From the Sidelines May 17, 2011
Posted by Celia in General.trackback
I accidentally clicked on the link to this website as I was browsing through my bookmarks the other day, and was surprised to see that the last post was dated 17th January. Has it really been that long??
So what has been going on the past few months? Well, not much riding apparently! I can remember a couple of rides – one down in Balclutha as Scotty’s parents looked after Cadence for a couple of hours, and another in Naseby the day before the 12 hour race when Scotty looked after Cadence as I headed out for a lap of the course. Sadly, my latest ride was down to the dairy and back, of which the ride home (only about 500m or so!) left me slightly out of breath! Oh dear. It seems I’ll have a lot of catching up to do fitness-wise!
But I haven’t been completely absent from the mountainbiking scene. Rather, Cadence and I have done a fair bit of spectating from the sidelines. When Nationals was down here in February, Cadence and I headed out to watch the cross-country and it was good seeing the regular riders on the XC circuit out and about on my home tracks. Astonishingly, was that quite a few of the pro-elite guys and girls actually knew who I was! It was nice to feel that sense of community again. We also headed out to watch the downhill the next day, and last month, we went to Naseby for the 12 hour race where Cadence and I hung out for a couple of hours, again catching up with people. And last weekend, we went and watched the first of the Bike Otago Cross Country Series, with Cadence rugged up warm and in the front-pack.
It’s amazing how even just standing on the sidelines can make you feel involved in the whole scene again. While it would be nice to make the transition for spectator to participant (I say “participant” instead of “racer”!), it will probably take some time. If I’ve learnt anything from this parenting gig, it’s that babies develop in their own time and move onto the next stage when they’re ready. So right now, Cadence is highly dependent on me for food and comfort. But with time, she will (hopefully) grow and become more independent (or at least, less dependent on me!). There’s no point in stressing over not being able to ride, or missing out on events and such. Next month, or year (or perhaps even the year after that), it will be a whole different story.
Cadence models the latest front-pack fashion – booties on her hands.
Nice post Celia.
I’ll always cherish the way Kaitlyn was accepted by the MTB community. No doubt you and Cadence will have a similar experience. We were participating, racing even, by the time Kaitlyn was 6, and having an absolute blast. Other times we’d shake a milk bottle with a few stones in it, or just sift. She got a strong sense of how fun the sport could be (by seeing others enjoy it), and, she got a strong sense of how much it meant to me. Both good things…
There’s no doubt your own opportunities will be affected for the next while, but not necessarily the way you’d expect…
You’ve probably read this before, but check out http://sifter-writes-bikes.blogspot.com/2010/03/karapoti-challenge-2008-my-favourite.html
I look forward to meeting Cadence soon, at a race or otherwise!
Cheers John. You and Kaitlyn provide me with constant inspiration that kids and bikes (and racing) can really be combined! Can’t wait to get Cadence in the bike trailer for a family outings.
Can’t wait ’til you’re back racing/riding again C!