BMX

I guess you could say we are into alternative hobbies, like the drums. Last April, Jacob started racing BMX bikes. We usually go to Armadillo BMX in Conroe but sometimes we drive to the Pearland Speeday in, you guessed it, Pearland. Our first time to take Jacob to race, we took his bike that he rides at home to make sure he liked it and, you guessed it again, he not only liked it, he loved it.



Many people have asked us how we got into it. We have some friends, Larry and Jeanette, and all of their kids have raced BMX and motocross. Jarrett was pro BMX and is semi-pro motocross. I am not sure what Kendra is, but she use to race BMX and now races motocross. Yes, girls race BMX....in fact, many girls race and there are some really good ones. Their dad was a professional supercross rider back in the 80's. Their youngest, Ethan, who is now 6 and is Jacob's best little buddy started riding and they invited us along. The week after we first raced, we had bought him a Redline racing bike and a Thor racing outfit (all deals thanks to Larry and his connections.)



This has pretty much become our weekend activity. We race either Friday or Saturday night and sometimes race or just practice during the week. It is really hot out there right now but I am looking forward to going to the track during the Fall.

Jacob is doing great at it. He recently got his first place win. Apparently, there are not a lot of seven year old kids racing BMX in the Houston area, so he often races eight and even nine year olds. It would be hard for him to place first racing older kids, but he has come in second his last two races against the eight year olds...first place may happen.



One of the neat things about the track that we race at is that it is the home track of Kyle Bennett. Kyle is going to the Olympics in Beijing on the 13th and we should see him on TV on the 20th-21st (I think). This is the first time BMX has been recognized as an Olympic sport. Kyle is a really nice guy and loves to be around the kids on the track. Please pray for safe travel, fun and a win at the Olympics this month. Here is the article that appeared on the front of the Sports section last week in the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/woodlands/faces/5914740.html.

Kyle Bennett with Jacob and Ethan

Funny story...last weekend lots of people were gathered around Kyle to wish him well. Ethan kept telling his Daddy that he had something to say to him; so, Larry took Ethan over to see Kyle. Ethan looked up at Kyle and said "Don't crash!" That was it, don't crash. Not something we would think to say to an Olympian, but it was very logical to Ethan...don't crash or you won't get a win. Cute!

Here are some pictures of Jacob at the track:

Jacob's buddy, Ethan