to the track so much after the Napa beginner racing league got started earlier this month, so we took advantage of Donny being gone for a few of the sessions to sit a couple out. Overall, on the track, it was business as usual for both Anthony and Gianluca over this period.
But, there were two significant developments. One day when I got stuck running the gates Anthony took it upon himself to start lining up at the gate by himself. He actually got a good start or two out of the gate with no help on the first day of trying, and over the following few track days he now looks like a seasoned veteran as he calmly pulls into his gate, lines his bike up, positions his pedals, and then positions himself in a near perfect posture balancing and standing before the gate drops. Gianluca's new development was off the track (at least for September); he's now riding a pedal bike without training wheels!
Wed 9/21- All of the kids were acting up a little (some a lot) so we just decided to scrap Wednesday altogether; beginner league and Wed night races. It was a little tough to write it off, but definitely the best decision.
Fri 9/23 beginner races- It was just over a week ago, but I don't even remember what happened in these races. I think Anthony raced traded wins with Colton.
Sat 9/24- I decided to take Luca to the races since we missed Wednesday. Gamma wanted to go, and then Alessandra decided she wanted to go to (mainly to be with Gamma). At least Erika got an unexpected couple of hours to herself. The races were pretty uneventful. Luca finished third out of four in his Strider race, and Anthony won all three motos of a total points 5 and under Novice race.
Wed 9/28- Gianluca finished 3rd in his Strider race. Anthony had some competition this week in the 5 and under class, Kingston Burrows. I think Anthony has raced Kingston twice, and last time, although he wan't too far behind Kingston in second place, he definitely wasn't on pace with him. But that changed this week as Anthony's progress in the last several weeks has been pretty impressive. See moto 1 in the video below. Anthony won the main by a bigger margin.
Fri 9/30 beginner races- This was a lot like a few weeks ago with Boden, Colton and Anthony (the veterans) racing a race amongst themselves in these beginner races. Boden gapped Colton and Anthony pretty good in race 1, and I believe that Anthony finished second to Colton. In the second race they were a little closer to Boden, and Colton was ahead of Anthony. In the third moto Anthony lost his balance a little at the start and ended up getting tangled up with one of the beginners at the back end of the first table top. They came together and Anthony went down hard. Unlike other times when he's just gotten up and gotten back on, he was pretty rattled this time, and his knee was bleeding and hurting.
He limped away from the track, and got a quick break before they called a surprise moto 4. He of course wanted to ride again so we headed up the hill to line up just after wiping a few tears from his eyes. No chance of touching that knee yet (didn't want to deal with that!). Donny gave everyone a pep talk before the last race that apparently Anthony took to heart. Donny in essence said that due to the wind there had been a lot of crashes that day, but that none of that mattered now. This was their last chance to take a good memory home, that it could be their best race, and to give it their all.
Anthony did just that. He got a perfect start and set out after Boden leaving the rest of the pack, including Colton, well behind. Hi didn't catch Boden, but everyone was aware of how close he was. It was a great way to end the month!
Oh, I forgot. Donny got Anthony a new bike the other day, and he assembled it yesterday. Today was his first race on his new 20" Free Agent. He also got his first crash in with just a little scuff on the brake lever.
But, there were two significant developments. One day when I got stuck running the gates Anthony took it upon himself to start lining up at the gate by himself. He actually got a good start or two out of the gate with no help on the first day of trying, and over the following few track days he now looks like a seasoned veteran as he calmly pulls into his gate, lines his bike up, positions his pedals, and then positions himself in a near perfect posture balancing and standing before the gate drops. Gianluca's new development was off the track (at least for September); he's now riding a pedal bike without training wheels!
Wed 9/21- All of the kids were acting up a little (some a lot) so we just decided to scrap Wednesday altogether; beginner league and Wed night races. It was a little tough to write it off, but definitely the best decision.
Fri 9/23 beginner races- It was just over a week ago, but I don't even remember what happened in these races. I think Anthony raced traded wins with Colton.
Sat 9/24- I decided to take Luca to the races since we missed Wednesday. Gamma wanted to go, and then Alessandra decided she wanted to go to (mainly to be with Gamma). At least Erika got an unexpected couple of hours to herself. The races were pretty uneventful. Luca finished third out of four in his Strider race, and Anthony won all three motos of a total points 5 and under Novice race.
Wed 9/28- Gianluca finished 3rd in his Strider race. Anthony had some competition this week in the 5 and under class, Kingston Burrows. I think Anthony has raced Kingston twice, and last time, although he wan't too far behind Kingston in second place, he definitely wasn't on pace with him. But that changed this week as Anthony's progress in the last several weeks has been pretty impressive. See moto 1 in the video below. Anthony won the main by a bigger margin.
Fri 9/30 beginner races- This was a lot like a few weeks ago with Boden, Colton and Anthony (the veterans) racing a race amongst themselves in these beginner races. Boden gapped Colton and Anthony pretty good in race 1, and I believe that Anthony finished second to Colton. In the second race they were a little closer to Boden, and Colton was ahead of Anthony. In the third moto Anthony lost his balance a little at the start and ended up getting tangled up with one of the beginners at the back end of the first table top. They came together and Anthony went down hard. Unlike other times when he's just gotten up and gotten back on, he was pretty rattled this time, and his knee was bleeding and hurting.
He limped away from the track, and got a quick break before they called a surprise moto 4. He of course wanted to ride again so we headed up the hill to line up just after wiping a few tears from his eyes. No chance of touching that knee yet (didn't want to deal with that!). Donny gave everyone a pep talk before the last race that apparently Anthony took to heart. Donny in essence said that due to the wind there had been a lot of crashes that day, but that none of that mattered now. This was their last chance to take a good memory home, that it could be their best race, and to give it their all.
Anthony did just that. He got a perfect start and set out after Boden leaving the rest of the pack, including Colton, well behind. Hi didn't catch Boden, but everyone was aware of how close he was. It was a great way to end the month!
Oh, I forgot. Donny got Anthony a new bike the other day, and he assembled it yesterday. Today was his first race on his new 20" Free Agent. He also got his first crash in with just a little scuff on the brake lever.
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