Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Riders are You Ready? Set ’em Up.

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Twice a week my son Sacha rides like the wind on his BMX bike. The hills are steep and many. He loves it. He doesn’t mind the bumps, scratches and bruises. He is young and doesn’t yet know fear as a foe.

Saint Victory (the mountain in the view, the one Cezanne often painted,) spreads her arms wide cheering him onward, "Sacha, go go go!"

While Sacha races I tend to stand in the background, chasing fear around in the parking lot, and leaning on that mountain for strength.

…and then in the corner of my eye I see him ride. I see his enthusiasm, I feel his heart happy, and I know he is on top of the world. The wind and the mountain call his name and he roars, YES!

and I sigh, "Victory, he is ready." and watch him fly.

photo: Sacha at the starting gate, where the coach hollers: "Riders are you ready? Set ’em up!

Comments

44 responses to “Riders are You Ready? Set ’em Up.”

  1. ~jolenemarie

    From what I can gather Sacha seems to have the same daring spirit of your wonderful dad Corey!
    Right on Sacha..ride like the wind!

    Reply
  2. marita

    to sacha…
    Swifter and yet more swift,
    Till the heart with a mighty lift
    Makes the lungs laugh, the throat cry…
    ‘O bird, see, see bird, I fly.

    Reply
  3. Marie-Noëlle

    Corey, those bumps Sacha has to ride over look like a range of mini-ste Victoire to me !!!
    Sacha seems to have ridden into his father’s genes (concerning his taste for risky things)

    Reply
  4. Letitia

    I know how the mountain feels, for some reason I want to scream – go, go, go – at him too!

    Reply
  5. Shannon

    Oh this brings back memories of when my brother raced his BMX over the rolling hills 🙂

    Reply
  6. cruststation

    Such freedom to ride like the wind in such a beautiful setting. A young enthusiastic spirit is to be encouraged.

    Reply
  7. Darla

    Sometimes its hard to let them go (and grow) isn’t it?
    Your photo brought back a rush of memories. When I lived in France I took a weekly bus trip from Aix to Marseilles and back. That mountain was my focal point.
    Darla

    Reply
  8. patpaulk

    Beautiful motherhood!!

    Reply
  9. tut-tut

    Soon I’m going to have to let my daughter go . . . she gets her driving learner’s permit today! I’d rather she were on a bike.

    Reply
  10. Miz Booshay

    great story!!!
    excellent photo!

    Reply
  11. Miz Booshay

    p.s. Thank you for sharing that beautiful poem, Marita!

    Reply
  12. Pat Spiller

    Your post beautifully caught the poignancy of letting go….lovley and I love your writing style!

    Reply
  13. susan

    love that mountain… i spent a lot of time just breathing it in when i was there. sacha looks very natural on that bike!

    Reply
  14. constance

    GO SACHA!! Set ’em up and Fly like an Eagle!

    Reply
  15. Star

    What a beautiful photo; the mountain is gorgeous.
    Apparently Sacha gets his adventuresome side from his papa. I’m glad you’re there to cheer him on though.

    Reply
  16. angela marie

    Go Sacha!! Go!!
    We need that mountain to lean on… don’t we!

    Reply
  17. Ulla

    Son like Father! Wow, you do need ‘Saint Victory’!!! Thrill seeking seems to run in the family…

    Reply
  18. Brother Mathew

    Sacha, perfect your start then blueprint it. Never look back during the chase of the checker. Don’t be a pie biter. Crash and learn not crash and burn. Only see your foes face after you have crossed the line and the hardest…win and lose with grace.
    —————————
    Dear Mathew Brother Mathew, (is my brother, and not a monk.)
    Thank you! You know Sacha’s best friend, Fabrice, bit it hard last weekend and broke both his arms. And one of them in two places. I am still in shock, and yet I don’t have the heart to tell Sacha to stop.
    Thank you for your good advice, you know those secrets well because you rode sith thunder!

    Reply
  19. beachy

    Corey, I think my oldest boy is about the same age as Sacha… and isn’t it so true… the things that make their hearts so happy are often the same things that make our hearts nearly stop! =)

    Reply
  20. Rosemary

    That is so great!!!
    Beautiful area.
    Rosemary

    Reply
  21. Mari-Nanci

    How wonderful for both of you, that you freely let him ‘go.’
    Mari-Nanci

    Reply
  22. Paris Parfait

    He’s lucky to have such a supportive mom. Love this post!

    Reply
  23. MB

    Great photo, Corey. I climbed to the top of Mont Sainte-Victoire once upon a time. The wind was awe-inspiring. Fly with the wind, Sacha!

    Reply
  24. Brother Mathew

    Can you clear that table top over your right shoulder? Go for it Sacha!
    ———————————————-
    Hey Uncle Mathew,
    I sure can clear that table top!!
    But my Mom wants to know why I can clear one table top and not another?
    Thanks for you tricks on racing too.
    Sacha

    Reply
  25. MyMelange

    Wow Corey! Your own Evel Kneivel! What a daring young man! My brother and his friends used to set up a ramp with a piece of plywood on top of cement blocks and logs on our driveway. They would spend hours just ‘jumping’ off the ramp with their bikes!

