Where have I been?

Did I abandon the blog? Well, not exactly. The blog needs to be honest, but I also want it to be fun and positive. So what do you do when you’ve been struggling, finding yourself in challenging situations, experiencing some times when racing the bike is not so fun? You try to make things better, and this doesn’t always involve documentation. I will say this: team racing at its best is so much more rewarding than racing for yourself – you open up possibilities, race for other people beyond what you perceived possible, and communally create and experience success and failure. At its worst, other aspects of team racing stand out: lack of control of your schedule, the patience required for the inherent inefficiency of group endeavors, the degree to which you are defined by a group that may not always represent your values, the vast quantities of time you spend with associates who are friends but likely not best friends, all while you are so busy in the rest of your life that you barely have time to see your family and dearest friends. And apathy and frustration and wanting to go home do not exactly fuel good bike racing. But here’s a quick recap: