For the past few months JJ has been preparing for a 50 mile bike race. He signed up with a few friends and did a lot of training with them. He did most of his training with Caleb. They would go ride early in the morning together. Sometimes very early so they could get some long rides in. A little while back they did a 40 mile ride and that was the first time JJ has ridden that long. He said it was the first time he realized that he could do 50 miles. His race was in Steelville, MO which is a little less then 2 hours from where we live. We wanted to go as a family to watch and support JJ in his race. We knew this was important to him and it would make him happy to have us there. We got up at 5 AM and loaded up the car. I had packed several things the night before and just added some food to the cooler. We were on the road just after 5:30, very early for us. Thankfully we got there and ready to go just in time for the race to start.
JJ started with the second group. He said you could choose when you registered when you wanted to start. JJ wasn't there to get a good time, he just wanted to finish. It was exciting to see them all start and head up the hill into the woods. We were down in the Mark Twain forest, very hilly and very pretty.
My brother Jordan came down to watch the race and cheer on JJ with us. He pulled up just as the race was starting. He hoped in our car and then we drove to the half way mark. We followed the guy who had all the bags for the riders. He drove crazy and really fast down the country road. We all parked and hung out waiting for the riders to start coming. We were at the Berryman campground area. It was really pretty and thankfully we were able to walk around and use up some of the kids energy.
It was confusing for us since we didn't have a map of the race route. We knew we were waiting for the riders but had no idea what point in the ride it was. We asked someone and found out it was about the half way mark. I knew about how fast JJ rode and after a while we started to think we should be seeing him any minute. We went and stood over by the trail where they came out of the woods. We kept watching the riders and looking for JJ. Thankfully he was wearing a yellow jacket so it was easy to spot him. It seemed like we waited forever for him. I started to get worried and kept asking Jordan where he was! Jordan was funny and kept telling me not to worry. When he finally came we were so excited to see him. We made a sign for him while we were waiting. He told us that early on he had a flat tire. He said it was really discouraging and it took him 30 minutes to change the tire. He said he had to work hard to get back in the game. Also part of the trail wasn't marked properly and everyone missed a turn. Some guys who were in the front rode an extra 6 miles and weren't happy about it. JJ only rode an extra 2 miles. He saw people coming back and was able to get turned around and heading the right way. It seemed like he had those setbacks in the beginning. He was happy to see us and take a little break. He was able to eat something, drink something and give us his flat tire. He was happy to have us as his relief crew. At that point he had ridden for about 3 hours.
After seeing JJ at the half way mark we watched him take off again into the woods. He seemed to have high spirits and was ready to keep riding. Taking a little break can do wonders. We headed back to where the race started. Nolan fell asleep within minutes of being in the car. We let him sleep when we got back to the resort where Jordan's truck was. We sat in the back of his truck and had a picnic lunch. It was a beautiful day, the leaves were starting to change and the sun was warm and felt good. As we were sitting there some of the first guys were crossing the finish line. Crazy how fast some of them were! Nolan took a nice long nap which made my afternoon more pleasant. Jordan headed back home after our lunch break. He took Lucy with him and took her to my parents house. They were going to take her to her basketball games that evening. Once Nolan woke up we headed over to the road where the riders were crossing. We waited there for a while to watch JJ pass by. I had kind of figured about how long it should take him to get to that mile mark. It should maybe take him 2 1/2 hours to ride that leg of the race. We stood by the side of the road watching and looking for him. He finally came down the hill and stopped to say hi. It was hard to tell it was him, all their outfits look similar! He said the course was so hilly, constant up and down. Long slow climbs and it was exhausting. There was a little snack station set up on the side of the road. One of the race workers filled his water bottle up with Gatorade. He got some pickles, candy and a drink and was on his way again. He had about 8 more miles until he finished the race. He was tiered but was going to finish.
We played and walked around the resort while we waited for JJ to finish that last part of his race. We knew it would take him about a hour to finish. We played on the playground, feed the horses some carrots and then walked over to the finish line to start watching for him. He crossed the finish line at 7 hours and 32 minutes. He was exhausted and kind of out of it. He was glad he finished, that was his goal. He didn't have a time he wanted, just to cross the finish line. We were proud of him and his accomplishment. We walked around and let him stretch. He then was able to take a shower and get cleaned up. That was so helpful. They had a BBQ dinner for the riders and their families that evening. We all ate some dinner and then watched a few minutes of a motorcycle stunt show. We were all tiered from a long day and lots of bike riding. We headed home, it was a long 14 hour day away from home. My parents had a nice evening with Lucy. They watched her play her games and then went to dinner at Wendys. It was fun for her to have special time with them. JJ said he hung his bike up in the garage that evening and thought it might be a while before he gets back on it. He enjoyed the race and is proud of his accomplishment. He isn't ready to do it again but maybe again by next year.
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