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. 

Santa Clara PAL BMX- 11/1/13

Alessandra was having fun, but definitely not in race mode. The highlight of the night was that she actually finished in the middle (3rd out of 5) instead of finishing last, or close to it, as she has often done when she's in one of her "less competitive" modes. Anyway, she had fun, and actually earned her third place trophy. 

Full Moon Friday with Bachan 10/18/13

Not too many Striders tonight, but it was a beautiful fall night under a full moon. Alessandra was pretty casual in practice on the little track, and the big track. She went fast when she wanted to, and just strolled around, and looked up at the lights at times; sometimes just stopping on top of a whoop and looking around. But when race time came it was serious business. She got off the line well, and controlled both races, eventually taking another pair of wins. It was just her and another 4 yr. old tonight, but Alessandra had everything. under control, and cruised to victory.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 9/13/13

Alessandra surprised us when she woke up from her nap and said that she wanted to go racing. After last week we thought that a break from racing was in store. It was a good night overall. She was having fun in practice, and the kids were all having fun lining up and doing some practice starts.



We thought that they were going to let them all race in one race, but at the last minute they separated out Tyler and Alessandra (the two four year-olds), and had them just race each other. Too bad, a race of six would have been much more fun. Tyler beat Alessandra pretty bad in both races. He's definitely older than Alessandra (he may even be 5), and far more experienced. He actually already races a pedal bike on the full track in the 5 and under class. Alessandra was definitely capable of going faster than she did though; unfortunately once someone gets away from her at the start she just lets them go, and get's into stroll mode- something we have to work on.
A couple of weeks ago she was in a race against Cody ( the boy that swapped wins with Tyler last week), and Alessandra only finished several bike lengths behind him, whereas she finished way, way behind Tyler in this one. Oh well, she still got a second place trophy, and she deserved it! She did well.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 9/6/13

It was a rough night! Alessandra was acting up little before we took off for the track, which is never a good sign, and then she was just not her usual self at the track. She was crying for momma, stopping on the whoops and looking up at the stars (she did comment that it was dark out, which was a new experience for her; the days are definitely getting shorter), and getting stuck up high on the banked turns and whining. We should have just took off because she wasn't even having fun. She ended up taking two third places (out of three), and she was way behind the leaders at the end: Cody and Tyler swapped wins.

Blackjack Nationals Reno 8/31/13

Well, like the Midwest Nationals, this was all about the trip: the stay in a hotel (which Alessandra loves more than anything), and the play time at the hotel's pool. We (Alessandra and I) were getting ready to head up to Reno on Friday of Labor Day weekend when, about 15 minutes before we were gonna leave, Erika says "I want to come" (meaning the whole family; of course including our 9 day old son. "Alright, get ready as quickly as you can". Less than an hour later we were on the road, and heading east. Our lunch stop at In n' Out Burger in Fairfield was costly (traffic wise), but essential since we didn't have time to prepare meals for everyone while rushing out of the house. Ultimately it wasn't so bad; we made it through the Sacramento traffic by around 3:00 or so, and were checked into our hotel room (the Peppermill) in Reno by 5:00, with no reservations. We were in the pool by 5:30, and the kids were happy. We attempted our first dinner outing with 3 kids that evening, but it didn't work out too well. We had to pack up all of the food before it was delivered to the table, and retreat to the room. Oh well, we tried!
We woke up on Saturday, race day, and daddy made a quick trip to the track to get Alessandra registered, and then to pick up some breakfast. After breakfast we went back to the pool for a little more fun in the water, and then we packed up and headed to the track.



THE RACE: Not much to write about here. Although it's a cool event; with the big nicely groomed track, sponsor booths, and fans, unfortunately, much like the Mid West Nationals in Illinois, these nationals aren't good for the Striders at all. They just rush through the program as quickly as possible in order to get on with the schedule. Oh well, we know better now, and unless the trip (i.e. the destination, hotel, pool, etc.) is really worth the while it's much better racing at our local track for the Striders. Alessandra got bad starts, and finished 3rd in her 3 heats. She almost caught the leaders in the second race, but the track for the Striders was really short (about 1/3 of the length of what we use at our home track), and it was pretty hard to recover from a poor start. Because the 9 riders in the 4 yr. old class were separated into two groups she probably officially finished 5th or 6th, but who knows. They originally posted Alessandra as the overall winner online, and then changed it and only listed the top three. Overall it wasn't that great. Alessandra wasn't really into it, and the organization was terrible.




