At what point should one consider themselves something? For example I swim…but I don’t consider myself a swimmer. I do consider myself among other things, a runner, a cyclist, and a triathlete …. But not a swimmer, even though I work very hard trying. Funny how we quantify our titles and subtitles. Currently I am also working hard at becoming a mountain biker, er……mountain cyclist. Whatever…you get the picture. In the last year or so I have raced (or should I say competed in…) several mountain bike events. My finish times and places are steadily improving and now I have split my training to where 50% of my riding time is spent thrashing and mashing along the Bull and Jake Mountain Bike Trails. I have fallen in love with the sport to a point where I would almost rather spend the afternoon on my 30 pound rattlebox of a mountain bike, rather than dancing on the pedals of my 16 pound Vortex up Neels, Hog pen, Woody or any of my beloved six Georgia gaps. Now if I were riding one of the new Kestrel 4000 LTDs that would be very different (soon…very soon hopefully)…. A few weeks ago I was asked by a very good friend and bike shop owner(him on the left, me on the right) to compete as part of a two-man team in a 6 hour mountain bike relay race series. I was flattered that my friend considered me enough of a mountain biker, cyclist, whatever …to ask, even though I don’t consider myself one yet. At several points during that six hours however, I became confident enough to pat myself on the back as I screamed past several slower riders, totally ignoring the riders that seemed to lap me each and every lap. I would for a split second even consider myself a mountain biker just long enough to find myself either on my side, or flat on my ass…..then of course thinking….. I’m a triathlete…..what the $%&* am I doing here. In 17 days I will be competing in an Xterra duathlon, my first multisport event of the year. I have usually finished well in duathlons no doubt as a result of being a stronger runner than cyclist. I would like to say that I don’t care about a podium finish or hardware but I would be lying. I would also like to say that my finish was in a large part to me being a mountain biker. We’ll see….
It’s always a great day to come home after a long day and find a surprise package waiting for you! Trakkers Kit arrived yesterday! They look awesome. I like this year’s jersey and especially the shorts much better than last years. Saucony is a big hit with me so far! Especially since my foot issues have all but disappeared and have had zero calf problems since switching brands. I’m sold. Can’t wait to sport them on the 17th!!!!!
