Recognizing the spirit of Jacob Mock Doub and his contribution to encouraging youth to be physically active and fit and expressing the sense of Congress that "National Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day" should be established in Jacob Mock Doub's honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 480, expressing the sense of Congress that ``National Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day'' should be established in honor of Jacob Mock Doub.

The youth of today's America are becoming less and less active. The U.S. Surgeon General reports the percentage of overweight children has nearly tripled in the past two decades. Forecasts also predict the current generation of children in the United States could actually have a shorter life span than their parents as the epidemic of childhood obesity expands.

Promoting physical activity and diet are critical in addressing the rise of childhood obesity and youth inactivity and Congress should be supportive in addressing this important issue. Certainly more needs to be done but this resolution is a step in the right direction to raise awareness and move the discussion forward.

The resolution also honors Jacob Mock Doub, a young man who had a great passion for life and for cycling. He encouraged many young people like himself to get involved with the activity.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

For the information of our colleagues, I am attaching an item from the International Mountain Biking Association, IMBA, that provides additional information about Jacob Mock Doub.

Jacob Mock ``Jack'' Doub

Jul. 11, 1985--Oct. 21, 2002.

One year ago this October we unexpectedly lost a great

friend and brother when Jack Doub died from complications

from an injury received during practice for the Snowshoe

NORBA National downhill race last June. To honor Jack's

spirit and love of biking we have in association with IMBA,

helped to establish the Jack Doub Memorial Fund to promote

and encourage other ``kids'' to learn and live to ride. To

understand Jack and his love of biking is to understand our

wishes to continue his memory. Jack was born to two energetic

and loving parents who greatly enjoyed the outdoors and early

on Jack enjoyed the same. Skiing at age 18 months, he became

an unbelievable freestyle and backcountry skier . . . the

best. In life Jack learned to climb, to kayak, to motocross

race, and to fly fish. By age 11 Jack's fly-fishing skills

and abilities to see and catch fish were legend. It was

almost unbelievable that he literally could do anything he

wanted and at levels of skill that others only dream about,

all of this while quiet, reserved, and humble.

Ultimately Jack was introduced to biking at age 11 near

Grandfather Mountain, N.C. He saw a friend riding, doing a

few tricks and he wanted to learn to wheelie. He was hooked.

Within a week he could wheelie like crazy and soon obtained a

new Gary Fisher Super Caliber on which he won essentially

every cross-country race he entered for two years. Although

remaining the best fly fisherman around at age 13, biking had

become Jack's obsession. It was at age 13 that Jack obtained

a Santa Cruz Super 8 and began racing downhill as well; again

nothing but success. One of Jack's greatest sparks was

participating in mountain bike ``dirt'' camp during the

summer of 1998 at Snowshoe, WV, and this is also where he

raced his last race.

From age 14 to 17 Jack rode primarily downhill and dual

slalom. He found it difficult to train and ride downhill and

dual slalom and have the energy to race cross-country on the

same day. Cross-country was great but Jack was an adrenalin

junkie . . . fast and furious. The neat thing about Jack

however was not his desire to race and to win but his

absolute love of being on the bike. Whether he podiumed or

came in 23rd, his response was always, ``it was great.'' He

never complained or had excuses and no matter how bad the

mechanical failure or the crash, he always finished . . .

never a DNF or withdrawal. For Jack, it was all about the

bike . . . cross-country, downhill, dual slalom, trials, or

as always just playing in the yard; there were very few days

that he didn't touch the bike.

Jack rode many bikes and greatly loved his Spooky, his

intense M1, and his Santa Cruz Heckler but his real favorite

was his Foes Zigzag on which he came in second at the NORBA

Snowshoe National in junior expert dual slalom in his last

race ever. His accident occurred the next day in downhill

training where as usual he was trying to air a major jump and

obstacle . . . he later rode but never raced again. His

accomplishments were extensive and are too numerous to detail

nor would that be his focus.

Jack's last ride occurred approximately one week before he

died. He was excited to ride a new trail with a group of us.

Out of shape but never out of energy, he wheelied the mile to

the trail including down a 200 yard hill all the way on a

wheelie manual to a nose manual. As usual we were all amazed.

During the two hour ride we rode hard, played hard and had

worlds of fun. Jack rode through the pain and upset stomach

while laughing and smiling and could only talk of getting

back in shape and coming back. God, do we miss that next ride

with Jack.