After the race we were all packed up with nowhere to go. It was early Saturday afternoon of a three day weekend, and a 4 hour drive home didn't sound good to anyone. We probably would have stayed another night at the Peppermill (because it was a pretty nice place), but the room we had the previous night, which was pretty nice, wasn't available. We looked into going to Downieville for a couple of nights- no luck; considered staying in Reno for about two seconds, and then came to our senses, and then realized that due to the Yosemite fire, and the smoke in the area of Tahoe, that our chances of jumping over the hill to South Lake and getting a hotel room were actually pretty good despite it being Labor Day weekend. After a quick call to the South Lake Tahoe chamber of commerce our beliefs were confirmed. We were able to get online and book a suite the Tahoe Resort Hotel, right at State Line.It was perfect: we had some fun in the pool; great dinners; a gondola ride to the top of Heavenly, and water tubing for Alessandra; and then topped off the stay with the Sunday night fireworks show, which was just a five minute walk from our hotel, and most importantly, the kid's first fireworks.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 8/25/13- A Double Win for Gianluca and Momma.

So it was Sunday morning, and I was looking after Alessandra and Anthony that morning while we prepared to go pick up Gianluca and momma to bring them home.It was close to 11:00 a.m. as I was finishing packing the car and getting the kids ready to go when I thought that I'd pack up the Strider- just in case. I asked Erika if they could roll her down to the pick up zone so we could just pull in and load em' up, and she said that they could (they didn't know what my motivation was at this point, but it was a reasonable request nonetheless). We arrived at the hospital just around 11:30, and I figured that if we could be loaded up and out of there by around 11:40 that we could be at the track just before registration closed at noon. Erika wasn't there yet when we arrived, but I still had a glimmer of hope. We ended up all loaded and exiting the hospital parking lot at around 11:44; I turned to Erika and said: "wanna go racing", and the rest is history.

We arrived at 11:59, got registered (I was registering while Erika was getting Alessandra ready), and sent Alessandra out for practice. We left about 40 minutes later with another pair of wins, and we were all headed home to start our new life as a family of five.



This was her last race event as a 3 yr. old, and she went out in style- that's our girl!

Next stop: Black Jack West Coast Nationals in Reno this Saturday? We'll see.



Moto 1:



Main:

Santa Clara PAL BMX 8/23/13- Extreme Striders

After a trip to the hospital to see momma and little baby brother (Gianluca; who was born two days earlier)we headed out to the Friday Night races with Grandma and Little Brother (Anthony, of course). I've never seen Alessandra ride so aggressively. It was great! Some of the other parents and I (Andrew's mom, and the Yee's mom) had a good laugh, and called them "Exterme Striders". Alessandra came up on one of the Yee's and passed her at the finish line almost bumping handlebars (there was definitely some elbow action). There were some fast Striders there that night, and Alessandra was right in there in practice- riding very well. Unfortunately for the races Alessandra wasn't able to race with Andrew again. They separated the Striders into two motos, and moved Alessandra up to the 4 yr. old class. There were four riders in her moto (3 advance to main), and she finished 3rd. She didn't get a good start in the main, and ended up 3rd in the main also. She rode well though, and almost caught Yee for second. The boy who won was definitely bigger and older than the girls. All three were fast riders.

Sorry, no pics or video again. That's Erika's job,and she couldn't make this one.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 8/18/13- Alessandra vs. Andrew

A rivalry is brewing between Andrew and Alessandra. Alessandra has gone from trailing way behind to photo finishes in the last several weeks. Due to some delays with posting the grids a group of the Striders were able to do a few practice races starting from the actual starting line. Alessandra was really riding well. I think she won two out of three of the practice races, and one of them by a big margin. Anyway, when race time came they'd already done several races from the starting line so I'm not sure Alessandra quite understood what was going on. They usually only get two races from the starting line (one if she doesn't advance). It was really funny because in moto #1 Alessandra had a large lead on Andrew (and a huge lead on everyone else) coming into the finish line, and as she was approaching the trophy girl stepped out of the shed (which is placed just in front of the finish), and Alessandra went straight to her (without crossing the line) to collect her trophy. Everyone had a good laugh, and I had to turn Alessandra around and tell her to pass over the finish line. She ended up second to Andrew. The main was another close race, but Alessandra let Andrew pass her in the last turn (which is usually where Alessandra is faster), and couldn't quite close the gap back up before the finish. Oh well, she had a great time, and left with another second place trophy. She wanted to go straight home, which is a bit strange because she usually likes to hang out with the kids for a few, but I think she was coming down with a mild cold.

