Sometimes life gives you set backs and yes they suck, but you have them. They make you fell as if you are a waste and just suck. You think, have I wasted my time should I even do this any more?Your wait is on your shoulders as one may say. With this you start to get in your head and think you suck. You may ask your self am I even good , it will drive you mad.
This was how most of the sunbelt rentals p/b Craft Ginger Ale time felt at their first team race or at lest most of the team member’s. This race was most definitely not the best one to have a bad day or off day to say the lest. It was at Tour of The Southern Highlands or “TOSH” this race as special as it was, was a junior selection race, what this means is that if you do well you can get on the nation team. The national team races for the USA in Europe later in the year. So yes, this races was important.
First was the TT, the second stage was the criterium, third was the circuit race, and forth and for most was the very hilly Road Race it was seventy five miles and it was the main selection race. During every stage we would have a folly or just find out it was plain hard as hell. We would come back in the next stage with just a little bit of hope that we would do better. By the last stage we were just hoping to finish with the group or even just finish.
So that last crazy day came and we had an early start to stage four. The race stared at 8:15 in the morning and with the thirty minute drive we ever up at 6:00. Oh and yes it was very cold and I mean like 28 or so. We got there and warmed up or tried and got to the stared line hoping for a better result or just to finish with the group. As we the group began to hit the climbs it got very hard and I was wondering how or if I was going to finish the race especially this being the 1st lap. David seemed to have a problem later and I would find out that he had his chain drop.
So yes the weekend was a let down, but what I had learned recently is you most take the good with the bad. You most use your failures as inspiration to do so much better in the future. It makes you wanted to do better even more than before, it puts fuel in the fire. The bad is what makes the good times seem so great and fun. It gives us something to compare it to. So you most look at the bad as just part of the process in live or what ever you’re doing. This is so very much a big part of cycling, it brings a lot of let downs, these let downs are what we most fight though. If we can make it though the bad parts of the sport, we know we truly like it for what it is. We don’t just like it because we are good at it. You most think to your self, am I doing something just because I am good at it or do I truly love it.
You most also be on top of your self mentally. You most have your head in the game and focus. You can’t worry to0 much about the other people you race. You need to just race your race as if you don”t know the people at all. You most race to win.
I have learned lots from this trip and yes I didn’t get the results I wanted, but what I got was something just as useful. I got experience and that is priceless I learned so many new things about the sport and more importantly myself. I learned what I need to do to better my self off and on the bike. I also got to know my new team mates better.
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