Photo courtesy of Brian at www.veloimages.com1. I love bike racing. Philly is one of those bike races that have given me a new prospective on racing. Trading pulls with HTC, Liquigas, and BMC really showed me just how professional bike racers can be. For instance, there was a sense of mutual respect for all riders in the peleton. No crazy maneuvers 10 miles into the 156 mile race to move up from 35th to 32nd. Seemed like if you rode smooth and wanted into the group, there was courtesy from all riders. This was nice. It was also nice to be going 30+ MPH around tight corners and still feel very safe inches away from other riders. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.... This is the way racing SHOULD be.
2. My team is awesome! Admittedly, funds are tight. Other teams showed up with buses, masseuses, mechanics, tailors and we showed up in... well, anything we could scrounge together... But as a team, we worked really well together and was able to give Cody enough support to place 18th. The moment I saw him cross the line, I had this overwhelming sense of accomplishment. "We did it." Despite being underdogs, we were able to beat teams that literally have 10 times our budget or even more like Kelly, United Healthcare, and Fly V.
3. Lets keep this train going! Due to our success at Philly, our team was able to find a few more bucks and we added a couple races to our schedule. After Cascade we will have Tour of Utah and US Pro Road Race in Greenville. My excitement for Greenville is off the charts!!!! (Any Greenville 3M'ers reading this let me know... especially you Ade!)
4. Our sponsors are great! Without them, we could not go on. So please, go buy a Leopard bicycle and a team kit. Eat some Wonderful Pistachios while training for that century ride or Masters championship. Refuel yourself with TwinLab Endurance fuel. Suppliment your lost vitamins with TwinLabs multi-vitamins. Upgrade your lame bottom bracket to a Hawk Racing bottom bracket. While you are at it, buy yourself a pair of Smith sunglasses. You will look great, feel great, and give our sponsors a reason to keep supporting the cause.
5. Strep Throat sucks! I got back from Philly Monday and due to a multitude of conditions, got sick last week and will be on antibiotics for the remainder of the week. ARGGG!!!!!
