Can you believe how LUCKY I am???

I feel like the luckiest boy in the WHOLE world! I got a package in the mail and it was full of the most AWESOME stuff! Apparently, my doctor, Dr. Andrea Key,  talked to another doctor, in California  (Dr. Joseph Wilson--he's a cardiothoracic surgeon), about me and my cycling. He,then, talked to some of his associates and he sent me the coolest stuff! I got a program from the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC), ATOC Volunteer t-shirt, Team Radioshack ATOC t-shirt, Team Radioshack cycling cap, Mavic cowbell (my parents will use this at my races), Livestrong Road Chalk, Le Tour de France cycling socks and like all that wasn't enough...he also sent an ATOC yellow jersey signed by FABIAN CANCELLARA! He won the Prologue stage in the 2008 ATOC and he been the World Time Trial CHAMPION three times!!! WOW!!!!! Can you say I'm lucky or what??? Thank you, thank you, thank you to both doctors!! I was so stoked I have shown my cool stuff to some my cycling buddies and they are very jealous!!! I wear my cap everyday and my socks are very comfortable! We have decided to frame the yellow jersey and put in my "Guy Room"! It is going to look incredible! Oh yea, I feel LUCKY!!!

Congratulations to all Time Trial Jersey Winners

Results from Oklahoma State TT - Monday, June 21, 2010

Congratulations to the jersey winners for the 2010 Oklahoma State Time Trial Championship

Men 1/2: William Gault - Tulsa Tough Racing

Women 1/2/3: Helene Carabin - Tulsa Tough Racing

Men 40-49: Gil Summy - OKC Velo

Men 50-59: Les Banta - Team PG13

Men 60+: Charles Hetrick - OKC Velo

Women 40+: Martha Royall - Team Undiscovered

Junior 17-18: Carl Sullivan - Team Power Train

Junior 10-14: Luke Neafus - Team Rad Racing Club

Men Cat 3: Andy Chasteen - DNA Racing

Men Cat 4: Drew Lawrence - The Bicycle Store/OBRU

Women Cat 4: Kelsey Swinford - Team Undiscovered

Great job to all the racers!

Blue Canyon State Championship Time Trial-June 20, 2010

This was a great weekend of ridng and racing for Team Rad Racing! Saturday I rode, with my family, in the Baptist Children's Home ride! We were only going to ride the 10.5 mile course because I had State Time Trials the next day. I saw my coach there and he said if it was too easy I could ride it twice! So, that's what we did! I loved it and we even lapped people on our second lap! They served a great lunch but the best parts are I was helping raise money and awareness for a really worthy organization as well as riding with my family!

OK...so that night my parents had finally agreed that I could shave my legs for the first time! It was really cool! My mom helped me so I didn't cut my legs up right before my big race the next day! I loved it but I will tell you the sheets felt really funny when I first went to bed. My parents are so cool to let me do this! I feel like a big time racer now!

Well, Sunday was an interesting day! My start time was at 9:03 and it was already hot, humid and windy. I took off and two miles into the race I flatted. So, my parents were coming to change the tube but I guess they didn't see me on the side of the road and drove right past! They were still looking for me when the race director's wife picked me up and took me back to the Start/Finish tent. My parents met me back there and we changed my flat. The race director allowed me to restart as the last rider.

I was very happy I was going to get to race but I will tell you it was more hot, more humid and more windy by then! Did I mention we were very close to a wind farm? Oh well, I was still happy to race! I was very surprised at the course. I expected it to be flatter and very few cars but it had some good inclines and a lot of lake traffic. But, I just rode my race hard and fast. I had max speed of 27 mph and averaged around 16 mph, not too bad for the conditions! So, I rode a 20k in 47.07 and I was pleased but as always I wanted to do better. I still had a GREAT outcome! I won Jr. 10-14 State Championship! WOW...2 State Championships (Crit and TT) and it is just my first year racing...how AWESOME! Thanks to my sponsor Vittoria Tires they help me roll really fast!

After the race, we drove to get a famous Meersburger! It was yummy! As we were leaving though a huge turkey flew into the driver's window of our car!!! It was a good thing the window was up but it was scary! The good news is the car is ok, we are ok and the turkey is ok!!! Next, we drove to the top of Mt. Scott and took the picture with my new championship jersey! It was beautiful up there! After that, we drove through the Wildlife Preserve and we saw a herd of buffalos, some longhorns, lots of pairie dogs and even found some buffalo fur! It was a great day with my family! My dad said it was his best Father's Day ever! 

Thanks Dad...I love you! But, remember Mom is still my agent!

