A friend, James had mentioned that there were some races for kids on the windswept Darley Moor circuit, that Tom might be interested in. Tom thought it would be good to give it a go.
So with a few weeks notice we went out and did a bit of training. Nothing that would overnight turn him into a superfast cyclist, but enough for him to see that the efforts required to average 15+mph for 20 minutes on an undulating course were very different to those needed to ride all day at a steadier pace.
We arrived with some time in hand. Whilst Tom got his kit on I joined the queue to get his gear measured. Under 10s have a limit of 5.4 metres development, which meant that his 18 speed bike was now an 8 speed.
Once he'd signed on he did a couple of loops of the circuit to warm up, and declared the course "Ace!"
After his warm up, he didn't have to wait long for the start, and then they were off.
As they took the first corner Tom had made the front, and looked like he might pull away. He hadn't accounted for the hill and the wind which was coming head on though as he turned the corner.
A wrong gear selection, and he was soon overtaken. By the end of the first lap he had dropped down into 7th place. He wasn't settling for that though.
As the race progressed he pulled himself up to 6th, and by the lap after had pulled closer to the rider in 4th. The next lap he shared the work with the rider in 4th place.
As he came of the last bend on the final lap he sprinted for the line to take 4th place.
A good result. He averaged 16mph for the race. https://app.strava.com/activities/267968098
Tom's hoping we can make the next one in a couple of weeks time.
