If you give your child a bike, they will want to go fast.

You’ll buy them the best bike you can find and then they will need a helmet, gloves and shoes too.

Then, they will probably spend hours begging you to take them to the track, even though you may want to sit on the couch and watch tv. They will insist. And their insistence will win.

And when they get a jersey, they will need pants and socks to go with it! And a TEAM…..

Then life as you know it will end.

There will be no more lazy weekends watching tv. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute of your time will be spent hauling coolers and tents and this crazy boy/girl all over tarnation for hours to practice for a race. THE RACE.

And your house will be a mess. And your car will be dirty. All because you gave your child a bike.

Your weekends will be spent freezing or burning to death on a fold up chair. And their weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends, learning new skills and having fun, getting dirty.

You will be there the day he/she makes their first transfer, first podium, first win. And they will make you SO proud. The other parents will congratulate you. But you feel weird saying thank you because it’s not you on the track, it’s your child. It’s everything they worked hard for.

And right before your eyes, your little boy/girl will be transformed from the baby who spun around on their training wheels into an expert.

When you give your child a bike , you give them more than just something to ride. You give them a sport, a talent, hope, dreams, and friends! A new family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where they can push their limits, bravery, courage and LIFE making memories.

They will have ALL of these things, simply because you gave your child a bike.

Because you gave your child a bike, you too will develop new lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the sport. You will root together. And spew PG-13 things out of your mouths together. Because you gave your child bike.

Then one day, many years from today…they will be in their room and a certain trophy will catch their eye. And they will pick it up and realize instantly that when you gave your child a bike, you also gave them a childhood that they would never forget. And then they will hug you, and your eyes may leak – because you realize that everything YOU gave up along the way…..was worth it!

All because you gave your child a bike 🚲 🏆 🥇 🏁…….