I have adopted a new motto for not only cycling but also life; "Glory Through Suffering". This motto is a way of reminding myself that we can only achieve great things through hardwork and perserverence. Nothing comes easy in life, especially winning bike races. If you are only now starting to put on base miles, or haven't even looked at your bike since last year, then guess what? You may already be too far behind your competition to make it up. I myself have been putting in the most pre-season work that I ever have, and I know several of my team mates are as well. I should hit 1,000 miles by the end of this week and hopefully come spring that means something. And why am I along with countless others doing this? For the glory of winning. For the satisfaction of showing up in incredible form. For the ability to dictate what happens in a race. To not only react to what happens in a race, but to make others react to what I am doing.
I do it to bring glory to not only myself, but also to everyone on my team and all those that support us. To our parents, and wives, and friends that show up time again to our races all year long. Those supporters help to fuel that competitve fire within all of us to do better. They help to put a smile on our faces everytime we pass them along the course as they shout words of encouragement. We train so that we not only don't let ourselves down, but also don't let those around us down. So if you haven't been riding as much as you would like, quit making excuses and get on your bike. Some effort now will pay dividends in the next few months. If you are part of team, then you should be training even harder. Those other 10-15 guys are all counting on you to be able to do your part come race time just as much as you are counting on them. So get on your rollers, lock into your trainers, crank up the music, and get to work! Glory Through Suffering!
