He had been stressed the week leading up to the race, which was part of the Carolina Youth Mountain Bike League, held in Tuxedo at Camp Falling Creek. He kept saying he wanted to win the race, but what if he didn’t. I kept telling him that you go to a race to have fun, and that winning is just a bonus, and being on the podium at all is an honor. I promised him a special prize if he would just do his very hardest – even if he came in dead last.
He handled it perfectly, and got naked back at the car to change out of his biking clothes.
