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.
Thanks for spending time with us Bill and Liam. LiveStrong!
Ken & Ryan
No comments:
Post a Comment