Training with Liam

A week or so ago I came across a blog by Liam and Bill Flanagan.

http://www.fathersontour.com

Liam is a cyclist from Newport Beach, CA who has ridden some of the most famous cols of Europe with his father, Bill. While there, they happened upon Lance Armstrong training and had a chance to ride alongside him and have a little chat while being photographed by a French news reporter. This year they followed the tour, and climbed Mont Ventoux together a couple of times.

Most recently, they rode Levi Leipheimer's GranFondo in Sonoma, and are soon headed to Austin, TX for the LiveStrong Challenge where they will ride the 65 mile course.

That in itself would be cause enough for the average cyclist to feel pretty pleased with himself, but Liam and Bill's story becomes more interesting when you reveal one other small fact:

Liam is 9 years old.

After exchanging a couple of Tweets and emails, Bill and Liam made the drive up to our house in San Gabriel for lunch and a ride with my son Ryan and me. It was a real pleasure to spend some time with these two very nice people. I'm always amazed at the fascinating and wonderful people that the world of cycling brings together. Ryan and Liam hit it off like old friends (kids are amazing that way!).

After lunch on our patio, we packed up the bikes and headed off to Pasadena for a pleasant ride through the quiet tree-lined streets around the Rose Bowl. Well--our timing couldn't have been worse. A UCLA game was letting out just as we rolled up towards the Bowl, and traffic was jammed in all directions. We attempted a little detour, but 50,000 cars take up a lot of road. We kept to the sidewalks and made the best of it, but our quiet ride was more a game of urban assault, so we decided to cut the ride short. Ryan did get a little taste of some small hills, which of course Liam blazed up like an old pro.

The boys seemed to be kindred spirits, and I think future rides together are in the cards. The following link is to a little interview I did from our dining room. At nine years old, to hear Liam talk about riding to raise awareness for Cancer is just amazing.

http://gallery.me.com/kenwallacefilms#100183

Thanks for spending time with us Bill and Liam. LiveStrong!

Ken & Ryan

Training with Ryan

This weekend my son Ryan decided he wanted to get serious about riding. He was inspired in part by a video he saw of a young boy named Liam and his dad Bill, training for Levi's GranFondo. Liam is 9 years old--here is their latest blog entry:

http://www.fathersontour.com/2009/10/cyclists-making-difference-at-levis.html

At 7 years old, I was pretty sure that Ryan would fit on his older sister's Trek Jr. road bike. Ryan has been on two wheels since we pulled off the training wheels when he was three, so he is very confident on a bike. We pulled the bike out of the garage and lowered the seat, and he just fit on. We did a little practice starting and stopping on the safety of our sidewalk, and Ryan was off and riding like a champ in no time!

Our first official "training ride" was on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. This seemed like a good place to ride in a relatively car-free environment, with no stop signs or traffic signals to deal with. Ryan was able to comfortably complete 4 laps of the Bowl--about 13 miles--in just over an hour. He really had a great time! Here is a little video of that ride:

Today, we had a little time after homework, so we took to the streets. It was Ryan's introduction to stop signs, traffic lights, cars (moving and parked!), and a few short hills. We ventured out from our house in San Gabriel via side streets to South Pasadena. The fading sunlight and cooling temperature kept our ride to about 45 minutes, but it was a great time. A couple of fellow cyclists even joined in for a bit to cheer Ryan on.

It's been a great introduction for Ryan, and we are really enjoying our time training together! Our goal is to enter Ryan in an organized ride this Spring--maybe something in the 25-35 mile category. It is going to be a fun adventure.