I have attached 2 photos because both were & will always be most memorable.
This is my youngest grandnephew at the finish of the 2011 Hotter n’ Hundred. His name is Zane T. MacFarland & he’d turned 8 years old the week before the ride this year. Of course, this isn’t his first ‘rodeo’ as he’s been riding with me for 2 – 3 years since he was 6, & has done the Tour d’Italia three times, the Richardson Wild Ride twice. Up until this year, he’d only ridden the short family distance routes but at the Tour d’ Italia in June he rode the 42-mile route. Being able to do the distance at the Tour d’Italia had to do with the fact that I got a new road bike this year & he was able to ride my old Specialized road bike. But, as with all true road bicyclists in Texas, you must be able to say that you’ve ridden certain bike rides & the HHH tops the list. Zane’s mother grew up in Wichita Falls & rode HHH as a little girl. His grandmother, Wanda Wallace, still lives in Wichita Falls, so he was determined to ride it this year. He also knows that you have to earn the right to wear certain jerseys. He’d saved his money & bought both the jersey & some better cycling shorts at the vendor show. He talked the talk & walked the walk, finishing his first HHH. He was a little annoyed that we had to ride the 25-mile route as HHH had no route in the 40ish-mile distance but jumped up to a 50-miler. He’s already said to me, “Next year, we’re doing the 50!”
This photo is of my grandnephew, Brady H. MacFarland, who’s 10, and lives down in Round Rock, TX. In October, we rode the Outlaw Trail bike rally for the 2nd year in a row. This year, he too rode my old road bike & we did the 40-miler route.. What makes this photo memorable is that we are coming in to the Dell Diamond park & headed for the finish line. To me, his look says it all about what he learned on this year’s ride & just how hard it was. First, he conquered the distance, jumping from the shorter family distance to the longer 40-ish one. A good portion of the shorter rides had long distances into a headwind to battle this year & one part was a long drag up hill.. He learned to persevere & grind it out. He learned to be more aerodynamic into the headwind. Yes, he stopped to rest a couple of times but he didn’t quit & he was getting tired. Finally, we’re only a couple of miles from the finish when the clouds gathered & down came the rain in torrents for 5 – 10 minutes along with a stiff wind. He’d never had to ride in the rain before. He rode well & even though he was drenched, he kept pedaling, never giving a bauble at any corner. Normally, Brady rides a BMX bike. Last year at this bike rally he rode my old Schwinn Moad mt. bike with road slicks on it. This year, he rode my Specialized road bike. He can ride anything & take on the elements.
I’m the proud grandaunt, Mary McLachlan, & I’m a member of Lone Star Cyclists in Dallas. I’ve been road bicycling & a self-contained road bicyclist for about 10 years. Nothing thrills me more than a screaming downhill than to see the youth enjoy bicycling.
Mary McLachlan
