Young Cyclist Will Take on His Next Challenge at Scotts Valley Grand Prix

At just 10 years old, Devin Hawthorn has already found his passion in life, something a lot of people much older than him are still searching for.

Since mounting his first road bike last year, his mother’s that had been sitting in the garage unused, the charismatic Vine Hill Elementary School student has been hooked.

“I asked my dad if I could try it and I did and loved it,” Devin said. “I can’t really explain it. It’s just fun and I wanted to do more, so I asked my dad if I could do it more, and he said, ‘Sure, let’s get you a bike.’”

Devin says his first bike was a little too big, but his latest bike is just right.

“This bike is perfect for me,” he said as he admired his blue Trek road bike.

And it was the perfect bike for him to tackle his first big ride, the 100k Mt. Charlie Challenge Ride, sponsored by the Scotts Valley Educational Foundation. The ride out to Corralitos and back, which is usually 62 miles, was 68 this year, as cyclists had to bypass a landslide.

The distance did nothing to deter Devin.

“It was all that I expected,” he said. “The only thing was that I thought out to Corralitos would be easy, but there were a lot of hills. It wasn’t harder than I expected, though, and it went kind of smooth.”

That probably had a lot to do with his training. Devin and his father, Sean Hawthorn, a recreational cyclist, spent many days out on training rides, even cycling up the steep face of Mountain Charlie Road to the summit 17 times before the ride.   

“I was happy he wanted to do it,” Sean said. “I didn’t want to push him, but on the training rides, he kept wanting to go further and further.”

The training paid off, and Devin became the youngest person to finish the 100k Mt. Charlie Ride, which he did in around seven hours and without getting tired at all, he says.

“You should have seen the look on his face when he got back,” his mother, Martina Hawthorn, said. “He was so excited.”

Devin says he loves cycling and hopes to one day be a professional cyclist like his idol, Lance Armstrong. And he aspires to compete in the Tour of California and the Tour de France and even be sponsored by Scotts Valley’s Easton Bell Sports.

But he has more personal reasons why he rides.

“One of the biggest reasons I wanted to start riding was because of my cousin, who died of leukemia,” Devin said. “I heard about Team In Training, and my mom told me that they are fighting leukemia, so I wanted to start biking and do that when I get older to try and find a cure.”

Devin hopes to participate on the organization’s triathlon and cycling teams when he gets older, raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the process, in honor of his cousin, Steel, who died at 3 months old.

His wanting to give back through cycling doesn’t stop there, either. When he decided to participate in the Mt. Charlie Ride, one of the biggest fundraisers for the SVEF, he decided to raise money on his own for Scotts Valley schools.

“One of my favorite teachers got laid off, and I didn’t want that to happen, so I was raising money,” Devin said.

By selling raffle tickets for prizes that included Giants tickets, massages and a bicycle donated by Scotts Valley Cycle Sport, he raised $640, which he donated to the SVEF.

“It made me feel really good to raise the money,” he said. "And maybe no more teachers will get the pink slip."

Devin will next race in the kids’ race at the Scotts Valley Grand Prix on Sunday, where he hopes to finish in the top three. He also plans to race in the Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge in July. Then he will do them all again next year, along with any other races he can get into on his way to that professional career.

“It’s been so special to see,” Martina said. “He’s just so motivated. His age group is the next generation, and it’s so exciting for him.”

The Scotts Valley Grand Prix is from 1-9 p.m. Sunday. The kids zone, 180 El Pueblo Dr., is open from 3:30-7 p.m. Volunteers are still needed for the day of the event. For more information, visit scottsvalleygrandprix.com.