Presenting Jisael Monreal, the

youngest member of Club Lobos Marinos, the mountain bike team from Bahia Asuncion



He competes in the 4 and under boys group. He is two years old. On your mark, get set, go.



OK, at this level, Dad gets to help a little---those training wheels get stuck in the dirt.



Going strong now.



Hey, who is that kid. He must be 4--he isn't using the training wheels



Dang, he is winning for sure.



But this little guy is so young he doesn't even care that he is riding his sister's pink bike



Sister was not happy sharing her bike



Our young man did not win, but hey, he finished the race and a give me five was in order.



And for all the right reasons, mom and dad are real proud.



and the little upset girl, did just fine when it was her turn. Dang, those Guerreros from Guerrero Negro have great uniforms---they have sponsers.



Story continued in the next post.

John and Diane



[Edited on 10-9-2007 by jdtrotter]

Diane, even though you are not wealthy you are getting some great shots.

The rest of the story

Jesus, the father of our youngest member invited us to accompany them to this event in Vizcaino. Jesus is a fisherman, carpenter, small tienda owner, excellent mountain bike rider, and one of our many very patient informal Spanish language teachers.

Our mountain bike team is long on heart, and very short on good equipment.



The mountain bike course in Bahia Asuncion is awesome---we missed the competition there in August, but will make sure we are there for the one in January.

To reach the competition in Vizcaino, we followed Jesus up the rocky path---their shared bikes were carefully tied in the back of his truck.



Even the needed ambulance had to traverse the rocky path---it was hot, and the ambulance was used.



The courses



The babies did a quick run---but once they reach the the age of 8 or 9, they do the small course.

One of our competitors





It becomes even more serious when the young teens take on the medium course.

John looking out for the riders



John and Aurelio, president of the Lobos Marinos, adjust their cameras for the action



Three of our boys



Jesus, our friend, sweeping away the cactus thorns before this race. Oh, Jesus is on the down side of 40 and took second place in the big race.



The bikes and the helmets are shared---the two of our young riders using the best---the used Giant bikes





It was really hot and humid---it rained in the late afternoon. Tomas passed that finish line and looked, well, we could not find the right word in Spanish, so Jesus gave it to us---Tomas looked like a Zombie. He collasped from the heat---recovered well.


We did not stay for the big race. It was really hot and since we did not have a completed wall, we had our dogs---was way too hot for them, so we had to leave.

Since we have family who are involved in mountain biking, we are hoping to find assistance and maybe a sponsor or two for our Lobos Marinos.

Oh, for you La Paz people, on Sunday there was a big race there---24 kilometers. Jesus and a couple of others from our village were there to compete. We hope they did well.

John and Diane


[Edited on 10-9-2007 by jdtrotter]

Community involvement

What a great thing to post here. I love the community spirit and participation, Something lost in many American neighborhoods. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share this with us.

Quote:

Originally posted by Sharksbaja What a great thing to post here. I love the community spirit and participation, Something lost in many American neighborhoods. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share this with us.

Jdtrotter

Awesome stuff , thanks for sharing pic ans story . You guys are very blessed to live in the community you do .
Saludos , Tortuga

Fantastic post Diane. I brought a tear to my eye.

Deb,
Thank you very much. We will be in contact with you. The president of the club speaks very little English, but we manage with his little English and our little Spanish.

We will be going back down quite soon and we will talk to him about springs etc. The idea of shipping bikes back and forth would not work, however, as none of the shipping companies make the trip to Bahia Asuncion. But parts, well besides us, there are other nomads who I know would help with delivery.

With some of our contacts, we are going to be looking for possible sponsors, other parts, etc. Your offer is VERY appreciated.

IFYFISH, the reason the parents are so involved is because most of them are riders. It was too hot so we left before the main event---the adults. However, the president of the club gave us a CD with pictures from the Bahia Asuncion Event and I may post a couple----the course there is amazing.

The local league consists of the Bahia Asuncion Lobos Marinos, the San Ignacio Missioneros (sp), the Guerrero Negro Guerreros, the Vizcaino Lobos and I forget the name for the one from Rancho Caracol---I hope is isn't the Caracols. They also have major competitions with teams from all over Baja Sur. Some of those teams are very well sponsored.

This is the race we missed in August. The next one in BA will be January----those of you familar with BA will recognize where this part of the course is located.









I get tired just looking at the course. I should probably focus more on the older racers---the real serious races, but dang, those babies just steal my camera.

Diane

[Edited on 10-10-2007 by jdtrotter]

[Edited on 10-10-2007 by jdtrotter]

It would be fun. We, however, we will bring our chairs, hats, and our cameras----I couldn't make it up the first part of that course.

Diane