Feeling the strain...

Now I have been training, building and losing weight for the last four years. With the season’s mishaps, physically I am not feeling 100%. For the past month or so it seems all my training has been with consistent pain. Fortunately mentally I will not let the pain set me back. Last night I did my time trial workout in Bear Creek Lake Park. The crash this weekend left me with a bruised tail bone, shoulder and a sore neck. I could barely keep my head up because of the pain. I will work through this and continue down the path. There are goals to be met and I WILL MEET THEM. Now lately I guess some would say I have been a complainer. I get annoyed at the way people act at our age. Look at people during a race. There are men in their late 30’s stopping in the middle of the road and riding down the center in the warm up area oblivious to things around them. When the volunteer tells them the road is open and to get out of the road, they complain. I could hear them say I ride in the street all the time. And we are not children. Lets look at it this way; what would you do if you saw your child doing that. Do the right thing and don’t yell at the volunteer. When I ask people to volunteer for a race, their number one question is, “will a rider yell at me”. This is wrong. Why would a racer yell at someone that is volunteering out of kindness for free? You need to realize that these volunteers are more than likely some other racers, wife kid or other family member. I know that if I were in a public place and some guy yelled at my wife for her trying to help him out, it wouldn’t get a very good reception from me. My post on ACA turned out to be an eye opener. People are ready to accept cheating as long as it is not for a certain monetary value. So it is $10 and I got a different prime. It is the principle of the matter. I see this in high school kids of this generation. If it is a benefit to them it is ok but if it isn’t it isn’t fair. I guess my ethics and moral code may differ than some but I will not cheat or I will not steal. This was fundamental in my upbringing. I have got the incorrect change from a cashier. What did I do, I say, “you gave me too much change, it should be xxx”. Some may say, “They are stupid enough to give me too much change, it’s their problem.” I bet they would sing a different tune if the error would not be to their benefit. I hope if I ever lose my wallet, someone with my moral code finds it. It is really apparent that most of the people that responded to the ACA post would take the cash out of the wallet and throw it back on the ground. I used to not worry about my wheels in the pit, now I will. Why do I keep harping on this? Simple! We are grown men and a lot of us are acting like children. As I raced in a road races for the last couple years I could see people with different number lots riding together. I have seen riders in my cat pass me with different cat riders. This is cheating and against the rules. But nothing is done. I have seen a rider cut the course in a TT and win the race. Later it was discovered and the results were changed. Still the rider went home with the award and I didn’t get a different prize for my now higher finish. Is this petty? I don’t think so. I feel for the guy that finished 4th that really finished 3rd. He got no prize, only the result on paper. Did he care, probably not but it is the principle! I am telling you all right now. I will never take a prize that is not mine. If I didn’t earn it legally I don’t deserve it. I have been in crits where lapped riders refuse to move out of the way and end up going down the center of the peloton. I have seen lapped riders try to sprint with the leader field. And I have seen lead outs where the lead out riders intentionally cut off the other sprinters to give their team an unfair advantage. All this stuff is cheating not to mention dangerous. Another response to my ACA post says that people don’t know if they won a prime or not even in not closely contested sprints. Hmmm! I find this to be concerning. I guess that is why I was taken out twice this year. How can you be in a race and not know your position? How do people like that expect to excel in this sport? What are they thinking? Let’s put it like this. You are driving down the road and get pulled over for speeding. Tell the officer, “Gosh, Officer, I wasn’t thinking and didn’t realize I was speeding.” I bet you will still get the ticket. Hopefully if you are driving in a very congested area these people are thinking and paying attention. It is the same thing in a race. We are riding shoulder to shoulder and some of us don’t realize where we are. Scary! I know I am not going to change the moral value of anyone here or across the world of ACA and cycling. All I am doing is letting everyone know what my moral code of ethics is. We differ so be it, those are your ethics. Pedal Hard!