Thursday Nights

“Dad, I think I want to join the Mountain Bike Team at East.” Those words, uttered by my then just-turned-16-year-old son, were some of the happiest of my life. “Are you sure?” “Yes.” “Are you sure you’re sure, because if you say ‘yes’ again, you’re all in?” “Yes.” The influence of a few friends coupled with no pressure from me despite having ridden in some capacity with Mase since he was three brought this to be. “One thing is for sure though,” I told him, “I’m not going to coach.”