Jackson's first year on the Mountain Biking Team

Jackson's friend Kru sort of got him into mountain biking a few summers ago and they would go up to Sundance and ride a few times during the summer. He decided to join the junior high mountain biking team (Jr Devo) this year and it has been a great experience. The season really started at the beginning of summer with early morning practice twice a week. I was proud of him and his dedication in getting up early and without complaint. He seemed to really enjoy the practices. After time trials, he was placed in the intermediate group, which was pretty cool because only about 60 kids (7th and 8th grade combined) made it into intermediate, versus about 150 or so in beginner. At the end of the summer and in early fall, there are three mountain biking races in different locations. The first was Cedar City, the second was Richfield, and the last was in Moab. Jackson and I went to the first two races together, and Sean went with him to Moab. 

The races ended up being so fun and I loved having some rare one-on-one time with Jackson. He talked to me about the different types of mountain bikes almost the entire way down to Cedar City. 

Cedar City

The first race was so fun because everything was totally new to us. Jackson met up with his friend Cody (right) and they pre-rode the course the night before. He loved the course and did awesome in the race! It was cool seeing him get to have his first race experience and see his enthusiasm after crossing the finish line. 

Richfield

The Richfield race was fun because it was somewhere neither of us had been before. This course was crazy because the last mile or so of the course is actually a motocross track with huge hills and jumps. Super challenging, especially with it being at the end when the kids are tired. I saw a few kids puke as they were riding! Jackson did great and was happy with his performance so I was really glad for him. 

Moab

Sean took Jackson to the Moab race and I was sorry to miss it because the other two races had been so fun. I am glad Sean got to go and experience it also. The boys had to wake up really early to make it for line ups for each race and it was always still pretty dark outside. Sean said he did great in the race and peddled hard through the finish. 

They got done early enough that they decided to do some off roading and went and road "Hell's Revenge." Glad they could go have a fun weekend together.