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You might think that when a 6 year old finishes a 600 kilometre bike ride he puts his bike away in the shed and starts playing croquet. Not Mackie. He comes home and prepares for the remaining triathlons of this season. He rides his bike to the Rotary Pool every day then practices his 500 metre run at the track. He is a serious athlete.

He competed in the Huronia Triathlon July 4 in Penetanguishene and again achieved a top 10 finish. This was his first triathlon where the swim was in a lake and not a pool. The bicycle portion took the racers up and over a challenging 1.5 kilometre hill. As usual Mackie was at a height disadvantage and was only as tall as the other competitor's shoulders. When the starting horn blew Mackie started swimming but everyone else stood up and ran through the water. Mackie came out of the water third from last. He was mad. "They didn't swim!!" he yelled at me as I snapped photos of him running across the beach to his bicycle. He tears off his swim cap and goggles and races to get into his helmet and waiting shoes and within seconds he is screaming across pavement in pursuit. I ran up a shortcut to get pictures of him riding up the hill.

When I looked down the road I saw Mackie looking like Alberto Contador. He danced on his pedals and slipped past a dozen riders over the first 300 metres. Then he opened the gap even further as he reached the peak and began his descent towards the start of the running leg. He was off his bike and started the run before many had made the top of the hill. Course volunteers were shocked at the speed he was able to manage on the downhill. They gestured to him to slow down, take care. He ignored them but I thought he was holding back. He managed a respectable run and held off hard-charging competitors.
Today, a Canadian Ryder Hesjedal was the most aggressive rider in the Tour de France. Ryder very nearly won the stage with his bursts of speed over cobblestone roads. Ryder came from obscurity to finish 4th today and grab 4th place overall. An inspiring feat. When Mackie comes home from camp tonight he'll watch the recording.
Mackie's next race is in Oakville on July 11. This would have been Poppy's 70th birthday. I'm sure it'll be something special for anyone who is around and wants to see a champion race.