He may only be five years old, but Malleus Simard really likes being on his bike.
"I like peddling my bike and winning," said Simard, who turns six and is entering grade one this fall.
While many of his classmates likely still have training wheels on their bikes, Malleus is competing at BMX races in Stouffville this summer.
Malleus is doing well. In his first two competitions down south he finished with five first-place finishes in his first six races in the novice division.
"We are having so much fun, it is definitely worth it," said Marty Simard, Malleus' father.
"The days don't seem super long or daunting."
Marty Simard, an extreme sports junkie who has done bungee surfing, put Malleus in a biking course prior to the start of the racing season which got a late start due to COVID-19.
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But travelling to races isn't the only challenge the young BMX racer faces. Since there are no tracks in the North Bay area, Marty has had to bring Malleus to Uxbridge to practice.
"There are no tracks, there is not even a small pump track intro so that's why I had to go look for other places to make sure he has all the opportunities so we definitely had to find something out of town," Marty explained.
He hopes if his son continues to progress in the sport that more North Bay kids will pick up on the BMX racing sport.
"The challenge to get into this sport are huge," said Simard, noting that many full-size BMX race facilities are privately owned.
"I don't know if anyone from North Bay has ever gotten into BMX racing. The youth of North Bay doesn't have that opportunity."
As for now, Marty will continue to travel this summer with Malleus to more races as the young racer hopes for more first-place finishes.