Warming my cockles

Despite how my last post might make it appear, I think podiums are kinda dumb.  For me, racing bikes is entirely selfish.  I do it for my own pleasure, and that's about it.  I'm either pleased with how I performed or something opposite of happy, like sad, mad, disappointed... generally grumbly.  Poor execution motivates me to have less than poor performances in the future.  Some would call that "learning." 

Standing up in front of people who may or may not care about what I did that day feels awkward.  I didn't do it to impress them, and nor should they feel dazzled by my prowess.  I'm only up there because not enough faster people showed up... and I didn't quit.  Sure, I've tried harder at some events to get to this place, but in the end... I know my place in the food chain.

Still, you gotta get up there outta respect for your fellow competitors, the promoters, and I guess for the sake of your sponsors (unless your going for world gold, then anything goes).  I've only ever skipped one podium on purpose.  I had no real sponsors back then, a certain lack of respect for the promoter, and the ceremony was so delayed that only one person was left to stand on the boxes by the time they got their shit together.  I didn't miss much, and I don't really regret it.

Speaking of podiums, everyone you know will be posting pictures of themselves standing on one somewhere on SocialMediaBookGram because CROSS IS COMING.  I think about 90% of all the people who race cross will make a podium this year (based on no actual research). 

I don't think cross is stupid.  It reminds me of what we used to do as kids, marking a course in someone's yard or woods and then racing each other... mostly because we lived nowhere near a BMX course or anything else cool.

I went to a "cross practice" Wednesday night and played cross games with my little friends.

photo cred: Nick "Dip n Spray" Barlow

It was fun, and seeing all the different levels of riders that came to some city park with a semi-defined course to just putz around or actually kinda/sorta race?  My heart grew three sizes that day.

People having fun on bikes is like the bestest thing ever.

That's why I'm headed to Richmond tomorrow to spectate the UCI Road Worlds because nobody knows how to have more fun making great bike race than the pros that are getting paid to do so.

At least at this level of racing, when they get on the podium, they probably never think to themselves, "I'm only up here because not enough faster people showed up... and I didn't quit."