straight on

After a solid six week run of crit races on Monday nights, we are probably coming to the end of the line for 2009. Daylight = nonexistent after 5:45pm, and temps are dippin' into the "your muscles will hate you" range of sub 45 degrees. By the last race, last night, I felt like our core group has developed into a fairly tactic-savvy group of riders and I would love to bring 'em all to the crit races in Phoenix........soon.

I have 60 days until the AZ mountain bike race calendar starts, and that seems a bit ridiculous considering we've been riding pretty hard since March of this year. I've never been one to participate much in these early season races, but I'm feeling more compelled this year because of my personal investment in our revamped cycling team. We've never had such a strong semblance of comaraderie and having a group of guys/gals who push you on each ride is really, really fun. Age be damned, the bike is an incredible equalizer so we have dudes and chix from 25 - 60, all riding together, learning from each other, and having a good time doing it.

Last summer, after racing with JB and Big Steve, I went to their informal weekly gathering of riders on a Tuesday night in Wisconsin. The bugs were harsh, the humidity was comical, but the people were great, the riding was a blast, the brats were hot on the bonfire-like grill, and everyone chipped in to make "it" happen. It being the food, the peeps, the trail, the healthy competition, the conversation, and the good times. It stuck with me like glue. I wanted that same vibe for our team back home.

Finally, I think we're on that path. A few people's ego's were shattered when we told them we wouldn't pay them to race anymore because afterall.....we're "amateurs". A few sponsors dropped out because of the politics. And, we're better for it.

So, here it is November 10th and my usual turning point is left - towards backing off the riding, and taking it easy until it warms up in February. This year, I'm going to go straight on - and keep the throttle down for a bit to see if this new-found team camaraderie and energy dynamic can push me to a better level of fitness in January. Now that we're all in it for the right reasons, we've created our own bonfire in AZ, Wisconsin style.