Last race of 2013- Santa Clara PAL BMX

Third out of 4 that advanced

Friday the 13th- Santa Clara PAL BMX

4th place out of four that advanced.

Kids Cyclocross at Coyote Point 12/8/2013

The kids course was laid out minutes before the race, and pretty poorly organized. The course wasn't good at all, but we were here, and Alessandra was happy to be alongside her friend Libby on the starting line.

Alessandra got the holeshot, which was fun, but was passed pretty quickly by two boys on pedal bikes on the first straightaway. After that she maintained her third place position, and finished not too far behind the two boys. She was awesome! There were probably 15-20 kids out in this race. Anthony finished far behind Alessandra- but not last.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 12/1/2013

No practice due to crash and ambulance. Alessandra finished second to Tyler.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 11/22/13- Hot & Cold

Alessandra is staying true to form- i.e. hot and cold. She was hot on Sunday, and cold tonight. Very cold- she paused off the starting line, and was back to doing what she's done so much in the past that ruins her race, which is just waiting for everyone to go, and then taking off after them. She just can't afford to do that against these kids (Tyler, Andrew, and Gianna tonight)- they're just too fast, and once she's behind it's almost impossible to catch up in such a short race.
And then I remember that she's four years old, and it doesn't really matter too much. She's already ahead of the game. The thing that's the hardest to deal with is that she gets very upset when she doesn't do well. Tonight she didn't even advance to the main, and that really bummed her out. It would be different if she just wasn't fast enough, and it was what it was; but she's very capable of being a top contender every time she goes out, even up against all the fastest kids- as she's proven over the last couple of weeks.
We'll get it all figured out, it's just going to take a little more practice and dedication. She's definitely a champ!

Santa Clara PAL BMX 11/17/13

Daddy doesn't know if he's ever been so proud of Alessandra. She's been practicing her starts, and staying focused, and it payed dividends today. There were 6 riders in the heat with 5 transferring to the main; and again the fast kids were out (except for Cody). Alessandra got the holeshot in the heat race, and kept Tyler behind her all the way to the beginning of the last straightaway where Tyler passed her going up the steep tabletop. She was able to stay in front of Andrew to take 2nd place.

She got another good start in the main, and was right in the thick of it with Tyler and Andrew. Tyler was able to pull away a little, but Andrew and Alessandra were keeping him on his game in pursuit. Alessandra ended up with a solid 3rd place finish as these three clearly separated themselves from the others. 

Alessandra was awesome! And she was pretty happy to get a trophy again (although she preferred Anthony's first place trophy).

Santa Clara PAL BMX 11/15/13

It was a beautiful night under an almost full moon, but it's definitely not summer anymore. It was just the heavy hitters in tonight's lineup: Cody, Tyler, Andrew and Alessandra. Alessandra needs to get better starts to be able to mix it up with these boys. They're all older (except Andrew; he's three), more experienced (especially Andrew; they're racing 3-5 days a week), a maybe just a little bit stronger than Alessandra.

She finished 4th tonight (5 were in the heat race, and 4 transferred to the main), but it was a step in the right direction. She stayed focused for the whole race, and didn't finish too far behind the others. We're  just starting to get out to the track a bit more frequently lately, so I think she'll be getting sharper pretty quickly.