Despite all of Jack's great accomplishments and skills, his

greatest strength was involving and encouraging others to

ride, especially children. Jack would skip chances to hang

out with his peers just to go to Hobby Park and teach young

kids to ride and jump dual slalom . . . he did this even

while injured. On occasions he was known to stop in a race

and help other individuals. During one 12 hour race he rode

two extra laps just to give his friends a break and lessen

their pain so as to have more fun. Most importantly he

greatly enjoyed seeing his friends do well, especially ``Tone

Dog'', ``Magoo'', Jonathan, and Will. Jack's smiles were as

big or bigger for their successes than for his own. Jack at

heart wanted others to encounter and love life and biking as

much as he did.

Jay de Jesus wrote in a letter to Jack's dad, Jay after

Jack's death; Jack was . . . ``up all night doing manuals and

wheelies all the way across the courtyard at Snowshoe

Village, the same nice, intelligent, bike-crazy kid with the

ever present smile . . . every night, just riding on and

on.'' There are no real answers to Jack's passing away, just

a huge void. May that void be filled with our smiles and

those of other kids experiencing the awesome joy of biking

and as Jack would want us to do . . . ``riding on and on''.

The Jack Doub Memorial Fund hopes in some small way to

continue his spirit and memory to that end. Jack Doub . . .

orange helmet, red hair and blue jeans . . . rest in peace

brother as you ride in our hearts and memories forever.

Friends of Jack Doub.

Madam Speaker, I must correct the record. I am not a sponsor of the bill. It was introduced by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), though; but I do celebrate the spirit in which it is offered to recognize the contributions in terms of memorializing the notion of making sure our youth are physically fit and active and expressing the sense of Congress that National Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day should be established in Mr. Doub's honor.

I think it is important for us to move in this direction in part to take someone who loved the spirit, the challenge, the physical activity of cycling and to translate that to promote and encourage children of all ages to learn to ride and lead a physically active lifestyle.

This is serious business. The committee has been working throughout this session of Congress, focusing on the needs of fitness for our youth. The notion of childhood obesity, the rates have nearly tripled in adolescents in the United States since 1980, and we know the research indicates that overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese as adults and the range of physical problems that are associated with it.

That is why the Surgeon General and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recommend regular physical activity, including bicycling, for the prevention of overweight and obesity, as well as general health promotion.

Mountain biking is a growing activity around the United States. In my State of Oregon, over 400,000 people participated in mountain biking last year. Bike Magazine identified the area around Hood River, Oregon, just to the east of my district, as some of the finest singletrack in the mountain bike universe, lying within an 80-mile radius of Hood River, incorporating all of the area that I represent.

It is important not just to fitness and recreation. It is also important to the economy.

Overall, bicycling and mountain bike tourism is important to local and State economies. We are finding across the country cycling activities are gathering tourists for organized rides, for touring and for mountain biking. In our State, tourism is a $6.1 billion industry, and we are watching as bicycling is becoming an ever-increasing part of that effort, programs like Cycle Oregon that bring together 2,000 people from around the country every year.

It also is the source of a growing industry just in terms of cycle manufacturing and sales. There are thousands of small businesses across America that are part of the bicycling industry and specifically mountain biking. We just found this last year in Oregon the Chris King Precision Components relocated from California to Oregon because of the local support for mountain biking.

And they join one of dozens of companies that are a part of that effort, creating a critical mass in terms of the component, manufacturing, sales and service.

For all of these reasons, in terms of celebrating the spirit of mountain biking, the importance of promoting fitness, particularly among our youth, because it is so important in areas like tourism and small businesses, I rise in support of this resolution and urge my colleagues not just to support it, but find ways that they can translate this back home to their communities to make a difference.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 480) recognizing the spirit of Jacob Mock Doub and his contribution to encouraging youth to be physically active and fit and expressing the sense of Congress that ``National Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day'' should be established in Jacob Mock Doub's honor.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 480.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise to support H. Con. Res. 480, authored by my good friend, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), to recognize the spirit of Jacob Mock Doub and his contribution to encouraging youth to be physically active and fit.

Jacob Doub, a resident of North Carolina, died unexpectedly from complications related to a bicycling injury 2 years ago. His spirit, however, lives on as his family and friends have recently joined with the International Mountain Bicycling Association to establish the Jack Doub Memorial Fund to promote and encourage children of all ages to learn to ride a bike and to lead a physically active lifestyle.

I understand that Jack's vivacious attitude toward mountain biking was irrepressible. His energy and drive to be a great mountain biker is an inspiration to all of us. With obesity rates on the rise, we all need to take personal responsibility and do more to increase physical activity to improve our health.

Madam Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to adopt this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to urge all my colleagues to support this. This is a good piece of legislation. It recognizes an individual in the district of the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), who died in a bicycling accident. It also recognizes a very helpful activity.

I have a mountain bike, although in Texas you would have to call it more of a prairie bike or a hill bike; but this is a good thing, and I hope we can pass it unanimously.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), the sponsor of the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.