(Photo © J. Maus)
Hoping to give kids the same thrill that mom and dad get out of bike racing, organizers of the Tuesday night racing series at Portland International Raceway will hold the first “Kids Rule” race tomorrow night.
Local racer Neil Green said his six year-old son didn’t want to play baseball or soccer, so he figured — why not introduce him to bike racing? “The kids are already at the track watching mom or dad so they might as well get some experience.”
Green — who rides on the Therapeutic Associates, Inc team — says he started the kids races last year, but hopes for a larger turnout this year. “Ages range from 3-10 but we really encourage the younger kids… most of them are 4-7.”
To give them someone to look up to (besides mom and dad), Green has lined up some star-studded autograph sessions with local professional racers. Tomorrow night, Portland’s hometown hero and Rock Racing star Doug Ollerenshaw (fresh off competing in the Tour de Georgia) will be on hand to sign autographs.
Get more info on the Kids Rule event flyer.
Anyone know if there\’s a training wheel division?
How about pedal-less (kick) bikes?
they accomodate everyone. we had kids in training wheels and kick bikes. most kids were on 12-16 inch wheeled one speeds, but a few had gears.
they raced from 1-5 minutes depending on age.