 

OKC Rocks Criterium-June 12 & 13 2010

Well, it was a great weekend of racing! I have to thank DNA Racing/Foss1l Racing for putting on an awesome race! It was a super fun environment the first day the course went around the Oklahoma State Capitol, the second day was a tight/technical course, there were lots of spectators cheering, including my Grams, several pro teams and a really good band!

The pictures are of my coach, Rob Green, and me prior to my first race. We rode a warm-up lap before the race and it was great. I love spending time with him...he totally ROCKS!

The first race was really difficult for me because I had surgery the week prior to this race. My training was not what I normally am able to do. I really felt the lack of training and all the medication on the first day of racing. It was the first time I felt really sick while racing. I learned something about myself that day and that was I am not a quitter. There are times when things get tough and you just have to ride. I told my mom I was just like Lance Armstrong and I just rode through the pain! I placed 2nd but I knew I could do much better! I will say the south wind was just BRUTAL!

I ate my favorite pre-race meal that night and the next morning my secret breakfast. I was very excited to race on Sunday because the course was tight and technical with a "hill". Although, I told my parents that it really wasn't a "hill" but we should call it was it really is and that is an "incline." They cracked up but I'm not really sure why! I told them that Lincoln Road Race in Arkansas had a hill and this didn't even compare!

I felt great and was ready to RACE! I was very excited because I was actually getting faster with each lap. My mom said a guy standing by her said that he just blinked and I was up that "incline." I thought that was pretty cool! I love climbing...I come right out of my saddle and start a high cadance! It feels great! Anyway, I placed 1st and when I crossed the finish line I pointed to heaven. I knew I had raced hard for my Poppy!

I always have my Poppy with me in my heart! He passed away almost 3 years ago from cancer. I have never taken my LIVESTRONG bracelet off since he died. I am raising money now to help me earn enough to ride the LIVESTRONG Challenge this year in Austin! I think it is important to do something good for others. I am trying to do my part to make this world a better place!

Anyway, I need to get to bed because I have Blue Canyon State Time Trial Championship this Sunday. I need to be ready for this next race!

How it all got started?

I get asked all the time "how did you start cycling?" So, I thought I would just tell my story!

My mom was working out with a personal trainer in 2007 when she tore her knee up...torn ACL, torn menicus & bruised the bone really bad. So, she had to have surgery. This is cool, her surgeon was Dr. Rober Hines at the OSSO and he was an Olympic doctor for the USA Wrestling team. He went to Beijing and I saw him in the parade. Ok...back to my story! Six weeks after the first surgery she was back in for a second one because she couldn't move her knee.  Her body produced too much scar tissue and it completely locked her knee...no movement. Mom's doctor, Dr. Hines, told her the best rehab would be for her to start riding a bike. So, in June of 2008 she purchased a bike. Dad and I started riding with her to keep her company. We started going further and further. The bike I had was a Trek Jet (single speed) and the guys at Al's Bicycles in Edmond showed me a Trek Hybrid 7.2. I loved it and asked my parents if I could have it for my birthday and I'd pay half if they would get it for me! They agreed! And, we kept riding!

In January 2009, I asked my mom "do you think dad would be mad if I quit baseball?" "No" she said, "but what do you want to do?" "I only want to focus on cycling and find a team." Well, she didn't know of any teams for Jr.'s but she started questioning friends, bike shops and sending emails. It wasn't long before she received an email about a new Junior cycling team that had just been started. She talked to the coach of Team Rad Racing, Rob Green. Well, he said I was still too young to be "on the team" but he would help us and when I was racing age 13 I could become an official member.

Well, I rode all of 2009 so I could start racing this year. I really never lost the fire it only grew as I thought about the chance of getting to race someday soon! There's a quote that goes something like...many want to win but few want to prepare to win. Well, I decided I would prepare to win!

Christmas was AWESOME because I got my first pair of clipless pedals (Speedplay) and a pair of cycling shoes. I could hardly wait to get them put on my bike and start clipping in!!

I entered my first race March 2010 and was very nervous but super excited! I was still on my Trek Hybrid 7.2 and raced against a boy on a Felt road bike! I came in 2nd but it left me wanting more and not being very happy that I had not won! I knew we would meet again at another race and I would not let him beat me again! I knew I would have had a better chance if I had been on my road bike but I hadn't gotten it out of layway yet!  I really wanted to pay for it myself. I did not want my mom and dad to buy it! It was important to me to save my money and work towards this goal! I was finally able to get it out the day after my first race and LOVE IT!

So, I have now participated in Criteriums, Time Trials and a Road Race. I have two second place finishes and have finished 1st in every other race including OK State Crit Championships against the boy who beat me in my first race! It has already been an fabulous year and I still have several more races. I know I won't win them all but I sure will try! My passion...my desire...is to be a professional/elite cyclist. I would love to ride internationally and see the world on a bike!