His First Harescramble

You read that title right. Luke just ran his first hare scramble!!! 

Last week at Council Bluffs he told Bill he wanted to race but it was too late as we didn't bring anything for him to do so. But this week we were prepared.

I missed the start and haven't had a chance to look for any pictures from others but Luke told me he had a terrible start and was last off the line. I don't know if that's true. Bill told me he didn't fall down with the start and that's pretty important right there.

I'll let some pictures do the talking for a while.

Kids on 50s are the cutest! Everything is so little about them but they are tough and wanna ride fast. It's too much.

I asked Luke how his race went besides the start and he said he only crashed three times and he passed a rider when they went off course a little bit. He got stuck going over a log and one of the sweepers had to help him, too.

We had to wait until after the 65/85 race for the awards ceremony. The waiting just about did Luke in. In fact, we didn't even know how Luke did until Bill finally saw the results posted later. Good thing Luke stuck it out because he ended up placing fourth overall!! 

Aren't these two the cutest?! And they were chatting it up!

Besides the plaques, they got a hat, umbrella, grips and some various vouchers for more gear. 

Here, Terry, the race director, is interviewing Luke. Oh my heart was racing and my fingers were crossed. Who knew what he was going to say up there?! As it was, either the questions weren't all that great or Luke just didn't have enough time to get warmed up and going and the little question/answer session was over without any sort of incident.  

He's totally racing again!

Ben and Bill race results will be tomorrow. I thought Luke for his very first race should have his own post.

Riding Safe

This post is for my Aunt Sandy. She expressed great concern over Ben's safety while riding so I thought a riding gear post might perhaps ease her fears a bit. Perhaps.

Ben has on his KTM riding jersey, which is just a lightweight but very durable fabric. His pants are even more durable, with leather clad knees, reinforced back and interior hip pads (removable for washing). His riding gear is so tough, I wish they would make kids jeans out of this stuff.

He also has on a chest/back/shoulder/upper arm protector. In the morning before the race he changes into his riding clothes before we leave, but slips this on once we are at the race.

Now he is putting on a Leatt neck brace. This contraption is perfectly adjusted for him and keeps his head from whipping too far forward or backward. After seeing a kid hit a rock last year and his bike come to a dead stop while he was flung end over end, we ordered one for Ben right away. 
This advice comes from Gena, another experienced motocross mom I met last year in Seattle- Don't get a cheap one. This is one piece of equipment you do not want to skimp on.

In this shot you can see Ben's hydration pack. It's a Camelbak. I found it on clearance at a sporting goods store. 

He's also putting on his riding boots which are a heavy duty material with no give at all. It keeps his legs and feet safe while he turns, bangs through bushes and in case he falls, keeps his toesies from being crushed. He wears a thick longer riding sock under his boots, also. 

 Ben is fastening his helmet under his chin. Helmet- don't ride without one. Ever!

 The goggles strap over his helmet. While they can be hot during really warm days, I would rather he have them than have an eye poked out with a branch or from dirt being roosted at him.
Roost- dirt flung up by another rider in front of you (Ben's exact words)

 Finally Ben pulls on gloves. Gloves help protect and keep blisters from forming.

Now that he's fully geared up, it's time to ride!

Ahem, you may have remembered from yesterday's post something about him hitting a tree. 
I guess one piece of equipment I didn't show you was his helmet cam. It clips on the brim of his helmet. After a year of tinkering with the other helmet cam we got him for Christmas, we bit the bullet and bought a GoPro camera (the one you see all the awesome commercials for). And it's taken us two races to get it figured out so we were really excited to see his race from his perspective. 
We let the fans who came to visit us know which color of bike, number, and helmet color Ben was and pointed out that he had a helmet cam on. Well, Aunt Carol pointed out in the middle of the race that Ben's camera was missing. OHMYWORD!!
Thankfully, someone found it and returned it to us. (He was searching for his kid's camera and found ours instead.) 
After Ben's race we asked him about the missing camera and he said "Oh, that must have been when I hit the tree." What?!!
When we got home, Bill was able to upload the video and it turns out that that GoPro camera is one tough little camera. As it turns out, it kept recording after being knocked off and being run over five times!! Ben watched the whole video and counted. 

Bill uploaded the video to YouTube. It's thirteen minutes long, so if you have time you can watch the whole thing, otherwise if you want to see him hit the tree, jump to the end. 


Well, Aunt Sandy, I hope you feel a little better about Ben being safe. 
Now I'm off to wash everything.

For accuracy, I had assistance in writing this post from Ben.

Council Bluffs Harescramble, Spring Edition

First, my apologies for not blogging this immediately after it happened. 

