Mountain biking is such a great sport! You get to be outside, with friends and learn how to work really really hard...and it teaches a lot of Grit!
Jack, Marian, and Lucy had a GREAT season and although I have about a million pictures from the races, I am a pretty lousy action shot photographer. I think half of those pictures are actually of other people's kids.... It can be pretty tricky to tell which rider is yours when they are going by so fast and in the same jersey. I tried to convince my kids to get funky and unusual colored helmets but no luck.
Lucy made a HUGE jump in her racing from last year to this one. She went from the back half of the beginner category to competing with the top riders! Lucy is SO dedicated and rides every day. Outside if the weather is good, inside on the indoor bike if the weather is bad. I am so proud of how hard she worked. She is the most dedicated and consistent athlete I have ever met!
Marian all smiles before the race! She claims that waiting for the race to start is the WORST part of biking...I can't even imagine the butterflies and nerves when you are packed in the starting gates with all the other riders.
Jack is Mr. cool at the starting line and usually chatting with people around him. At the state race the M.C. was interviewing riders and when she said Jack's name, my entire Pugh family cheered so loud that she stopped and had a fun little interview with Jack and he gave a shout out to his "fan club". Such a fun memory!
SOOO much determination and grit goes into every race!
I always look for blood and dirt when they come by to see if they have crashed. There were a few of those this year but nothing too bad so I was thrilled!
Jack had the lucky 1234 racing plates this year!
This part of the race in Richfield was especially fun to watch!
I love the pre-race pep talks from Jack....
And Chad
It's such a fun sport to cheer on! It really does take a lot of effort on part of the family to get riders to the races all over Utah but it is totally worth it!
My parents were able to come to the State race in Cedar City this year and it was so fun to have them cheering Jack and Marian on. Lucy is on the middle school team and they don't compete at state but she still got to pre-ride the course with the high-schoolers.
Best cheering crew!
I love the post race emotions! All the riders are just so raw with emotion after giving it their all for nearly an hour or more! No matter what happens Marian is usually pretty smiley/goofy. Gotta love that Gatorade tongue.
These seniors worked so hard and had an amazing season!
Jack has SUCH a great group of guy friends on the bike team.
Marian does too but somehow I don't have any pictures of them!!!!
Lucy and her awesome biking friends!
Coming to the races as a non-racer is less fun...but Grace was a really good sport and ended up having a blast with her friends who's siblings also ride on the team. This hill ended up being a perfect viewing spot at the race at Powder Mountain. The sky that day was gorgeous!
I am still a pretty mediocre biker but I LOVE it! It is so fun to get out on the trails with my kids.
It just feels like such a cool and adventurous thing to do. I love seeing my kids try new skills and get better and better as their confidence grows and they try something hard and new.
Grant and I got to sneak away for a few one on one rides this fall and the views were stunning!
One afternoon we biked to an overlook of the city and Grant LOVED it. We could see our house, schools, and parks from up there. We live in such a beautiful place and I am so grateful we get to go biking on such awesome trails just minutes from our house. I LOVE mountain biking.
