Local Cycling Support in the USA...

I dont know what prompted me really to write this, but something did. I was reading and article earlier posted by one of the more excellent brains in the cycling BUSINESS these days, over at Competitive Cyclist. He talks about just that, the lack of support among the USAC for anything that remotely resembles a grassroots, or local program to enable young riders to achieve the type of success that would put us on the map again vis-a-vis Europe. Since I can't seem to link to the page correctly, I will post the text of it, I hope they don't take huge offense to me reposting it here.

"- This week USA Cycling made public their plans for creating membership growth: Having Lance Armstrong race 'til he's 67 years old. What you won't see in this article are the words "grassroots", "developmental", or "significant corporate sponsorship". When contacted about these concepts, USA Cycling suggested we contact USA Luge instead. Uttering these words at USAC, apparently, is a firing offense. Other forbidden language includes "world-class track program" or "awareness that cyclocross exists."

The lack of vision at USAC astonishes -- that is, if you're old-fashioned like me and measure "vision" though (a) measurable results (like, e.g. "high-school club racing has grown by x%" or "we have increased corporate sponsorship by $x" or "membership numbers from ages 11-21 has increased by x%"); or (b) by substantive communication. But as we all know, the membership is furnished with no data. Communication occurs as we cite above -- USAC-to-cyclingnews, aka Politburo-to-Pravda. But visibility to a strategic plan with an actual strategy (i.e. more specifics than saying "we strive for excellence")? It'll never happen. At USAC jocksniffing runs amok: They ceaselessly fawn over world-class riders, but provide no proof of interest in cultivating the superstars of year 2030. Where is the outreach to kids who've never ridden a bike outside the neighborhood? Why doesn't anyone there understand the future value of today's novice? For the average American amateur bike club, USA Cycling licensure expense is just that: An expense with no apparent ROI."

Its definitely an accurate argument, and its something that has been in my thoughts lately too. My daughter is coming along really well in her own cycling, (I mean, admittedly, shes still young, and just beginning,) but why should she pursue it at great cost, and devotion, and have no hope of real, long term success? It's hard for any woman in cycling, so even if it were my son who was developing well, USAC's policies give them no hope of future success. It makes it necessary for a cyclist to either live as a pauper, or be basically a playboy, able to support his own habits.

I wonder where things are going in the US, cycling wise.

Going home soon...

As we're preparing to get out of here, we have to pack well in advance, because of the logistics system. So I'm packing up over thirty days before we actually leave. So in any case, as Im going through my stuff here, I find myself oddly attached to strange little things. I just chewed on whether or not to pack this silly little pen. Its a pen on my desk that I've used for some time, but I certainly don't need to take it home. So why would I even consider it? Very odd. I'm so ready to get the hell out of here, I would think none of this would matter at all to me.

All I can really think about, all that really matters to me is getting back to this...



I just can't wait to see them, talk to them, sit with them...

I have GOT to get out of this place...if its the last thing I EVER do...

W T F

I dont know how many people have said that things happen in life that there is just no explanation for, but I guess I have to add my voice to the chorus. I hope tomorrow makes more sense to me than today did.

At least my son is still wearing his shirts backward...

Fuck I need a bike ride

I don't care what anyone says, the stationary bike is no substitute for honest to goodness wind in your hair, bugs in your teeth spinning of wheels. It probably does a reasonable job of maintaining fitness, however at what cost? There are a thousand things I can do for cardio, I mean the elliptical is a better workout in less time, but its not a bike. I ride the bike back home for fitness to be sure, and there is certainly still competitive spark in me, as I full intend to race the upcoming season when I get back. HOWEVER, the main reason I ride, is mental. Its an escape. Its an immersion into the world, the smells, the sounds, the sights, the dangers. It's not an hour enclosed in a steel and glass cage cruising around the city, its not an hour sitting in one place in the gym listening to women gossip and CNN speak of doom. Its F R E E D O M in its purest. I go where I want, for as long as I want, I go as hard or as easy as I want, I only answer to myself. I am not insulated from the world, my legs get dirty, I smell the good and the bad, I hear the whir of the chain on the cogs, my spokes slicing through the air.

I miss it dearly.

Just life

So it would seem that I have found a way out of the three month rut here, (which they tell you in all the pre deployment briefs happens to everyone) and I'm doing exactly what they say you will, I found a project. The project is me. I've been working out seriously hard, and enjoying the endorphin high. When we first got here, I used the stationary bike to help with the acclimation to the altitude, and now that I am fully acclimated, I have been riding it really hard. I do 90 minutes two or three times a week, with 50 minute days thrown in between. (I get one day off completely every week) and then at night, I hit the gym for an hour or more. I'm doing a simple routine of chest/triceps two days a week, and back and biceps two days a week, with a single leg day thrown in between. It goes in a pattern like Chest/Biceps/Legs/Chest/Biceps/Off that way there are two days between any major muscle group. Seems to be woring like a charm, despite having put on a reasonable amount of muscle, I'm down ten pounds overall in the last two months. Maybe more importantly, my attitude is way better. Endorphins rock.

Our little gym is just that, little, so I go late at night when its not packed, but the Poles are far more interested in getting big than cardio, so there usually isnt a wait for the bike. I plan to mix in more running later in the cycle once I lose all the weight I plan to, and get my joints all functioning right. Its been a while since I maxed a PT run, and thats one of my long term goals from this.

the weather is still completely bearable here. :)

Rock beds

Rock beds, originally uploaded by Dave in Austin.

Driving here is always a challenge