My name is David Avery, I love to race my bike, I have been racing since I was nine and riding bikes since I was four . This past year, I joined Team California Juniors to grow my road racing experience, but I started racing for CBRE Racing/Lamorinda Cycling Club in late 2018 and kept racing with them when it turned into Work Health Solutions Racing . During the pandemic, the only cycling available was track cycling at Hellyer Velodrome so I started racing track. In 2021, I joined my local NICA team, Mission Peak Composite in Fremont, as a 6th grader. I really like racing my bike in all disciplines but my favorite is road racing.

This summer I am going to race with my team, Team California Juniors, in Belgium for three weeks in June and July. This camp is meant to be an introduction to European racing and is a great opportunity for me to race in large fields of my peers. In the US, I only get to race with large junior fields twice a year, at Valley of the Sun and at Junior Nationals. In Belgium, every junior race is like one of our National Junior events and in the three weeks I will be able to race six times. All major cycling careers end up in Europe and the earlier I get exposed to that racing style the better.

Ever since I started racing, I have been grateful to my local cycling club and community. I really enjoy the local group rides and the clubs that have been there for me, like Lamorinda Cycling Club (CBRE Racing, Work Health Solutions), IC3 , Team Fremont , San Jose Bicycle Club , Berkeley Bicycle Club, Hellyer Velodrome and all the mentors at Early Bird Racing Training. There have been many times people have donated bike frames, wheels, parts, bike clothing to help me along the way. Even strangers at my local bike shop have donated to my bike builds! If you can donate to my Belgium trip, I would be forever grateful to you.

Please read below to learn more about me as an athlete, student and person. Thank you so much for supporting me.

Sincerely,

David

Age, Grade, School, Town

I’m a 14 year old 8th grader at Sunol Glen School in Sunol, California. I grew up in Fremont, CA where I attended Spanish Dual Immersion program. I enjoy living in Sunol because I have great access to road biking and mountain biking trails.

My Family

I have two siblings, a younger sister and a younger brother and a dog named Roadie. My whole family races bikes and my mom helps coordinate junior cycling in Northern California.

When and How I Started Cycling

I learned to ride my bike on February 25th 2014 . My parents would take me on longer and longer bike rides to tire me out but I never got tired. I told my parents that I wanted to race because I was a very competitive nine year old. My parents took me to the kids Sea Otter race and everyone got a medal. I told my parents “ If everyone gets a medal is that really racing?”. My mom started researching local bike racing and found out about the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association. A couple months later, I was racing my first criterium and cyclocross race.

My Most Favorite Part of Racing

My favorite part of racing is working hard during the race and trying to win.

My Least Favorite Part of Racing

My least favorite part of racing is getting dropped when I know I can be in the mix.

My Favorite Road Discipline

There are three different types of road races: Road, Criterium and Time Trials. My favorite of the three is road racing because there’s nothing else like it and it’s not repetitive. My favorite road race is Copperopolis Road Race by Velo Promo because it is the Paris Roubaix of California and it’s a really hard race.

My Least Favorite Road Discipline

My least favorite road discipline is Time Trials because I have not learned how to pace myself in these types of races and we don't have many Time Trials to practice with.

What I Do in My Spare Time

I am a Scout in Troop 176 in the Golden Gate Area Council in Fremont, CA. I’ve been in Scouts since I was in the 2nd grade with Cub Scout Pack 120. When I am not racing, I am an active BSA Scout in my Troop and not only am I going to race in Belgium this summer with my cycling team, I am preparing for a 2 week High Adventure Backpacking Trip at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in late July and August. As a Scout, I go camping, backpacking, and white water rafting but we also help our community with cleaning up local cemeteries and collecting food for our food banks.

Non-Local Places You’ve Traveled For Cycling Events

I have raced at six (6) USA Cycling Championships, three (3) Valley of the Sun Stage Races and raced in Washington, Colorado, Wisconsin, Arizona, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Notable Accomplishments:

2023 Northern California Nevada District Road Race Champion - Junior Men 13-14

2023 Northern California Nevada District Track Champion - Junior Men 13-14

2023 Valley of the Sun Stage Race: Criterium: 1st Place Junior Men 13-14

2022 Northern California Nevada District Road Race Champion - Junior 13-14

2022 Northern California Nevada District Track Champion - Junior Men 13-14

2022 Mount Diablo Challenge Winner Junior Men 11-13: 58 mins, 7 seconds

2021 Northern California Nevada District Track Champion - Junior Men 11-12

2021 Junior Road National Championship (Road Race): 4th place National Medalist in Junior Men 11-12

2021 Junior Road National Championship (Time Trial): 5th pace National Medalist in Junior Men 11-12

2019 Northern California Nevada District Time Trial Champion: Junior 11-12

My Favorite Local Places to Road Ride

My favorite places to ride my road bike is Calaveras Road in Sunol, CA and Sierra Road in San Jose.

My Favorite Local Places to Mountain Bike

My favorite mountain biking adventure was at China Camp State Park in San Rafael, where my friend Remy took us for my 11th birthday.

The Date of the Belgian Racing

I will be doing six races over a three week period from June 24th to July 15th, 2024. In Belgium U17 fields are restricted to racing two (2) times a week, which is the reason why my team is staying there for three (3) weeks.

The Difference between the competition in American Racing vs Belgian/European Racing

Road racing is more common in Belgium, so the junior fields are larger and junior gearing is still required there. The roads they race on are small country roads, which is not very common in the US so there is a learning curve for Americans when they race in Europe since our roads are really large. I live on a small country road so I’m getting some experience doing that but not in a race scenario.

Your Cycling Goals For the Next 5 Years

I would love to race in the Junior Olympics in California 2028, Junior Worlds and race the Junior Paris Roubaix.

Your Career/Education Goals After Completing High School

I am 14 years old and I do not know what I want to do after high school. I want to pursue professional cycling as much as I can but I really like being outdoors and I am interested in the outdoor industry world and will get an education to become a park ranger.

Estimated Costs for three weeks:

Lodging, Food, Local Transportation - $3,500

Airfare: $1,500

Race Fees & Misc Travel: $500

Total: $5,500

Follow my Belgium Trip on my Instagram - DavidAveryBikes