    Reply
  26. MyMelange

    Wow Corey! Your own Evel Kneivel! What a daring young man! My brother and his friends used to set up a ramp with a piece of plywood on top of cement blocks and logs on our driveway. They would spend hours just ‘jumping’ off the ramp with their bikes!

    Reply
  27. Tamara Giselle

    Letting go is a risk Mother’s have to take, for if you don’t they will be crippled for life.
    Brave son and braver Mama.

    Reply
  28. parisbreakfasts

    Cezanne’s Mt. Saint Victoire
    I once went there for an idylic picnic…
    We got eaten up by bugs and realized we were sitting on sharp thistles…

    Reply
  29. Islandsparrow

    I have 4 boys and a daughter and I’ve stood in that fearful place too. It takes courage and faith to let them go – especially with a smile!

    Reply
  30. do

    God, la Sainte Victoire! You were near Rousset or something like that?
    My MY personal view of the mountain is from the north, living in Puyricard I went at school in Aix, turing south-east at Cézanne’s right point of view, very near from his Atelier…

    Reply
  31. lauren Mumford

    If youth is what makes him brave how on earth does his Dad do the things he does? (Not saying you are old or anything Yann…)
    Bravery must run in the men in your family (or is it just craziness Corey?)
    lauren
    P.S. worrying about booboos is why I let Daddy watch her climb trees and such. I do as you do and watch from the corner of my eye.
    __________________________________________
    Hi Lauren,
    It is a large amount of both…

    Reply
  32. naturegirl

    A mother always holds her breath when her baby grows up and wants to try something that could be dangerous but in the end it is all part of growing up and spreading their wings and flying on their own!
    Lovely post Corey.. I so was there with my two adult children!hugs Ng

    Reply
  33. Karen

    How I wish I remembered what it was like to be that unafraid of physical pain! Every year when I get onto a snowboard and am on the lift, I think to myself “Do I remember how to get off?” Sometimes I fall, and sometimes I don’t but how I envy the young who don’t have far to fall and don’t have jobs to go to the next day…

    Reply
  34. Jeanette

    Well it does run in the family…the love for bikes! At least you know some of the Amaro blood is in him. lol Maybe not the part you wished for, but he must keep up with all his cousins here. Sacha will always be thankful for you letting him be hisself and allowing him to learn from his falls. I hope I can do the same for my daughters as they get older. First step today was Kindergarden round up…I can’t believe it is still in the same church as when I had my round-up…oh my 31 years ago! I am getting old.

    Reply
  35. AnnieElf

    Not only does Sacha get his adventurous spirit from his grandfather, he gets it from his MOM. Who else could go to a gay club in S.F., meet and adorable straight guy from France and fearlessly fly off into the future with him back to France. Bravo Sacha for following your spirit of adventure.

    Reply
  36. BOSSY

    More proof that you are an advanced life form. Bossy is way too worrywartish for such hobbies. Although Bossy’s teenage son *is allowed* to bicycle. With a helmet. And training wheels.
    ___________________________________
    Hi Bossy
    My entire family are daredevils, My Father, four brothers, my French husband and my son…and it still scares me.

    Reply
  37. Brother Mathew

    Sorry to hear about Fabrice! Poor guy, I hope this does not hurt his baseball progress!! Give him my best wishes for a speedy recovery.
    — Note:
    Fabrice is Sacha’s best freind. During a BMX race he fell and broke both his arms, one in two places. His baseball practice is zero zilch for months to come.

    Reply
  38. Liz Ness

    AWESOME…go Sacha, go! Love this and your story. Think I’m headed there with my little dude. We’re a family of riders…but, I’ve never had to worry about a son before. Takes it to another level. I might be seeing you in that parking lot in a few years!

    Reply
  39. susanna

    Your son is certainly loving Life! Good for him! I hope he keeps that positive attitude and fearlessness throughout his life…just like his French Dad and American Mom! And it’s interesting to learn that the mountain in the background was painted by Cezanne. Very cool.

    Reply
  40. Jann

    He looks like an expert, bumps and all!

    Reply
  41. Gypsy Purple–Chamara

    How difficult it is to give our children their wings to fly……

    Reply
  42. Orama

    Sacha do not seek advise from old, over the hill, 40 yr plus, grey in one spot,granola eating,wanna- be bmx experts. If ones nickname is Choopie and he drives a Volvo, he must not be trusted for expert bmx racing tips.
    ————————————-
    Hey hey hey Orama (Brother number one out of four,)
    Oh no….Brother Mathew is gonna come back hard with a response I can feel it already…Get yor helmet and pads on brother!!

    Reply
  43. Veronica TM

    what a lesson in letting go! motherhood teaches us so much, no?

    Reply
  44. Nora

    Corey, at the risk of repeating myself: your children are blessed to have you as their mother. x

    Reply

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