Going 'ALL IN'

Earlier this year, we were ask to join Modry Evergreen Racing Team based in Charlotte.   I was thrilled as Modry is one of the southeast's top teams.   They not only race well, there are some great people on the team.   I think Christina and I wondered if a good team would want a couple guys like us?   Sure, we mentored for the Hincapie Development Team and  TEAM headstrong was pretty 'big time' for a couple of years, but we founded and financed it.  Would our riding warrant a good invitation?  Modry provided the answer.

Even though I was jubilant, it took a lot of discussion and thought before Christina and I jumped in.  I was reminded of a Texas Hold'em Poker group in which I played some years ago.  We played about once every two months for 4 hours with a $50 buy in.  You played until you lost all your money or the 4 hours was up.   One night I had great cards on the first hand of the night.  After a couple of bets, I said the two most exciting words in the game……..'ALL IN' and pushed all my chips toward the pot.   One of the players called.  I lost and set the rest of the night out, bringing people beers, shuffling the cards and just hangin' out.   The loss did not deter me though.  In many subsequent games, I went 'ALL IN' with mostly positive outcomes.

Christina and I talked about our commitment and contribution.  Finally, we said to ourselves:  'ALL IN'.

Commitment is first and foremost.  Those of you who follow my writing, may remember that I see this much differently than most.  Most folks wait until they find something they are passionate about before they commit.  I commit and then expect the passion to follow……..big difference.

Then it came to what we would contribute.  One of my favorite presidents(JFK) once stated,  "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."  Instead of country, one can insert family, organization, friends………I inserted the word, team.   The plan:

Preparation - I will put myself in top fitness.  I am 65 (race age) and racing mostly in 50+ fields.  Everyone must prepare but for me, it is even more important.  Train, eat, sleep….do it again.

Show up - Sound stupid?  Most people don't actually ever get there.  We already had a busy 2014 schedule but I have committed to race some important races.   Christina and I also will go to Charlotte to do some team rides later in the summer.

Host team mates -  We are excited to host some team mates for SC Race Weekend here in Gville and we fully plan to help create a camp and possibly a big race weekend in Tucson this winter.

Race contribution -  This is a strong team………I can not hope to be the lead dog.  I want to contribute as a domestique…….close gaps, chase down attacks, run down break aways, do lead outs at the end if I am still there.  Sure, I have it in my heart to do some attacking myself, but it will be done for the greater good of the team>>>

Put the team success ahead of my personal success - The SC RR is an example.   If I were riding for myself, I might get a top 10 in a field of 50-60 guys.  My goal this year is to win………that is somebody on our team will win.  If we reach my goal, I personally will probably be 35th or 42nd!

Be aggressive - In business, I felt I was a game changer.  In bike racing, there are race takers and race makers.   I am a race maker.   The race happens at the front of the peleton, not the back.   If you want to see me, there are two places to look…….in the front few riders or 'off the back'.   I will be up there making a race, making it hard.   When I can't, so long.   I am not a guy with a racing goal to set in and finish 22nd in the field sprint.

We are going to the 'line' here in Gville on June 7/8 for SC State RR Weekend….a RR and a crit.  We will follow the SC weekend with the NC RR in Fayetteville, NC.  Look for 'Big Blue' (my nickname for Modry as our kits are blue) to put up tremendous efforts in these races.

Commitment and contribution bring great joy and success whether in sports, business or relationships……..What are your key commitments?  How are you contributing?  Are you 'ALL IN'?……..if not, why are you holding back?

See ya out there.

What Has Made the Difference?

Christina and I are having, perhaps, our best year ever.   I don't say this to boast……… but how is this possible??  We are in our 8th to 9th year of serious cycling and we are older than dirt!

There is never one answer to a question like this.   We lead very low stress lives….no work, family all good, don't run a cycling team anymore.   We sleep and rest a lot.  But, the big reason is TUCSON.   No, it is really not the place but what it allows us to do………..big, big base miles when everyone is freezing their butts off on the east coast…..doing trainer workouts and shortening rides due to rain and cold.

All the pros know this and that is why they spend winters in places like Tucson, Mallorca, or Girona…….
They know the importance of base miles.

This training, for us, is different from what I once thought.   We do most of it fairly unstructured because that helps us stay enthused.   None the less, the rides have purpose.   The rides have gotten longer and mostly they are much longer than the races we do………weird huh?   Most of these rides are a 100k or more.   If you think these are LSD's (Long Slow Days), think again.   These rides always include steady state efforts, sometimes at a very high pace.

FARTLEKS………I have always liked the word, don't you?   We do random efforts that fit the terrain.   Today, on a big mountain ride, we did 4 climbs at Z3 level.   Sometimes these are Z4 and even race pace efforts.   We also throw in hill attacks and shorter/more intense efforts as we move to the end of base training.

Of course, no matter how much of this you do, you will not be ready to race.   You need speed in your legs created by race like training.  We also like TT intervals thrown in.  It seems we only need a few weeks of this type of activity.   This is good as it is really hard on us mentally and physically.  During this period, volume decreases some to allow for an increase in intensity.

If you check me out on Strava, you will see that I peaked for the Tucson Bike Classic in mid March and then rested.   I have been back base training again……put in over 18 hours this week, all with purpose.  My current fitness level is crazy.  

My next races are 6/7-6/8 - SC STATE RR Weekend and then I will race the following weekend at NC STATE RR with Modry Evergreen Racing.  Don't look for any podium finishes…..I will be working for my team mates.   Their success will be something I will share in.  So, this week, I shift gears.   Hopefully, I will be at SCTAC on Tuesday night and the Thursday night crit in Pickens.

Rest and family vacation will follow these two races and then another cycle, peaking for an August race in the French Pyrenees.   Christina and I are super pumped to be joining our friends Chris and Helen Balfour of Pyractif in the Barrouse Bales cyclosportive on August 10th.

I hope you will share your thoughts on the above!

See ya out there.