Today I took the Kids out for a walk to get them out of the house. We walked down to the water, took some pictures of water fowl, had a poop emergency, and came home.
But as the kids were running around, one of them shouted, "We're racing across America!" This caught my ear. First, we do not live in "America" at least in the modern definition. Second, it's clear my kids have no sense of scale, rather they ask "are we still in Canada?" when we go anywhere, including the grocery store. And third, because I had yet to introduce them to RAAM. They are currently being forced to watch every second of footage of the "Tour of France" that I can download from the 'tubes.
(Just as an aside, it's rather fun to watch them watch the Tour videos. They sit there with a keyboard on their laps pretending to control the riders. It never fails, their guy wins. Fun times.)
I thought nothing more of the comment, until, with shock and awe, I spotted a book in their room called Geronimo Stilton, The Race Across America. Shock, because I found something in their messy room, awe, because what other cartoon character has completed RAAM?
This book has got to be on the top ten list of kids books of all time!
Now, Geronimo doesn't get full marks, as he competes in the pairs category, as opposed to the solo version. But he does do it with only a month of training. He must have been on the good stuff.
In the book his buddy, Bruce, recruits him, buys him a bicycles and then proceeds to take him on a 100 mile training ride. Clearly Geronimo responds to training extremely well.
They have a full support crew, which includes the standard cast of characters from any RAAM attempt. A Texan, a Triathlete, a guy who owns a bike shop, a relative, some hangers on who wish they were fit, and two hot looking female mice.
The story, like RAAM, is an epic sojourn across the States, the heat, the cold, and the dehydration all playing their requisite roles. There's even some drama near the end, just like the real race.
Best of all is the ending, which involves a rock and the clobbering of another cyclist. It's so real!
This book shall now be read to the kids over and over, ad nauseum, until they too believe they can ride a 20% grade after buying their first carbon road bike.
It's also encouraged me to go find more kids cycling/running books as quickly as possible.
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