Monday, April 25, 2011

Race Time...gotta wake up!~

I really wanted to title this post "When Going Crazy Goes Bad", in reference to my last post where I bragged about hard ass training in the cold and wet, but decided to stay positive. Unfortunately, as I type this, I am constantly interupted by fits of coughing and hacking up straight nastiness from my lungs...acquired from training in the cold/rain.

The weekend was a success for so many reasons, I would like to use this blog to provide some insight into the importance of teammates. For those of you out there in your first or 2nd year of racing, take joy in seeing teammates in your field and racing with friends. Having teammates in the field can be as simple as knowing which wheels will be safe, or to know you will be let into a paceline, or back on the road if you're pushed out too far on either side. It can help you know how you're feeling, as we typically know how we stack up against our teammates. The goal of Tim and Mike last year was to setout creating a team that would ultimately be influential in NorthEast races...I believe this weekend is just the beginning of seeing that vision come to fruition. Everyone on our team has gotten stronger by being a member, either by having top notch equipment, made available by reasonable prices, by participating in training camps or group rides, or by benefiting from the added incentive of attending races because of the presence of teammates in those races. I have always enjoyed the team aspect of the sport of cycling, and in the 3/4 race this weekend, I recieved tangible benefits of having teammates in my field. I got Gatorade from Ashton to stave off a bonk. Then Ashton went on a break-away of 3, meaning that I could suck wheels and do no work, then Tim chased down a potentially dangerous move on the 2nd to last lap, where again I was able to sit back and let the other racers file in behind him....all I needed to do was pull out a little sprint and "bring home the bacon". This is what team racing is all about...we influenced the race...big time. And this is just the beginning. Soon our representation in the 4s is gonna be felt at every race...Team WoE will be a force, and by mid-season, we are going to be having to have pre-Race meetings to discuss how "We" want the race to unfold...frankly, that is bad ass, and what the plan has been since the start.

As for the race itself this weekend, I will let one of the other folks tell that tale, someone will have to step up since Jeff wasn't there to take notes...and I will leave this post with a thanks to my team for incentive, training advice, and helping get one of those all elusive 'wins'...thanks!

No comments:

Post a Comment