Things I learned this season…
1) February is sometimes still too early to start the season, even in California. The Boulevard RR, held in early Feb, had snow this year and temps hovering around freezing. And it takes place just miles from the Mexico border.
2) There comes a moment in a race where you have to look inside yourself and decide if you are racing for the win or just riding your bike. See also: Callville Bay Classic, CA State RR, etc.
3) Houseboats do not have septic tanks. In fact, what they have is a grinder for a toilet. 6 guys eating 5000 calories a day for three days will exceed the capacity of one of these grinders…and possibly a second.
4) People with a tiny bit of power tend to want to exploit it. And by that I mean officials. Whether it was San Dimas (centerline violation) or SDCVO (you must have your ID to get your money, even though everyone there knows who you are) or Nationals (at least get your officials on the same page), officials/bluecoats/Napoleans/etc were there all season long to make lives miserable. I know they are doing a service, but they need to remember that without the racers they don’t have a second job. They are present to provide some semblance of customer service, and if they hate bike racers so much, perhaps they should move on to judging dog shows. And yes I have volunteered a time or two…
5) Dale Doback manages a baseball team. We must have watched Stepbrothers 6 times over the week of Tour de Nez. I could watch it again right now.
6) People must want to help themselves. You can’t want to help them for them. When we saw Chad G. at races, I held off clapping, because spots on pro teams are tough enough to come by a first time. Why not give them to guys who WANT to be there and are working their tales off. I know so many young guys who are doing all the right things to make it onto a pro team and still living the dream. Sure enough Chad spit in the face of opportunity again because, like a smart local pro told me, you can’t want something FOR someone.
7) I would rather have 10 Matts on my team than 10 other guys. He was the best teammate I have ever had. In every race. He did all the races the team asked him to, never bitched about lack of support, not getting stuff, always wore his sponsor flair, and didn’t take prize splits that weren’t his from guys on the team. He was always professional.
Rudy eats more than me. A lot more. And he is a lot bigger than me. His arm muscles are impressive. Matt has gatrointestinal problems. Travis is loud all day long, but it’s lights out at 9pm…kindof like a puppy. Josh wears a lot of hats, both literal and figurative. Ashley likes to help out a lot.
9) Last but not least, I have great clients. I would certainly like more of them, and need more of them, but the ones I do have are great. Mike Q is great at keeping me posted and providing feedback. Mike M does everything I say without question. Troy has a super positive attitude and wants to learn. Greg helps me in ways I don’t deserve and serves as my bidness mentor. Stefan is like a sponge. Luis keeps me on my toes and forces me to try new things. Matt P provides good feedback and does whatever he can to help. Moises follows direction, tries to learn new things, is open to change, and gives me blog material. Bryson and Dave coaches me in life. I love them all.
