THE DAILY LIFE OF A BIKE RACER

OF course this will be an opinionated observation, all from my perspective but I think it is worthy of a daily blog due to the fact that we are really all the same, we get tired, frustrated have doubts and suffer setbacks day by day. Some times by the hour.  I really think of my self as a regular guy, some may argue that point but they don’t live with me day to day.  My Wife, X Wives and children just think this is all normal, Saul R should e mail from time to time or Dave Z should call the house, Dad should be out training or at training camp if he isn’t racing and on it goes. We as a family cheer for Danny Pate cuz we know his parents, spending the last 7 days of the 2009 TDF with them. I live a fortunate life and wake up every day thanking God for one more day to live the life he bestowed on me, I am grateful beyond imagination!

However it was not always like this. I am a Traumatic Bran Injury survivor, so much of my past is relearned and has no emotional impact on me.  Lucky me!  Serving 22 years in the Marine Corps I saw plenty, became Loved and Hated, Revered and Vilified all in one life time.  I survived morally through many days of debauchery-no small feat and I walked away with my body and health intact. Early on in adulthood I came to the realization that I had two traits that I could master if given the chance, one was my physical body something that has served me in many ways but has been resilient through the years and my mind, that something deep inside me that would never yield or give up no matter how dark it got.  I know that one day these traits may help me pass on to the enlightened side but realistically so it is and I have accepted that many years ago.

Each of us were destined to travel a path by the Great Spirit it all fits together every day ever piece and you know when you are off track, life simply sucks, every moment every day until you allow your life to become aligned with the path chosen for you. OOOOOOOh I can here the grumbles now but hey hang on really hang on, live this with me and if I am wrong I will buy you a beer maybe two.  That’s my bandwagon and I am sticking to it.

I was questioned why I picked Blogging from the Dark Side as the moniker of my blog but it fits.  Cyclists are considered fringe athletes, not because they are non athletic but for the simple fact they are way misunderstood, We don’t do Tri’s we don’t do Iron Man’s__-- very sheik, we ride for hours starve our selves to the very fringe of unhealthy and can make a bike move forward at 32 MPH.  We have been malingered with doping allegations since time immortal, while the NFL gets a pass, some times we are moody being a quiet bunch mostly due to fatigue but drive on through the blackness towards the light of the perfect ride, no one has been there yet but daily we strive.  

What will follow over the next few months are my entries to substantiate my drive to make the 2012 US National Paralympic cycling team, it’s a big chunk.  However being a life coach I want to also share the reality that goals like this have ups and downs and all the fields are not green fields and vistas  HARD WORK is just that but in the end it is rewarded.  What I hope to share over time is the realization that anyone can over come anything day by day inch by grueling inch until they are a champion worthy of their own acceptance and their place in the human culture.