North Bay BMX Napa 8/10/13- The Lone Strider.

After the last couple of outings Alessandra was pumped up to go racing again, and since there were no races scheduled for Sunday at Santa Clara we decided to pack up and go to Napa. We were hoping for a showdown with Andrew, but when we got up there (about 20 minutes before registration closed) they told us that Alessandra was the only Strider. Things weren't looking too good for a rematch because Andrew's always at the track early. Oh well, she headed out for practice on the new track an immediately got into a good rhythm. The whoops were a bit more aggressive than the ones at Santa Clara, but she picked it up just fine. She didn't have anyone to practice with except a young boy (4 or 5) on a small pedal bike, and she and he were going about the same pace. Then it was race time, and Alessandra had no one to race with so we went and asked the organizer what we could do for Alessandra. He rallied his daughter to go out and ride around with Alessandra, and that made Alessandra happy. They did a couple of practice runs together, and then a quick race.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 8/9/13- Friday Night Lights

Something has clicked with Alessandra, and she definitely gets it now. She's practicing better, and racing much better. Two second place finishes tonight. She finished inches (literally; it was a photo finish. The parents knew that Andrew won because we were standing right at the line, but you couldn't tell from the stands )behind Andrew in the qualifier, and about a bike length behind in the main. The race was pretty much between Alessandra and Andrew; the other kids were a ways back. Great racing!

This picture is with the 3rd place finisher. Not sure what his name is, but they were having fun with their trophies.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 8/4/13- Alessandra's first first!

After Friday's lackluster performance, and disappointment of not being able to race in the main, Alessandra thought that it would be a good idea to do a little practicing at home. I got out my bike, and we did several mock races in front of the house. We'd start facing the street, and Alessandra would get a side by side practice start, and then ride as hard as she could up the street to Crestview. Then we turn around and do the same thing racing down to the circle. Alessandra was having fun practicing that Saturday afternoon, and she started talking about going fast in the races, and "passing the other kids". I was able to get her to do a few more practice starts on Sunday morning, and then we were off to the races. When we got there Alessandra looked at me and said- "Daddy, I'm going to go fast and win a trophy."

And she's a woman of her word- She raced against two four year old sisters (they were good riders; they already rode pedal bikes, but also had non-pedal bikes there for the Strider races), and convincingly won both races. Her first main event win!

No videos of this one. Daddy was very proud of his little girl!



Alessandra Marie Lupo- Ferrari's first female F1 driver?

Santa Clara PAL BMX 8/2/13- Alessandra's last last?

After another long break between races we decided to get back out there and do a little Friday racing. Practice on the small track was OK, and about the same on the big track. Alessandra just didn't seem to enthusiastic. They lined all six Striders up for the Moto #1,(top 5 advance to main), and Alessandra was in roll mode again. She'd been going at least as fast as most of the kids in practice, but in the race it was almost exactly like our last outing where she came out of the first turn in last, and just watched everyone ride away into the sunset (literally). She finished last, and didn't advance to the main, and she wasn't happy. She threw a fit, and I had to pick her up and carry her off the track away from the other kids heading back to the starting line for the main.It was heartbreaking for us, but completely necessary. These kids need to learn the rules at a young age, and face the realities of life. No trophies for everyone mentality here, and that's just the way it should be. We all went home a bit dejected, but it was a turning point.

