Crushed It

The husband and I took a spontaneous road trip to watch our son race his bike. This time it was a cycle cross race where they do 4 mile laps, including obstacles, around a park.

Since it was only a two hour drive for us we decided at the last minute to jump in our car and head his way. He didn't know we were coming but I'm pretty sure he appreciated the support.

The race takes an hour

 so at first everyone is in a bunch 

But after a lap or two they start to spread out.

Derek, our son, had a guy riding close to him for most of the race hanging slightly behind his back wheel. Bikers call it drafting, I call it making mama nervous.

Just before the last lap, which I always start getting anxious about this point, we saw Derek put the hammer down. Like a jockey on a racehorse, Derek gave himself the reins and with nothing holding him back, he took off at full speed leaving everyone else wanting.

Then feeling comfortable with his position he cruised into first place looking very relaxed.

The rest of the top five came filtering in and the guy in the blue shirt who rode close to Derek most of the way, introduced himself and jokingly said he hates our son in the most admirable way.

We all got a good laugh because really, that's pretty much how Derek rolls. 

It is nice to see the respect and camaraderie the guys have for each other.

After refueling our boy with a yummy dinner the husband and I needed to get on the road. It was getting dark and we still had a two hour drive ahead of us. 

While on the highway we saw what we thought was a box blowing across the road but soon realized it was actually a coyote running to the other side. With too many cars to dodge he turned to doubled back. Unfortunately in doing so, he ran right in front of us.

It was such a terrible feeling knowing we hit him but truly there was nothing we could have done differently. It was just one of those things that happened so fast. 

 We weren't sure what the impact did to the car until we arrived home.

By the looks of it, I can't even believe we were able to drive the last 30 miles.