The Most Interesting Man in the…Part2

Over the years the bike has come and gone.  I have raced bikes at different points throughout the years, BMX as a kid, some Mountain bike racing out west in the early 90's but it wasn't until a friend dared me to do a Triathlon in 2006 that I reconnected with the bike.  That Tri was pretty much a FAIL!  At that time I was strictly a runner.

I was really fit and was fairly fast 17:305k, 36-37:00 10k, 1:23 Half.  The Tri was a sprint at Lake Lure.  If I recall it was a 750 meter swim, 25k bike and 5k run.  I did ZERO bike or swim training, and I rented a bike as I didn't own one at the time.  This is what I was thinking...I was a good swimmer as a kid and I know I can ride a bike and so Ill kill the run.  Ha! can't believe how naive that thinking was.  I don't really remember how I placed just that I buried myself on the swim and bike and could barley run the run…I was so Humbled! and Pissed!  I bought a bike started riding and swimming and competing in tri's.  I had no idea what I was doing on the bike and swim,  my training was totally unstructured unlike my running.  I got faster and results got better.  I was pretty decent as an age grouper, always in the top ten…I often think back and wonder what I could have accomplished if I understood how to train! but I have no regrets.

My Triathlon career ended after shoulder surgery in the fall of  2010 old lacrosse injuries finally caught up with me.  After surgery I got on the bike asap.  I didn't do much racing in 2011 and 2012, my Mom was pretty sick, she was in a fight for life. She was diagnosed with stage 3 inoperable Lung Cancer (She beat it ) and was in remission when the cancer metastasized as Brain Cancer (terminal diagnosis)..she lost that battle but never gave up and never complained, and always carried a smile.  She is my inspiration! (I will blog about that experience later).

I made a decision in January of 2013 that I would take my bike racing to a different level.  I had decent results as a weekend warrior but I did not want to look back and wonder what could have been.  Mom was my biggest fan.  I couldn't imagine not putting it all out there given what she went through fighting Cancer.  I talked to my good friend Chad Andrews with Total Cyclist and told him of my plans.  Chad was pumped! I think Chad knew the potential I had even if I didn't.  Chad put me together with one of his coaches Jackie Crowell.  Jackie is an amazing cyclist, coach and a great person.  We hit it off right from the beginning.  I began working with Jackie in March.  I had a great season! I quickly moved up to a Cat3 on the road.  I had a lot of success this year, lots of podiums top fives and top tens even as the competition got stiffer.  Jackie pushed me all along the way and made me realize I had a lot more ability that I thought.  For example I never thought I was a sprinter…Jackie changed that…I'm actually pretty quick in a sprint.   When It comes to racing I'm kinda of a jack of all trades.  On the road I race Crits, Road Race, TT. I do some track racing on the velodrome and plan to race Mountain bikes in 2014 for the Total Cyclist Mountain Bike Team.

End Part 2…Part 3 coming…more unique randomness