I just finished my rookie season. Needless to say, but I will anyways, I learned a lot! Some of what I learned has been extremely beneficial and the rest, well, I has not been nearly as profound. But, I will try to share what I can or at least what I think is of benefit.

Lesson 1 - The Cold and Lonely Life of a Bike Racer

Cold and lonely are the best two words to describe my lifestyle since March. What I learned is that all it takes to be a bike racer is to ride your bike, which means you have to be okay with being cold and lonely. When you are trying to fit 15, 18, 20 or more hours on the bike in a week while working full time you leave zero room for a social life. While all my housemates and friends were going out to the lake, movies, or bars I was on my bike.Even on my day off the bike I didn't get to go do anything because my time was spent catching up on everything I couldn't get done the other 6 days of the week.

And, since everyones work schedules are so different group rides didn't really happen much; which made for a lot of hours on the bike in solitude. In turn meant that I spent the majority of my spring and summer alone. This was definitely a struggle for me at first, but after a little while I started to enjoy the solitude and the non-hassle of coordinating when/where to ride.Oh, and even if you do ride with a group, still be okay with riding by yourself because your probably going to get dropped.

Lesson 2 - Teammates are a Life/Race Saver

Even though we don't always ride training rides together or race the same race's together I know that when it comes to blows my teammates have my back. This was apparent and displayed through help with training, coaching, monetary aid, bike repair, race entry, and gear usage. My teammates have been a huge resource for me and have taught me a lot of valuable lessons about bike racing (e.g. don't forget your front wheel). If it wasn't for the support of the team and teammates I wouldn't have been able to race my bike or had the successes I had this season, and it is an honor to fly the Etna-Brew colors along side some of the best bike racers in Oregon.

Lesson 3 - The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

This was actually a very quick lesson, but the most difficult to process. But what I learned through racing this season is that just because you drop 25 minutes off your time in one event do not expect to finish your next!

Lesson 4 - Lance was right?

It's really not about the bike! In the spring all I could think about was getting a new bike. I wanted something lighter, stiffer, stronger, and of course sexier. But by the end of the season I could really careless about getting a new bike. The bike I have is just fine because it's not the bike that matters its the bike racer. I know to many guys and gals at this point that have a lot nicer bikes then I do and they aren't as fast as me. So what I don't have a sub 15 pound bike. I have a bike that I can ride and that works and at the end of the day or race a functional bike will always beat an non-functional one that is lighter.

Lesson 5 and Final - Do it Right

If your going to be a bike racer then do it for the right reasons and do it right. Unless you love riding a bike don't try to be a bike racer. And if you do love riding your bike and decide to convert from being a fair weather cyclist to a bike racer then do it right. Ride your bike when your suppose to even though you don't want to. No one likes a poser or a complainer.

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