abe decided to try mountain biking club.
it is the same time as soccer so his first race was actually the last race of the season, but we decided to give it a go.
the race took place in st. george. he planned to go down with some friends, but at the last minute, i decided i wanted to be there, so called sadie up and the three of us headed to st. george.
what an adventure!
friday evening we met his team for the practice loop, then sadie, abe and i went downtown and got food and found an outdoor concert. abe pretty much drooled over the guitars. fun times.
the next morning, the three of us went for a hike, supposedly to a waterfall. it was a beautiful hike even though we really only found a puddle.
it felt strange hiking with my two oldest children, by ourselves. usually i am watching and helping the younger kids and it took me back to all the adventures we had when it was only sadie and abe. some things never change. abe climbed all over everything and sadie kept up, but more out of protection than interest. i remember when abe was little and he would climb on everything. it made a lot of people nervous, but i seemed to get used to it and knew he would be ok. even though he is fifteen, there were a few moments i had to hold my breath on this hike.
i think he does it for the reaction.
later that afternoon, abe raced in his first mountain biking race.
so many bikes and racers. since abe had never raced and didn't have a time, he was towards the back of the 2nd heat. it was exciting as they all started and off he went. the trail was 4.5 miles with half of it a climb and the other half downhill. sadie and i stayed at the halfway point to cheer him on. when we saw him, he was killing it! he was keeping up with the fastest kids in his heat. we were so excited that he was doing so well.
i had the thought go through my mind, 'what if he gets a flat tire' about three times. i knew that we were unprepared for that and i was hoping it wouldn't happen. a couple minutes later, i got the message from someone, that they saw abe...with a flat tire! i knew it. he was walking his bike toward the top of the climb. we waited and waited. all his friends crossed the finish line. we waited. they started breaking down all the event tents and we waited. i was hoping he would finish. all of a sudden we saw a glimpse of yellow riding down the hill. it was abe! he crossed the finish line with a huge smile. his friends all gathered around him and told him how sad it was that he got a flat tire because he was doing so well. he retold what happened with a smile. he hit a rock trying to pass someone and it popped his tire. he asked someone if they would have a patch kit along the trail, but no one knew. they told him he could take a short cut and walk down a road for about a mile and it would lead him back to the event or he could walk his bike and finish.
he started down the shortcut, then he thought, "this is stupid, i'm going to finish the race." he climbed back up to the trail and walked for a long time and eventually, the sweeper found him and helped him change the tube, and he rode to the finish line.
he took 140th place out of 141 and the last guys never showed up.
dead last.
i can not tell you how proud i was of him!!!!
i was so happy he kept going even though it was hard. he didn't give up. he finished and was happy and said he had a great time. i saw so many characteristics of abe shine though. he didn't complain AT ALL. he was positive about the entire thing. before the flat he raced with so much determination. you could see it in his face... he wanted it. when it didn't go as planned and he ran into some opposition, he got back on track and worked hard. he wants to do it again next year.
his coach was shocked that he did so well and made sure he told abe, "you know what you are doing next year??? RACING!"
he hung out with his friends that night and sadie and i drove home. i like hanging with sadie. i love her so much. she is easygoing and helpful, and great conversation.
i'm so glad we went.
then, we got the phone call that abe's bike got stolen.
so sad.
i'm not sure how we will replace his bike, since we bought it for an amazing deal, but even in the end, with a flat tire and a stolen bike, i won't forget abe's smile as he crossed the finish line with his old tube wrapped around his body. all of us running to him and surrounding him, so happy to see him. i was praying that he would finish.
i expect to sit in heaven and wait for him and i'm sure i will be praying him there too. when he walks in with his awesome smile, it will be a happy day.
now i hope the police find his bike!!
