Chapter 1: The Super Brothers
By Jake Maddox
“Nobody move,” Austin’s mother said. “Perfect! Now smile!” She was busy snapping another photo of Austin’s twin brothers, Josh and Matt. The boys stood next to each other in the living room, proudly holding their basketball trophy between them. It was easy for the boys to smile. Tonight their team had won again.
Austin sighed. It wasn’t the first time his older brothers had brought home a trophy. It wasn’t even the second or third time. They won all the time. Austin was proud of his brothers, but he couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. He’d never won anything.
“Time to celebrate!” Mom said as she turned and walked through the kitchen door.
Austin looked up at the awards on the bookcase. I’ll never win a trophy like that, Austin thought.
Austin loved biking. He was even pretty fast, but nobody won trophies for that. Austin sighed. He walked quietly out of the living room and upstairs to his bedroom.
I’ll never be as good as they are, he thought, flopping down on his bed.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door. The door opened, and his mom poked her head in.
“Are you okay, Austin?” she asked.
Austin shrugged. “There’s no reason for me to celebrate,” he said. “I didn’t win anything.”
Austin’s mom patted his shoulder and nodded. “Your dad and I are very proud of all of you boys. You know that, right?”
“But I’ve never won anything,” Austin said.
“Winning isn’t the only thing that’s important,” his mom said. “Aren’t you the kid who started his own lawn-cutting business this summer?”
“Yeah. So?” Austin shrugged.
“So,” his mom explained, “it shows what a hard worker you are. You kept at it and never gave up. We’re all proud of you for that.”
Austin knew his mom was just trying to make him feel better.
“You know what? There’s something I want to show you.” Mom walked out of the room. When she returned, she was carrying a newspaper. She tossed it on Austin’s lap. “Check this out,” she said. “The article about halfway down the page.”
Austin was confused, but he picked up the paper. When he saw what his mom had been talking about, his eyes widened. The headline read: “Youth Tour de France-Style Cycling Race Planned.” According to the article, a local cycling club would be hosting a big race in one month.
“Mom, this is awesome!” Austin said. “This could be my chance to finally win something!”
“I thought you’d be excited,” his mom replied. “But remember that this isn’t only about winning. Just focus on training for the race.”
Then Austin realized something. “I don’t have a road bike for racing,” he said. “Just my mountain bike. I can’t race on that.”
“What about all that money you earned cutting lawns this summer?” his mom asked. “Now let’s go have some pizza,” his mom said.
“I’ll be right there,” Austin said. He had bike research to do.
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Adapted from Cycling Champion, by Jake Maddox, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
Chapter 1 introduces us to Austin, who is feeling a bit jealous of his twin brothers, Josh and Matt, who are constantly winning trophies for their basketball team. Austin loves biking but has never won anything. His mom tries to comfort him by reminding him of his hard work and determination in starting his own lawn-cutting business. She then shows him an article in the newspaper about a cycling race coming up in one month, and Austin sees it as an opportunity to finally win something. However, he realizes that he doesn't have a road bike for the race. His mom suggests using the money he earned from his lawn-cutting business to buy one and they decide to celebrate with pizza. Austin, feeling excited, tells his mom that he has bike research to do before joining them.
Austin looked up at the awards on the bookcase. I’ll never win a trophy like that, Austin thought.”
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