Santa Clara PAL BMX 7/14/13- A Sunday Roll

We took a few weeks off from racing after the trip to Illinois. We were finishing up our downstairs remodel in anticipation of Gianluca, and just couldn't get out to the track. After getting our house livable again we decided to head out for a Sunday morning race. Alessandra's only three, and she just started racing. I HAVE to remind myself of that. She definitely has a race mode (which is really cool when you see it), but she also has a "roll mode", which is where she just rolls off the line (usually in last place, and just rolls around to finish. She may start to catch some of the other kids toward the end, but they're short races, and if they don't go aggressively from the start, then it's pretty hard to make up ground. Anyway, Alessandra just doesn't quite get it-YET. If she doesn't get a good start she just tends to let everyone go by and just roll around to the finish. There were only three riders in today's race so she'll get a trophy, and that will make her happy.

Mid-West Nationals- Rockford Illinois 6/22/13

So,just in case it works out for us (Alessandra and daddy) to go to Florida for the Strider World Cup Championships in October we needed to find an event that we could make it to to get her qualified. Rockford Illinois was the next one on the calendar that was viable for us (it was right around the last week that the doctors said that flying wouldn't be an issue for Erika and Gianluca), so we booked our flights, and on June 20th we were off to Chicago. We took off for Rockford the next afternoon, and headed for the hotel (with an indoor pool), which was probably more exciting for Alessandra than the race. We had our usual good time in the pool after checking in, and then headed into town for dinner. Not much to see. We woke up early the next day to the sound of raindrops- steady rain actually. Oh no, we didn't come all this way to get rained out did we? After getting Alessandra excited all morning about racing in the rain we arrived at the track as the skies started to clear. Great. Well, not so great. All of the rain in the morning delayed the race almost three hours, and we were not prepared for waiting around at a crowded event with two little kids. Thank goodness for the park across the street from the track, and the leftovers in the car. Somehow the rain stayed away, and we were able to wait it out at the park, but then when it was finally time to go back and race Alessandra said "I DON'T WANT TO RACE". Of course it's now mid-afternoon, and neither have had their usual nap, and things weren't looking too good. Luckily the walk back to the track was short, and as as soon as Alessandra saw the other kids getting ready at the Strider tent she got pumped up immediately. "DADDY,DADDY- Put my full face helmet on now! And we were back on track (literally).

The track was really cool, but the event (for the Striders anyway) ended up being pretty disappointing. They only used a very small portion of the track for them (about 1/4 the length of our home track), and the organization was very poor (a lot probably had to do with the rain delays, but very disappointing nonetheless). They broke up the 3 year old Striders into two separate sets of motos, and scored them together (i.e. there were about 10 Striders in the 3 yr old class, but she only raced against 5). She finished 2nd in her 3 motos, but ended up fourth overall. She had a good time, and she did well. What more can you ask for? Load em' up, and head back to Chicago!

On track:




Awards:

Father's Day- Santa Clara PAL BMX

We actually went out on Friday June 7th, but Alessandra was in a bad mood, and no one had any fun.

Oh yeah, after her first race weekend, three weeks prior to this, we decided it was time for her to go national. This was her practice run before heading to Illinois for the USABMX Mid-West Nationals in Rockford.

Moto #1- 4 yr old Striders



Main- 4 yr old Striders



Our happy girl with her buddy Ike.

She may have won the main too, but she got distracted by Tomasso!

Santa Clara PAL BMX 5/31/13

And we're back the next Friday night for her third race event.

And she fishes the race. That was all she had to do. Good girl!

Alessandra's second outing- Santa Clara PAL BMX 5/26/13

Looking good in practice:

But not so much in the race. She got passed at the start, got upset, and stopped. Thus rule #1 was established: ALWAYS FINISH THE RACE!

Alessandra's first race- Santa Clara PAL BMX 5/24/13

We ventured out with the kids on a cool (actually it was pretty cold), windy, May evening to the Friday Night Santa Clara PAL BMX races to see what Alessandra thought. Despite sitting in the howling wind (hardly exaggerating) eating our In N' Out Burger dinner (I probably got a shake too)in the stands above the track, Alessandra wanted to get a closer look at the little kids practicing on the small track in the back of the complex. We went over, immediately started talking to some other parents, and one of them said:if you run over right now and sign her up she can race tonight (we just happened to have her bike and gear in the back of the car)- so I asked Alessandra if she wanted to race; a resounding "YES" followed, and the rest is history....

This is her first time riding on a track- after about 20 minutes of practice.



So that was the qualifier,and this is the main event:



Okay, so she finished next to last in her first main, but what a great night! We were all (Momma, Baby Brother, and I) very proud.