It has been a long time since I have written anything on here. Let’s take a little time to catch up on life as a crit racer. The blog got a new name, I got a new bike, and training is still hard. Where to start is always difficult so I will start with the most important fact; I got a new bike. Technically I have had two new bikes since I last wrote anything. In August of 2015, I was hit by a car from behind and my bike was critically damaged. I was injured but I lived to ride another day. I am still working on the accident so no details on that, not that anyone who rides want to hear about that anyways. So I started shopping and eventually found a 2014 Focus Izalco Pro team Ag2R replica. I was excited to get the bike but the ordeal started out bad. The bike came with a compact crank and anyone who races crits knows you need the big gears. The shop was going to switch the chainrings and order my pedals. It took longer than usual to get the rings because they ordered the wrong ones and then they had to wait to install them. I finally got the bike and it broke a mile into the ride. It was a nightmare and the shop didn’t want to help or take any responsibility. Eventually, Focus stepped in and replaced it with a 2016 Focus Izalco Zero-Max.

So with a new steed, I ventured down a road called recovery. I had several health issues and my riding still isn’t where it was a year ago. I did race early in 2016 and did alright. I have recently started volunteering some time as a mentor. I have enjoyed talking to all the bright eyed and bushy tailed CAT 5’s and recalling what it was like to line up for my first race. It fits nicely with this blog since one of my motivations was to help people who were thinking about lining up for the first time. It can be a bit scary and teams are not always the best at preparing someone.
Now for the future. I plan to talk about how to get to your first race, what to expect, what to look for in a mentor, and finally psychology. I will include some race updates but will try to focus on what I learned, what you should know, and how to apply it to training or race situations.