Never Die, Never Surrender.

I learned last week that there would be a race out at Harbison this past weekend. Instead of getting ready for it, I started wondering if Logan would be ready for it. So, Wednesday night I planted a seed and let him think about racing for a few days. Saturday, I learned that a few kids would be racing the U14 class and one of the kids is this 11 year old that has beat Logan at every race they have participated in.
The first race was about 4 years ago. Logan had recently learned to ride his bike and they were having a little 1 mile kids race along with the normal race out at Harbison. So we signed both the kids up to see what would happen. Logan at 4 years old pulled a 3rd place finish behind his sister and the said kid, now known as his Rival. His sister is two years older and his Rival is 3 years older, so the results were still very impressive. Not to mention he had only been riding for almost a year and there were about 10 kids in the race.

The Rival is only a rival because every story line needs one. Look at Andy and Contidor, Lance and Ullrich. The truth is that these are kids and Logan simply has not beat this one. He also happens to be the son of some well known riders in the Columbia area who happen to manage a local bike chain.

The latest race they competed in was at the local Crit a few months back. They had a kid’s race that consisted of one lab around or ~1 mile. The Rival showed up on a road bike and Logan rode his mountain bike. Logan lost, but only by a few seconds. All I heard about for days was how he had to have a Road Bike.

Now to yesterday’s race, we decided to only race one lap of the 2 lap race which was 6 miles in length. He lined up against two 14 year olds and the Rival. At go, they all took off and Logan was solidly in Last Place. Since I was riding with him and the Rival’s Dad was riding with him, we were providing some coaching along the way. The other kids were killing the first climb up the gravel road and my doubts started to settle in. I was concerned now that this may not have been such a good idea. I continued to calm his early race nerves and encourage him to race his race. He settled in and road cleanly over the wet bridges and roots. The other kids were a good ways ahead, but we could still see them down the long straights. Less than ½ mile in the first 14 year old stopped at the intersection of Connector and Firebreak to shed some clothes. Logan just kept on riding and eventually he was taken back over. Back in last place… Then at the bottom of the quick flowing downhill at the end of the Connector Trail, across the bridge, there is a quick little steep climb. I told Logan it was a short one and to punch it. He accelerated up the climb and passed the 14 year old again. At the top of the climb we took a left onto the Stewardship trail and where it intersects the fire road, the Rival was sitting there taking clothes off. Now we are in first place just like that. Next is the longest downhill in Harbison (not very long), he rode it smart and then we crossed the bridge. We took a right on Harder and we could hear our competition closing in on us. He passed 2 beginner men and one woman through Harder. When we got out to fast part of Stewardship, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the Rival caught up. Logan is a good technical rider and climber, but flat out power is not his strong suit. I instructed him to keep the needle pegged, but just below the burn. Save some energy, because there are two big climbs left and the Rival was going to catch him. And sure enough, just before the trail crosses the fire road again, the Rival caught us. I could hear his dad saying, “if you can pass, just let him know”. But I could hear the Rival back there breathing like a race horse. I knew it was only a matter of time. Stewardship has two quick ups. One right after a small bridge and one technical, rooty climb just before the left onto Middle Connector Trail. The Rival tried to pass on the first short climb, but could not get the past Logan. Then on the tech climb Logan ran a clean line and was able to get a few bike lengths ahead. I let him know that a long climb up the switch backs was coming so recoup a little in this section. The Rival caught him again and then the climb started….

Now Logan has been to Dupont 2x this year and has done some real climbing. The first time out he blew up and had a little of an emotional breakdown. The second time he learned that if you climb at your pace, you can ride all day.

…Well, he rode this climb at his pace. About half way up there is a short steep section and he punched it. I looked back and the Rival had blown up and was walking. Now is time to attack. I let him know what was going on and to kept the power on. We got to the false flat and drank some water and then rolled past Spider Woman. Then the course took a right and another right down the hill and across the road. We were approaching the last big climb of the day and we could not see our competition behind us. Logan settled into the climb and picked off two more beginner men. At the top of the climb is a fire road with a small incline. He popped a few gears, stood up, and left everything on the trail. We took a left towards the gazebo and then all that was left was a short single track ride to the Start Finish. No one was in sight and he crossed the line in 1^st place.

Technically it was 2^nd place for the group, and he DNFed because it was a two lap race. But he was a winner today! 12 miles would have been awful, and the point was to have fun. 4-6 minutes later the Rival came across the line, and then another 10 minutes the other rider came through. The Rival pulled the plug also and we, the Dads, chatted about the race and the racers.

It was a personal victory for Logan and a good racing experience. He has a great set of skills and metal fortitude to be a good, if not great racer. I am so extremely proud of him can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Congratulations my Son! My little warrior!