Introduction to cycling

I figured that I would document my entrance into the world of cycling. Like most kids I rode bikes growing up and raced around the block with the local kids. The last time I remember riding a real bicycle before I got into road cycling was a trip to our very small downtown area of LaGrange Ohio in High School. It was probably a 5 mile ride each way and that was enough to drive me towards driving everywhere. In 2005 my interest in road cycling was sparked in West Virginia, top 10 on the fast states go figure, where a co-worker from the Army raced on a Masters team all over the country. I stopped by the local bike shop after I saw Master Sergent Sharp ride to work 3 days a week and was floored by the price. The entry level road bikes at the shop started at $800. I forgot about the idea of cycling after that because it was the only bike shop in probably 100 miles.

In 2006 MSG Sharp was moving to Germany and he was selling one of his 4 road bikes for $600. He asked me over and over if I wanted to buy it and said that he thought I would love riding. I recorded the Tour de France that year, because I watch all sports and Floyd Landis was the next great American hope. I watched each day, the climbing, the descents, the sprints and the amazing comeback over the mountains and I was hooked. I started researching bikes and found a website Bikesdirect.com and purchased a Motobecane Mirage Sport for $500. I got the bike and soon realized that I had to get padded shorts, a helmet, tool bag, water bottle cages, and water bottles and a computer for the bike. I started riding and it was great except my butt hurt after 10 minutes and I didnt know what adjustments to make. There wasnt a big cycling sense in West Virginia so I winged it with what I found on the internet. I thought I was super fast riding a bicycle at 14mph and 15mph down hill. I rode the bike to work a few times and upgraded to clipless pedals and noticed that after about 2 months I could average 14mph to and from work.

Winter is cold, wet, and unfriendly in West Virginia so by November the bike was sitting in the kitchen not being used. For Christmas I asked for a trainer so that I could ride my bike inside. That was a short lived excuse to ride and the bike sat there for most of the winter and spring. In the summer of 2007 I started to ride again. I was exploring different areas and rode to work once a week weather permitting. However towards the end of the summer and most of fall I was traveling a lot for the Army.

Finally in 2008 I decided that I was going to get on the bike early and often. I started riding whenever it was sunny and dry out regardless if it was cold. I set a goal to ride 1200 miles in the calendar year. I was sent to Walter Reed for treatment for most of 2008 and rode through Rock Creek park twice a week. I rode in my first group ride there and did my first century ride Bike to the Bay. I was getting faster and talked to more people who raced. I thought I was fast because I could stay with them on the group rides. I was invited out by a local racer in the group to a mid-day ride at the Jefferson memorial. That was when I realized I really wasnt that fast and the group ride was slow for the racers. I could barely hang on to the back for half a mile before getting dropped. I rationalized that it was because they were CAT 2 and CAT 3 racers so I kept riding.

I moved back to California at the end of 2008 and kept riding through the begining of 2009. I wasnt working yet so I was able to put in serious miles. I took Ethan up to centeral California and watched two stages of the Tour of California. It was amazing bonding time and got me more interested in racing my bike. In May I had a total ankle reconstruction and cartildge removed from my knee to fill gaps in my ankle. I was not able to put any pressure on it for 8 weeks and I wasnt able to walk for a couple more months. Not long after being able to put 80% pressure on the leg, I started riding on the trainer. It took a while before I could really ride the bike. We were also moving into a new house, I was starting a new job, and I was still sore from just walking around. Cycling took a back seat for a long time again. In September I started riding a little more as rehab for the ankle. For Christmas in 2009 I got a Garmin Edge 305 GPS. I was looking at groups to ride with and found the Southern California Nevada Cycling Association which organizes local races.

In Feburary 2010 I went to check out my first ever Criterium race in Ontario. I had done some research on local races and thought that I was in good enough shape to compete in the local races. I bought my USCF licenses and signed up for my first race the Tour de Murietta as a CAT 5 racer. I didnt adjust my training since I had always been able to keep up with group rides and the speeds listed online seemed like something I could maintain. So all that was left was to show up and race. I remember thinking to myself that I didnt think that I could win but I did not think I could possible get last. So I confidently invited all my friends and family to watch me race. My racing journey had begun.