After a late Saturday night in our Halloween costumes, I woke up Sunday wondering how good of mentors Niki and I were going to be to the Team Swift Juniors. Not to fear - these kids turned out to be awesome, and I have to say the ride, while not too much of a workout, was epic. Niki and I were to lead the faster group of older kids around Paradise loop. Niki set the pace while I floated around making sure everyone was still attached to our train - some of the "faster" kids were self-determined and as young as 9 years old! Our group quickly split, so I hung back with about 5 of the slower kids. The smallest of these, Andrew, was determined to catch the lead group. I didn't have the heart to tell him that there was no way on god's green earth he would, so I just rode behind him, listening to his frantic breathing and hoping he wouldn't go into cardiac arrest with his effort!
At one point I reminded the kids to drink, and I realized that Andrew wasn't able to ride and drink (despite trying his best). I told the others to go on, and told Andrew to pull over with me. i thought he would protest, but I think he was exhausted and did so willingly. He guzzled almost all his water! We spent the rest of the loop together, talking about racing (he just joined the team) and our 20 year age difference (well, I talked about that) :)
When we got to Camino Alto, the big climb of the day, I switched with Niki and drilled it up the hill with about 4-5 of the big Swift guns. They were breathing hard, and one said something about dying, but I swear, I could not shake these guys! They were strong, and more importantly, determined!
All the kids had great attitudes, respect for their elders (yes, that's us ladies) and infectious enthusiasm for cycling. Can't wait for the next ride!!! - EMILY
No comments:
Post a Comment