Earlier in the week I met Carl, John Lewis and Pat Dougherty at the BBN velodrome for some sprint training behind the motor bike. And because it was school holidays and her plans for the day fell through I brought Emily along as well.  I wasn't sure how much riding she'd fit in, she's not strong enough to mix it with the big boys and is still very much a novice on the track.

The plan was for Emily to jump on the track while us old farts rested between our flying 200's and Carl and Pat swapped rolls from cyclist to motor bike rider. This she did although it was obviously pretty boring for the kid to ride along on her own on a windy day.  So Carl decide to give her a turn chasing the motor bike. We were a bit apprehensive because she'd never been motor paced before but I felt she would be OK as she is naturally wheel shy so I didn't think she'd get too close to the motor bike.

Not true! Within a few laps Carl had her within inches of the motor bike and she was comfortably sitting on at 35kph (I think. Carl?) lap after lap. It was a pure joy to see the huge smile on her face as she chased the motor bike. Then at the bell lap Carl revved it up to 40kph (?) and she still sprinted past to easily take the win!

We thought that would have cooked her but Carl, forever the hard task master, had her straight back on his wheel and she did it all over again. The rest of us were shaking our heads in disbelief because....

1. Carl never sits that close to the motor bike himself but was telling Emily to get "within 15 cm" !!!

2. I can't get her to train that hard!

3. You're not supposed to have a big smile on your face when your being motor paced

She finished that effort feeling very proud of herself and promptly did it all over again with Pat a little while later

Emily sure has got a sprint in her for an 11 year old. Walking up hill to school will do that to your legs!