We didn't set any speed records, but my son is now (officially) the youngest cyclist ever to compete in the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb. I rode the entire route with him as he is only 8. He struggled a bit and finished well over his (our) goal time of two hours, but of 605 registered riders he was 468th of 475 finishers. He also raised over $2,100.00 for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center as part of his historic ride. So I am very proud of him. This is a memory we will cherish forever.

Oh yeah, fellow Weight Weenie, Nico Toutenhoofd was 13th overall and won his age group. Congrats Nico!

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Junior beat you by 12 seconds http://www.mwarbh.org/wp-content/upload ... ESULTS.txt . Good stuff. I was riding up and down neighborhood hills, not climbing Mt. Washington, at 8 years of age (not to mention last year at 7).

While old riders get nice age groups to compete in http://www.mwarbh.org/wp-content/upload ... GRADED.txt , such as 80 and Over, and every 5 years starting with 35 to 39, youngsters don't fare as well, with the youngest division being 19 and under - that makes it hard for a 9 (or 8) year old to win a division. Speaking of which, Ryjder is listed as 9 - is that racing age (age as of Dec 31 of the current year) or was that a mistake?

It's also nice to see that Tyler Hamilton's record was stricken due to his doping http://www.mwarbh.org/?p=664 .

Yes, Ryjder's racing age is 9 as his b-day falls in November. So he races against a stacked junior field. But we had no expectations of him being competitive in that age group... maybe in a few years. Look at Jonah Thompson. He is 12 and flew up the mountain.

Ryjder actually beat me by a lot more than that. My group went off 10 minutes before his but I waited for him at the start and rode across the line behind him.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
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English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Yeah, that Jonah was pretty fast for his age. Let's see if he becomes a contender at top echelons in years to come.

As for your time, I misread the 58 minutes as 48 minutes, so was off by 10 minutes.

Are you thinking of trying to get leave next year from your Netherlands assignment to do Mt. Washington with Ryjder again?

Looks like the aero fad has even hit kid's road bikes:

http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/08/18/cul ... more-47653

I wonder if yaw angle has an effect at 10 mph?

Well, yaw angles tend to be bigger at 10 mph riding speed than at 30 mph, all else being equal (such as wind speed and direction, if not head on (or tail on). Ans yaw angles which are on net "tail on" also are more common at lower riding speeds.

Ummm... yeah, that was interesting. My son was interviewed on the Washington, DC news (ABC7) about his historic ride up Mt. Washington when the inevitable Lance Armstrong question came up. When asked if he wanted to be like Lance when he gets older, Ryjder replied, "Yeah, but without all the drugs." OH MY GOD!

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
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English Custom Steel Internal di2
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Is that video on the web? I didn't see it at the station website http://www.wjla.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . Was the interview live or recorded? If live, then the producers have to know they're taking their chances.

Anyhow, I hope LA doesn't sue you, as parent of Ryjder, for slander, as there is no proof of his taking drugs (other than cancer treatment). As for whether I think LA took PEDs in contravention of the rules and lied about it? Well, my view is the same as to whether O.J. murdered Ron and Nicole and lied about it.

It was live, but I think it will be posted today... probably edited. hahaha

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

!!!!!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!! (well Ted already "spoiled it" yesterday)
Very cool. That video should be quite a keepsake. Both father and son are well composed speakers. I found it interesting that Ryjder "knew" to laugh after saying "except for taking all the drugs". And the pause made for some nice dramatic effect. As for the interviewer and his lame jokes - meh.

That was a completely off-the-cuff remark by Ryjder. He has always been a fan of Lance Armstrong. I don't think he completely grasps the situation in which Lance finds himself. He knows that doping = cheating and cheating = wrong. So he aspires to be a clean rider. But I don't think he fully understands the difference being accused and being guilty... especially in the realm of modern media.

Nonetheless, I am proud of him. He has opinions and he isn't afraid to voice them. He's a bright kid. I am a very lucky father.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Was there any "rehearsal", prep, or discussion with the interviewer or producers before going on the air?

Nope. We had some casual conversation on the phone. But, basically, we showed up, watched the first segment, and then went on the air.

In light of events that have transpired since, I guess it's OK to have a good laugh about it now.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

That's a very perceptive and eloquent young lad.