NOS88

In posts past I've indicated that I've taken a great deal of delight in the fact that one of my sons has started riding his bike to work. Once or twice a week I can leave work early enough to ride to his workplace and ride home with him. It's a good time to talk. In any event, he started riding because he said he wasn't paying $3/gallon for gasoline. Yesterday, when I rode to meet him, he asked if I wanted to do any yellow diamond sprints (when we see a yellow road sign we sprint to it). I said sure, it would be good training. Now typically, I win these sprints. Yesterday he beat me on all five sprints. After the last sprint he said, "Hey, old man, I guess you just haven't been training hard enough to keep up with me anymore." Turns out his "hidden agenda" for riding to work was to beat the "old man." Now I confess, in large part this is my own fault. He, nor his brother, have ever won a foot race against me. What they don't know is that I've never raced them over sixty yards. I'm still pretty quick at that distance, but if I had to go 100 yards, they'd fly past me at about 75 yards. So, I guess I had this coming...

centexwoody 

Whatever it takes to keep them active - as a 5o+'er, I'm more that willing to be focused on building the progeny's desire to be in shape while I continue my steady, mature regimen of fitness...

cooker

Smart kid.

Velo Dog

I remember the first time my kids beat me, and I think it made me realize my own mortality even more than the death of my parents did. I was proud and pleased on most levels, but it really made me think about being in the generation that was phasing out....
You get used to it, though. Now I'm 61, my son's 25 and he can kick my butt all day long without breaking a sweat.

jisaak

My oldest son finally started riding with me this past spring - both of us enjoyed riding together. The benefit of riding seemed secondary to spending time together.
Now he's getting married in 3 weeks and moving about 6 hours away so our riding time is short term.
But he is moving to a great area for riding (Ottawa) so I guess I'll be loading up the bike the odd weekend and testing out the daughter in law's cooking and maybe her patience too!

Artkansas 

Sounds like a win-win situation

cyclintom

My daughters were faster than me from the time they were 14 years old. That wasn't because I was slow (though I was only a Cat 5 master) but because they were so FAST. One led the Olympic Festival Road Race up the hill every single lap and then lost the sprint. The younger one got a silver medal in the Jr. Olympic Time Trial.

At one time I was going 26 mph in a paceline with some guy who had come along. We passed the girls who were stopped at the side of the road. He rotated off the front, I pulled for maybe 100 strokes and pulled off and the girls were right behind me in the paceline!

There has been nothing in my life so important to me than those kids. And since they were step kids and I'm divorced I'll never see them again. I can't tell you the loss.

NOS88

Wow. That story makes my chest feel heavy. While I'd consider myself lucky to have had them in any part of my life, the pain of that kind of loss is pretty weighty.

jppe

All good stuff!

Digital Gee

I know that pain as well. I have one step child who dropped out of my life after the divorce. I see her now and then (my kids have a good relationship with her) and I'm proud of her success -- she's a fledgling TV producer now and about to move to L.A. for a new job at a station up there.

stapfam

Now he might be able to beat you at a few sprints- so the way to work it is not to race him for the first couple. Sit on his wheel and get a tow for the first 2 or 3. Then push him hard on the 4th and trounce him on the 5th. Works every time for me when the fituns decide to work it on me. They use all their energy on the first ones and I conserve mine. The one that matters is the last one. Or failing that- Make the sprint longer and more often. let him do the work and just get him on the line.

jppe

So far so good here as far as the kids go. I have three and they're all great kids......well except for one. He takes after me. I'd be more than happy to loan him out to anyone who thinks they can straighten out a 16 year old!!

hammerdocnomo

Jppe,
Thanks, but no thanks. I've got a 19 yo. They don't come any smarter/dumber then that lot.
Good Luck.

roccobike

My 18 year old has been beating me since I returned to cycling. My 14 year old is not as fast so I can beat him in a sprint, but he's got me on distance, nothing makes this kid tired.
JPPE, I don't think I can straighten out a 16 year old as my 14 year old seems to be enough of a challange. According to him, he doesn't need to go to school or study, he knows enough today to get a job (does he have some growing up to do or what?). My 18 year old is graduating high school and has reached the point where he knows everything and is amazed at how ignorant his parents are. In the fall he starts college. I hope he isn't too disappointed when reality sets in.

stapfam

Have two daughters- One aged 25 and she realises how her father ticks because she has turned into a younger version of him. She never liked school but she currently only works 4 days a week. Other day is at college to earn the qualifications, THAT SHE WANTS, to further her career. Youngest at 22 is just finishing 4 years at University and has a lot of growing up in the real world to do yet.

I used to be a runner. At the age of 10 my eldest nearly beat me running up the road- That was when I took up cycling and 15 years later- she doesn't stand a chance up against her dad. The youngest actually started riding with me 8 years ago and although she had a long way to go on strength- she was pretty good. Just wish she had kept riding.

stercomm

Our youngest out of 4 kids is the only one who cycles. He is 16 and just finished lacrosse season so can get back in the saddle. I asked him to go out with me today and he declined. Learned from his older sister that he plans on doing some heavy training before he will go out with me. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. What he doesn't understand is that I will be more than glad to go at his current training pace until he gets back into shape, I just like being out with him on the bike. I'm fixing up an old bike for my 19 y/o daughter who is the cardio animal in the crowd so this one should prove very interesting, she has tired of running and wants to try something different.

They all will probably be beating me by the end of the year in sprints but think my base is solid enough to hold them off on long rides. A plus factor is the 16 year old is 6'2", I'm 5'7" so plan on drafting off of him a bunch. If they can beat me great, but I won't go down without a struggle!

fat biker

Not about cycling, but you all reminded me of it, so here goes.

Lived near an elementary school.
We developed a game, called barrel tag.
The school had several pieces of cement storm drain "pipe" on the playground.

Barrel Tag Rules;
The barrel is "safe"
Once you leave one barrel, you must be "safe" at another barrel before you can return to the previous barrel.
When all players are on a barrel, the one "it" can call them off, at least one person must leave a barrel.

Two of my nephews, Adam and Gary loved to play this game with their uncle (me).
I could kick their butt's, until my late twenties, then it was all over.

Very Sadly, Adam fell into the Merced River in Yosemite National Park and drowned, he was just twenty years old.

Funny, I had not thought about our game in years.
I still miss that kid.
We will be seeing Gary in a few months, I wonder if he remembers our game.

Jeff, fat biker