? My dear Friend, | Main | time to dream ?
December 31, 2004
The self-trained cyclist
I mentioned before that I was going to do cycle racing for the first time in my life. Even though I’m way past the prime for this sport according to most experts, at the age of 42 I’ll be just starting. The first question that might come to mind is “Why?”
I certainly have no burning need to compete or to win races. That might appear to be a bad sign for me when just getting into racing. But my motivation is different. My motivation for bike racing comes from two areas. One, that I just want to experience something I have not tried before. It will help me understand other people better. Two, that I want to improve my physical health and exercising on my own is ok, but cycle racing will help to motivate me to go higher than I would push myself normally.
I am already encountering a lot of Nay-Sayers, that say I’m so old to be starting this, or that I can’t really expect to win, or even ‘why are you doing that for god’s sake?” But with my motives being what they are, I don’t fear trying this and I don’t fear failure. How can I fail except if I don’t try it at all?
Do I want to win races? Yes, if I’m able. But a more important question for me is do I want to make myself able to win races? Yes. My fitness has nothing to do with winning races. I will try to win races and train like I want to win races. Who knows what level of success I’ll have. But I will show up to put my heart into it.
That leads me to the training part. This is where it gets tough. Because, talk is easy, but doing is much harder. No one goes into a bike race with no preparation. I know I have to make a commitment to this. I have to make some tough choices about my eating habits and my lifestyle. I am even questioning myself whether it’s worth the commitment necessary to race bikes. It will be worth it. I know it will.
My first step is to find out how to prepare myself. So, I hired a coach. His name is John. I’m going to make a plan and follow the plan. Actually I know there will be many coaches along the way, since many people will be offering me advice and help. I’ll take it. And for my education and support, I bought a book that looks like it will be good for what I’m trying to do. It’s called the Cyclist’s Training Bible, Third Edition, by Joe Friel. You can read about it at http://www.TrainingBible.com
It will be a good experience. I’m looking forward to trying something new and to the improvement of my physical health. I am also looking foreword to the new friends I will meet along the way. I am looking forward to the insight and other benefits I will not see until I’m directly involved in it.
Here are two quotes from the book, The Cyclist’s Training Bible:
“I’m a 42-year old in a 20-year old body.” – Kent Bostick, Olympian at age 42 and again at age 46.
“The essence of a good training program is managing time.” – Connie Carpenter, 1984 Olympic gold medallist, road racing.
Posted by carl1236 at December 31, 2004 03:44 AM | Cycle Racing
Comments
Hey John,
All the best in your racing career. This is something I know little about, and though I may be closer to the "prime" age (I'm 27), I believe you are the perfect age to take up this demanding sport simply because you seem to be plenty motivated.
Anyway, here is a site that might help you out:
http://www.biketracker.com/
I see also that Governor Pawlenty has a similar idea:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5162327.html
Have you thought about cyclocross racing?
Posted by: Jim at December 31, 2004 07:10 AM