(That's for my sister, who actually checked my blog and I didn't have it up and then she got on me. sheesh Except that that is sort of like when Julie's mom, from Julie and Julia keeps telling her she should quit blogging and cooking and then one day she calls and asks her where she's been (she took a small hiatus) and then Julie gets a book and movie deal. That could be me!) (I'm fine, besides a little sleep deprived. Why do you ask?)

This race was in Council Bluffs on Mother's Day so up early we rose and headed west with warm breakfast burritos and monkey muffins filling our tummies.

We were notified that there would be a hole shot prize for each of the races. If there is any money involved, it's usually the big bikes not the mini's, so when I told Ben about this, he did a happy dance and bounced off to school. (I'm sure he told his friends and maybe even his teacher.)

For you non-racers, a hole shot is the first bike to make it past a certain point. In the picture below it's the tree limb that is being held up. First rider to that point wins $25. 

 Let's see if Ben gets the hole shot. He's the orange bike on the left.

He's got a good line...

Looks close..... In the end, he missed it by a tire length. *snap!*

We had some visitors join us for this race. Bill's parents came and also two aunts and an uncle. 

And what a show Ben gave them! Even though he didn't get the hole shot by the end of the first lap he had passed the other kid for the lead and also passed a couple of 85 riders. That's where he stayed the entire time even though he hit a tree. (That'll be a part of tomorrow's post.)

It's not such a bad thing to have a fan club!

Here we all are: Luke, me, Aunt Carol (white visor), Aunt Loretta (brown hat), Uncle Donald (Carol's husband), Ben, Bill, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Laura

Wanna know how to make this kid smile? Give him a 1st place trophy! Way to go, Ben!

After Bill's start, where I don't have any good pictures and he didn't get the hole shot either, we hiked over to the sand track and parked our chairs for some entertainment. The sand track is so tricky to navigate. We saw all kinds of riding through that area. It's also Luke's favorite place to play as he can practically bury himself in the sand. I was a silly mom and didn't take any pictures of him playing. He was a safe distance from the track so he wouldn't get run over.

Here comes our favorite rider now.

Smooth, nothing flashy

Lookin' good (including his riding)

Whoa, careful. That back tire is off the line...

and down he goes.

That's right. You pick yourself up, acknowledge your fans and get going again.

Only to have the rest of the day go about the same. 

Hahahaha! I find that picture so funny! I mean, poor guy, it was just not his day and his bike is buried deep in that mud. He finished 7th in his class.

At any rate, a few of us still think he's a winner, including his mom.

Thanks For the Snow (in May)

One might think another post about snow would be ho-hum. That is, unless you remember that it's May!

Last week the weather here turned from tank top and shorts 70 degrees to cold, windy, wet and then snowy in a matter of three days. Tuesday was warm and beautiful and I went for a run in a tank top and shorts and the kids played outside all afternoon. Wednesday, the weather was about 50 degrees and rainy, so we stayed inside and played. Thursday, we had a two hour delay because of snow. I will repeat- in May we had a two-hour late school start because of snow! Wacko!

You can see some pictures of the snow that my friend, Angie, took. I didn't take any but literally you could not look outside and recognize that it was May except for the leaf buds poking through the snow!

More importantly, here's a story worth you taking time to go over and read. 

Before you curse the snow in May...know that the snow saved a life

How awesome is that? That is the Informed Choices Clinic I shared with you here.

Thanks for the snow in May, God. 

A Glimpse Into Audrey's Life

She's finishing her freshman year. 
She was in the high school's production of Grease as an extra Pink Lady. She had no onstage lines, but was the voice of women in the drive-in movie.

We went to see Stars Over Veishea's Fiddler On the Roof the next day. She told me the music at one point caught her breath. My heart exploded on Hwy.69.

She went on a band trip to Chicago the next weekend. She was tired the week after that.

We sometimes escape to coffee and donut shops.

A Glimpse Into Luke's Life

"If I were president I would make safe bike races and raise money for the Salt Company."
Just like his daddy, who was "president" of Salt Company (because ISU required student groups to have a president back then)

Runny Babbit. You need this book because it is a billy sook and feally runny.

You know, making waffles is really a one person job. But you can make it two if one person is a mama-in-training. Luke was the right learning audience because more is happening here than just making waffles.

A Glimpse into Ben's Life

A glimpse into Ben's life lately.

This. A trombone. He wants to be in band. At least try it out. He is the kid I would have voted least likely to be in band. I'm totally happy.

This. Calvin and Hobbes comic books. Along with breakfast. He laughs out loud. Calvin never gets old. The books are a gift from his Uncle Winston.