First Losers Club

Monday, August 18, 2008
First Losers Club
Race day arrives. I head out to the Fort with my brothers picture on the dash.

One of the last conversations with my Coach consisted of him lashing me because I registered beginner instead of sport. But it's my first race?! "Wait until I tell you I told you so!" he says. So it's like that huh? He's one of "those" people. First on the agenda. Change registration!

It's a good thing I arrived early because I wouldn't have done that for fear of what my eyes beheld as I walked away from that table. People on tricked out bikes, wearing superfastbadass clothes. They were everywhere. I was surrounded.

So I decide that riding around nervously is in order while I wait for people I know to show up. My bike isn't right because my chain and rear cog aren't mated. I snapped the chain Thursday night on a group ride for the kids at T.M.I. (www.mibike.org ) Shameless plug. check it out! The tech for Breakaway looks at it. There's nothing I can do but pick a gear and stay there. Fabulous!

More nervous riding. My people appear. How foolish of me to think that having them there would alleviate some stress. "Your gonna do great, you're gonna smoke 'em!" and other stuff like that came out of their mouths. Pressure! What if I don't place? What if I don't even finish? What if I get puke in my bottom bracket before I even start? Then the Coach arrives.

We go down to the start to watch Ed take off and I start to feel a little more at ease, like this might be do-able. He asks me if I want to ride around the lot. We ride around a few times. He's talking, I'm listening stressing about my bike. He taps my shoulder. I look and there pinched between his index finger and thumb is, you guessed it…a piece of Bubble Yum bubble gum. Original flavor. I melt. Not because of the heat. Okay he's trying to make me cry. He's one of "those" people!

It's time. I'm at the start. Gum in mouth. He's whispering sweet race nothing's in my ear, and I'm off…..

I won't bore you with the race details but I will say this. The highlight of my day was having my Coach there at the beginning bringing a sense of calm. In the middle, shouting from the edge of the woods. At the end in the home stretch as I'm dying, riding along side of me encouraging, pushing, coaching. You have no idea how much you have impacted my life. Thank you.

Some things I learned on race day not necessarily in order of importance:


1) Mountain Bikers are the nicest people I've ever met.
2) it's the coolest feeling to pass people on tricked out bikes in superfastbadass clothes.
3) it's devastating to have them sling shot past you, you crash about a mile later and never see them again until you're on the 2nd place block at the awards ceremony. It's also an honor when they ask you to ride for their team.
4) Replace your cog with the chain no matter what they say.
5) I'm going to like single speed much better.
6) The people you meet on any given day may become part of your existence. Shaping and molding who you are.
7) What we do, those seemingly small decisions, things like bubble gum and letting people pass, profoundly affect those who come after us.
8) It's not about the bike you ride or the clothes you wear.
9) It's about what's in your heart…

I started race day reading my bible. I came across a verse in Ezekiel. It goes something like this….."Wherever the Spirit would go , they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the Spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels."

Standing under that tent waiting for the awards I got all choked up. I had to step away on more than one occasion for fear that someone would see me tear up for no apparent reason. You see, occasionally I am seduced by the belief that I don't need anybody. Do you know what I mean? The lie that comes when you know it's going to hurt too much to care. Well, I realized something amidst the buzz under the tent. That we are in fact the Living Creatures. Wheels filled with the Spirit. Rising up among each other. . And I felt a part of something larger. Larger than the bike I ride, the clothes I wear or my circumstances on any given day. And I wondered if this is what it feels like to be home.

And last but not least…

10) I need you people.